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Westcott #6
Someone to Honor
Abigail Westcott's dreams for her future were lost when her father died and she discovered her parents were not legally married. But now, six years later, she enjoys the independence a life without expectation provides a wealthy single woman. Indeed, she's grown confident enough to scold the careless servant chopping wood outside without his shirt on in the proximity of ladies.
But the man is not a servant. He is Gilbert Bennington, the lieutenant colonel and superior officer who has escorted her wounded brother Harry home from the wars with Napoleon. He's come to help his friend and junior officer recover, and he doesn't take lightly to being condescended to - secretly because of his own humble beginnings.
If at first these two seem to embody what the other most despises, they will soon discover how wrong first impressions can be. For behind the appearance of the once grand lady and once humble man are two people who share an understanding of what true honor means, and how only with it can one find love.
But the man is not a servant. He is Gilbert Bennington, the lieutenant colonel and superior officer who has escorted her wounded brother Harry home from the wars with Napoleon. He's come to help his friend and junior officer recover, and he doesn't take lightly to being condescended to - secretly because of his own humble beginnings.
If at first these two seem to embody what the other most despises, they will soon discover how wrong first impressions can be. For behind the appearance of the once grand lady and once humble man are two people who share an understanding of what true honor means, and how only with it can one find love.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published July 2, 2019
1346 people are currently reading
3359 people want to read
About the author
Mary Balogh
200 books6,354 followersMary 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 618 reviews
August 31, 2020
Someone to Honor by Mary Balogh is a 2019 Berkley publication.
Another lovely romance from Mary Balogh!
This sixth installment in the Westcott series is centered around Abigail Westcott, who, six years after her life was forever altered, has accepted her lot in life and is now enjoying her independence.
However, because her brother Harry is returning home from the war, with a long recovery ahead of him, she decides to stay with him for at least a little while. What she did not expect, was for Harry’s traveling companion, Gil Bennington, to also remain for an extended period.
Abigail and Gil take an almost instant dislike to one another, but temper their feelings for Harry’s sake. But as they get to know one another, they discover what true honor- and true love is all about.
This series is filled with wonderful, inspiring stories as each featured character gets an important, but missing part of their life, or something they thought was unattainable because of their unique circumstances. Gil is a most interesting character; with a tragic background, and an emotional dilemma he’s determined to solve.
Abigail, despite her determination not to marry, finds herself presented with an opportunity to do so. Should she jump at the chance, even though love is not the prominent reason- if it is for a good cause?
An interesting set-up, and I liked both the main characters. Balogh takes them from individuals with singular ambitions and gradually brings them together, first as companionable friends, then as a couple working towards a common goal, eventually leading to love everlasting.
While I do agree with the slow progression of feelings, in this case the chemistry between the couple seemed a bit off kilter to me. The initial dislike between the couple didn’t carry enough tension or the sexual attraction was too subdued or maybe the deeper feelings of love didn’t materialize until the very tail end of the book- or a combination of these- kept the romantic elements very low-key, almost to the point of frustration.
That said, the story is still very nice, pleasurable and gentle, and was a wonderful escape from present day realities. Balogh is one of the very few historical romance authors I make a concerted effort to stay in touch with, and once again, she delivers the type of story I find appealing, and one that left me with much needed feelings of warmth and happiness.
*I rarely comment on the cover art in my reviews- but this one deserves a mention. Gorgeous!
3.5 stars rounded up
Another lovely romance from Mary Balogh!
This sixth installment in the Westcott series is centered around Abigail Westcott, who, six years after her life was forever altered, has accepted her lot in life and is now enjoying her independence.
However, because her brother Harry is returning home from the war, with a long recovery ahead of him, she decides to stay with him for at least a little while. What she did not expect, was for Harry’s traveling companion, Gil Bennington, to also remain for an extended period.
Abigail and Gil take an almost instant dislike to one another, but temper their feelings for Harry’s sake. But as they get to know one another, they discover what true honor- and true love is all about.
This series is filled with wonderful, inspiring stories as each featured character gets an important, but missing part of their life, or something they thought was unattainable because of their unique circumstances. Gil is a most interesting character; with a tragic background, and an emotional dilemma he’s determined to solve.
Abigail, despite her determination not to marry, finds herself presented with an opportunity to do so. Should she jump at the chance, even though love is not the prominent reason- if it is for a good cause?
An interesting set-up, and I liked both the main characters. Balogh takes them from individuals with singular ambitions and gradually brings them together, first as companionable friends, then as a couple working towards a common goal, eventually leading to love everlasting.
While I do agree with the slow progression of feelings, in this case the chemistry between the couple seemed a bit off kilter to me. The initial dislike between the couple didn’t carry enough tension or the sexual attraction was too subdued or maybe the deeper feelings of love didn’t materialize until the very tail end of the book- or a combination of these- kept the romantic elements very low-key, almost to the point of frustration.
That said, the story is still very nice, pleasurable and gentle, and was a wonderful escape from present day realities. Balogh is one of the very few historical romance authors I make a concerted effort to stay in touch with, and once again, she delivers the type of story I find appealing, and one that left me with much needed feelings of warmth and happiness.
*I rarely comment on the cover art in my reviews- but this one deserves a mention. Gorgeous!
3.5 stars rounded up
July 4, 2019
I hate to say it, but Mary Balogh has lost her touch.
This is the lowest rating I have given to any of her books, including the not so polished earlier books.
I don't know what happened, but in recent years, her novels have gotten more and more boring, less and less romantic, and most of the time, I don't even really like the MCs.
I don't have a whole lot to say about this novel. I pre-ordered it, even tho that's a rare thing for me to do these days. I won't be pre-ordering anything else by this author after this book. It was a waste of money unfortunately. Here are all the reasons why:
1: Boring. For the first few chapters, you barely see the MCs together. And their initial encounter made me dislike Abigail right away. I never thought much of her in the other books one way or the other, but I disliked her defensive prudishness right away.
2: No passion. Not only was there not a whole lot of connection or feelings or intensity between the MCs (and there are moments of sudden divulging of personal matters that just seemed out of place and context), but the sex scenes are getting extremely tepid. As in, not much better than if this book was written in the 1800s! Is it that Ms. Balogh has gotten tired of writing the love making?? But this style change is really grating on me, esp. when there's not much connection between the MCs otherwise. No good sex scene either???
I guess those are the main reasons. I don't have the patience to write more.
Will not be reading more of this author's work, unfortunately, for a good long while, even tho she used to be one of my fave HR authors.
This is the lowest rating I have given to any of her books, including the not so polished earlier books.
I don't know what happened, but in recent years, her novels have gotten more and more boring, less and less romantic, and most of the time, I don't even really like the MCs.
I don't have a whole lot to say about this novel. I pre-ordered it, even tho that's a rare thing for me to do these days. I won't be pre-ordering anything else by this author after this book. It was a waste of money unfortunately. Here are all the reasons why:
1: Boring. For the first few chapters, you barely see the MCs together. And their initial encounter made me dislike Abigail right away. I never thought much of her in the other books one way or the other, but I disliked her defensive prudishness right away.
2: No passion. Not only was there not a whole lot of connection or feelings or intensity between the MCs (and there are moments of sudden divulging of personal matters that just seemed out of place and context), but the sex scenes are getting extremely tepid. As in, not much better than if this book was written in the 1800s! Is it that Ms. Balogh has gotten tired of writing the love making?? But this style change is really grating on me, esp. when there's not much connection between the MCs otherwise. No good sex scene either???
I guess those are the main reasons. I don't have the patience to write more.
Will not be reading more of this author's work, unfortunately, for a good long while, even tho she used to be one of my fave HR authors.
June 1, 2024
The male lead only smiled three times in this whole book. The grump was grumping
Another good hurt/comfort story, but the hero in this was too stoic for too long which affected how much connection to two main characters had. This was a strange one for me, I usually love a marriage of convenience but the convenience was all on the male protagonist’s side. Abby didn’t need him for anything and I had trouble understanding why she married him other than to be helpful. It was implied that she wanted Gil and marrying was the only way to experience and assuage her sexual needs but that just seems so flimsy to me. Especially when Gil was such a closed off hard-ass. So he’s a big, muscular brute and she wants to bang it out?
There was a good opportunity to have a great villain arc in this too but it fell quite short. There was such a build up to Gil getting his daughter back and being terribly vilified by his in-laws but then the ending was abrupt and not that satisfying in terms of resolution.
It’s too bad, I would have liked a deeper connection between the two main characters but I did appreciate the thirsty scenes of Gil doing manual labour without a shirt.
I’ll keep it at four stars but I was kind of underwhelmed by this reread.
Another good hurt/comfort story, but the hero in this was too stoic for too long which affected how much connection to two main characters had. This was a strange one for me, I usually love a marriage of convenience but the convenience was all on the male protagonist’s side. Abby didn’t need him for anything and I had trouble understanding why she married him other than to be helpful. It was implied that she wanted Gil and marrying was the only way to experience and assuage her sexual needs but that just seems so flimsy to me. Especially when Gil was such a closed off hard-ass. So he’s a big, muscular brute and she wants to bang it out?
There was a good opportunity to have a great villain arc in this too but it fell quite short. There was such a build up to Gil getting his daughter back and being terribly vilified by his in-laws but then the ending was abrupt and not that satisfying in terms of resolution.
It’s too bad, I would have liked a deeper connection between the two main characters but I did appreciate the thirsty scenes of Gil doing manual labour without a shirt.
I’ll keep it at four stars but I was kind of underwhelmed by this reread.
April 24, 2024
Protagoniștii acestui volum al seriei Westcott sunt Abby și Gil — doi bastarzi cu suflete de nobili. Pe Abby o cunoaștem deja din volumele precedente.
Gil este locotenent- colonel proaspăt revenit de pe insula Sf. Elena unde a fost detașat pentru a-l păzi pe Napoleon. Revenit la Paris, află că prietenul său Harry este internat în spital aici și decide să-l aducă acasă, în Anglia.
Astfel ajunge să o cunoască pe tânăra Abby.
De aici lucrurile se complică, apar piedici în calea lor, dar timpul petrecut împreună le permite să se cunoască, să se înțeleagă unul pe celălat.
O poveste frumoasă despre încredere și prietenie, despre dragostea care-și face apariția în două suflete rănite.
