Janet Gover is so skilful with her character creation and that is entirely the case in The Lawson Legacy.
Kayla Lawson enters the story as a perfectionist wedding planner, who is unhappily pregnant thanks to a very regrettable one-night stand. She’s retreated from Sydney to Willowbrook, her exquisite family home and the venue for some of the upmarket weddings she puts together. Despite her perfect exterior, it’s clear that Kayla is a mess and I loved watching her negotiating her new reality as the story unfolded.
Also fleeing to Willowbrook is Jen, Kayla’s childhood best friend and the sister of Mitch, who is married to Kayla’s sister Lizzie. Mitch and Lizzie run a successful horse breeding business at the property and have offered Jen and her children a home there after Jen’s husband Brad was jailed. She too undergoes a journey of self-discovery.
The third main character in this book is Connor Knight, a former gang member who’s done several stints in jail but is determined to leave that life behind as he works to make the Gateway Hotel, his new pub in Scone, a welcoming place for local families. The romance between Kayla and Connor travels a rocky path but I cheered for these two from their first encounter. There were prejudices to overcome on both sides but with the support of family and friends, this pair looked destined for a happy ever after.
I loved the way that Janet Gover dealt with the dilemma faced by so many former prisoners as they attemt to make fresh new lives and put past mistakes behind them. Connor’s story was sensitively written as was Jen’s, which highlighted the concerns faced by wives and children of prison inmates. While imprisonment and life after prison were strong themes driving this story forward, they were not the central story. Instead, there was a heartwarming romance and the joy of watching two strong women rebuild a lost friendship while also discovering and developing their own inner resilience. This has been a truly fabulous story!

I loved my trip back to Willowbrook Stud in Scone, New South Wales and meeting up with The Lawson Sisters, a lot has happened since we last met, Kayla is doing really well with the wedding planning and the weddings held at Willowbrook, everything in perfect the way she likes it, until it isn’t and Kayla finds herself pregnant, she needs a trip home to her sister to work out what she will do with her future.

When Kayla arrives home she finds her childhood best friend Jen and her two children, it is years since she has seen her but Kayla needs time for herself, her sister Lizzie and her husband Mitch are very happy to see her, but she needs time before she lets them all know what is happening, her perfect life is crashing around her, but a trip to town to the renovated pub might see her life changing in lots of ways, when she meets the new owner Connor.

Connor Knight comes from the wrong side of the tracks and a past motorcycle gang member, and now he is determined to change his life for the better, moving to Scone, buying a pub renovating it and he also helps with the young kids in town, then he meets Kayla when she arrives with her family for a meal, there is an instant attraction but he knows she is way out of his league.

With time getting closer for Kayla to make a big decision about her future and trying to ignore the pull towards Connor and talking to Jen and finding out why she is at Willowbrook without her husband Brad, life is changing very quickly for Kayla, will her perfect world ever be the same, even with his tattoos Kayla can see what a big caring heart Connor has but will he understand when he finds out she is pregnant?

This is such a beautiful story, filled with so many emotions for both Kayla and Connor, will they be able to put pasts behind them and find the love they deserve, will Connor’s past arrive to cause trouble?

I do highly recommend this one, it is a beautiful read, I really loved Connor and Kayla and I am sure you will as well.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital copy to read and read.

Being a fan of Janet Gover I was happy to receive this book for reading and reviewing and I was not disappointed.
The Lawson Sisters and rural Australia make a great pairing, Great characters you would imagine knowing in places you can imagine living.

There is just so much to like about this book about family, life changes, love. It is a cosy, heart-warming and feel good type of read. All the characters you can relate to, the setting you can picture and feel in its descriptions and it is a book that is easy to read and for me didn't take long to devour.

Another great book by Janet Gover and if you like books about family and life in Australia you will like this book. 4 1/2 stars from me for this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Australia, HQ for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

EXCERPT: The house looked wonderful as the glow of the evening painted it gold. Where once it had shown signs of decay, it now looked as beautiful as it must have the day it was finished - maybe more. It was hard to believe that the homestead and horse stud had been on the brink of foreclosure just over a year ago. Lizzie had been trying to run it all on her own since their parents' deaths when the sisters were teenagers. Despite her best efforts, it had slowly slipped into decline. The project to turn it into a wedding venue had done more than save the homestead, it had also rebuilt Lizzie and Kayla's relationship, and brought Lizzie back to her first and only love, Mitch, with whom she had renewed her wedding vows. Now they lived across the creek from the homestead. With the two of them behind the stud and Kayla behind the wedding venue, Willowbrook was thriving. It would be ready to pass down to the next generation, as it had been passed down to the sisters by the generation before.
Next generation? Lizzie and Mitch didn't have any kids. Lizzie always avoided even talking about the topic. So what next generation was there going to be? The baby Kayla carried? A baby as unwelcome as it was unexpected.

ABOUT 'THE LAWSON LEGACY': Kayla Lawson believes nothing is good unless it's perfect. This search for perfection has made her a successful high-end wedding planner. But all that comes crashing down when Kayla discovers she's pregnant. She retreats to the sanctuary of Willowbrook Stud to consider this imperfect future as a single mother.

