If Wishes Were Earls

November 25, 2013
The curse of Kempton has been broken with the marriages of Tabitha Timmons and Daphne Dale (in previous Rhymes with Love novels And the Miss Ran Away with the Rake and Along Came a Duke). Now their best friend, Harriet “Harry” Hathaway, has set her cap for the Earl of Roxley. Harry is no simpering London miss and does not hesitate to interfere with Roxley’s plans to marry the oh-so-proper and well-dowried Miss Murray. Meanwhile, Roxley realizes his imminent social and financial ruin is being orchestrated by an unseen enemy, and the scheme is somehow related to a years-old mystery involving a legendary diamond necklace and his parents’ deaths. Frequent flashbacks disrupt the flow, but the conspiracy is complex and well-plotted. Roxley and Harry’s lovemaking is bold and direct, and their passionate interludes would be hot enough to singe the sheets except that “there was never a demmed bed around.” Some inconsistencies mar this otherwise satisfying Regency romance that perfectly fits Harry’s outrageous personality.

Starred review from December 15, 2013
How could the Earl of Roxley have forgotten their kiss? For the last eight months, all Harriet Hathaway can think about is the perfect kiss she shared with him at the masquerade ball at Owle Park. Now, months later, when Harriet finally sees Roxley again at yet another soiree, not only does the only man she has ever loved not seem to remember their encounter, he is about to marry someone else. Roxley never forgot his first kiss with Harriet Hathaway. The problem is that ever since that night at Owle Park, Roxley's legendary luck seems to have run out. In debt up to his ears, he has no choice but to marry Miss Murray. Roxley knows the only honorable thing to do is to cut Harriet out of his life completely, but Harriet is equally determined to find a way to keep them together, once and for all. Witty dialogue, charming characters, and a heartbreakingly romantic plot enlivened with snippets from the heroine's beloved Miss Darby books and seasoned with a pinch of mystery make Boyle's latest, cleverly constructed Rhymes with Love series historical an absolute knockout.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)