Gil este locotenent- colonel proaspăt revenit de pe insula Sf. Elena unde a fost detașat pentru a-l păzi pe Napoleon. Revenit la Paris, află că prietenul său Harry este internat în spital aici și decide să-l aducă acasă, în Anglia.
Astfel ajunge să o cunoască pe tânăra Abby.
De aici lucrurile se complică, apar piedici în calea lor, dar timpul petrecut împreună le permite să se cunoască, să se înțeleagă unul pe celălat.
O poveste frumoasă despre încredere și prietenie, despre dragostea care-și face apariția în două suflete rănite.
August 6, 2019
This is sixth in a series and a lot of characters from the extended Westcott family are important characters in this one. I highly recommend reading these in order.
This is fast becoming my favorite romance series of all time. Five of the six books so far have been personal five-star reads. I'm pretty sure that's unprecedented (uh, for me, I mean). I've been eagerly anticipating Abby's story because she was one of those most centrally hit with the reveal of her father's perfidy in the first book. I am really glad to say that it worked out as well as I hoped.
I loved that Abby wasn't in the sulk I feared from her being quietly determined not to avail herself of the family's offers to establish her in society . . . somehow. I loved finding her quietly contemplative and thoughtful and mostly-even keeled. And I liked Gil, too. I found his stoic reticence exasperating, at times, but at least it was earned and consistent. And I really liked their quiet talks and walks as they got to know one another, even if they were unsure if each actually liked the other. But most of all, I enjoyed how deftly Balogh illustrated his gentle kindness through his interactions with the young Westcotts—it was an excellent use of the child-cruft built up by the previous books, I think.
And, of course, this features the family rallying to a cause, and I'm coming to enjoy that aspect of the novels, if grudgingly. The plot with his daughter being claimed by his former in-laws felt barely plausible (as they rely on privilege and rumor to prove him an unfit father) but I liked how Balogh wove that in and out of the plot, too, in the end.
So this ends up being a solid five stars that I just wallowed in for a couple of days.
A note about Steamy: There are two explicit sex scenes (and some unclothed cuddling and comfort) that puts this in the middle of my steam tolerance. They were all post-marriage, as made total sense for these characters, and I really liked how these played out in their growing intimacy. Yeah, Gil could show his kind gentleness, again, but I really liked how it played out for Abby, as well.
This is fast becoming my favorite romance series of all time. Five of the six books so far have been personal five-star reads. I'm pretty sure that's unprecedented (uh, for me, I mean). I've been eagerly anticipating Abby's story because she was one of those most centrally hit with the reveal of her father's perfidy in the first book. I am really glad to say that it worked out as well as I hoped.
I loved that Abby wasn't in the sulk I feared from her being quietly determined not to avail herself of the family's offers to establish her in society . . . somehow. I loved finding her quietly contemplative and thoughtful and mostly-even keeled. And I liked Gil, too. I found his stoic reticence exasperating, at times, but at least it was earned and consistent. And I really liked their quiet talks and walks as they got to know one another, even if they were unsure if each actually liked the other. But most of all, I enjoyed how deftly Balogh illustrated his gentle kindness through his interactions with the young Westcotts—it was an excellent use of the child-cruft built up by the previous books, I think.
And, of course, this features the family rallying to a cause, and I'm coming to enjoy that aspect of the novels, if grudgingly. The plot with his daughter being claimed by his former in-laws felt barely plausible (as they rely on privilege and rumor to prove him an unfit father) but I liked how Balogh wove that in and out of the plot, too, in the end.
So this ends up being a solid five stars that I just wallowed in for a couple of days.
A note about Steamy: There are two explicit sex scenes (and some unclothed cuddling and comfort) that puts this in the middle of my steam tolerance. They were all post-marriage, as made total sense for these characters, and I really liked how these played out in their growing intimacy. Yeah, Gil could show his kind gentleness, again, but I really liked how it played out for Abby, as well.
June 29, 2019
Series: Westcott #6
Publication Date: 7/2/19
Number of Pages: 400
OMGoodness – I cannot believe I’m giving this author 3-stars. It is a pleasant enough story, well written, etc. but bland. I have not read any of the other books in this series, but I understand they have all been great – and I do intend to read the earlier books because I’m sure I’ll like them. Many – if not all – of the characters from the earlier books make appearances in this story.
Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert (Gil) Bennington is not a gentleman by birth or breeding. He is the illegitimate son of the village washerwoman. He joined the Army at the age of fifteen by lying to the recruiting sergeant and hasn’t been back home since. Why would he go there – his mother is dead and everyone in the village treated him abominably. Since he left, he’s become a hero several times over, gained a fortune, married, became a father and a widower. Yet, he still feels like that bastard boy who was always looked down upon.
Gil is now locked in a battle with his former in-laws for the custody of his small daughter, Katy. I absolutely LOVED how much Gil loved Katy and that he’d go to any lengths to get her back from his powerful in-laws. With all of that turmoil in his life, he still took the time to escort his friend, Major Harry Westcott, home from the continent because Harry had been gravely wounded. Gil will escort Harry to his home and remain with him until he recovers to the point that he doesn’t need Gil anymore. What Gil hasn’t counted on was having Harry’s entire family descend on them. Solitary, aloof, self-contained Gil is surrounded by ‘them’ – aristocrats – Harry’s family.
Abigail (Abby) Westcott used to be a Lady, but that ended six years ago when it was discovered that her father had married her mother bigamously. Abby isn’t sorry that it happened because – well – actually it sort of set her free. Free to be who and what she wants to be. She doesn’t have to be on the marriage mart and marry some titled gentleman just because that is what is expected of Ladies. She can marry – or not – just because it is what she wants. I really liked Abby – she is a warm and caring young woman who has finally come to know herself.
Frankly, I didn’t buy the love story. It just all seemed like a staid business transaction between two people who had come to like and respect each other, but nothing more. I told my friend, just after I had read the ‘consummation’ scene, that I had just read the absolute dullest love scene that there ever was. It would have been much better for it to have been left ‘clean’ so you could at least use your imagination. I did think that they could grow to love each other, but all I saw in the book was affection.
I can recommend this book if you enjoy a slower paced, steady, step-by-step read with a lovely HEA.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Publication Date: 7/2/19
Number of Pages: 400
OMGoodness – I cannot believe I’m giving this author 3-stars. It is a pleasant enough story, well written, etc. but bland. I have not read any of the other books in this series, but I understand they have all been great – and I do intend to read the earlier books because I’m sure I’ll like them. Many – if not all – of the characters from the earlier books make appearances in this story.
Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert (Gil) Bennington is not a gentleman by birth or breeding. He is the illegitimate son of the village washerwoman. He joined the Army at the age of fifteen by lying to the recruiting sergeant and hasn’t been back home since. Why would he go there – his mother is dead and everyone in the village treated him abominably. Since he left, he’s become a hero several times over, gained a fortune, married, became a father and a widower. Yet, he still feels like that bastard boy who was always looked down upon.
Gil is now locked in a battle with his former in-laws for the custody of his small daughter, Katy. I absolutely LOVED how much Gil loved Katy and that he’d go to any lengths to get her back from his powerful in-laws. With all of that turmoil in his life, he still took the time to escort his friend, Major Harry Westcott, home from the continent because Harry had been gravely wounded. Gil will escort Harry to his home and remain with him until he recovers to the point that he doesn’t need Gil anymore. What Gil hasn’t counted on was having Harry’s entire family descend on them. Solitary, aloof, self-contained Gil is surrounded by ‘them’ – aristocrats – Harry’s family.
Abigail (Abby) Westcott used to be a Lady, but that ended six years ago when it was discovered that her father had married her mother bigamously. Abby isn’t sorry that it happened because – well – actually it sort of set her free. Free to be who and what she wants to be. She doesn’t have to be on the marriage mart and marry some titled gentleman just because that is what is expected of Ladies. She can marry – or not – just because it is what she wants. I really liked Abby – she is a warm and caring young woman who has finally come to know herself.
Frankly, I didn’t buy the love story. It just all seemed like a staid business transaction between two people who had come to like and respect each other, but nothing more. I told my friend, just after I had read the ‘consummation’ scene, that I had just read the absolute dullest love scene that there ever was. It would have been much better for it to have been left ‘clean’ so you could at least use your imagination. I did think that they could grow to love each other, but all I saw in the book was affection.
I can recommend this book if you enjoy a slower paced, steady, step-by-step read with a lovely HEA.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
July 5, 2019
4.5 Stars
You don’t need to read the previous books to enjoy Someone to Honor, but there are quite a few characters/couples that show up from previous installments that won’t mean much to you if you don’t. Also, you wouldn’t feel original big shock that Abigail and her family feel at finding out they were illegitimate (since their father wasn’t actually married to their mother because was married to another woman). The impact of that doesn’t come through as much six books later, but if you go in knowing that it shattered the children: Abigail, Harry, and Camille then you won’t miss much. But you’d miss the delight of experiencing the other stories if you skip, so there is that.
Abigail travels to her childhood home to meet her brother Harry, back from war, weakened, but slowly recovering. Here’s where she meets Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Bennington, a fellow soldier of Harry’s who escorted and helped him on the journey home. Gil comes off as gruff, rude, and a little bit imposing to Abigail at first, and Abigail comes off as cold and haughty to Gil.
Abigail and Gil start off on the wrong foot, but I felt the energy and chemistry between them immediately. Even though they ruffled each other’s feathers, these two were aware of each other whenever together in a room, no matter if there were a crowd of people surrounding them.
Their romance started out slow as each got to know each other. Both Gil and Abigail were quiet and introspective sort of characters, but the passion between them was moving and unexpectedly sweet.
I adored Beauty, Gil’s ugly, but super sweet dog. Gil’s treatment of the kids touched my heart, especially with the letter to Robbie including illustrations of Beauty and her adventures. I was thrilled at how the Westcott’s rallied behind Gil and Abigail, this family is a formidable force when needed!
I love Mary Balogh’s historical romances, and her Westcott series in particular has been wonderful from the start! Gil and Abigail came to life with Ms. Balogh’s beautiful writing; perfectly imperfect with many layers, and deep emotions they I felt right along with them.
I just checked to and I’m a little surprised, but really excited about the next romance! I thought for sure it would feature Harry, Abigail’s brother, but Someone to Remember features Abigail’s Aunt Matilda, so this will be another mature romance. There was a little encounter between Matilda and Viscount Dirkson that had me wondering, and now I eagerly await their story!