Connor Knight has never known perfection. A kid from the wrong side of the tracks and a motorcycle gang member, he's no stranger to trouble with the law. But he's trying to leave that past behind. By giving a run-down pub in Scone a new lease on life, he's hoping to rebuild his own.

At Willowbrook, Kayla is reunited with her childhood best friend. Jen and her two kids have come to stay while her husband is awaiting trial for a crime he didn't commit. While struggling to decide her future, Kayla is suddenly exposed to what motherhood really looks like.

When she meets Connor there's instant chemistry between them that can't be denied. But with her plans in tatters around her, is there any way to make the pieces fit? Or are the obstacles in front of them insurmountable?

MY THOUGHTS: I started The Lawson Legacy early this morning and read right through until I was finished, unable to put it down.

I loved the characters and the setting. Scone, Singleton, Tamworth - all places I am familiar with. And the characters are people I would expect to meet there. We used to love going for a drive and stopping at interesting looking pubs for lunch. I'm sure we would have pulled into the Gateway and met Connor had it been on our travels. The same with all the little shops and antique stores that Connor visits looking for his perfect gift for Kayla - they all felt familiar.

The Lawson Legacy is packed with interesting characters: Kayla who has transformed herself into a city girl but runs for home when she finds herself in a tight corner; Connor who has turned his life around and is not only running his own business but putting time into helping youngsters from straying off track; and Jen, who was best friends with Kayla in school but who have drifted apart, takes sanctuary with her brother Mitch when her life falls apart.

Reading The Lawson Legacy was an emotional experience. Several times I teared up and by the end they were trickling silently down my face, which also wore a large smile.

The Lawson Legacy is the first book I have read by this Australian author. It won't be the last. I also hope that this is a story that is going to continue. I really want to know how Kayla's and Connor's lives progress, not to mention Jen and Brad's.

The Lawson Legacy is due for publication January 3rd, 2024.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheLawsonLegacy #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: I grew up surrounded by books. Both my parents loved to read and they shared that love with me. In the tiny Australian bush town where we lived, there wasn’t a lot to do except read and ride my ponies. As it’s pretty hard to make a living out of riding ponies, I guess I was always going to be a writer.
I travel a lot – and many years ago in Hong Kong, I met an Englishman with green eyes – which explains why I now live in London. My travels inspire me – but it seems that when I write, I often come back to the place I grew up.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA, for providing a digital ARC of The Lawson Legacy by Janet Gover for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for the chance to read this book.

This book follows on from The Lawson Sister's and shares Kayla's happily ever after. It's a journey with unexpected events and attractions but one that's enjoyable to read. It has a positive message about not judging a book by its cover and that second chances shouldn't be wasted.

There were a few characters in the story that I'd love to get to know better and I think would make for some enjoyable novellas.

Kayla Lawson's wedding business, Elite Weddings - in partnership with her friend Pascale Bonnet - was thriving. Its popularity was second to none, but when Kayla realised she was pregnant, she took some time off, leaving Sydney for the family farm, Willowbrook Stud in the Hunter Valley in NSW. Kayla's life had been up and down, especially since her parents had died when she was eleven, but her estrangement with her sister Lizzie was over, and she knew she'd be welcome at Willowbrook, where she would be able to work out her future. Her surprise at seeing her old friend Jen with her two children, also at Willowbrook, was tempered by guilt at the way their friendship had drifted.

Connor Knight had bought the rundown pub in Scone, determined to make a good life for himself after going off the rails. His plans were to make the pub a place family could relax and enjoy a few hours with no worries. The few short weeks of renovation time passed quickly and soon the reopening of the Gateway was happening. When Kayla walked in with her family, sparks flew between her and Connor. But would his past come back to bite him?

The Lawson Legacy by Aussie author Janet Gover is a follow on from The Lawson Sisters but can be read as a standalone. It was great to catch up with characters from that book, and see how Willowtree Stud was flourishing after some lean years. Set in a beautiful part of the country, Scone is home to many horse studs; in fact it is known as "the horse capital of Australia". Another great read from an author fast becoming a favourite, I recommend The Lawson Legacy highly.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderfully warm and uplifting relationship story from Janet Gover! The Lawson Legacy really captured my heart with its likeable characters and demonstration of true Christmas spirit. I have only recently begun reading this author’s novels (starting with The Library at Wagtail Ridge) and can see why they are such favourites with many. There’s an ease and grace in the way her stories unfold and the characters are relatable and you quickly come to care about them. The Lawson Legacy unfolds beautifully and for someone like myself who has not read the earlier Lawson Sisters novel, it does not hinder the experience. But I recently purchased the e-book so I look forward to enjoying it as well! It would be nice to go back to earlier times to see what shaped these sisters.

