Remember That Day

Ravenswood #5

by Mary Balogh

A soldier and a pacifist make the unlikeliest of pairs, but when attraction sparks, there’s nothing that can prevent their love from igniting.

Winifred Cunningham, the adopted daughter of a portrait painter, hopes that her new close friend, Owen Ware, will soon ask for her hand in marriage. But when Owen introduces Winifred to his elder brother Nicholas, the late Earl of Stratton’s second son, the slow burn of attraction between them begins.

Nicholas is a cavalry colonel—a hardened soldier whom Winifred at first despises. She finds him intimidating and cruel-looking, while he finds her strange and startlingly forthright. During a summer at Ravenswood, however, Nicholas and Winifred are unwillingly thrown together on several occasions, until they realize the passion that drives their disagreements is not due to dislike—it is because of attraction.

Winifred still awaits Owen’s proposal, and Nicholas has made his intention to marry his commanding officer’s daughter quite clear. With allegiances to other marriage prospects and brotherly bonds at risk, not to mention the age difference between them, Nicholas and Winifred know it would be wholly improper to pursue a romance...

And yet, romance is irresistible. Perhaps even inevitable.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Regency, Audiobook

Library Binding

First published January 6, 2026

About the author

Mary Jenkins was born in 1944 in Swansea, Wales, UK. After graduating from university, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English, on a two-year teaching contract in 1967. She married her Canadian husband, Robert Balogh, and had three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, music and knitting. She also enjoys watching tennis and curling.

Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.

Reviews

[꧁ ༺Minne༻ ꧂ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first part of Remember That Day. I think Balogh handled the trope well at the start. Two people who are supposed to be courting other people end up falling for each other instead. That’s just messy and I'm all for it. Unfortunately, the story quickly becomes repetitive and, before long, a bit boring.

I really love the heroine, Winnifred. She is plain, an adopted daughter, and according to the standards of the time has absolutely nothing to recommend her. And yet she loves herself exactly as she is and wouldn’t change a thing. There was something quietly beautiful and inspiring about reading a heroine who refuses to apologise for existing.

Anyone familiar with Balogh knows she writes clean romance, but this one was cleaner than a nun’s diary. It felt almost sterile. And I do not just mean the lack of spice. The whole atmosphere felt oddly clinical. The characters themselves seemed emotionally muted.

[Jennybeast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less repetitive than the last book, and it is very nice to have the Westcotts around. I struggle to understand what Balogh is trying to do with this Ravenswood series -- it feels like an attempt to really lean into cozy romance? Is that a thing? There is some angst, but most of that is characters tepidly contemplating the honorable steps they will take, regardless of their changing personal realities, and then when the solutions to their problems occur, the books becomes a full-on celebration of the tiny everyday moments, the yearly festival, the family members, and the love that suffuses both the Wares and the Westcotts. It's like a meditation on not taking life or love for granted. In that sense, I find it very soothing. It also just lacks spark, for want of a better word. There is still a great deal of repetition and rehashing of previous storylines, so if you are looking for a return to Balogh's previous writing style, this is not it. If you're looking to spend some time with beloved characters from the past, pull up a chair.

Advanced Readers' Copy provided by Edelweiss.

[Purple Galaxy · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a snooze fest. Hard to believe this is the same author who wrote Slightly Dangerous and The Secret Pearl.

[♥Rachel♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Twenty-one-year-old Winnifred Cunningham, adopted daughter of Lady Camille and portrait painter Joel Cunningham, knows how lucky she is to have been taken into such a warm, boisterous family. She’s never believed marriage was necessary for her happiness, until her easy friendship with Owen Ware, the Earl’s youngest son, makes her wonder if marriage could be a happy possibility.

Colonel Nicholas Ware, Owen’s older brother, is preparing to propose to Grace Haviland. At thirty-four, he’s ready for a settled life filled with love and children. Grace is beautiful, poised, and perfectly suitable, yet Nicholas can’t seem to imagine true happiness with her. Something essential is missing.

When Winnifred and Nicholas meet, the spark between them is immediate and undeniable. They’re hardly an obvious match, both are on the cusp of commitments to others, and their age difference, but fate keeps placing them in each other’s path. With every encounter, their connection deepens.

Remember That Day was an absolute delight! This is the fifth book in the Ravenswood series, and I think you could get by reading this as a standalone, but you’d get more reading them in order because there’s a history with the Ware’s, a devastating event that made a huge impact in their lives.

Mary Balogh’s writing shines as she breathes life into her characters, their hopes, fears, longings, and quiet moments of vulnerability. Both Winnifred and Nicholas dealt with internal struggles, yet their bond became a source of comfort and clarity. The secondary cast, especially the many children with their charming side stories, added warmth and joy to every chapter.

Winnifred and Nicholas’ journey to love was tender, thoughtful, and deeply satisfying. Their story touched my heart from beginning to end!

I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy courtesy of the publisher. These are my thoughts and opinions.

[steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living right now seems hard, with the world seemingly full of endless cruelty, horror and pain so I needed to get lost in Balogh's familiar slow writing and guaranteed happily every after endings. Is there far too many characters in this book to keep track of? Absolutely? Did I care? Nope.

Winifred and Nicholas were cute and I really enjoyed the way they both fell for each other. Having the majority of this book take place during two weeks at Ravenswood, in which all the family and friends were there as well was a smart idea as it made it easy to see how both Winnie and Nicholas grew comfortable with each other other in such a short amount of time. They both saw how they were with their loved ones and friends. Yes, Winifred thought she was going to marry Nicholas' brother, her bff Owen, for like half of the book and Nicholas thought he was going to marry the prim and proper Miss Haviland so there is a bit of a quartet a times but it's really not that distracting. Nicholas and Winnie fall into a friendship, and later romance, quite easily and naturally.

It was nice to see all the couples of the previous books (I swear, everyone is somehow related to everyone else in this universe every time I open a new book of Balogh's), very happy and in love with each and their multitude of children. Is it a little too on the nose and perfect? Probably. But once again I did not care because the world feels incredibly hard right now and romance novels are keeping me sane. So bring on the cliches!

(But if Balogh could write Stephanie's and Bertrand's story next, I would really appreciate it. She's been teasing it out over the last few books and now that Steph is 25 and not the shy, 14 year-old utterly besotted with him, I think their story could be next. They had one interaction in this book that did not end well. So I am already hooked.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

I love Mary Balogh. I really do. But this is repetitive even by her standards, and devolves into just listing couples from previous books for a full chapter at the end.

Win and Nicholas had some cute moments (rowing to the island and exploring there), but overall, it didn’t feel like there was much to them.

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. This series has been a steady downward trend. The first two books were good. The rest have lacked any sizzle or intrigue. This is not the same quality as the Bedwin, Survivor, and Westcott series. It’s unfortunate. I wanted to like it, especially with the cross over characters. It just lacked any spark.

[Lauralyrics · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the author was aiming for a cozy romance, but instead it was tedious, boring, and bland. The last third of the book was mostly a list of characters from the other books in the series. Skip this one.

[Aimz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 ⭐

[4:34pm — 27/12/2025]

𐙚⋆°🌼⋆♡ 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀

⤷ regency romance
⤷ friends to lovers
⤷ class difference
⤷ slow burn
⤷ adopted daughter fmc

𐙚⋆°🌼⋆♡ 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸

❛❛𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥.❜❜
⤷ 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 by 𝗯𝗮𝘇𝘇𝗶

-`♡´- 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 -`♡´-

First of all, I want to say this book couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Genuinely couldn’t have. I want to thank LBBG, yourswithlovex, and the author for sending me a physical ARC of this book. I’m truly grateful!

Like I said, this book literally couldn’t have come at a more perfect time because I had no idea what regency book to read next. Genuinely thank goodness, because I lowkey might have stressed out a little too much on not finding a good regency book.

Despite this being the fifth book in the series, it can be read as a standalone (as I did) and I’ll probably go read the other books at some point.

Winifred. Oh my darling. Her backstory made me sob a little. She has the heart of an angel and is so chaotic in the best way possible. She reminded me a lot of Eloise & Billie Bridgerton in a good way, so if you were a fan of To Sir Phillip with Love & Because of Miss Bridgerton, this is a book you would enjoy!