A copy was kindly provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review.
You don’t need to read the previous books to enjoy Someone to Honor, but there are quite a few characters/couples that show up from previous installments that won’t mean much to you if you don’t. Also, you wouldn’t feel original big shock that Abigail and her family feel at finding out they were illegitimate (since their father wasn’t actually married to their mother because was married to another woman). The impact of that doesn’t come through as much six books later, but if you go in knowing that it shattered the children: Abigail, Harry, and Camille then you won’t miss much. But you’d miss the delight of experiencing the other stories if you skip, so there is that.
Abigail travels to her childhood home to meet her brother Harry, back from war, weakened, but slowly recovering. Here’s where she meets Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Bennington, a fellow soldier of Harry’s who escorted and helped him on the journey home. Gil comes off as gruff, rude, and a little bit imposing to Abigail at first, and Abigail comes off as cold and haughty to Gil.
Abigail and Gil start off on the wrong foot, but I felt the energy and chemistry between them immediately. Even though they ruffled each other’s feathers, these two were aware of each other whenever together in a room, no matter if there were a crowd of people surrounding them.
Their romance started out slow as each got to know each other. Both Gil and Abigail were quiet and introspective sort of characters, but the passion between them was moving and unexpectedly sweet.
I adored Beauty, Gil’s ugly, but super sweet dog. Gil’s treatment of the kids touched my heart, especially with the letter to Robbie including illustrations of Beauty and her adventures. I was thrilled at how the Westcott’s rallied behind Gil and Abigail, this family is a formidable force when needed!
I love Mary Balogh’s historical romances, and her Westcott series in particular has been wonderful from the start! Gil and Abigail came to life with Ms. Balogh’s beautiful writing; perfectly imperfect with many layers, and deep emotions they I felt right along with them.
I just checked to and I’m a little surprised, but really excited about the next romance! I thought for sure it would feature Harry, Abigail’s brother, but Someone to Remember features Abigail’s Aunt Matilda, so this will be another mature romance. There was a little encounter between Matilda and Viscount Dirkson that had me wondering, and now I eagerly await their story!
A copy was kindly provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review.
June 18, 2019
I was welcomed back to the Regency England world of the unconventional Westcott family who endured a great family scandal and it made them rally and show an inner strength most didn't know they possessed. I enjoy this series of a family who take their turns finding love and happiness in their own unique ways, but this was one of my favorites (yes, I say that a lot with this series). This broody, slightly bitter, stone-faced hero with a tender heart won me over from the start. The betrayal of the last page coming before I was ready to be done says just how much I loved the story.
Someone to Honor is book six. Because of the way the books build the family and all ripple out from the events brought to light in book one, it is best read in order even if each book has different couples.
The story opens with the Westcott family welcoming back Harry after he spent two years recovering from a near fatal injury at Waterloo and then additional surgeries. He's still delicate, but on the mend. He wants the quiet life at his family country estate and patiently waits for people to stop treating him like an invalid.
Against the backdrop of this event, Lt. Colonel Gil Bennington accompanies Harry back to England and gets dropped into the midst of the boisterous, vibrant family togetherness and love of the Westcott clan. He's never seen anything like it and can only watch with the loneliness and envy and the feeling of not being one of them. He stands Harry's friend, but he feels he is a fake and there under false pretenses because they think because he's an officer that he's a gentleman when this is far from the truth. He's the illegitimate son of a washer woman and he's been made to feel his place since his birth and all his life. Harry and his siblings may be illegitimate, but they have blue blood on both sides and were reared in aristocratic circles.
He knows he disconcerts Harry's sister, but its only fair since she stirs him up, too. They start confiding in each other and now she knows about his past mistakes and his current struggle to get his child back. Can he let Abby close enough to stand beside him in his quest and to have something good with her?
Abigail though her world came to an end six years before when she learned her father had been a bigamist when he married her mother and she went from earl's daughter and the toast of society to a pariah to some. She's spent that time since accepting and thinking. She has decided that she doesn't mind losing her standing in society or the typical upper class marriage. She loves the freedom of choice and that takes her into a quiet life in the country with her convalescent brother and his enigmatic friend who disconcerts her every time she turns around. Perhaps she might have been hasty in her judgment at first because he does have a lovely dog who adored him and he was so gentle and patient with all the small children. Slowly, she chisels away at the stone wall he hides behind and learns that this is a man she can honor if she is willing to not let class and situation hold her back.
Each book in this series presents different conflicts- both personal and for the romance- that present something new for the new main couples' to conquer. Illegitimacy has been something of a theme in this series because of what started it all back in the beginning, but the author chose to double down and have both characters facing this stigma, but also toss in a class difference, a child custody battle, and the after effects of war.
Abby and Gil don't get off on the right foot. I thought it was well done to show just how sheltered and naive she is about attraction, love, and relationships between men and women. It was cute that she is flustered by attraction to Gil's physical form but thinks that her attraction is really irritation at him. She works it out soon enough even while she probes Gil with questions and he fires back a few of his own.
He makes her really think about her past and what she wants. She thinks she doesn't know and that she doesn't want love because she thinks love is all those romantic sensibilities that she's seen others display and say is love.
Gil has the advantage of her in that he's older, but also he saw that those romantic notions led him into a disastrous marriage with a selfish woman who used him for a lark when she wanted to slum it with a lower class rough man before she got bored and was ready to move on. He thinks all upper class people are like his late wife, her relations who took his daughter from him, and the man who used her mother and did nothing when they were in dire straights.
Abby's patient friendship and understanding chisel away at his walls and she is the one to whom he turns when he needs a confidant and later when he needs support. Abby has a man who sees her and shares himself, giving her his trust and they build something more together.
It was just a beautiful story of two people who overcome their pasts, figure out what love is and that they can feel it, and start making a life together with the help of the Westcott family, an adorable orphan dog, and a surprising source. I wanted to see a few things play out, but I'm hoping the next book covers this. Please be Matilda's story next- need it after that provocative teaser of a scene toward the end.
All in all, it was a book that I was loathe to see the end and wanted to keep reading more. Gil was a fabulous hero and Abby was a good match. This is a series of stories that folks who love family, solid historical setting, romances that build and make you believe they can stick it for the long haul with a sensual pinch of spice should not hesitate to pick up.
My thanks to Berkley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
COYER Summer Scavenger Hunt- animal as a primary character 4 pts.
Someone to Honor is book six. Because of the way the books build the family and all ripple out from the events brought to light in book one, it is best read in order even if each book has different couples.
The story opens with the Westcott family welcoming back Harry after he spent two years recovering from a near fatal injury at Waterloo and then additional surgeries. He's still delicate, but on the mend. He wants the quiet life at his family country estate and patiently waits for people to stop treating him like an invalid.
Against the backdrop of this event, Lt. Colonel Gil Bennington accompanies Harry back to England and gets dropped into the midst of the boisterous, vibrant family togetherness and love of the Westcott clan. He's never seen anything like it and can only watch with the loneliness and envy and the feeling of not being one of them. He stands Harry's friend, but he feels he is a fake and there under false pretenses because they think because he's an officer that he's a gentleman when this is far from the truth. He's the illegitimate son of a washer woman and he's been made to feel his place since his birth and all his life. Harry and his siblings may be illegitimate, but they have blue blood on both sides and were reared in aristocratic circles.
He knows he disconcerts Harry's sister, but its only fair since she stirs him up, too. They start confiding in each other and now she knows about his past mistakes and his current struggle to get his child back. Can he let Abby close enough to stand beside him in his quest and to have something good with her?
Abigail though her world came to an end six years before when she learned her father had been a bigamist when he married her mother and she went from earl's daughter and the toast of society to a pariah to some. She's spent that time since accepting and thinking. She has decided that she doesn't mind losing her standing in society or the typical upper class marriage. She loves the freedom of choice and that takes her into a quiet life in the country with her convalescent brother and his enigmatic friend who disconcerts her every time she turns around. Perhaps she might have been hasty in her judgment at first because he does have a lovely dog who adored him and he was so gentle and patient with all the small children. Slowly, she chisels away at the stone wall he hides behind and learns that this is a man she can honor if she is willing to not let class and situation hold her back.
Each book in this series presents different conflicts- both personal and for the romance- that present something new for the new main couples' to conquer. Illegitimacy has been something of a theme in this series because of what started it all back in the beginning, but the author chose to double down and have both characters facing this stigma, but also toss in a class difference, a child custody battle, and the after effects of war.
Abby and Gil don't get off on the right foot. I thought it was well done to show just how sheltered and naive she is about attraction, love, and relationships between men and women. It was cute that she is flustered by attraction to Gil's physical form but thinks that her attraction is really irritation at him. She works it out soon enough even while she probes Gil with questions and he fires back a few of his own.
He makes her really think about her past and what she wants. She thinks she doesn't know and that she doesn't want love because she thinks love is all those romantic sensibilities that she's seen others display and say is love.
Gil has the advantage of her in that he's older, but also he saw that those romantic notions led him into a disastrous marriage with a selfish woman who used him for a lark when she wanted to slum it with a lower class rough man before she got bored and was ready to move on. He thinks all upper class people are like his late wife, her relations who took his daughter from him, and the man who used her mother and did nothing when they were in dire straights.
Abby's patient friendship and understanding chisel away at his walls and she is the one to whom he turns when he needs a confidant and later when he needs support. Abby has a man who sees her and shares himself, giving her his trust and they build something more together.
It was just a beautiful story of two people who overcome their pasts, figure out what love is and that they can feel it, and start making a life together with the help of the Westcott family, an adorable orphan dog, and a surprising source. I wanted to see a few things play out, but I'm hoping the next book covers this. Please be Matilda's story next- need it after that provocative teaser of a scene toward the end.
All in all, it was a book that I was loathe to see the end and wanted to keep reading more. Gil was a fabulous hero and Abby was a good match. This is a series of stories that folks who love family, solid historical setting, romances that build and make you believe they can stick it for the long haul with a sensual pinch of spice should not hesitate to pick up.
My thanks to Berkley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
COYER Summer Scavenger Hunt- animal as a primary character 4 pts.
June 9, 2024
This man is not worthy of the name Gilbert.
RTC maybe
RTC maybe
August 8, 2020
Loved it more than the previous.
Nice story
Nice story
June 4, 2024
Review from 2019
I've given this an A for narration and a B- for content at AudioGals.
