But (surprise!) Wyn is there too, and he and Harriet have to share a (very romantic) room and a bed. She’s ready for a vacation at her happy place-the Maine cottage she and her friends visit every summer. So they keep it a secret from their friends and families-in fact, Harriet barely even admits it to herself, focusing instead on her grueling hours as a surgical resident. They’ve been part of the same boisterous friend group since college, and they know that their breakup will devastate the others and make things more than a little awkward. Wyn Connor and Harriet Kilpatrick were the perfect couple-until Wyn dumped Harriet for reasons she still doesn’t fully understand. The off notes come from two missteps similar to those she has made in other recent novels: There's a villainous portrait of a woman, which feels retrograde, and a sentimental stereotype of a developmentally disabled character who largely functions to testify to Justin’s goodness.Ī poignant look at family lost and love regained.Įxes pretend they’re still together for the sake of their friends on their annual summer vacation. Many of Balogh’s strengths are on display here-there's family drama staged in a nostalgic Regency country-house culture the characters’ inner selves are carefully revealed through their actions the reluctant attraction between Estelle and Justin crests as their surface incompatibilities fade and there's a series of scenes peopled by a wholesome supporting cast. As more family members congregate, she guesses at the secret that has kept him away and falls in love with his imperfections and virtues. Initially convinced of Justin’s boorishness and arrogance, Estelle reluctantly realizes that Justin is a kind, private man who loves his sister. Neither Maria nor her friend Estelle are happy with this turn of events, but Maria consents to the journey, with Estelle and her brother going along as moral support. With the dowager countess now dead, he wants to ensconce Maria in society and begins by bringing her back to their ancestral seat.

Justin has braved the suspicions and innuendos of high society after disappearing for years and then, upon inheriting his title, banishing his stepmother and half sister, Maria, to a smaller estate. When a chance encounter with a dour man on a horse shakes her up, she shrugs it off only to encounter him again at a neighboring friend’s home-he is Justin Wiley, the mysterious Earl of Brandon. If she thinks of marriage, it’s with someone who has a blithe spirit. Lady Estelle Lamarr is content with a life involving her twin brother and their foster parents and cousins now that she and her sibling have reconciled with their once-absentee father, the Marquess of Dorchester. An unlikely couple is brought together by their similar experiences of flawed parents in this Regency romance that's adjacent to Balogh's Westcott family series.

Someone to Care by Mary Balogh