Win’s personality is amazing. The stress of being the eldest daughter with young twin siblings, a defensive brother (justifiable) and a deaf brother? I understand her baggage. But the relationship she had with her siblings especially Andrew, (the deaf brother) warms my heart truly.

And I love how Nicolas was around Win’s siblings. He had the kindest, sweetest soul, I can’t. Nicolas had me in a trance. I love him. Wowzers. He was amazing, better than I expected. Truly. He had an incredible personality, which fitted perfectly with Win’s.

Nicolas and Winifred are stupid as hell though. Just a little. They kept dancing around the fire, pursuing two different people. Nick with Grace and Win with Owen (Nick’s brother) only for the guy’s to propose and get declined.

I feel like there were moments where it could have been more angsty. I’d love Nick moving away from Grace (mutually) and yearn a little from a distance watching Owen and Winnie, despite them not being in love romantically at all. That would have been entertaining.

My fav scene was when they were sat together and Nicolas telling Winnie to remember that day (perfect use of the book title) because it was genuinely so heartwarming. The vulnerability they shared together meant everything to me.

Overall, I genuinely loved this and it was my first Mary Balogh book. It was fun, sweet, interesting. Loved the characters and the plot. It felt quite cosy, but then again angst in this book would have been lovely.

[4:55pm — 27/12/2025]

[she_batts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!!!

[Debbie Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited about this book because the FMC is Winifred from the second wescott book but honestly it was once again a cozy romance with not much plot (how much of the Ravenswood series has been)

Like I don’t need all the details of what everyone is doing at the Fate! So much of this book could’ve been cut out. The book rehashed what happened in book 1 several times. I get it! Nicholas is wounded.

I thought there might be an interesting conflict because Nicholas is in the military and Winifred is a pacifist but Mary Balogh unfortunately glazed over the resolution since “they love each other” which was very disappointing to me.

Where was the editing?! Mary Balogh has forgotten how to leap over unnecessary details. Her earlier books are much tighter.

And there was no bad sex! Ugh I love her bad sex scenes. Booooooooooooo

If you’re new to Mary Balogh do not start here. Read her earlier books.

Also for some reason the age gap icked me out. (13 years. She is 21 and he is 34).

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think Remember that Day had some good moments, but overall I was not that engaged. While I love introspection, I needed a lot more romance. There were some thoughtful moments (the scenes with Andrew and Robbie and Grace), but Nicholas and Winifred needed more page time to develop their romantic relationship. I found that Stephanie and Bertrand had more of a moment when Stephanie confronted him. Side note: I was shocked by her rudeness. I was also irritated with Nicholas about not telling Winnifred about the house and his justification was that he didn't not say...

[Kaetrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for Dear Author.

Link to come.

[SelinaW · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrilled to start the year with this wonderful story publishing! It was an amazing treat to have Westcotts and Wares come together to witness and then celebrate Nicholas’s and Winifred’s falling in love. They are both amazing original MCs. Nicholas is (true to the form) another honorable noble Ware, who is all but betrothed to a woman he does not quite want and who does not quite want him. Meanwhile Winifred is hoping for a proposal from Nick’s younger brother Owen. All is resolved and hea arrives before you know it, in this heartwarming story full of love, laughter, children and happy couples we have all read about previously and adore. Also how about that Bertrand and Stephanie set up? Now I cannot wait for that installment!

[Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book without a plot without likable characters, and if the repetition of names and events had been taken out, there wouldn’t have even been a novella left. I was so bored. I begin skimming the pages that repeated over and over the same memories. Then I began, skimming all the names of all the people who were there; every one of them was mentioned at least five times in the book. If you took everything away, that was repetitious there was no story even left that couldn’t have been written as an inadequate short story. Since I have read everything this author has written, it is very disappointing to me to write this review. As a special ed teacher for 30 years, why wasn’t some effort made amongst all of these intelligent people to give the child a method of communication. I realize there was no ASL at the time, but he could have been taught to do basic reading which would have given him the ability to communicate. It could have been done with just pictures. Having worked with children who were deaf and could not learn to read, they could use pictures to communicate. The whole family was so accepting of his hearing impairment and delighted in his silent world, and how wonderful it must be that they did not attempt to make him a method of communication. This might have been excusable with a different family, but the fact that his parents were both teachers, I found it totally unacceptable.

