Miss Fortune (Lear Family Trilogy, Book 3) [Paperback]

Julia London (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2004

One practical father's wishes for his three fanciful daughters make for a captivating trilogy by Julia London, author of Beauty Queen and Material Girl, which was praised as "simply irresistible...a polished gem."* Now, the last Lear sister is forced to get her head out of the clouds and her feet on the ground to find love.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Despite what her family believes, Rachel Lear does want to take control of her life. After investing four years on her still-to-be-completed doctorate, Rachel wants to graduate and find a "real" job and a boyfriend. Thus, when her friend Dagne offers to whip up a spell to help out, Rachel is willing to ignore her natural skepticism of all things magical and participate. Shortly thereafter, Rachel starts bumping into sexy Englishman Flynn Oliver. Intrigued by the delightfully charming Rachel, Flynn, who is in Providence working on a case, desperately wants Rachel to know she doesn't have to work any magic to get his attention; he is already under her spell. With a saucy wit, London brings her delightful trilogy featuring the Lear sisters, including Beauty Queen [BKL Ap 1 04], to a triumphant conclusion, and her sharp, snappy writing style is the perfect complement to this deliciously entertaining story of a not-so-ugly duckling who discovers her own true worth. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (November 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425199177
• ISBN-13: 978-0425199176
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #912,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, including the popular Secrets of Hadley Green historical romance series (including The Year of Living Scandalously), the Cedar Springs contemporary series (including One Season of Sunshine), and numerous other works. She is a four time finalist for the presitigous RITA Award for excellence in romantic fiction, and RT Bookclub award recipient for Best Historical Romance for Best Historical Romance for Dangerous Gentleman. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Huge disappointment, April 20, 2006

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss Fortune (Lear Family Trilogy, Book 3) (Paperback)

Rachel is the awkward Lear sister. Currently forced to fend for herself, she suffers from low self esteem and allows her ex-lover to come and go since she has no other romance until British heart throb Flynn bumps into her repeatedly. What she does not realize is that he is an insurance investigator, and she is his prime suspect in a series of museum robberies.

This was a really hard book to finish. The first two in the trilogy were great - the heroines were spunky and the heroes were hunky. This one was just... well, clunky. The heroine is so spineless and insipid - a perennial college student who is shocked when daddy cuts her off at 31. As for the mystery - anyone could see where the author was going within the first 50 pages.

I had the feeling that author London managed to obtain a British slang dictionary and used just about every cockney colloquialism and attributed them to Flynn in order to give the story some British validity. The biggest problem with that is that Flynn is upper class, and would never utter a cockney phrase, so the dialogue just grates on the nerves and becomes distracting. This was just a really horrible end to what was an enchanting series of novels punning a Shakespearean classic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun contemporary romance, October 27, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss Fortune (Lear Family Trilogy, Book 3) (Paperback)

Disgusted with how soft a mark his youngest daughter is and her role as a "perpetual student", ailing billionaire Aaron Lear cuts off her hefty allowance that she seems to always give away to others like her sponge ex boyfriend Myron. In Providence, Rachel decides she needs to find a way to make money, lose weight as she dubs herself "Tubby", and obtain a new lover.

Her best friend, practicing witch Dagne casts a spell for Rachel to meet a lover with a James Bond looks and accent. Not long afterward Rachel meets and keeps running into Flynn Oliver. As they begin to see one another and fall in love, he wonders how she will react to him when he reveals the truth about his identity.

The third Lear daughter tale (see MATERIAL GIRL and BEAUTY QUEEN) is a fun contemporary romance that ties up the loose ends of the previous stories. Rachel is a terrific protagonist as a caring chump who is unconcerned with material things and believes she too overweight to be a beauty. Jake is an intriguing male lead as he shows up wherever Rachel is; making the weird Dagne believe her spell is causing this to happen. Fans of the series will appreciate this lighthearted romp and want to see one more sequel starring the good witch of Providence.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unputdownable!, September 10, 2004

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Miss Fortune (Lear Family Trilogy, Book 3) (Paperback)

In two previous titles, "Material Girl" and "Beauty Queen", we read the stories of Rebecca and Robin Lear. Now it is time for the youngest sister's story.

Rachel Lear lives in Providence, R.I. is the youngest of Aaron Lear, multi billionaire. Aaron has told all three of his daughters that he is going to cut them off unless they make their own way. Bonnie, Aaron's ex-wife, has Aaron going to marriage counseling by "Daniel the Jerk". Aaron hates it, but will do anything to win Bonnie back and smooth out the mess he has made with his daughters. Rachel is the only one left for Aaron to worry about. And she is the one he has hurt worst of all.

Rachel is too soft hearted. She teaches weaving class, but most of her students cannot afford it so she lets them attend for free. Rachel also pays for the supplies for them. Problem is, Rachel is flat broke herself! Rachel has a broken upstairs window, a tree that has fallen down on her neighbor's fence and he is taking her to court, she had loaned out money to a friend, Myron, who keeps stealing her T-Mobile phone and claims he cannot pay her back yet, and her best friend, Dagne, keeps popping over and convincing her to practice witchcraft. Rachel wishes for a true love with a British accent and sure enough, there he is in the form of Flynn Oliver. Flynn is a computer programmer, temporarily in America and he has his eyes on Rachel. But lately, a series of art crimes have swept the area and the truth surprises everyone!

***** Okay, it is easy to figure out what is going on and who the bad guy is. But that is such a minor part of this wonderful tale that I could care less about because watching Rachel and Flynn together is astounding! The secondary character named Dagne needs her own story. She is totally into white magic, but is very bad at it. She never has the needed ingredients and keeps substituting items. It seldom works the way expected either. Dagne's story would be just as fascinating as Rachel and her sisters'. Anyhow, back on track. This novel is unputdownable! I had an awful time pulling my nose out of the book long enough to deal with my own everyday life. I could not get enough. The characters are easy to love and believable, the plot is very good, the story is filled with wit, and a sub-plot or two keeps things hot. Highly recommended reading! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.