Sandy M’s review of As Luck Would Have It by Alissa Johnson
Historical Romance published by Leisure 30 Sep 08

I reviewed Ms. Johnson’s Tempting Fate a couple of months and she’s become a favorite of mine with just one book. I absolutely love her voice and her characters are quite engaging. Tempting is her second book, so when I happened across Luck in my TBR pile, I pulled it out, determined to get to it as soon as I could. I’m glad I did. Once again I was drawn into the lives of this family of characters who get a little help in love, even though they probably don’t need it in the long run.

I have read these books out of order, and reading how the current Duke of Rockforte’s father extracted a promise on his deathbed from his best friend to see to it his children, both of his blood and those not, find love so they have a happy life made these stories more complete for me. Alex is not looking to settle down just yet, and when he’s asked once again to help the War Department out by spying on a supposed traitor and his female cousin, he reluctantly agrees to get close to her to pilfer the information he needs.

Sophie is also approached to spy, but her inducement is that the Prince Regent has requested her services and has offered her a tidy sum to do so, money she finds she needs quite desperately. Her cousin has been stealing from her father’s estate for years and Sophie takes it upon herself to regain what was taken, especially when she finds that Dear Cousin has forged papers  to take the entire estate from her family if she’s not married by the age of twenty-five. With the help of Alex’s sister and a couple of friends, Sophie is on the hunt for a husband.

By this time Alex is nearly close to proposing to her anyway. He loves her wit, her sense of adventure, her intellect and he knows life would be boring with any other debutant in London. I really enjoyed these two characters. They find an ease with one another fairly quickly, but their attraction keeps them off balance. Sophie is a little superstitious when it comes to her luck – something good happening to her is always followed by something bad and vice versa. Thus, she is afraid to let herself love Alex, the best thing that has ever happened to her.

Ms. Johnson’s books are just the total package for me. I love everything about them. I do have to correct a mistake on my part in my Tempting Fate review. I somehow got the idea that McAlistair’s Fortune, which will be released in June, is Katie’s story, but in actuality it is Evie’s story. Either way, I’m still looking forward to it a lot.

Grade: A+

Read C2’s review here.

Summary:

A WOMAN OF THE WORLD…
After years of wild adventures overseas, Miss Sophie Everton is in no hurry to return home to the boring strictures of the ton. But she’s determined to reclaim her family’s fortune–even if she has to become a spy for the Prince Regent to do it.

A MAN ON A MISSION…
Before she can get her first assignment, she lands right in the lap of the dark and dashing Duke of Rockeforte. She’s faced hungry tigers that didn’t look nearly as predatory. Somehow the blasted man manages to foil her at every turn–and make her pulse thrum with something more than just the thrill of danger.

AND THE FICKLE FINGER OF FATE
Both are caught in a daring dance of espionage and desire. But to make a true love match, they’ll have to learn to trust in each other…and, of course, a little bit of luck.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: