A lesson Tabitha Timmons, a penniless spinster, has never needed to heed. That is, until she is left a vast fortune payable only upon her marriage to the very respectable Mr. Barkworth—a match that offers little chance of discovering exactly what her aunt means by “untoward attentions.”
But the same can’t be said when the Duke of Preston happens along Tabitha’s path. He spies a rebellious streak in her that matches his own and he makes it his mission to save her from such a passionless match, interfering in her life at every turn. All too soon, Preston—whose very name spells ruin—has Tabitha caught between the good fortune that guarantees her security, and his kiss, which promises an entirely different kind of happily-ever-after.
When you are a delicately raised female from a town where every delicately raised female is doomed to spinsterhood, you don’t expect much. But fortunately for Tabitha Timmons her luck has just changed.
Boyle gives us a cleverly set up first book in the Rhymes with Love series. We meet a stable of spinsters who, when the wheels of fortune are set in motion, are sent down a rocky coaching path towards true love. Tabitha Timmons is the first and perhaps most worthy passenger. A vicar’s daughter who, since his passing, has been no better than a maid of all work for her Aunt and Uncle, is suddenly thrust into Town to an inherited fortune dependent on an arranged marriage.
In a typical comedy of errors, the course of true love is not smooth when her stomach tumbles her into trouble in the form of a rakehell named Preston. From then on these two constellations orbit while colliding in the occasional kerfuffles that are sweet, funny, and a little bit romantic.
The hero is a definite rake and not in the ah-shucks isn’t he naughty way. He is actually on the brink of social ruin with a very sad backstory that ultimately makes him lovable. It also makes this improbable match seem fairly plausible.
The supporting characters, aside for the ones being set up to be the next in line for the series, were a bit meh and some readers will even find the H/h to be a bit to formulaic in their characterizations. I liked the tongue in cheek approach to mass market hist ro, because after all with that sort of cover you expect a certain comfortable plot familiarity and predictable arc. Yes, Boyle could have spent a little more time deviating from the norm to hit that sweet spot of comedy…but ultimately I think there is something to be said for aiming for the middle.
Not one of Boyle’s strongest, but then again a series first tends to set the bar low so they can end on a high note.
4 out of 6 There are some really funny bits and Boyle really does know how to write romance. It didn’t ring any bells but was still readable and enjoyable.
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Some mature content | |
| Intimacy | |
| Pretty vanilla, but full on intimate scenes | |
| Violence | |
| Not much. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Vanilla historical romance faire with intimate scenes. | |
