If Ever I Should Love You by Cathy Maxwell

Blurb:

He’s inherited a title, but not a penny to speak of, so the Earl of Rochdale knows he must find a wife—preferably one tolerably pretty and good-tempered, but definitely wealthy, and who will exchange her fortune for his family name.  His choice: Leonie Charnock, one of the season’s “Spinster Heiresses.”  Years before, the earl had saved the dark-eyed beauty’s reputation, and she is still breathtakingly lovely, leading Rochdale to hope that their marriage will be more than in name only.

However, Leonie doesn’t want to be anyone’s wife.  Nearly destroyed by the secrets in her past, Leonie agrees to their union with one condition:  there will be a wedding but no bedding.  But it’s a condition the new Countess Rochdale isn’t sure even she can keep.

Review:

At the end of If Ever I Should Love You Cathy Maxwell writes in an author note, “I am not a fan of perfect characters. In Romance, the heroine is often the voice of reason.  We can have tortured heroes and villains but the heroine is usually level-headed.  Frankly, I believe we are each the heroine of our life and I know I’m not perfect. I suspect you aren’t either.” 

This isn’t the first time that I’ve read about a ‘troubled’ heroine but more often than not her trouble stems from something inherently positive, but negative in the light of 1800s England.  She’s too caring about the poor, she’s too outspoken, she’s too smart, she’s too opinionated, etc.  Leonie’s flaw—I pride myself on non-spoiler reviews so I won’t get too in depth—is a character flaw not well understood in this time period, but widely rampant.  She’s also suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, yet another misunderstood mental health issue in the 1800s.  I imagine it is quite difficult to convey mental health disorders without actually giving them names they had not yet been given, but Cathy doesn’t a fabulous job of it.

Leonie is a very complex character and just being granted access to her mind for the length of this book nearly made my own head spin.  I very much enjoyed getting to know her and watching her struggling to return to some sense of normalcy—or as close to it as possible for someone who has been through what she has.

Roman is not without his flaws as well, but it was interesting to see him be the hero in a way that didn’t involve riding in on a white horse to save a damsel in distress.  His saving was much more subtle.  His understanding, his patience, his desire to protect Leonie—even from herself—was incredibly admirable.  I found myself drawn to him, perhaps because I have experience loving someone with Leonie’s flaw.  Reading his thoughts was, on occasion, like delving into my own mind and there were times I was not at all comfortable with what I found here.

I loved that these characters weren’t cookie cutter.  They were unique, they were different.  There was passion between them but there was also large amount of tension, strife, and desperation to pretend things weren’t as they were.  They weren’t the perfect couple right off the bat, but that made the good moments even sweeter.

All in all, this book was a delightful read.  I am so pleased that Cathy Maxwell has taken the ‘spinster’ route that so many romance novels take, but has put her own spin on it.  The second book in the series is A Match Made in Bed and my review of it can be found here.  To purchase the book travel here please.