The Designs of Lord Randolph Cavanaugh

Ah, insomnia, all the joy of reading with none of the revitalisation of sleep, with added grumbling from my husband about the time etc. Ireland is in the grip of a heat wave and I am not suited to hot summer nightsm, nor are our houses.

Lord Randolph Cavanaugh is travelling to Buckinghamshire to investigate the progress of an inventor. Little does he know that the inventor has died and his son has taken over the job and that his sister, Felicia, is a distraction. Felicia is struggling to keep the family solvent but her brother and formerly her father are caught up in the throes of invention. Randolph and Felicia have to work together to make sure the horseless carriage makes it's way to an exhibition. And there's a saboteur making things show more more difficult.

I loved how the characters were so competent in many ways, how Randolph realised that Felicia is smart and encouraged her to use that smarts and when he proposed marriage he also proposed a partnership and it was just so good. I cared deeply about the characters and the outcome and was so happy when everything resolved itself so well. show less

Good beginning to a new series. Rand is the younger brother of Ryder Cavanaugh (The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh). He has an excellent reputation in the financial world, but he is ready for more in his life. On his way to visit his brother, Rand stops to check on an investment just in time to find it has exploded, leaving him in doubt about its future. His only hope lies in the hands of the inventor's son and daughter.

Since her father's death a few months earlier, it has been up to Felicia to keep their household going. After years of seeing the effects of her father's single-minded efforts, and seeing her brother going down the same road, she doesn't know how she's going to manage. The arrival of Rand Cavanaugh does nothing to soothe her show more fears.

With a backdrop of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, this book had a slightly different feel than earlier books by the author. I enjoyed the look at the progress of an invention from start to finish, and how the progress of Rand and Felicia's relationship mirrored it.

Rand's arrival at Throgmorton Hall coincided with the latest setback in William John's attempt to get the steam-powered automobile working in time for the upcoming exhibition. The circumstances were an unpleasant surprise for him, as he has both money and reputation invested in its success. I liked that he didn't lose his temper over the situation, but instead was determined to do what he must to help ensure its success. One of those things was to get Felicia's cooperation. Felicia was shocked to find out the details of Rand's investment in her father's work, and that her father and brother had lied to her about it. The only options are to help make it a success or lose everything.

I liked the development of the relationship between Rand and Felicia. Neither of them expected it to happen. Rand is somewhat cynical about women, seeing most as manipulative thanks to his mother's actions in Ryder's book. But there is something about Felicia that captures his attention from the start. Felicia had had her Season several years before but didn't "take" and doesn't think it likely that she will find anyone now. Rand is intriguing, but the brother of a marquess isn't likely to look her way. I liked the fact that it was neither love nor lust at first sight with Rand and Felicia. Instead, it was the growing realization that they were meant for each other. I liked that it was Rand who first accepted what was happening between them, and also realized that rushing things with Felicia would be counterproductive. It was sweet to see the way that he recognized Felicia's abilities before she did, and did everything he could to encourage her. I loved seeing Felicia grow closer to Rand as they worked together. It took a while for her to realize what her feelings for him were until the growing attraction caused her to take a closer look at them. I enjoyed the building of that attraction, from the unexpected heat of their first kisses to the full expression of their attraction. I especially liked that they had already accepted that they were destined to be together before they took that step. As deeply as they felt, they also believed that getting through the exhibition had to come first. I loved the ending, as Rand and Felicia faced their future as true partners. For Rand "She offered him all he needed -- she anchored him and gave him the necessary insights to imbue his chosen life of investing with a wider, deeper purpose, transforming it into a more fulfilling, long-term endeavor. She was his future in every way." For Felicia that future "had come to her courtesy of the nobleman pacing by her side, the knight in shining armor who had swept into her life and slayed dragons left and right, then opened her eyes and shown her who she truly was. He'd released her true self to grow, then he'd taken her hand and encouraged her to be all she could be." The icing on the cake was a lovely epilogue, taking place at their wedding and showcasing their happiness for the next youngest Cavanaugh brother, and a nice lead-in for the next book in the series.

