I have enjoyed some of Paula Marshall’s Regency trads published by Harlequin Historicals, including Lord Hadleigh’s Rebellion, which I reviewed for AAR. This novel, set in 1920s England, revisits descendants of some of Marshall’s Regency characters but the book stands alone.

Jack Compton returned from the Great War to find himself and his circumstances greatly changed, as did many a man at that time. When many of us think of the 1920s, we think of flappers, music, and parties, but for Jack, responsibility weighs heavily on him. He comes from a landed family, but their estates are greatly diminished and Jack must work hard in fighting to keep what little bit remains.

His older brother, Sir William Compton(Will), actually holds the title, but he is an invalid due to war wounds, so Jack runs his business affairs. Another former soldier serves as butler, assistant and nurse to Jack’s brother, and together the three make up a household that is a tad rough around the edges.

Jack’s brother convinces him to take a little break and go to London with a cousin. There Jack finds himself captivated at first sight by Lacey Chancellor, a wealthy heiress from the United States. Jack’s cousin pushes him to make Lacey’s acquaintance on the grounds that marrying money could save Jack’s family from ruin. Jack’s older brother later makes similar suggestions, but even though Jack acknowledges the realities of his financial situation, he doesn’t want to be a fortune hunter.

When he first meets Lacey, he finds her both intelligent and very fun. I actually enjoyed these early scenes because the two really do seem to click, and one can tell that Jack not only likes Lacey but he likes who he becomes when he is around her. Good stuff.

However, as one would expect, there are complications. The first comes in the form of Aunt Sue, Lacey’s chaperone. She overhears Jack and his cousin discussing Lacey’s wealth at a party and immediately marks Jack a a fortune hunter. It takes some time for Jack to figure out what is happening and even longer for him to prove that he has honorable motives, but this is the more easily fixed of the various problems.

More serious is the issue of estate finances. One can sympathize with Will’s precarious health and his difficult situation. In some ways, he shows a fair amount of fortitude in dealing with his weakness. However, he can also be quite weak at times. Money management is definitely his weak spot. Fairly early on in the book, it comes out that Will has gotten himself deeply in debt to an unscrupulous lender and has kept this hidden from Jack. Naturally, Jack finds out when the family is on the brink of ruin and it falls to him to try to keep them from going completely under. But without marrying Lacey for money, of course.

While the “marrying for money” drum gets beaten a bit much and the villain of the piece turns out to be not just evil but eeeeevil, I did enjoy the book overall. It’s not the strongest historical of Marshall’s that I’ve read, but it is enjoyable. The large cast of friends and relatives, together with the sometimes intricate plotting kept me cruising through the story. Nothing earth-shattering and it’s not free of flaws, but I suspect many readers will come out of Jack Compton’s Luck with a smile on their faces.