[Elli G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet Story With Very Little Romance

I love Mary Balogh’s stories. However, this sweet story wasn’t up to her usual heartwarming romances. There was very little actual romance. I enjoyed the characters but didn’t really feel like I knew them or felt their love growing. For the majority of the book, they were with other people. The story was so bogged down with descriptions and names of other characters that I often skipped ahead. I’m so sad to even write this. It was actually a 3 star book for me but I added another star because I enjoy Mary Balogh’s writing. Overall, it was just a sweet story describing everything and everyone in tedious detail with the last few chapters throwing in a tepid romance. Even the epilogue was unsatisfactory. It was definitely not one of her best romances. Nickolas Ware was such a dynamic character in prior books that he deserved a more passionate love story. But I’m a loyal Mary Balogh fan and will always buy and read her stories.

[Frances Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a 3.5 for me.
Problems for me-
1. Too many characters. I thought about printing the family trees to have them in front of me as I read but realised that was almost as distracting as not knowing who people were. This led me to skimming lengthy passages when the vast cast intruded.
2. I didn’t need to be told quite so many times how plain Winifred was.
3. I was not very happy with the fact that essentially the hero would have married the OW even though he didn’t love her.
4. I all happened a little too quickly.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

👒🐎👒🎩👒

Review:
She’s a pacifist; he’s a career soldier. They have established romance interests, but not with each other. A summer at Ravenswood will hold some surprises for them both.

Mary Balogh continues her Regency era Ravenswood series with a romance for second oldest son, Nicholas Ware. For fans of Mary Balogh’s Westcott series, we get a crossover because Winnifred Cunningham is the adopted daughter of the romance pair from Someone to Hold.
🌞In fact, Joel is hired by the Earl of Stratton (oldest Ware sibling) as a portrait artist which brings the Wares and Westcotts together for a time of summer ramblings and activities allowing Winnifred and Nicholas to enjoy the blushing confusion of attraction and connection while they are both determined to marry elsewhere – Nicholas to his general’s daughter and Winnifred to Nicholas’ younger brother, Owen.

💥I got a kick out of the bad first impressions set up and then the succeeding encounters that started changing their minds. I cheered them on as they individually came to terms with their pasts. The pace was gentle, the romance was tender, and the extended cast of family and friends gets equal time with the romance. My certificate in genealogy came in handy keeping all the relationships sorted out as I read. 😁 It didn’t hurt that I had previously read the Westcotts series and am caught up on the Ravenswood (Wares) series.

And, so, another comfy and relaxing low angst historical romance from a long-loved author. Not the place to start, but those who like gentle, less spicy romances with focus on slow-build relationships and family connections should slide Remember That Day (and the Ravenswood series) onto their reading stack.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I rec’d an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.

👒🐎👒🎩👒


#RememberThatDay #MaryBalogh #Ravenswood #HistoricalRomance #BerkleyRomance #RegencyRomance


My full review will post on my Instagram Page, @sophiarose1816 on 1.19.26.

[Jill Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this story! Winifred was such a breath of fresh air - happy and lively, despite the trauma she'd been through early in life. Colonel The Honorable Nicholas Ware is the exact opposite of Winnie. He's a second son and born to be a military man. However, they find that they are slowly falling in love.
The only issue? (Well, not nearly the ONLY issue...) They are both spoken-for as they are falling for one another.

I will also mention that their is an author's note at the front of this novel noting that she is merging two families here. I have only read a few of Balogh's books here and there, so I was a bit intimidated going in once I read this, but I shouldn't have worried. The story was written in such a way that I had a good understanding of who fit where, at least for the most part. And it was so enjoyable overall that I wasn't worried about knowing each and every character, other than wanting to go and read some of their stories now!

This was one of those books that is just such a pleasant read that you want to sit in the sun and bask in the joy of it all afterward. It won't be long before I pick up another Balogh novel!