The heroine of Someone to Honor, the sixth book in Mary Balogh’s series about the Westcott family is Abigail Westcott, the younger daughter of the late Earl of Riverdale. She was approaching her come out and her eighteenth birthday when her father was discovered to have married her mother bigamously, meaning that she and her siblings – sister Camille and brother Harry – were illegitimate and that Harry could not inherit the Riverdale title (which passed to their cousin, Alex). Abby is now twenty-four, and has spent most of the six intervening years resisting her family’s urging to resume her life in society and find a husband. Although at the time, the news of her family’s change of status was hugely upsetting, she now realises that what happened has set her free in a way she could never have imagined being before. Without the pressure of having to conform to society’s expectations of the daughter of an earl, Abby has been able to take the time to discover who she truly is as a person and to work out what she really wants in life – and has found that the idea of remaining unmarried is no longer as scary as it was six years earlier when she was expected to make a match befitting her status. As her mother and siblings had to forge their own paths to happiness, so Abby has begun to forge hers – the trouble is convincing her loving, well-meaning but sometimes misguided family that she knows what she’s doing.
When the novel opens, Major Harry Westcott – who was badly wounded at the Battle of Waterloo – is finally returning home, accompanied by his dear friend Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Bennington, his cousin Alex, the Earl of Riverdale, and his brother-in-law Avery, the Duke of Netherby. Once news of his return reaches the ears of the rest of the family, they all congregate at his home at Hinsford, even though it’s the last thing Harry really wants or needs. The Westcotts are a close-knit, loving lot who would do anything for one another, but sometimes can be a bit overbearing; the intentions of the individual members are always good, but they sometimes lose sight of the fact that the object of their concern may not want or need the things they think they do. (Actually, I find this aspect of the series to be one of the best things about it; we’ve probably all been given unwanted advice with the best of intentions from family members at one time or another and I like that Mary Balogh shows the Westcotts to be just like the rest of us in this respect.)
When Abby first meets Gil, it’s a less than auspicious beginning. She sees him stripped to the waist chopping wood and mistakes him for a servant; flustered at both seeing a half-naked man and the stirrings of attraction she feels, Abby covers her discomfiture by reprimanding him – and when she later realises her error, he mistakes her embarrassment for hauteur and disdain and decides he wants as little to do with her as possible. So when the Wescotts decamp, leaving Abby behind, Gil isn’t best pleased and determines to do everything he can to avoid her.
But as the days and weeks pass and Harry begins to regain his strength both physically and mentally, Gil and Abby are naturally thrown together a fair bit and gradually fall into friendship. Abby learns that Gil is, under the forbidding exterior and sometimes brusque manner, a decent, gentle man who, despite his air of command and abilities as a soldier, has little confidence in himself as a person and regards his illegitimacy (his mother was abandoned by his father, a viscount, when Gil was a child) as an almost indelible stain. And Gil learns that Abby is not at all the haughty young woman he believed her to be at first, but is a compassionate woman with a good mind and heart.
Listeners learn fairly early on that Gil is a widower engaged in a custody battle with the grandparents of his four-year-old daughter, Katy, and during the course of their conversations, Abby learns it, too. Gil isn’t quite sure why he’s telling her; in fact, to begin with, neither of them is quite sure why they’re taking each other into their confidence, which I found a very effective way of showing the trust developing between them. But once Gil has told Abby, he realises he needs to tell Harry – and it’s Harry who, with his customary talent for putting his foot firmly in his mouth, then suggests that Gil and Abby should get married as a way of proving to the court that he is able to take proper care of his daughter.
I admit that I found the story was rather slow going until over half-way through; it picks up once Abigail and Gil are married and he embarks on his quest to win back custody of his daughter. And if you’ve not been following the series, the opening chapters (and some later scenes) which feature the Westcotts en masse are likely to be a bit confusing. The romance is pretty low-key – and seems to take a bit of a back seat, at times, to the custody storyline – and I felt that there was a step missing in the move from friendship to ILYs; Gil and Abby agree to marry as a matter of convenience and sexual attraction (Abby admits to Gil that she wants him) and it’s clear they like and understand one another, but we seem to go from that to love quite quickly. That said, their relationship works and when by the time we reach the end of the book, it’s obviously one that is going to endure; these are two people who don’t feel as though they fit in to the ‘boxes’ they should fit in to – he’s the illegitimate grandson of a blacksmith who holds a high military rank, she’s the illegitimate daughter of an earl who isn’t interested in the marriage mart – and yet, they find that sense of belonging with each other as they start to make the life both of them have dreamed of.
Although I’ve listened to Rosalyn Landor a lot, I haven’t done so for a while and I have to say what a pleasure it was to hear her beautifully modulated voice again and enjoy another wonderfully nuanced performance. Given the huge cast of Westcotts, it must be difficult to keep track of them all, but she is able to differentiate between all the characters effectively, and provide distinct character voices for all of them, male and female alike. Her interpretation of the two principals is excellent; she expertly conveys Gil’s insecurities and Abigail’s strong sense of self, as well as injecting a real warmth into their interactions which adds depth to it and enhances their affection and understanding.
Someone to Honor is a pleasant, uncomplicated addition to the Westcott series and fans will no doubt be pleased to meet the family again (Avery once again impresses with his insight and ability to get straight to the point). It isn’t my favourite book of the series, but it nonetheless made for an enjoyable and undemanding listen – plus, it very nicely sets up Matilda’s story, which is coming in Someone to Remember later this year.
I've given this an A for narration and a B- for content at AudioGals.
The heroine of Someone to Honor, the sixth book in Mary Balogh’s series about the Westcott family is Abigail Westcott, the younger daughter of the late Earl of Riverdale. She was approaching her come out and her eighteenth birthday when her father was discovered to have married her mother bigamously, meaning that she and her siblings – sister Camille and brother Harry – were illegitimate and that Harry could not inherit the Riverdale title (which passed to their cousin, Alex). Abby is now twenty-four, and has spent most of the six intervening years resisting her family’s urging to resume her life in society and find a husband. Although at the time, the news of her family’s change of status was hugely upsetting, she now realises that what happened has set her free in a way she could never have imagined being before. Without the pressure of having to conform to society’s expectations of the daughter of an earl, Abby has been able to take the time to discover who she truly is as a person and to work out what she really wants in life – and has found that the idea of remaining unmarried is no longer as scary as it was six years earlier when she was expected to make a match befitting her status. As her mother and siblings had to forge their own paths to happiness, so Abby has begun to forge hers – the trouble is convincing her loving, well-meaning but sometimes misguided family that she knows what she’s doing.
When the novel opens, Major Harry Westcott – who was badly wounded at the Battle of Waterloo – is finally returning home, accompanied by his dear friend Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Bennington, his cousin Alex, the Earl of Riverdale, and his brother-in-law Avery, the Duke of Netherby. Once news of his return reaches the ears of the rest of the family, they all congregate at his home at Hinsford, even though it’s the last thing Harry really wants or needs. The Westcotts are a close-knit, loving lot who would do anything for one another, but sometimes can be a bit overbearing; the intentions of the individual members are always good, but they sometimes lose sight of the fact that the object of their concern may not want or need the things they think they do. (Actually, I find this aspect of the series to be one of the best things about it; we’ve probably all been given unwanted advice with the best of intentions from family members at one time or another and I like that Mary Balogh shows the Westcotts to be just like the rest of us in this respect.)
When Abby first meets Gil, it’s a less than auspicious beginning. She sees him stripped to the waist chopping wood and mistakes him for a servant; flustered at both seeing a half-naked man and the stirrings of attraction she feels, Abby covers her discomfiture by reprimanding him – and when she later realises her error, he mistakes her embarrassment for hauteur and disdain and decides he wants as little to do with her as possible. So when the Wescotts decamp, leaving Abby behind, Gil isn’t best pleased and determines to do everything he can to avoid her.
But as the days and weeks pass and Harry begins to regain his strength both physically and mentally, Gil and Abby are naturally thrown together a fair bit and gradually fall into friendship. Abby learns that Gil is, under the forbidding exterior and sometimes brusque manner, a decent, gentle man who, despite his air of command and abilities as a soldier, has little confidence in himself as a person and regards his illegitimacy (his mother was abandoned by his father, a viscount, when Gil was a child) as an almost indelible stain. And Gil learns that Abby is not at all the haughty young woman he believed her to be at first, but is a compassionate woman with a good mind and heart.
Listeners learn fairly early on that Gil is a widower engaged in a custody battle with the grandparents of his four-year-old daughter, Katy, and during the course of their conversations, Abby learns it, too. Gil isn’t quite sure why he’s telling her; in fact, to begin with, neither of them is quite sure why they’re taking each other into their confidence, which I found a very effective way of showing the trust developing between them. But once Gil has told Abby, he realises he needs to tell Harry – and it’s Harry who, with his customary talent for putting his foot firmly in his mouth, then suggests that Gil and Abby should get married as a way of proving to the court that he is able to take proper care of his daughter.
I admit that I found the story was rather slow going until over half-way through; it picks up once Abigail and Gil are married and he embarks on his quest to win back custody of his daughter. And if you’ve not been following the series, the opening chapters (and some later scenes) which feature the Westcotts en masse are likely to be a bit confusing. The romance is pretty low-key – and seems to take a bit of a back seat, at times, to the custody storyline – and I felt that there was a step missing in the move from friendship to ILYs; Gil and Abby agree to marry as a matter of convenience and sexual attraction (Abby admits to Gil that she wants him) and it’s clear they like and understand one another, but we seem to go from that to love quite quickly. That said, their relationship works and when by the time we reach the end of the book, it’s obviously one that is going to endure; these are two people who don’t feel as though they fit in to the ‘boxes’ they should fit in to – he’s the illegitimate grandson of a blacksmith who holds a high military rank, she’s the illegitimate daughter of an earl who isn’t interested in the marriage mart – and yet, they find that sense of belonging with each other as they start to make the life both of them have dreamed of.
Although I’ve listened to Rosalyn Landor a lot, I haven’t done so for a while and I have to say what a pleasure it was to hear her beautifully modulated voice again and enjoy another wonderfully nuanced performance. Given the huge cast of Westcotts, it must be difficult to keep track of them all, but she is able to differentiate between all the characters effectively, and provide distinct character voices for all of them, male and female alike. Her interpretation of the two principals is excellent; she expertly conveys Gil’s insecurities and Abigail’s strong sense of self, as well as injecting a real warmth into their interactions which adds depth to it and enhances their affection and understanding.
