SOMEONE TO HONOR is the sixth book in Mary Balogh’s Westcott series. Each book in this Westcott series has characters who are at a crossroads in their lives, and SOMEONE TO HONOR is no exception. As a group, the quirky and tightknit Westcott family have undergone many life-altering changes over the past few years. As an illegitimate daughter in a prominent family, Abigail Westcott is in an unusual position. Abigail is struggling to figure out what direction she wants to take in life. At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Gil Bennington, fellow soldier and friend to Abigail’s brother Harry, is perfectly clear when it comes to his sense of purpose. First Gil intends to help Harry recuperate, and then he is prepared to do whatever it takes to get his daughter back with him. This is a great story for readers who enjoy the “marriage of convenience” and “enemies to lovers” romance tropes.

Upon first sight, Abigail and Gil have a misunderstanding when she mistakes him for a rude servant, and he doesn’t do anything immediately to correct that impression. Consequently, there is an uncomfortable few days during which they have an inconvenient physical attraction, but don’t particularly like each other. Things start to change when they both stay, after the rest of Harry’s family leaves, to keep him company. Abigail sees that Gil is a better man than she initially supposes him to be, and Gil realizes that Abigail is not the cold society miss he supposes her to be. As they get to know each other a little better, and their opinion of each other starts to change, neither is completely outraged when Harry suggests they marry in order to help Gil get back his daughter from her grandparents. This story is told from alternating perspectives, and Mary Balogh tells a story with two wonderfully complex characters. Rather than be a passive participant in her life, Abigail is very clear about agreeing to this marriage as a way of actively changing her life and embarking on a new adventure of her choosing. Gil experiences a myriad of tumultuous emotions over the course of this story – yearning for his young child, guilt at possibly dragging Abigail into a marriage that might not be to her advantage, and loneliness with a smidge of envy and alarm when confronted with the large and extremely close Westcott family. I like how Mary Balogh gives insight into these two characters and shows how their relationship evolves as the book progresses.

SOMEONE TO HONOR has top-notch characters with a deeply moving story about love and family. This type of storytelling with characters whose stories suck you in is what makes a Mary Balogh novel so addictive. Harry Westcott was a very enjoyable and important supporting character in SOMEONE TO HONOR, and I eagerly await his story. I look forward to Mary Balogh’s next Westcott book.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced readers copy of this book. Mary Balogh is a go to author for a good historical romance and this book is no different. The characters were likeable and it was a good story. I liked that is different from the usual seductive romances. However, I wish there was something more. I feel like there is something missing from this story. Overall a good easy read.

If I had to describe this book in a nutshell, I would call it a quiet romance… quiet, but full of real and even intense feeling, despite the main characters’ reserve. Both Abigail and Gil have learnt through adversity to hold their feelings inside, albeit in different ways. Abby comes across as gentle, calm, restrained and ladylike but not unfeeling. Gil’s mask is sterner, more like granite, and he can indeed come across as unfeeling; he’s certainly capable of expressing anger and frustration, but the softer emotions rarely show on his face. Yet he is surprisingly gentle with children and animals, and eventually with Abby, whose own calm demeanor hides a quiet inner strength.

The book moves slowly, with little romantic development during the first half. The unspoken, almost unrecognized attraction between Gil and Abigail simmers well under the surface; most of their time and attention are taken up with Abby’s brother Harry, finally returned nearly two years after suffering terrible injuries at Waterloo, and still recovering. Gil is Harry’s friend and fellow officer, who has put off his own pressing needs to accompany Harry home and set him on the road toward regaining his health. But Gil’s personal problems are indeed pressing; a conflict with his deceased wife’s parents threatens to destroy his dreams for the future.

In other hands, or with other main characters, this would be a dramatic story. And Balogh is more than capable of writing dramatic, passionate love stories, as her backlist can attest. But the Westcott family are much less flamboyant than, say, the Bedwyns (the Slightly series), despite the fact that each is dealing in their own way with having their world turned upside down. In the earlier books, Abigail seemed to have adjusted more readily to their changed family circumstances than the others have. Internally, however, she has experienced just as much upheaval and personal growth as her siblings and cousins, and it has left a profound mark on her. She is probably the most reserved and self-contained of all the Westcotts (with the possible exception of her cousin Alexander.) This quiet, understated, but deeply felt love story reflects Abby’s character—and Gil’s—far better than a more action-packed or dramatic tale would have done. She and Gil make a very good match, in personality and values if not in the world’s eyes.

