I read all of it. The story was ...ok. It didn't draw me in... the heroine was a bit too bitchy and the hero a bit too smug. It has the bones of being good, but somehow didn't make it for me. ( )

A great twist on the American heiress/British nobleman marriages of the late 19th century. ( )

I ended up enjoying the chemistry between the OTP, but the heroine annoyed me at first and for quite awhile after. The hero wasn't all that, either, and I found it a little unbelievable that his sister-in-law just changed her mind about him quite as sharply as she did. I know she married one of his best friends, but still... Belinda wasn't written that way initially, and she had a lot of resentment toward Featherstone. Anyway, still a good book, but it could have been better. ( )

Catch a Falling Heiress
2 Stars

Series note: This is book #3 in the series and the groundwork for the initial plot is laid in book #2. This should be taken into consideration when deciding to read.

Oy! This is such a disappointment as, despite a promising start, the plot and the romance fall apart just after the halfway mark.

The beginning is engaging as readers are introduced to Jack Featherstone, a rakish ne'er-do-well, who unwittingly compromises the beautiful Linnet Holland when he attempts to rescue her from a depraved suitor. Linnet is not at all pleased by his actions, and their love-hate relationship commences with some excellent banter and bickering.

Unfortunately, the story loses momentum halfway through just as it should be getting exciting with Linnet and Jack putting aside their differences and getting to know one another. In fact, this section ruins the rest of the book as the reader soon realizes that neither Jack nor Linnet are particularly likable.

Jack initially comes across as honorable despite his rash behavior, but this is soon undermined by his decision to keep an annoying secret. Linnet isn't much better as her independent streak is merely a facade for a spoiled, sullen and stubborn girl quite willing to cut off her nose to spite her face.

The romance is lackluster as they have little to no chemistry, and it is never clear what Jack sees in Linnet other than overwhelming lust, and Linnet eventual acquiescence to his advances remains unexplained.

All in all, a very weak addition to an otherwise enjoyable series although I did have issues with the first two books as well. Hopefully, the fourth and final book will end on a high note.

( )

Laura Lee Guhrke continues her “An American Heiress in London" series with Catch a Falling Heiress. It starts with a group of friends who plot to ruin a man. Stuart, the Duke of Margrave (his story is in How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days), has called his friends together to ask them to hem him ruin an American who has committed crimes against women, including his wife. His friends include Jack, the Earl of Featherstone, Denys, Lord Somerton, James, the Earl of Hayward, and Nick, the Marquess of Trubridge. Since this plan to ruin Frederick Van Hausen will involve going to New York and will take time, Jack agrees to be the one to go since he has no family ties and no responsibilities.

Jack arrives in the fall of 1889 and after months of work he and his friends have put Van Hausen in a financial vice. Van Hausen has 3 days to pay back his investors or face charges of fraud and embezzlement. At a Newport ball Jack and his friends are watching their prey squirm. However, a beautiful woman arrives at the ball and it looks like Van Hausen may have found a way out of his troubles. But he doesn't know Jack. As Jack foils Van Hausen's plan for salvation, he creates problems for the woman. This begins the tumultuous love story of Jack Featherstone and Linnet Holland.

Linnet has just come back from a trip to Europe where a British fortune hunter broke her heart. So when Frederick Van Hausen declares his new found love for her, she remembers her school girl crush and falls for it. Plus, she wants to marry an American, unlike her mother who wants her to marry a British peer and broaden her horizons. But her choice to meet Frederick alone in the pagoda has life changing consequences. Jack follows her to prevent Van Hausen from taking advantage of her. The meeting ends up with Frederick lying behind a screen knocked out, Jack proposing to Linnet, and her mother along with a notorious gossip catching Jack kissing Linnet. This sets up a battle of wills. Linnet does not want to marry Jack, although her mother and propriety insist. She ends up going to England to engage the help of matchmaker, Lady Trubridge, who happens to be Jack's sister-in-law from her first marriage. (For her story read When the Marquess Met His Match).

From then on the challenge is on. Can Jack convince Linnet that he is the right man for her? Can he make her see that saving her reputation is not the only reason he wants to marry her? I enjoyed watching Jack persuade Linnet to marry him and discover along the way that he loves her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Likewise, I enjoyed seeing Linnet overcome her family baggage to realize that she loves Jack. It was a bumpy ride to their happy ever after, but worth it. I'm hoping that Ms. Guhrke will find matches for Jack's other single friends. I look forward to their stories. ( )