Someone to Honor is a pleasant, uncomplicated addition to the Westcott series and fans will no doubt be pleased to meet the family again (Avery once again impresses with his insight and ability to get straight to the point). It isn’t my favourite book of the series, but it nonetheless made for an enjoyable and undemanding listen – plus, it very nicely sets up Matilda’s story, which is coming in Someone to Remember later this year.
August 8, 2020
This one was OK. It kinda sagged in the middle for me and I took a break before going back and finishing. I was getting nearer the end and things were wrapping up but I still had 15% or 20% to go (on my kindle) and I kept thinking, what can happen now? Where is the plot going? When all of a sudden at 89% I hit the epilogue and the book finished at 91%. That was confusing. The rest of the book was previews for other books. Hmmm. I wish I'd known that. I might have made more of an effort to push through to the end earlier.
This series for me is not Ms Balogh's best. This book suffered from way too many secondary characters, which is an annoying feature of the whole series, actually. Yeah, I know it's a big complicated family, but I've read most of the books and still get confused about who is who. IMO it would have been better to concentrate each book more clearly on the MCs and just leave out a lot of the others. Yeah, they played their part, but it could have been done more neatly IMO. Who cares who was sitting in the drawing room with whom and how they were connected?
The plot of this one was basically good and it all hung together. Unfortunately I just didn't really connect to the main characters. With many Balogh books I adore the characters and really get drawn into their lives, but for some reason in this series that's not really happening for me. I felt as if I "should" have liked Gil, the serious ex-soldier with his grim demeanour but softer side. Perhaps it was his bitterness and the continual harping on his 'guttersnipe' background that spoiled his appeal for me. Not sure. I just didn't feel the love in this book.
This series for me is not Ms Balogh's best. This book suffered from way too many secondary characters, which is an annoying feature of the whole series, actually. Yeah, I know it's a big complicated family, but I've read most of the books and still get confused about who is who. IMO it would have been better to concentrate each book more clearly on the MCs and just leave out a lot of the others. Yeah, they played their part, but it could have been done more neatly IMO. Who cares who was sitting in the drawing room with whom and how they were connected?
The plot of this one was basically good and it all hung together. Unfortunately I just didn't really connect to the main characters. With many Balogh books I adore the characters and really get drawn into their lives, but for some reason in this series that's not really happening for me. I felt as if I "should" have liked Gil, the serious ex-soldier with his grim demeanour but softer side. Perhaps it was his bitterness and the continual harping on his 'guttersnipe' background that spoiled his appeal for me. Not sure. I just didn't feel the love in this book.
July 1, 2019
Another winner from Balogh!
Balogh brought her A game to Someone to Honor. I absolutely adored this historical romance; it has everything that I love about Balogh in it - complex characters, a truly realistic obstacle to overcome, and a lovely, quiet, emotional romance. Abby and Gil were perfect foils for one another. I especially enjoyed Gil's journey to better accepting himself and his worthiness for Abby and her family. Who doesn't love a self-conscious hero? There's just something so endearing (and realistic) about Gil absorption with his status. At times he bordered on petulance, especially with Abby's family, but again, I loved this because, to me, it spoke to me as a real reaction. Balogh is a master of the emotions and she took Abby and Gil for quite the journey. This was a wonderful romance.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Balogh brought her A game to Someone to Honor. I absolutely adored this historical romance; it has everything that I love about Balogh in it - complex characters, a truly realistic obstacle to overcome, and a lovely, quiet, emotional romance. Abby and Gil were perfect foils for one another. I especially enjoyed Gil's journey to better accepting himself and his worthiness for Abby and her family. Who doesn't love a self-conscious hero? There's just something so endearing (and realistic) about Gil absorption with his status. At times he bordered on petulance, especially with Abby's family, but again, I loved this because, to me, it spoke to me as a real reaction. Balogh is a master of the emotions and she took Abby and Gil for quite the journey. This was a wonderful romance.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
July 3, 2019
*ARC received for an honest review*
I enjoy Mary Balogh’s books. There’s a lot of character focus. Plenty of plot. Frequently the hero or heroine has something emotional to overcome. There’s a sweetness to the healing in her books.
I struggled to see Gil and Abigail as a couple. The things he’d been through kept him locked within himself. She was kind and accepting of his struggles. But I’m not sure that I saw their connection.
I still enjoyed the book. It’s like herbal tea - always good. Always comfortable. But maybe this wasn’t my flavor.
I enjoy Mary Balogh’s books. There’s a lot of character focus. Plenty of plot. Frequently the hero or heroine has something emotional to overcome. There’s a sweetness to the healing in her books.
I struggled to see Gil and Abigail as a couple. The things he’d been through kept him locked within himself. She was kind and accepting of his struggles. But I’m not sure that I saw their connection.
I still enjoyed the book. It’s like herbal tea - always good. Always comfortable. But maybe this wasn’t my flavor.
December 20, 2020
Two stars for my simply not connecting to the story.
Dreary with a boring and at times unpleasant hero and boring heroine.
Much better in the series.
Dreary with a boring and at times unpleasant hero and boring heroine.
Much better in the series.
August 26, 2019
The writing was lovely, as always. Balogh does characterization so well. The thing that the H/h most wanted was just to be understood.. I felt the emotions through the pages and there were several moments that were very touching. (Their wedding was particularly romantic to read about)
Not much happens in this story. There are no kidnappings, mysteries, evil bad guys. It's just two people trying to find happiness. Very typical of this series.
I loved Abby, she was thoughtful and knew herself well. And Gil was one of those big, brawny, silent types. Yum. Beautiful story.
Safety:
Not much happens in this story. There are no kidnappings, mysteries, evil bad guys. It's just two people trying to find happiness. Very typical of this series.
I loved Abby, she was thoughtful and knew herself well. And Gil was one of those big, brawny, silent types. Yum. Beautiful story.
Safety:
July 11, 2019
Really, about 3.5, rounded up, even though it’s a bit dull. Mary Balogh gives the reader a subtle story of two people who feel that they never fit in finding not only one another but also their dreamed-of places in the world.
January 1, 2020
RTC...
May 6, 2024
3.5/5. Balogh can do slow burn quite well. The start was promising but the middle became of case of slow without enough burning. It picked up again towards the end, the court case in particular was entertaining and witty.
“I am not afraid of being single. I am afraid of making a marriage I would regret.”
"Most women are married. Very few, it seems to me, marry. It is always the man who begins the courtship and the man who discusses the marriage contract with another man of her family. It is the man who proposes marriage. It is the man who takes her to live with him and expects her to change not only her name but her very life to fit his. It is the woman’s part to be married and to make the best of it.”
“I am not afraid of being single. I am afraid of making a marriage I would regret.”
"Most women are married. Very few, it seems to me, marry. It is always the man who begins the courtship and the man who discusses the marriage contract with another man of her family. It is the man who proposes marriage. It is the man who takes her to live with him and expects her to change not only her name but her very life to fit his. It is the woman’s part to be married and to make the best of it.”
June 28, 2019
3.5 stars, rounded up.
Lt Col. Gilbert "Gil" Bennington returns to England with Harry Westcott. Harry barely survived Waterloo and now almost 2 years later, he is still weak and ill - he asks Gil to stay with him in England until he recovers, Gil agrees and then wishes he hadn't when Harry's family shows up. Gil is not a fan of the nobility and has his own reasons for returning to England. The primary reason is to regain custody of his young daughter, who is currently living with his late wife's parents.
Abigail Westcott is excited to see her brother Harry when the family arrives at their childhood home. She hopes to convince Harry into letting her stay with him after everyone else returns to London. She has no desire to participate in the season and has basically given up on the idea of marriage, as she has never met a man who inspired any desire in her. But all that changes when she meets Gil - and mistakes him for a servant. A half dressed, large, very masculine servant...
After their initial disastrous meeting, they form a truce of sorts and then an unlikely friendship, Gil finds himself telling her thinks he has never told anyone and she finds herself attracted to him in a way that she has never experienced before. When Harry suggests they marry to help Gil regain custody of his daughter, she surprises everyone, including herself, by agreeing.
This book was gentle read, there is really no action, intrigue or drama. There is absolutely nothing at all keeping Abby and Gil from being together and it is impossible for me to tell you when they "fell in love". But despite that, I did like the story and felt like it was a nice, if somewhat placid, uncomplicated, addition to the series.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to my by NetGalley and the Publisher.*
Lt Col. Gilbert "Gil" Bennington returns to England with Harry Westcott. Harry barely survived Waterloo and now almost 2 years later, he is still weak and ill - he asks Gil to stay with him in England until he recovers, Gil agrees and then wishes he hadn't when Harry's family shows up. Gil is not a fan of the nobility and has his own reasons for returning to England. The primary reason is to regain custody of his young daughter, who is currently living with his late wife's parents.
Abigail Westcott is excited to see her brother Harry when the family arrives at their childhood home. She hopes to convince Harry into letting her stay with him after everyone else returns to London. She has no desire to participate in the season and has basically given up on the idea of marriage, as she has never met a man who inspired any desire in her. But all that changes when she meets Gil - and mistakes him for a servant. A half dressed, large, very masculine servant...
After their initial disastrous meeting, they form a truce of sorts and then an unlikely friendship, Gil finds himself telling her thinks he has never told anyone and she finds herself attracted to him in a way that she has never experienced before. When Harry suggests they marry to help Gil regain custody of his daughter, she surprises everyone, including herself, by agreeing.
This book was gentle read, there is really no action, intrigue or drama. There is absolutely nothing at all keeping Abby and Gil from being together and it is impossible for me to tell you when they "fell in love". But despite that, I did like the story and felt like it was a nice, if somewhat placid, uncomplicated, addition to the series.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to my by NetGalley and the Publisher.*
June 30, 2019
Originally published at Reading Reality
The entire Westcott series is the story of one family making lemonade out of what initially were some rather bitter lemons – with no sugar at all.
Humphrey Westcott is dead, to begin with. And that’s a good thing for him, because if he hadn’t died before the series opened, the line to kill him would stretch for miles. The late and totally unlamented Humphrey was a bigamist, a fact that was only discovered after his unexpected death.