That’s not to say there is no action or drama whatsoever. The second half of the book picks up the pace somewhat and allows the external tensions to come more to the fore, as Gil and Abigail face her family’s reaction to their relationship, and the conflict with his former in-laws comes to a head. The couple have internal tensions to deal with as well, both within themselves and in their relationship. Despite the developments of the second half, though, Balogh’s writing remains relatively restrained, the drama and passions understated, as befits Abby and Gil’s personalities.

It’s neither drama nor wild passion that makes Someone to Honor so appealing; instead, it’s the quiet, often unspoken but deeply-felt bonds of familial and romantic love. Like most of the families Balogh portrays in her novels, the Westcotts are above all a family. That family strength and loyalty, along with Abby and Gil’s developing relationship and Gil’s intense love for the child he hasn’t seen since infancy, make Someone to Honor a heartwarming and thoroughly satisfying novel.

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!

This book was better than the last but this series feels a bit stale when compared to previous ones. A lot of repeated repeated storylines (e.g. forlon hopes). I will continue to read Mary Balogh but I haven't been as taken with this series as I was with previous ones.

I cannot praise this series enough, and this new entry is just a joy to read. Abby Westcott and Gil Bennington start out thoroughly disliking each other, but they are forced to get to know each other while helping Harry, Abby's brother and Gil's military colleague, recover from life-threatening war injuries. The courtship is slow and complicated by issues from their past, but there is no doubt that devotion, loyalty, and love will win out in the end, aided by family and an exceptionally ugly but loving and perceptive dog named Beauty. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

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.

“Someone To Honor” is another gorgeous read in Mary Balogh’s Westcott novels. Recovering from his injuries, Major Harry Westcott travels from France to his home in England, accompanied by his longtime army friend Lt. Colonel Gilbert Bennington. His friend of meager origins has been a loyal friend, brave soldier, and worked hard for all he has. All of the Westcott family are arriving to welcome Harry home and to check on his well being. The novel begins slowly, as all the family and past history and relationships are introduced. The family is large and I often felt Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage might be necessary to keep the players in order. Even one of the family jokes to Gil after introductions were made. “‘There will be a written test later this evening after dinner,’ Anna said, smiling as she walked toward him and took his arm. ‘By then we will have been able to tell you also about the children in the nursery—mine and Wren’s —and about those family members who will be coming tomorrow or the next day.’” (My advanced copy via NetGalley has a blank page that is saved for a family tree so I am sure that will be helpful in the published work.) Once the family all return to their own homes, we are able to concentrate on the principles, and the story becomes focused and quite the page turner.

When Gil encounters one of Harry’s sisters, Abigail, she misidentifies him as a servant, only to be humiliated later when she learns he is a guest of her brother’s. With such a rough start, the last thing she expects is to be attracted to this boorish, peevish, yet “deliciously ferocious” man.

Now a widower, Gil’s troubled past is the reason for his cheerlessness and why he has little faith in the fairer sex—he was betrayed by his wife when he went off to the Battle of Waterloo, she took his infant child to her family (where she later died) but her parents now are denying him his young daughter. He definitely doesn’t expect to be drawn to Harry’s “haughty, wilting beauty” of a sister either. Yet in time, understanding turns into attraction that turns into a friendship. In agreement with Gil’s attorney, Harry believes a wife would enhance Gil’s chances of winning his daughter back—and suggests his friend marry Abby. And Abby agrees.

A relationship forged by the hopes of winning his daughter back, their surprise marriage yields more than was expected. These honorable characters are well developed and very likable. I can easily recommend this Regency romance!

*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.

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Such a pleasurable read!

