Author: Nora RobertsPublished: January 2006 (Silhouette)
Category: Romance
Series: The MacGregors
Rating: 8/10
I've always heard about Nora Roberts' MacGregors series, but I was a bit wary of them because they were written so long ago. They've now been repackaged into several volumes containing multiple books. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe this volume contains the first MacGregor books.
Basically, Daniel MacGregor is a powerful, wealthy man with three children. His greatest desire is to see them happily married and producing lots of little MacGregor babies. If he has to meddle and matchmake, then it was all for the greater good, and Daniel gives all the matchmaking mamas from Regency romances a run for their pin money. I was afraid that I'd be annoyed because Scottish characters in romances tend to have exaggerrated accents. Thankfully, Roberts didn't subject me to that and didn't write Daniel's accent into his dialogue. Authors, you don't have to put in "verra" and "sich" to your dialogue. Just say that the character has a thick Scottish accent and I can imagine it rather than bend my mind around bastardized Scottish.
Playing the Odds
Serena MacGregor, Daniel's only daughter, has been going to school for a long time, studying all sorts of subjects, and finally left school to work as a blackjack dealer on a cruise ship. It's not that she needed the money; she just wanted to work with and meet all sorts of people. During her final cruise before returning to her family home and getting a "real" job, she meets Justin Blade, casino mogul, who happens to be on board because his friend Daniel MacGregor thought he needed a vacation. When Justin realizes how sharp Serena is, he offers her a job managing his Atlantic City casino. When Serena finds out Justin is there because of her father's meddling, she doesn't want to get involved with him romantically, but winds up taking the job.
I was rather fascinated by the descriptions of the inner workings of a casino. Serena and Justin make a great team and she's a strong female character without being all "I'm a feminist!" We also meet her brothers Alan (the politican) and Caine (the lawyer); of course, they're very charming and awesome brothers, and I couldn't wait to read their stories as soon as they appeared on the page. Playing the Odds is quite good, and its shortness helps focus on the romance with minimal background storylines. However, the story does show its age with all of Justin's smoking.
Tempting Fate
Caine MacGregor, successful lawyer and former district attorney of Boston, is opening his own practice, but he happens to be at Serena and Justin's Atlantic City hotel/casino during the reuniting of Justin and his sister Diana. Justin and Diana had a rough upbringing, with a Comanche father and society French-American mother. When their parents died, a mean aunt from their mother's family took in Diana, but refused to take Justin, so he left his sister behind. Serena, hoping to mend the rift, invites Diana to their hotel for a visit to get the healing started, but it was very difficult for Diana to accept her brother again. Caine was there to help her over the bumps and at the same time, offer her space to practice law in his offices.
Caine and Diana's romance is very character driven with no side plots to distract. Caine is very open to the romance, but Diana's upbringing by an aunt who despised her made her a very guarded person, seeming almost icy in personality. Once the MacGregor family began twining with the Blade family, Diana had to start opening up, first with her brother, and then Caine. Of course, there's the obligatory visit to the MacGregor castle where Daniel badgers all his children to get married and have babies. The family scenes are adorable and so much fun to read.
I've already ordered more MacGregors!
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