The series is the story of all of the applecarts that were upset by that discovery learning, one way or another, and sometimes quite painfully, that the overturning of the lives they thought they had was actually the best thing that ever happened to them.
Someone to Honor is Abigail Westcott’s turn. Abigail was the youngest child and second daughter of Humphrey-the-arsehole and the woman everyone believed was his wife, Viola Kingsley. Abigail, as the daughter of the Earl of Riverdale, as Humphrey the figurative bastard was, expected to have her Season on the Marriage Mart, find a wealthy and titled husband, and be married. It was not necessarily what she wanted, but it was her duty and she seems to have had no objections to fulfilling it.
(I never have anything nice to say about the late, unlamented Humphrey. NO ONE in any of the stories has anything nice to say. If divorce had been possible, his family would have kept Viola and abandoned Humphrey – and he deserves every bit of opprobrium heaped on his coffin. But it is amazing just how present he still is, in spite of his death.)
Abby has spent the last six years trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. After all that time, the one thing that she is certain of is that the upending of the life she expected was a gift. She still has her family – all of it including her late father’s family – she still has all the friends who matter – and she knows who her true friends are. She has enough money that she doesn’t have to marry in order to put a roof over her head.
And she has the opportunity to be who she wants to be without having to deal with the expectations of the ton and its perpetual search for any character flaw that allows it to tear down her life, her character, her standing and her prospects.
She’s free.
But she’s not free of her well-meaning family’s desire to make a place for her on the fringes of the society that has rejected her for the so-called stain of her illegitimate birth. She loves them, they love her, she doesn’t want to anger or disappoint them – but she doesn’t want to be begrudged a place in the shadows. That life is over for her – and she knows she’s the better for it.
So when the opportunity arises to stay in her childhood home with her brother Harry, a wounded veteran of Waterloo, she jumps at it. Harry needs someone around who won’t coddle him, and Abby needs the quiet to figure out her next steps in life.
What she does not count on is Harry’s friend Gil, the fellow officer who rescued Harry from a convalescent hospital in Paris and brought him home.
In some ways, Gil and Abby are opposites. Where Abby was raised as a lady only to discover she is a bastard, Gil was raised as a bastard only to rise to the officer ranks, and therefore become a gentleman-by-courtesy, in the Army. The illegitimate son of a washerwoman and a nobleman, Gil raised himself up mostly by his own efforts, while Abby fell through no fault of her own.
In their little household of three, Harry, Abby and Gil, Abby and Gil draw closer to each other in fits and starts. Both over their shared concern about Harry, and in their surprising commonalities with each other.
When Gil’s secrets are finally laid bare, Abby is ready to stand up – and stand beside him – come what may. That the entire Westcott family stands with them guarantees that love will triumph, no matter who stands in the way.
Escape Rating A-: I have loved this series from beginning to end. (There was one half-exception, but even that was good – just not great). A big part of what I love about this series is that they are romances but are not frivolous. Or perhaps I should say that the heroines are not frivolous. The heroines of this series, to a woman, both have agency and remain a part of their times. Their situations are not pulled out of whack in anachronistic ways in order to give them the kind of choices that make them relatable for 21st century readers.
It helps that, with the exception of Anna Snow in Someone to Love, the women are no longer members of the aristocracy. Humphrey’s asshattery pulls them down into the upper middle class, removing them from the absurd expectations of the ton while giving them obstacles to overcome and lives to make of their own choosing.
Abigail can be who and what she wants to be and her family will still love her and support her in the emotional sense. Her finances give her freedom to be anything a woman of her times could be – including a spinster if that’s what she decides.
Her decision to marry Gil is not initially a love match – nor is it an arranged one. They have become friends, more or less. They like and respect each other – and they desire each other. She would like to marry, and Gil needs to marry. They enter their marriage with eyes wide open to everything except their true feelings towards each other. Because the seeds of love are certainly there, even if neither of them has the experience to see them.
Plenty of happy marriages begin with much shakier foundations.
In the end, this is a series about a fascinating group of people dealing with unexpected adversity. Life has thrown a monkey wrench into their expectations, and with each book we see the Westcott’s make lemonade out of that crop of lemons. And we see them rise together and support each other, which is certainly a treat.
The Westcotts seem to be the exception that proves the rule about all happy families being alike – they have become a happy family, and a stronger one, by moving forward from something that should have divided them by behaving in a manner that no one expected. It’s what makes them so much fun to read.
So I’m very happy to say that they’ll be back in Someone to Remember, late in the fall. I can’t wait!
The entire Westcott series is the story of one family making lemonade out of what initially were some rather bitter lemons – with no sugar at all.
Humphrey Westcott is dead, to begin with. And that’s a good thing for him, because if he hadn’t died before the series opened, the line to kill him would stretch for miles. The late and totally unlamented Humphrey was a bigamist, a fact that was only discovered after his unexpected death.
The series is the story of all of the applecarts that were upset by that discovery learning, one way or another, and sometimes quite painfully, that the overturning of the lives they thought they had was actually the best thing that ever happened to them.
Someone to Honor is Abigail Westcott’s turn. Abigail was the youngest child and second daughter of Humphrey-the-arsehole and the woman everyone believed was his wife, Viola Kingsley. Abigail, as the daughter of the Earl of Riverdale, as Humphrey the figurative bastard was, expected to have her Season on the Marriage Mart, find a wealthy and titled husband, and be married. It was not necessarily what she wanted, but it was her duty and she seems to have had no objections to fulfilling it.
(I never have anything nice to say about the late, unlamented Humphrey. NO ONE in any of the stories has anything nice to say. If divorce had been possible, his family would have kept Viola and abandoned Humphrey – and he deserves every bit of opprobrium heaped on his coffin. But it is amazing just how present he still is, in spite of his death.)
Abby has spent the last six years trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. After all that time, the one thing that she is certain of is that the upending of the life she expected was a gift. She still has her family – all of it including her late father’s family – she still has all the friends who matter – and she knows who her true friends are. She has enough money that she doesn’t have to marry in order to put a roof over her head.
And she has the opportunity to be who she wants to be without having to deal with the expectations of the ton and its perpetual search for any character flaw that allows it to tear down her life, her character, her standing and her prospects.
She’s free.
But she’s not free of her well-meaning family’s desire to make a place for her on the fringes of the society that has rejected her for the so-called stain of her illegitimate birth. She loves them, they love her, she doesn’t want to anger or disappoint them – but she doesn’t want to be begrudged a place in the shadows. That life is over for her – and she knows she’s the better for it.
So when the opportunity arises to stay in her childhood home with her brother Harry, a wounded veteran of Waterloo, she jumps at it. Harry needs someone around who won’t coddle him, and Abby needs the quiet to figure out her next steps in life.
What she does not count on is Harry’s friend Gil, the fellow officer who rescued Harry from a convalescent hospital in Paris and brought him home.
In some ways, Gil and Abby are opposites. Where Abby was raised as a lady only to discover she is a bastard, Gil was raised as a bastard only to rise to the officer ranks, and therefore become a gentleman-by-courtesy, in the Army. The illegitimate son of a washerwoman and a nobleman, Gil raised himself up mostly by his own efforts, while Abby fell through no fault of her own.
In their little household of three, Harry, Abby and Gil, Abby and Gil draw closer to each other in fits and starts. Both over their shared concern about Harry, and in their surprising commonalities with each other.
When Gil’s secrets are finally laid bare, Abby is ready to stand up – and stand beside him – come what may. That the entire Westcott family stands with them guarantees that love will triumph, no matter who stands in the way.
Escape Rating A-: I have loved this series from beginning to end. (There was one half-exception, but even that was good – just not great). A big part of what I love about this series is that they are romances but are not frivolous. Or perhaps I should say that the heroines are not frivolous. The heroines of this series, to a woman, both have agency and remain a part of their times. Their situations are not pulled out of whack in anachronistic ways in order to give them the kind of choices that make them relatable for 21st century readers.
It helps that, with the exception of Anna Snow in Someone to Love, the women are no longer members of the aristocracy. Humphrey’s asshattery pulls them down into the upper middle class, removing them from the absurd expectations of the ton while giving them obstacles to overcome and lives to make of their own choosing.
Abigail can be who and what she wants to be and her family will still love her and support her in the emotional sense. Her finances give her freedom to be anything a woman of her times could be – including a spinster if that’s what she decides.
Her decision to marry Gil is not initially a love match – nor is it an arranged one. They have become friends, more or less. They like and respect each other – and they desire each other. She would like to marry, and Gil needs to marry. They enter their marriage with eyes wide open to everything except their true feelings towards each other. Because the seeds of love are certainly there, even if neither of them has the experience to see them.
Plenty of happy marriages begin with much shakier foundations.
In the end, this is a series about a fascinating group of people dealing with unexpected adversity. Life has thrown a monkey wrench into their expectations, and with each book we see the Westcott’s make lemonade out of that crop of lemons. And we see them rise together and support each other, which is certainly a treat.
The Westcotts seem to be the exception that proves the rule about all happy families being alike – they have become a happy family, and a stronger one, by moving forward from something that should have divided them by behaving in a manner that no one expected. It’s what makes them so much fun to read.
So I’m very happy to say that they’ll be back in Someone to Remember, late in the fall. I can’t wait!
March 17, 2024
Balogh at her best. Wonderfully written and interesting characters. The usual plethora of internal monologues but in this book they actually moved the plot forward and were nicely balanced with both dialogue and action. There’s high-stakes family drama on two different fronts as well, and Balogh makes sure the reader cares about the outcome.
A couple of scenes with an overabundance of meddling Westcott family members listed in excruciating detail but I learned long ago to save my sanity by skimming those.
Enough of trying to be fair and impartial. Darn it, Gil is DELICIOUS! He chops wood shirtless! He has a dog as big as a buffalo that he rescued as a puppy from the killing fields of Waterloo! He’s great with kids! He’s grumpy! He was illegitimate, raised dirt poor and friendless, joined the army at 14 and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel mostly on merit, and JUST WANTS HIS KID BACK!
Did I mention the shirtless wood-chopping thing? Yeah, I’d give Gil five stars even if the book sucked. It doesn’t, though.
A couple of scenes with an overabundance of meddling Westcott family members listed in excruciating detail but I learned long ago to save my sanity by skimming those.