And now it's Abby Westcott's story!
Although a different take, the trope was familiar. The Waterloo and Peninsula Campaign veteran, a hero with a past. The emotionally wounded young woman who's at last coming to grips with who she is. A problem or two to be solved and a rather startling solution.
Both leading characters are making momentous decisions that will come around but the getting there is tricky. Of course there's a problem or two to be solved! Somehow!
Some quite delightful scenes, Abigail Westcott mistaking her wounded brother Harry's friend, Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Bennington, for a servant chopping wood and displaying a scarred but splendid torso, the rambunctious but endearing dog 'beauty', the amazingly secretive meeting of Aunt Matilda (Lady Matilda Westcott) with someone she has previously known (therein lies a story!), the solid beauty of Abigail inside and out, the Westcott clan en mass, and of course Avery always lurking in a corner with something decisive if not slightly cynical to say.
I loved this story. All pure Balogh with its overtones of Georgette Heyer and a smattering of Grace Burrowes.
A solid Regency romance that's delightful in its execution with just the right amount of tension.

A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley

Heyyyyy Westcott family addicts!!!! I was so anxiously waiting to get my hands on this next book that I literally stopped reading everything else to start this book. Mary Balough has delivered another beautiful leading lady who finds her perfect match in the most unlikely place. I was sure the this story was going to be about Jessica or any of the other Westcotts but was very pleasantly surprised when I discovered it was Abby who finds love in this book. I loved this story as much as I did the others and truly cannot wait for the next one.
Abigail Westcott is ready to live a peaceful life as a spinster, after the discovery of her illegitimate birth she has no desire to return to society in spite of her familytrying to encourage her. When her brother returns home from war in ill health she seizes it asthe perfect opportunity to return to her childhood home in the country, get away from it all, and live the life she chooses. Well she will just as soon as her brother’s friend and escort returns to London.
Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Bennington is relieved to be back home in England after so many years away at war. Before he can return to his own life he must see his friend Henry Westcott on the road to recovery by escorting him home and remaining there until his health improves. Little did he know that while there he would meet the one woman who can solve all his problems and break down the walls he built around his heart.

In the latest book of this excellent series, the focus is on Abigail Westcott. When her brother, Harry, returns from the war, Abigail sees an opportunity to get away from the pressures of the London season when the family just descends upon the wounded man. Ever since her family was ruined when it was discovered that her parents marriage was bigamous, Abigail has felt that her life was moving out of her control. Going to live with her brother seems like an opportunity to discover what she really wants out of her life . When she meets her brothers companion, a fellow soldier she is not impressed. Initially thinking he is a servant she is a bit snippy to Gil and the situation doesn’t improve when she learns who he really is.
Abigail find herself drawn to the taciturn Gil as she gets to know him better and sees how his presence encourages her brother’s recovery. Gil has problems of his own as he is trying to recover custody of his daughter from his powerful in-laws. Abigail and Gil find them selves telling each other deeply personal things that they have never spoken of before. When things come to a head the couple find themselves in a marriage of convenience.
What I liked about this book was Abigail’s take on the disaster that befell the family. Initially like everyone else she was devastated but then realized that she was now removed from a lot of the strictures that society would have forced her to obey. There is a certain amount of freedom and being outside of societies circle.
Like the other books in the series, there are certainly twists and turns before this couple gets their HEA but it’s an enjoyable journey. Abby and Gil have chemistry and sexual tension galore. Another unlikely couple that is perfect for each other. I can’t wait for the next book!

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.

Originally Posted at Ramblings From This Chick
http://ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com/2019/07/arc-review-someone-to-honor-by-mary-balogh.html

Someone to Honor is the sixth book in Mary Balogh's Westcott series. This book focuses on Abigail Westcott and Gil Bennington. If you need a reminder, Abigail is one of the three children discovered to be technically illegitimate in the first Westcott book because her father married her mother whilst having already being wed to another. This book takes place about six years after that first book.

Abigail Westcott has been pushed by her meddling (but full of love) family to return as best she can to society and find herself happiness through marriage. However, she finds herself no longer interested. She has gotten over the "Great Catastrophe" that happened to her mother, brother, and sister, but no one else seems to see that. They only see her as being lonely.

Gil Bennington is on his way back to England when he stumbles upon a healing Harry Westcott. Gil and Harry served together against Napoleon, and became friends. Gil insists on helping Harry get back home to recover from his wounds there. He stays with Harry even once they get to England to help Harry get his strength back. He doesn't realize the stampede of family determined to check on Harry as soon as they have word of his return. It is almost overwhelming to Gil, whose upbringing was very different to the love and concern shown to Harry.

