If Ever I Should Love You: A Spinster Heiresses Novel

Cathy Maxwell has managed to surprise and delight me with this new title – taking two characters who are far from the norm and unafraid to be wholly unlikable on first impression and yet, somehow, are difficult to not want to see them find more and better. The season’s “spinster heiresses” are ostensibly ready and eager to wed: on the shelf just a touch too long, but with impeccable bloodlines and near-flawless reputations they are most eligible for their dowries. It is assumed in the tonne that these women are anxious to marry and end the merry-go-round of parties, balls, examinations and side-eye glances, not to mention pressure from family. That is, until Leonie. Beautiful, cautious and determined to never marry, she’s been clearly placed up for sale by her father, and unsupported by her faithless and often feckless mother. Years before she was nearly ruined in society’s eyes, until a gallant rescuer stepped in, and then life and other issues intervened. Now bored with the whole charade, she wants a life of self-determination and direction, free from the demands or constraints of marriage, particularly one like her parents have. Oh Leonie is one of the most perplexing and contrary introductions to a character I’ve met in a long time. But, as we get to know her and see her secrets revealed as the relationship (or what passes for one) with her parents and the ‘model’ they set for her in a marriage, as well as some backstory and history all make most of her choices and reactions more understandable. Yes, she is frustrating and her naiveté fueled by seriously cynical expectations often feel overwrought –but considering her limited options, her experiences and her actual unfamiliarity with something different, added to her own worries about not being worthy of ‘more’, you can’t help but want to see things work for her with just the right man. And perhaps that right man is in the form of Roman, impoverished Earl of Rochdale and savior of young Leonie’s reputation so long ago is just that man. He’s fully aware that he needs several things, most importantly money and a wife that amuses him while still being an appropriate choice for Countess. He remembers the beauty, Leonie, in fact he never forgot her – and while he knows marriage is inevitable and the sooner the better, he also wants to have a love connection. Imagine his surprise when news reaches him that the woman he never did forget is also available and the richest on offer. Oh they both have come so far since India –and neither’s path has been trouble free, but Roman is not to be denied. He remembers her, she confused, frustrated, amused, and intrigued him in equal measure: and it doesn’t seem that anything will be simple and straightforward. But, he’s going to get her to change her mind on so many things – and with quiet and steady progress, most of it forward, some of it arrogant and quite dismissive of Leonie’s wishes, she starts to see that these moments: good, bad or indifferent are starting to make an impression, an impression that is different from her usual cynical view of the world. Maxwell has dealt with issues often ignored in most historical romance in a way that brings it new life. We know that women were little more than property – but by showing the blatant determination of her father to buy her a title at any cost this becomes a whole new outrage. The ridiculous constrictions placed on learning, living and self-determination, and the various choices that women of the time used to escape, if only through drink, the unhappiness and boredom of the ‘sameness’ of each day. Unique, a bit more somber and less light and fluffy than one may expect, this story was intriguing and engaging, even in moments where the characters frustrated me to the point of screaming. It will be interesting to see if the boldness in choices and characters continues in this series.

Simple is never part of the equation when it comes to love. Nothing involving the heart ever is. However, the ballad of Leonie and Roman is like is like an onion. The layers run deep and the tears are no surprise. Cathy Maxwell has a talent for breaking a heart in the sweetest of ways. Leonie is stuck in the past, reliving her mistakes and punishing herself for them. It's hard to like her, but in time you will understand her. Her burden of guilt has flawed her soul. Roman was never meant to be a hero, but he ended up being a twofold one. He had the courage to listen to his heart and pursue the one woman he had to work the hardest for and the foresight to empathize and help mend an at times callous, but brutally broken heart. If Ever I Should Love You may run hot and cold, but it appeals to what makes us human.