A big part of the story was, of course, the steam-powered horseless carriage itself. I loved the descriptions of the efforts to overcome the various obstacles and the teamwork of William John, Rand, and Felicia as they raced the clock to have it ready for the exhibition. Also present was the person who wanted to ensure that the machine failed, thus cementing his interests at the exhibition. It was interesting to see his agent's attempts and get the feeling that his heart wasn't really in it. There were some terrific twists and turns at the exhibition with some truly heart-pounding moments before it was all over.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Some parts were a little slow, but it always picked back up again. I am looking forward to the next book to see what Laurens has in store for Rand's brother Christopher. show less

I had read a previous book of Laurens' [b:Captain Jack's Woman|399900|Captain Jack's Woman (Bastion Club, #0.5)|Stephanie Laurens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1342223330s/399900.jpg|389334] that I thought was pretty awful for several reasons, but most importantly because it had a very sketchy power imbalance between the H & h, and ended up feeling quite date-rapey actually, so, from that show of poor judgement I really wasn't sure I cared to read any of her other books. This audiobook sort of fell into my lap though, so with that low risk I gave her another shot. No part of this one was particularly amazing for me, but nothing was horrid either, and thankfully all sexual interactions were entirely consensual and the hero wasn't show more just a thinly veiled asshole! I will hesitantly try another of her more recent books. show less

I had read a previous book of Laurens' [b:Captain Jack's Woman|399900|Captain Jack's Woman (Bastion Club, #0.5)|Stephanie Laurens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1342223330s/399900.jpg|389334] that I thought was pretty awful for several reasons, but most importantly because it had a very sketchy power imbalance between the H & h, and ended up feeling quite date-rapey actually, so, from that show of poor judgement I really wasn't sure I cared to read any of her other books. This audiobook sort of fell into my lap though, so with that low risk I gave her another shot. No part of this one was particularly amazing for me, but nothing was horrid either, and thankfully all sexual interactions were entirely consensual and the hero wasn't show more just a thinly veiled asshole! I will hesitantly try another of her more recent books. show less

Lord Rand Cavanaugh stop by the Throgmorton estate to check on the progress of an invention he's invested in. He arrives just as the steam engine blows up and must stay to ensure the inventor William John Throgmorton meets the deadline for an exhibition. However, William John's sister Felicia promises to make his stay enjoyable.
I read The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh when it came out and enjoyed it very much. This is sort of the next book though it is the first in this series. I find that Ms. Laurens can be hit or miss for me, and this book was one of the misses. I enjoyed the technical parts about the inventions and the design of the steam engine though I thought there was too much of it.
But this is supposed to be a romance. Felicia and show more Rand barely talk, share a few kisses, then jump into bed. They think vaguely that they'll need to speak to each other about their future at some point after the machine has been exhibited, but it's pretty bland. When there's no real passion happening, Ms. Laurens can venture into purple prose territory during the sex scenes in order to show there is some connection. She does that here during the one sex scene. And not that I need to have a lot of sex scenes, but here she basically bypasses the rest with a passing reference which just adds to the disconnection between Felicia and Rand.
This may be the first romance I've ever read where the h/h don't even say 'I love you' to each other. There's one declaration which is more of 'I admire you so you must be the one for me forever'. I found that pretty strange.
The writing is good as always with Ms. Laurens' books, but there did seem to be a lot of head-hopping. I'm fine with that between the h/h, but here it was all the characters and was sometimes confusing. Bonus: Ryder and Mary show up so there's that.
Not one of her best in my opinion. show less

This is a sedate adventure thriller. A nice romance, but frankly I felt the sex scene was unnecessary and unconvincing--it was there because the reader wants one, not because it fits the characters or their story. They have a very _rational_ romance. They could have easily waited til their wedding night! ;-)
(And the sex scene was kind of flat, too.) But a very interesting storyline around the development of the steam-powered horseless carriage.