Abby along with the rest of her family are over the moon to have Harry back home, but they are all worried about his weakened condition. She happens to find Gil chopping wood on the grounds when needing a moment and mistakes him for a servant. She lectures him about his state of dress (or lack thereof since he is bare from the waist up). Gil lacks to correct her incorrect assumption and just grits his teeth at yet another annoying lady of society.

Throughout their encounters, they find themselves disliking each other and yet being drawn to each other upon learning more of each other's character. Gil is struggling with personal/legal issues while he is there, and stemming from that, they find they need each other.

I found this book to not be very romantic. However, it touched my heart a lot! Gil is a tough guy with a hidden heart and I just wanted to give him hugs all the time! Abby was sweet and she was doing a lot of finding herself and figuring out what she wanted. It was a little too much for me with Abby though as I felt I didn't truly get to know her. I liked her; I just struggled to empathize I guess.

I did still very much enjoy this story. I believe the series will continue, and I am excited to see where it goes!

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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!

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.

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.*

My whole review of Someone to Honor can be summarized as follows: if you are a Balogh fan and have enjoyed the Westcott series so far, you will definitely enjoy this latest instalment. I am a devotee of the author’s and have thoroughly relished the drama of the Westcott Family! This is book six in the series, and I would not recommend reading it as a stand-alone. There are just too many Westcotts to catch up on and too much backstory to jump in this late in the game.

Someone to Honor features Abigail Westcott, illegitimate daughter of the late Earl of Riverton. Abby was on the verge of making her societal début when it was discovered that the late Earl had married Abby’s mother bigamously, throwing her life into disarray. Her brother Harry ran off and joined the Army and her sister Camille went to Bath to teach, but Abby quietly soldiered on through the scandal, supporting her mother and keeping herself busy with family. At the beginning of Someone to Honor, Harry is returning to England after a two-year convalescence in France accompanied by his good friend Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Bennington. Harry returns to Hinsford Manor to avoid the crowds of well-meaning Westcotts in London but he should have known better - the Westcotts come to him!

Abby’s first glimpse of Harry at Hinsford is dismaying - he has lost a great deal of weight and looks a little gray around the edges. She is too distraught to greet him and sneaks away behind the house where she encounters a large, enthusiastic dog and a shirtless male chopping wood. The dog and male discombobulate her and she puts on aristocratic airs, scolds the servant for his unseemliness and rushes back to the house. Only later that day, much to her embarrassment, does she realize that the ‘servant’ is really Gil Bennington, who has brought Harry safely home. Abigail is mortified (and still discombobulated).

Gil Bennington considers himself a “guttersnipe”. Hs mother was a washerwoman, his father an unknown aristocrat. He enlisted in the Army at fourteen and thanks to the unwelcome assistance of the unknown father and his own heroics, has risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. But although he acts and speaks like a gentleman, he doesn’t feel like or regard himself as one. He makes no apologies for himself but feels wildly out-of-place when the Westcott family descends en masse. He longs to escape Hinsford but has promised Harry he will stay to assist his recovery. And now Harry’s sister Abigail has made him feel even more of a misfit. He feels nothing but aversion for her.

She was beautiful, yes. But she looked cold and unappealing. Somehow unknowable behind that expressionless expression. Perhaps that... was the reason she was still unmarried. Perhaps other men found themselves as little attracted to her as he.

Abigail does wear a mask and is more than a little lost in life even though the Westcott family has stood beside her throughout her ordeal, encouraging her to re-engage with society. But that is not her path and, much to the dismay of her family, she decides to stay at Hinsford and help Harry.

I have explained to you time and again that I will never try to cobble together the tattered remnants of my old life. You have chosen to believe that eventually I must change my mind...I do not care to be in London or part of polite society. I need to live my own life on my own terms, and for the next while at least that is going to be done here.

No one is more dismayed by Abigail’s decision than Gil. He had looked forward to being in a bachelor house again and now Abby, of all people, is staying. Abby and Gil are forced to spend more time together as Harry’s helpmates and a truce emerges. Gil, without intent, opens up to Abby and shares his history with her - a poor childhood, a terrible first marriage, and a daughter of whom his in-laws have refused him custody. Abby slowly begins to see Gil as much more than the “deliciously, ferocious brute” her cousins dubbed him - he is a man of quiet honor.

