IF EVER I SHOULD LOVE YOU – Cathy Maxwell
A Spinster Heiress Novel , Book 1 of 3
Avon Books
ISBN: 978-0-06-265574-5
January 2018
Historical Romance

London, March 1813

Ordinarily, eligible young ladies with large dowries don't last long on the Marriage Mart. This spring, however, three such are still unclaimed. Society has dubbed them the Spinster Heiresses . One of them, Miss Leonie Charnock, does not really want to marry. Her father, on the other hand, desperately wants her to marry, but he's fussy. He has no male heirs of his own for the fortune amassed in trade and wants Leonie to provide him one with a title. Her attractive mother doesn't care; she's too busy with a pleasurable life of her own.

Ex-army officer Roman Gilchrist recently came into a title with the death of an uncle. Unfortunately, he also inherited 10,000 pounds in gambling debts along with a shabby estate. He must marry for money. When told of the spinster heiresses, the new Earl of Rochdale is stunned to recognize one of the names. Six years ago in India, he ruined his military career by saving Leonie's reputation. She was then only seventeen, and her parents quickly moved back to England. Roman lost touch with them, but he soon saw her at a ball. She was even more lovely!

Leonie has good reason to distrust men, even to be afraid of turning her life over to one of them. Yet her feelings for Roman are mixed. Doesn't she owe him a debt?

IF EVER I SHOULD LOVE YOU is not your typical Regency era romance. Never fear, though, the ending will satisfy, but not before the characters offer surprises. I heartily recommend it to you as an enthralling change from the ordinary.

Jane Bowers