Enough of trying to be fair and impartial. Darn it, Gil is DELICIOUS! He chops wood shirtless! He has a dog as big as a buffalo that he rescued as a puppy from the killing fields of Waterloo! He’s great with kids! He’s grumpy! He was illegitimate, raised dirt poor and friendless, joined the army at 14 and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel mostly on merit, and JUST WANTS HIS KID BACK!
Did I mention the shirtless wood-chopping thing? Yeah, I’d give Gil five stars even if the book sucked. It doesn’t, though.
March 6, 2022
La vita era una sfida. Una grande sfida, che si frantumava di continuo in sfide minori, proprio come un tronco d’albero sotto i colpi dell’accetta. E se ci si faceva male, ci si leccava la ferita, la si fasciava se non smetteva di sanguinare e si continuava a fare a pezzi il tronco, riducendolo a ciocchi di legna da ardere… finché non ne veniva giù un altro e si ricominciava tutto da capo.
In una serie per me altalenante, finalmente è arrivato un gran bel volume, di quelli che ti scaldano il cuore e ti fanno ricordare perché tieni una cinquantina di cartacei di quest'autrice in libreria e continui a leggerli quando hai momenti di sconforto letterario.
Se si eccettua l'inizio lento, con la curiosa mania di propinarci il recap di tutti i parenti, coniugi, figli, nipoti, con relativi titoli e residenze (lo sta facendo a ogni inizio di libro, mangiandosi almeno un 10% di pagine, ma stavolta posso ammettere che mi è servito), la storia scorre e coinvolge che è un piacere.
Harry Westcott torna finalmente a casa: Harry è forse il perno principale attorno a cui ruota lo stravolgimento che hanno affrontato i Westcott; era l'erede, il futuro conte, il bellissimo ragazzo d'oro, ma è divenuto un signor nessuno, un illegittimo, un soldato triturato dalla guerra.
Tuttavia la famiglia lo ama e lo protegge.
Quando però tutti se ne vanno, dopo averlo abbracciato, accanto a lui resta solo Abigail, l'ultima delle sorelle, anch'essa macchiata ed emarginata senza sua colpa, e Gilbert, il compagno d'armi che non lo ha abbandonato e con cui ha molto in comune, tra cui l'origine illegittima e profonde disarmonie familiari.
Tre anime ferite si curano e riprendono a vivere nella solitudine della campagna. E riprendono a vivere: da qui parte la vera storia che spero apprezzerete quanto me.
Gil e Abby sono stati una sorpresa. La Balogh ce li fa conoscere ed amare gradualmente, e adoro come Gil ad un certo punto comprenda che lei è come un iceberg c che mostra soltanto la punta di sé al mondo ("Il fatto che Harry sia tornato a casa ha permesso anche a me di farlo"), mentre lui è un ragazzo divenuto adulto troppo presto, senza innocenza e senza veri legami.
In questo senso, Beauty è la sua coscienza, l'unica che gli è affine, anche se i loro dialoghi sono silenziosi. Beauty vale molto di più di tanti coach life.
Finale giusto e corale, e sto rivalutando i Westcott, libro dopo libro, pure Avery ingioiellato, perché lui e Alexander sono i perfetti capifamiglia.
E ora attendo il libro di Harry, che temo sarà però in fondo.
PS. Attraverso il mio monocolo rivolgo un appello: non saltate "Someone to Remember" (#6.5), so che è una novella, ma lady Matilda merita!!!!
Si sentiva una bacchettona. E forse lo era. Ma lui la faceva sentire a disagio.
Che parola inadeguata: “disagio”. Però non riusciva a farsene venire in mente una migliore. Voleva riuscire a pensare a lui unicamente come l’amico di Harry. E voleva vederlo, ogni volta che lo incontrava o pensava a lui, con i vestiti addosso.
Voleva cancellare l’inquietante ricordo di intensa virilità.
In una serie per me altalenante, finalmente è arrivato un gran bel volume, di quelli che ti scaldano il cuore e ti fanno ricordare perché tieni una cinquantina di cartacei di quest'autrice in libreria e continui a leggerli quando hai momenti di sconforto letterario.
Se si eccettua l'inizio lento, con la curiosa mania di propinarci il recap di tutti i parenti, coniugi, figli, nipoti, con relativi titoli e residenze (lo sta facendo a ogni inizio di libro, mangiandosi almeno un 10% di pagine, ma stavolta posso ammettere che mi è servito), la storia scorre e coinvolge che è un piacere.
Harry Westcott torna finalmente a casa: Harry è forse il perno principale attorno a cui ruota lo stravolgimento che hanno affrontato i Westcott; era l'erede, il futuro conte, il bellissimo ragazzo d'oro, ma è divenuto un signor nessuno, un illegittimo, un soldato triturato dalla guerra.
Tuttavia la famiglia lo ama e lo protegge.
Quando però tutti se ne vanno, dopo averlo abbracciato, accanto a lui resta solo Abigail, l'ultima delle sorelle, anch'essa macchiata ed emarginata senza sua colpa, e Gilbert, il compagno d'armi che non lo ha abbandonato e con cui ha molto in comune, tra cui l'origine illegittima e profonde disarmonie familiari.
Tre anime ferite si curano e riprendono a vivere nella solitudine della campagna. E riprendono a vivere: da qui parte la vera storia che spero apprezzerete quanto me.
Gil e Abby sono stati una sorpresa. La Balogh ce li fa conoscere ed amare gradualmente, e adoro come Gil ad un certo punto comprenda che lei è come un iceberg c che mostra soltanto la punta di sé al mondo ("Il fatto che Harry sia tornato a casa ha permesso anche a me di farlo"), mentre lui è un ragazzo divenuto adulto troppo presto, senza innocenza e senza veri legami.
In questo senso, Beauty è la sua coscienza, l'unica che gli è affine, anche se i loro dialoghi sono silenziosi. Beauty vale molto di più di tanti coach life.
Finale giusto e corale, e sto rivalutando i Westcott, libro dopo libro, pure Avery ingioiellato, perché lui e Alexander sono i perfetti capifamiglia.
E ora attendo il libro di Harry, che temo sarà però in fondo.
PS. Attraverso il mio monocolo rivolgo un appello: non saltate "Someone to Remember" (#6.5), so che è una novella, ma lady Matilda merita!!!!
Si sentiva una bacchettona. E forse lo era. Ma lui la faceva sentire a disagio.
Che parola inadeguata: “disagio”. Però non riusciva a farsene venire in mente una migliore. Voleva riuscire a pensare a lui unicamente come l’amico di Harry. E voleva vederlo, ogni volta che lo incontrava o pensava a lui, con i vestiti addosso.
Voleva cancellare l’inquietante ricordo di intensa virilità.
November 15, 2022
Oh my goodness this book was so deeply moving. Had me misty a few times I must say. What a beautiful story. The depths of emotion from both MC's was so compelling and I really appreciated their slow and steady relationship. Gil was one of the most emotionally layered Heroes I've read. His longing to be reunited with his daughter was palpable as was his deep yearning for family and connection. Very emotional and heartwarming. I just loved it so much.
May 29, 2021
4.25 stars
This book was a lovely addition to the Westcott series—which as a whole, is fantastic. Don't feel like writing an extensive review right now, but I'll say that both characters were extremely likable and I probably got the most emotionally involved in this book, compared to the others. My heart broke for Gil who has had such a rough time in life and now is separated from his daughter and might lose custody of her; it was very, very affecting.
He and Abby don't really start off as "enemies" so much as opponents. And really it's because they're both drawn to the other and don't like that fact.
This book was a lovely addition to the Westcott series—which as a whole, is fantastic. Don't feel like writing an extensive review right now, but I'll say that both characters were extremely likable and I probably got the most emotionally involved in this book, compared to the others. My heart broke for Gil who has had such a rough time in life and now is separated from his daughter and might lose custody of her; it was very, very affecting.
He and Abby don't really start off as "enemies" so much as opponents. And really it's because they're both drawn to the other and don't like that fact.
April 23, 2019
An extremely pleasant romance novel. Which I intend, perhaps, as faint praise, but in no sense the damning sort.
November 9, 2019
It is good to be in Mary-Balogh-world again (and apropos to reading-pair her with Betty Neels; see my previous review on The Moon For Lavinia): a world of grace, depth, and beauty, brought like a well-sprung carriage to a believable HEA-conclusion. I haven’t read the Westcott series before, but was over the moon, Lavinia’s, to read and review Someone To Honor (Wescott #6); it tropishly-ideal marriage-of-convenience narrative was mere icing on the Balogh-wedding-fruitcake.
No one can write deeply-felt, quiet characters, somewhat melancholic, like Balogh can and Someone To Honor‘s Abigail Westcott and Lieutenant-Colonel Gilbert Bennington, “Gil,” are so. Someone To Honor is more Gil’s story than Abigail, but Abigail is the key to Gil’s changes. Gil experiences the greatest inner changes; yet Abigail too finds closure in all that she has realized in the past six years. They’re ideal for each other, but marry for pragmatic purposes with a dose of strong physical attraction, typical to Balogh.
We meet Gil as he accompanies Abigail’s brother, Major Harry Westcott, home to England, Hampshire to be exact, to Harry’s estate, Hinsford Manor. There, Gil will see that Harry absorbs fresh air, mild exercice, and wholesome fare to help his healing from war wounds. Gil sees his time with Harry as a duty towards a junior officer, with a strong liking thrown in, and an opportunity for respite and regroupment before the domestic battle he was set for himself: to get his daughter, Katy, back from her aristocratic grandparents, who view his humble origins, as the ” … bastard son of a blacksmith’s daughter … “, no matter his military might and honor, as beneath their family. But Gil’s wife, Caroline, is long dead and he wants his toddler-girl back. He’s hired a lawyer and set a custody battle in motion.
