If Wishes Were Earls
Boyle’s Rhymes with Love series tells of the romantic adventures of three friends who grew up in the English village of Kempton knowing they could never marry because of a curse that would fall on their bridegrooms. By the time this third book in the series begins, in 1810, the curse has been broken and Harriet Hathaway awaits a proposal from her childhood friend, Tiberius Maximus Marshom, the 7th Earl of Roxley. What Harriet doesn’t know is that Roxley has had a run of luck so bad that he has lost all his assets, including the homes of his many maiden aunts, and in order to save his family from ruin he must marry the beautiful daughter of his creditor. Written with a quirky sense of humor that spills onto nearly every page, If Wishes Were Earls is a madcap story that will entertain anyone who has enjoyed the previous books. Although the multiple flashbacks do slow the pace and weaken the power of the plotting, they are an acceptable distraction in such a light-hearted and amusing tale.