[Camila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I consider Mary Balogh as one of my favourite authors of all time, that's why I keep reaching for her books, she always writes complex and loveable characters but Since Ben's book I just think they are just not great.
I did not liked been told so many times Winnie was plan looking.
This book particularly was hard for me to finish and although I wish I would have liked this, it was not the case.
At the end she asks How many people have you killed? -to a military man in the Napolean wars-. That's just straight down silly.
I do not ask for historical acuracy, In fact I read to get off my mind so many horrible things happening right now, but there were parts that just made want to Drop this.
I don't know if I'll keep reading Mary's books and I am so sorry for it.


Sorry if I misspell anything, I speak spanish.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent a free copy of this book by the publishers in exchange for an honest review. I chose to read the earlier 4 books in the “Ravenswood” series to ensure I could fully appreciate this one. I don’t think it could be really read as a standalone as it ties two of Mary Balogh’s book series together with a conveniently contrived love match and unless you’ve read both series already all the way through it wouldn’t be a very gripping read. There is a lot of repetition, name dropping and info-dumping about the companion series, the “Westcotts”. I think this was a bit of a tricky crossover novel and got away from the author a bit which is a shame. It’s a nice idea to tie the two storylines together but it makes it hard to keep track and was ultimately detrimental to the plot. It’s a cosy enough read and I grew to like our hero, Nicholas Ware, but he was annoyingly stupid at times and there just seemed to be an overall lack of spark. Winifred was a good heroine but I wish I had some prior knowledge of the “Westcott” series so her backstory made more impact on my enjoyment of the read. Some of the crossover characters from those books felt a bit flat because I’ve not read about them before. I’ve gone 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 on Goodreads) because I still think it was fairly enjoyable and it was nice and cosy for this time of year, but a bit of a let down as I’d heard such good things about this author before. Perhaps I need to read some of her earlier books.

[Mindy B (reader_of_the_lost_arcs) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not up to the standards that I'm used to with a Mary Balogh book. It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what was wrong. She often writes house parties and excels at it. She often brings back former characters as side characters. I think that there were actually too many former characters. And these aren't even new people either. But unless I'm going to read the two series again, and I haven't, it's just a lot to bring back SO many people from about 15 total books. It's too much!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75✨

This was an endearing story that was a total family affair.

I was not feeling the romance aspect of the story as a lot of the focus is on the family. The pacing was slow and there was some redundancy.

Overall, it is a sweet story about two people who seem unlikely to be a couple, falling in love.

[Lynn Put · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always end up getting so swept up in Mary Balough’s stories and can’t put them down and this book was no different. I loved Winifred and her happy forthright personality who meets the gorgeous Calvary Colonel Nicholas and falls in love. The only negative thing I could say about the story is that the last quarter has a lot of repeat phrases in it.

[Victoria Lanigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
.
If you are waiting for Bridgerton to get your regency romance fix look no further than this one! Winifred isn’t sure what her future holds but there’s no way she could have guessed that a solider would be her future, especially since she’s a pacifist. Winifred was expecting a proposal from the soldier’s brother but instead little by little finds herself drawn to Nicholas instead of his brother. I enjoyed this large cast of charming characters and the world created in this book. This one is out today.
.

[Nieca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book, and enjoyed it immensely.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two family trees at the beginning don't help when large chunks of text explain who walked to the lake, who rode in the barouche, who stayed behind. It's as if the writer was working to a word count and had to name each child every time a group played together.

The central "tension" is much better dealt with in many other works. Among my favorites on this theme is "One Man's Heart" by Mary Burchell -- prior understandings (or in the Balogh book, hopes for understandings that might lead to engagement).

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps the most boring romance novel I've ever read! So many of these two families have had their 'happily ever after' and so all was perfection. Not an a problem or unhappy person, except poor young Robbie, who of course is getting better through the loving attention of the Ware brothers. Ms. Balogh's writing is of course lovely but the sickly sweetness of all the family members and the unlikeliness of this pairing is just too much treacle to be born. I beg you Ms. Balogh, move on and leave these two families to themselves.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mary is my favorite author. I have read every book she has written. This was a rambling story with a predictable love story. Just not her best, very forgettable. No reason to turn each page, in each chapter. Disappointed.