Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress by Lauri Robinson

Posted March 5, 2022 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Duet (series), Harlequin, Harlequin Historical, Historical Romance, Owned or Purchased, Series / 0 Comments

A pretend marriage

A passion that’s anything but…

The great depression has left heiress Jolie Cramer’s family destitute!

To save them, Jolie must abandon her dreams of independence and marry wealthy Randal Osterlund. 

Thank goodness Randal only wants a wife to secure a business deal and shares her feelings about love—nothing but heartache!

Jolie quickly realizes that’s not all they have in common, but falling for her charismatic husband wasn’t part of their agreement…

Titles in The Osterlund Saga include — Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress – The Heiress and the Baby Boom –

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress
Series:  The Osterlund Saga #1
Author:  Lauri Robinson
Genre:  Historical Romance
Published:  December 28, 2021
Publisher:  Harlequin Historical
My Rating:  4 stars

Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress begins The Osterlund Saga duet with a story set (unusually to my mind) during the Great Depression with the tale of two far differently faring families that will be drawn together with a marriage of convenience.

Jolie’s father’s death hurled her family into financial ruin rather quickly, especially since her mother insists that their lifestyle not change one whit in spite of not having the funds to actually live the rich life.  While Jolie might have had a far different dream for herself, she’s now remaking clothing for the ladies in her family (without her mother’s knowledge) and designing truly comfortable, individually styled bras (which would have made her a heroine of the times for that alone).  A talented seamstress with an unfilled dream of designing and sewing her own creations, Jolie is now pinching every penny until it screams… and that’s still not enough to keep her family in their home.

Randal has managed to keep his family’s fortunes intact with smart financial moves, diversifying when needed, and building his own company with an eye to the future.  The trouble is that the airplane company he has his eye on to purchase would only be sold to a married man – which leaves Randal looking for a wife in name only… and makes him a perfect matchmaking scheme for Jolie’s mother.

I liked both Jolie and Randal very much (her mother… not at all).  I love stories with strong women, especially within a timeframe of history when they weren’t expected to be so.  Jolie has her dreams, she has the ability to create her own company but not the funding so that dream has been set aside.  Randal dreams of airplanes flying from coast to coast carrying willing (paying) customers who want to shorten their travel time, but for that dream to come true he must convince a company’s owner that he has a solid, loving marriage.  They both can benefit from this marriage of convenience, neither expected to find the love of a lifetime but fate often has surprises in store for us.

It was refreshing to see that even early on Randal and Jolie would have each other’s back as they faced this marriage, society, and their families.  A united front is what I saw in this couple and it only grew the more they opened up to each other and let their emotions into their situation.  I enjoyed myself very much here and loved the segway into the introduction of the next story, The Heiress and the Baby Boom.  If you love a likable couple, some family drama, watching love slowly bloom, and a very good romance then you’ll want to pick up Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress and get started on this duet right now.

I own a Kindle edition of this title.

Available in print or for your favorite e-reader

 

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