The Lawson Legacy is a moving story about mistakes, second chances and the importance of positive support in relationships. Lead character elite wedding planner Kayla Lawson expects perfection, she gets a strong jolt when things don’t go her way. An unexpected event leads her back home to Willowbrook to sort out her life and to work out an option that is suitable. She learns that sometimes mistakes can lead to good things: things she never considered or thought possible. And she has family and friends who stand by her through whatever decision she makes. For her, the lapses in judgement that put her in a vulnerable position, end up leading her into a new direction that brings growth into certain areas of her life. Even a past love and talent comes to the foreground and offers her another option to make a living. There are scary moments, with the changes, and doubt briefly takes over as you’d expect but through positive support from those around her, she grasps the hands of hope and pushes forward. I truly enjoyed watching Kayla’s character development and cheered at the decisions she eventually makes.

Two male leads in the story also make mistakes but their erroneous behaviour lead to jail time. But even as bad as this sounds, there are positive outcomes for both as hard lessons are learned that result in sincere self-transformation. The story delves into what caused these two to go down the darker path. Once we learn, we understand why. One led to involvement in a frightening bike gang and the other to shady business dealings. They each learn some valuable lessons and find the love they seek and the family support they need.

I love the Christmas family gathering scenes (and how friends were included). There are some pretty tense moments in the plot with dangerous happenings that put me on the edge of my seat or holding my breath (particularly during the bike gang scenes and one with Kayla on the roadside). I truly could not put this book down! Hope and despair ride side by side on the page mixed with cloud and sunny breaks. But that’s realistic. Life is always a blend of both.

I liked Connor very much. He had a hard start in life and although he was once involved in a motorbike gang, he broke away to start a new life. Knowing a little about these sorts of groups, I expected the events that transpired. The past always comes back in one way or another and although these things could have led him away from his positive steps, it did not. He is to be admired for taking a stand against that violent life and is an unexpected hero. His sincere intentions and honest heart to protect the ones he loves shows his true character. Renovating the once run down pub and trying to make it a friendly environment for friends and family, clearly reflects his own life. Starting over is not easy and people will misjudge but this declaration of his own transformation certainly shows he is a changed man.

The joy of forgiveness is also evident in this story. Those who deserved a second chance, received acceptance and I for one was glad to see it happen. Although there were times when the past came rushing forward like a tidal wave, damage was held back by the love that flowed among family and friends. So out of the horrific moments, strength was built, fear was dismantled and faith was restored.

I am so glad I read this heartfelt novel that throws Kayla some hard curve balls showing her life is not perfect and it can get messy at times. Her encounter with a motorcycle gang certainly got the adrenaline going! I don’t want to give anything away but it is a story that begs to be read and appreciated. There are other great supporting characters I have not touched upon but just read this novel and enjoy the homespun beauty that flows across these pages.

5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Mira and Netgalley for my review copy.

Kayla Lawson returns to Willowbrook and discovers that she is pregnant. Connor has just bought the pub and is trying to forget his past and move on. Will Kayla and Connor be able to overcome obstacles in there lives and find there way to each other? Set against a rural area with beautifully written characters that you come to adore. Family drama, friendship, love and many challenges make it a immersive read.

Kayla Lawson is an elite wedding planner, she lives in Sydney and her clients are rich and famous. When Kayla discovers she’s unexpectedly pregnant, she returns home to Willowbrook Stud in Scone, New South Wales and to workout what she’s going to do. Kayla knows nothing about pregnancy and babies, she’s never thought about being a mother and having children, she needs to make a life changing decision and soon.

Connor Knight was dragged up, he made mistakes as a teenager and young adult, and he joined a motorcycle gang and ended up in jail. He wants a fresh start, he buys a rundown pub in Scone, it needs renovating and Connor is up for the challenge.

Kayla is reunited with her childhood best friend Jen Harrison, she has two children and her husband Brad is awaiting a trial for a crime he didn’t commit and she’s moved back to Scone to protect her kids from gossip. Jen's the first one to guess Kayla is pregnant, she offers her much needed advice and support.

Connor and Kayla meet, there’s instant attraction between them, but Connor assumes he's not good enough for Kayla, motorcycle gangs are hard to get away from and he worries they will find him and want revenge. Kayla likes Connor, she doesn’t think he would want to be in a relationship with a pregnant woman, she feels unsure about everything and she wonders what happened the poised, confident, and organised and Kayla?

I received a digital copy of The Lawson Legacy by Janet Gover from Harlequin Australia and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a standalone book, some of the characters are from authors previous novel, The Lawson Sisters, it was wonderful to catch up with Kayla’s sister Lizzie and her husband Mitch and they have a minor role in this story.

Kayla is such a career orientated and driven woman, so having to deal with an unplanned pregnancy really turned her world upside down, many women find motherhood and being a new parent daunting and doubt their own capabilities and even more so if you’re going to be doing it solo. People have preconceived ideas about anyone who’s been in jail, it’s a stigma, and so is being involved with a motorcycle gang .

I liked the overall theme of the narrative, about overcoming life’s many challenges, it doesn’t always go as planned, it might send you down a different path and you need to be flexible. If a person has been in prison, served their time and learnt from their mistakes they deserve to be forgiven and have a fresh start, don’t judge someone because they have tattoos and like the spunky Connor. Another well written and thought provoking book from Janet Gover, I laughed and cried, and I couldn't swipe the pages on my kindle fast enough, and Ms. Gover is one of my favourite Australian romantic fiction authors and I can understand why she's won so many literary awards.