When we meet Gil and Abigail (following the Westcotts’ arrival at Hinsford) a place Gil hoped to enjoy solitude and daily walks with his canine beast, Beauty, they are pensive, melancholic characters. Gil is broody over his custody battle: ” … he felt only weariness, irritation, and a heavy foreboding that coming home was not going to bring happily-ever-after with it.” Abigail, as I assume we learned from previous books, is only now fully at peace with the discovery, six years ago, that she and her brother, Harry, were the illegitimate offspring of her mother and father, RIP, who had “married” her mother while married to someone else. The interactions and relationships are sundry and made me sorry I hadn’t read the previous books. Suffice to say, the Westcotts are generous and open-hearted and, legitimate and illegitimate, fortune and favour, are shared amongst all. They present a united, loving front to the world and live it day-to-day. But Gil, no matter how warm and friendly the Westcotts are, isn’t at ease: “He did not feel comfortable in aristocratic company. Despite his senior military rank, he was in reality a nobody from nowhere and as illegitimate as Harry. A gutter rat … “
Gil and Abigail’s meet-cute is delicious. Everyone behaves so well, but Abigail sees Gil, sans shirt, chopping wood, and assumes he’s an estate worker. She chides him for his undress before a lady and from thereon, they’re at zingy verbal loggerheads. Abigail’s response is complex: she’s hoity-toity, but attracted too: “He looked like a fearfully dangerous man. Primitive. Magnificent. He was all raw masculinity. Abigail felt herself shudder inwardly.” Gil and Abigail are too compatible, as well as sharing a sense of having been socially shamed, to carry on in this manner. Before long, they’re genuinely and deeply conversing: with Gil telling Abigail about his custody battle and despair at fighting his powerful former in-laws. Abigail too shares her feelings of how and why she came to accept what to her looks like a life of solitude and contentment. She doesn’t want to take part in her family’s urgings to rejoin society, no matter how they rally around her: “For the Westcotts did nothing as well as they rallied.”
Gil and Abigail are solitary, introspective people. They’re introverts: would rather read and take walks than socialize. In sum, perfect for each other. When Gil’s lawyer suggests he present a respectable stepmother for Katy in court, augmenting his chances of winning his suit, Harry plays a lovely devil’s-advocate matchmaker: Gil and Abigail marry “for convenience” to help Gil win his suit. Famous last words in romance. There are currents: of physical attraction, liking, affection, connection … in other words, Gil and Abigail are in love and the only people who don’t realize it are Gil and Abigail.
Balogh’s notion of love is one that is in keeping with mine. Love cracks people open and brings them to a vulnerable, exposed place. Her characters are often settled in their ways, content, a little sad maybe, but their lives are ordered. They often see the vista of the years before them with contentment, unchanging, resolved. They balk at the idea of being in love, as simply, beautifully evidenced by “She was not the love of his heart” and “She did not want to be in love with him.” Balogh’s hero and heroine often come to love slowly, but well. Love is a not a road to Damascus revelation, but an awakening from a long, peaceful sleep to an alertness of heightened being. It is so for Gil and Abigail. There is drama, the court battle, humour (the judge is an absolute HOOT!), and there is love … and a little girl who gets a papa and new mama. Balogh’s Someone To Honour, except for the plethora of confusing, droll and lovely as they are, Westcotts, is perfect. With Miss Austen, we say Someone To Honor, contains “no charm equal to tenderness of heart,” Emma.
Mary Balogh’s Someone To Honor is a Jove Book, published by Berkley. It was released on July 2nd and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-ARC from Jove/Berkley, via Netgalley.
No one can write deeply-felt, quiet characters, somewhat melancholic, like Balogh can and Someone To Honor‘s Abigail Westcott and Lieutenant-Colonel Gilbert Bennington, “Gil,” are so. Someone To Honor is more Gil’s story than Abigail, but Abigail is the key to Gil’s changes. Gil experiences the greatest inner changes; yet Abigail too finds closure in all that she has realized in the past six years. They’re ideal for each other, but marry for pragmatic purposes with a dose of strong physical attraction, typical to Balogh.
We meet Gil as he accompanies Abigail’s brother, Major Harry Westcott, home to England, Hampshire to be exact, to Harry’s estate, Hinsford Manor. There, Gil will see that Harry absorbs fresh air, mild exercice, and wholesome fare to help his healing from war wounds. Gil sees his time with Harry as a duty towards a junior officer, with a strong liking thrown in, and an opportunity for respite and regroupment before the domestic battle he was set for himself: to get his daughter, Katy, back from her aristocratic grandparents, who view his humble origins, as the ” … bastard son of a blacksmith’s daughter … “, no matter his military might and honor, as beneath their family. But Gil’s wife, Caroline, is long dead and he wants his toddler-girl back. He’s hired a lawyer and set a custody battle in motion.
When we meet Gil and Abigail (following the Westcotts’ arrival at Hinsford) a place Gil hoped to enjoy solitude and daily walks with his canine beast, Beauty, they are pensive, melancholic characters. Gil is broody over his custody battle: ” … he felt only weariness, irritation, and a heavy foreboding that coming home was not going to bring happily-ever-after with it.” Abigail, as I assume we learned from previous books, is only now fully at peace with the discovery, six years ago, that she and her brother, Harry, were the illegitimate offspring of her mother and father, RIP, who had “married” her mother while married to someone else. The interactions and relationships are sundry and made me sorry I hadn’t read the previous books. Suffice to say, the Westcotts are generous and open-hearted and, legitimate and illegitimate, fortune and favour, are shared amongst all. They present a united, loving front to the world and live it day-to-day. But Gil, no matter how warm and friendly the Westcotts are, isn’t at ease: “He did not feel comfortable in aristocratic company. Despite his senior military rank, he was in reality a nobody from nowhere and as illegitimate as Harry. A gutter rat … “
Gil and Abigail’s meet-cute is delicious. Everyone behaves so well, but Abigail sees Gil, sans shirt, chopping wood, and assumes he’s an estate worker. She chides him for his undress before a lady and from thereon, they’re at zingy verbal loggerheads. Abigail’s response is complex: she’s hoity-toity, but attracted too: “He looked like a fearfully dangerous man. Primitive. Magnificent. He was all raw masculinity. Abigail felt herself shudder inwardly.” Gil and Abigail are too compatible, as well as sharing a sense of having been socially shamed, to carry on in this manner. Before long, they’re genuinely and deeply conversing: with Gil telling Abigail about his custody battle and despair at fighting his powerful former in-laws. Abigail too shares her feelings of how and why she came to accept what to her looks like a life of solitude and contentment. She doesn’t want to take part in her family’s urgings to rejoin society, no matter how they rally around her: “For the Westcotts did nothing as well as they rallied.”
Gil and Abigail are solitary, introspective people. They’re introverts: would rather read and take walks than socialize. In sum, perfect for each other. When Gil’s lawyer suggests he present a respectable stepmother for Katy in court, augmenting his chances of winning his suit, Harry plays a lovely devil’s-advocate matchmaker: Gil and Abigail marry “for convenience” to help Gil win his suit. Famous last words in romance. There are currents: of physical attraction, liking, affection, connection … in other words, Gil and Abigail are in love and the only people who don’t realize it are Gil and Abigail.
Balogh’s notion of love is one that is in keeping with mine. Love cracks people open and brings them to a vulnerable, exposed place. Her characters are often settled in their ways, content, a little sad maybe, but their lives are ordered. They often see the vista of the years before them with contentment, unchanging, resolved. They balk at the idea of being in love, as simply, beautifully evidenced by “She was not the love of his heart” and “She did not want to be in love with him.” Balogh’s hero and heroine often come to love slowly, but well. Love is a not a road to Damascus revelation, but an awakening from a long, peaceful sleep to an alertness of heightened being. It is so for Gil and Abigail. There is drama, the court battle, humour (the judge is an absolute HOOT!), and there is love … and a little girl who gets a papa and new mama. Balogh’s Someone To Honour, except for the plethora of confusing, droll and lovely as they are, Westcotts, is perfect. With Miss Austen, we say Someone To Honor, contains “no charm equal to tenderness of heart,” Emma.
Mary Balogh’s Someone To Honor is a Jove Book, published by Berkley. It was released on July 2nd and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-ARC from Jove/Berkley, via Netgalley.
August 3, 2024
Gil and Abby story slowly took me
Even though starting this series from this book not the 1st was a bit difficult 😞
Even though starting this series from this book not the 1st was a bit difficult 😞
April 13, 2024
I’m marathoning this entire series. This is my least favorite so far, but the last quarter is fun, with a sarcastic judge, a sweet little girl, and a nice set up for the next in the series.
July 26, 2019
I really liked this.
It was a slow book (which I knew getting into this because this is not my first Balogh) but it was well done. I've always liked Abigail - from the moment we met her at the age of 16 in book 1 when her entire world collapsed around her like a wooden building. And seeing her here, as a young woman trying to understand herself and her place in the world meant a lot to me. I really liked Gil as well and found him a good match for Abigail. However I will be honest, if we haven't been able to see Gil's POV and the way he processes (or does not process) emotions/feelings/thoughts I probably would not have liked him very much. He's so granite and unmoving due to his childhood and time in the army that it was a bit off putting initially - Gil actually reminded me a lot of Wulfric from the Bedwyn series. At first glance you see nothing but a stern, unsmiling, uncaring man but if you dig down deep, you find more. Much more.
I enjoyed the family aspect in here, all the relatives coming together to welcome Harry home and then later . I will admit this book made me ship . The only thing I wasn't totally sold on in here was the child custody aspect. It's 1817 England. I can't imagine that the courts were that progressive and ahead of the times that they DIDN'T give a child back to their father - especially a father with the money and means to provide for said child. It wasn't a big distraction from the book, it was just something I had to choose to ignore right off the bat or it would have colored my enjoyment of both this book and couple.
It was a slow book (which I knew getting into this because this is not my first Balogh) but it was well done. I've always liked Abigail - from the moment we met her at the age of 16 in book 1 when her entire world collapsed around her like a wooden building. And seeing her here, as a young woman trying to understand herself and her place in the world meant a lot to me. I really liked Gil as well and found him a good match for Abigail. However I will be honest, if we haven't been able to see Gil's POV and the way he processes (or does not process) emotions/feelings/thoughts I probably would not have liked him very much. He's so granite and unmoving due to his childhood and time in the army that it was a bit off putting initially - Gil actually reminded me a lot of Wulfric from the Bedwyn series. At first glance you see nothing but a stern, unsmiling, uncaring man but if you dig down deep, you find more. Much more.
I enjoyed the family aspect in here, all the relatives coming together to welcome Harry home and then later . I will admit this book made me ship . The only thing I wasn't totally sold on in here was the child custody aspect. It's 1817 England. I can't imagine that the courts were that progressive and ahead of the times that they DIDN'T give a child back to their father - especially a father with the money and means to provide for said child. It wasn't a big distraction from the book, it was just something I had to choose to ignore right off the bat or it would have colored my enjoyment of both this book and couple.
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