Gil starts to see the true Abby - witty, kind, strong - and a friendship ensues. They are aware of each other but more aware that it is best not to be aware. Abby fears nothing more than making a marriage she would regret, and Gil has already experienced that and has no intention of remarrying. But then Gil’s custody lawyer informs him that his chances of winning his daughter back would be greatly improved should he remarry. Harry suggests he marries Abby, in both their company, horribly embarrassing the pair of them. However, the seed has been planted and neither can fully dismiss it.

Someone to Honor is classic Mary Balogh - the exquisite character development, the slow, romantic angst, the clever plot, the myriad of interesting characters. It is always fun to see the Westcott family reunited and this time Matilda (yes, Matilda!) plays a critical role in the outcome. Westcott fans - there is more to Matilda than we knew! Ms. Balogh takes us deep into the innermost thoughts of Gil and Abby and it is a delight to traverse this relationship with them. We see Abby fighting to exercise her will within a strong, opinionated family and we see her realize the blessing her illegitimacy is. We watch Gil learn to trust his heart again and fight for what matters most in life, even if he is the son of a washerwoman. I have honestly wondered if there was anything new Ms. Balogh could bring to this series, but bring it she does.

Fans of the Westcott series will be very happy with Gil and Abby's story. I wholeheartedly recommend Someone to Honor.

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2.5

The latest installment of Balogh's Westcott family Regency romance series features younger daughter Abigail, who, six years after being declared illegitimate after the discovery of her father's previous marriage, has still not quite found her place. Although she once dreamed of a Season and marriage to a nobleman, Abby has no real desire to try and wrangle a place in Society. In fact, she's happy to stay with her brother Harry, recently returned to England but still ailing from wounds sustained at Waterloo, at the country home where they both grew up. Abby's not entirely happy to discover that she and Harry aren't the only ones who are remaining behind after the rest of the extended Westcott family leaves Hinsford Manor; Harry's friend, Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Bennington, is staying, too. The same grim, dour man whom she initially mistook for a servant.

Gil has ample reason for his severity; he's in the midst of a custody battle with his in-laws over his three-year-old daughter (never mind that such a custody battle would have been highly unusual at a time when a man's children were considered tantamount to his property). And he finds the presence of his friend's sister annoying; she's a prude, she's a snob, and he still finds her attractive.

When Gil's lawyer (not his solicitor, because we can't confuse poor American readers, can we?) tells him that selling his army commission and marrying a likely lady will both help his court case, Gil's ready to do the first. But it's Harry who suggests that Abby would do very well to help him with the second. Both Gil and Abby initially dismiss the idea, but both are intuitive types, and without really discussing it very much, they decide to follow their instincts and give marriage a try. Neither is in love, nor expecting to be so, but of course, in typical Balogh fashion, by story's end, they are.

The story is told in the usual Balogh style, with alternating viewpoints between hero and heroine, viewpoints which give the reader one person's take on an event, then the other's, for a very repetitive telling. It's lulling and appealing to many readers, said style, and one that, with the right set of characters and storyline, can be deeply engaging.

Gil as a character was intriguing, although it seemed pretty unlikely that having grown up the illegitimate son of the daughter of a blacksmith, he would have spoken in the same high-bred manner as the Westcotts. Abby is pretty bland, without much of a goal or motivation of her own. I did enjoy reading about two quiet, introverted characters, though.

My big problem here was the historical inaccuracy of the custody plot storyline, and the unthinking misogyny it inadvertently encourages. Today, child custody trials are far more common, and far more fraught, than they were during the Regency period. In early 19th century England, a husband had the complete right to direct and control the upbringing of his children. His wife and in-laws might influence his opinion, but ultimately it was his choice. There might have been behind-the-scenes wrangling between relatives with different degrees of social capital, but I don't believe any court would have allowed a case such as the one Balogh describes, with a man's in-laws suing for custody of their grandchild when the child's father was still alive, to go forward. If the father were dead, then yes, there might be a custody battle, or rather, a guardianship battle. But suggesting that a because a father may have slapped his wife once or twice he should be denied access to his child is laughable. If the father were convicted of murder, or sodomy, perhaps, but otherwise, just no.

It's a misogynistic move, I feel, to cast the sex with far more power as the victim. It's also misogynistic to make Gil's first wife into the "bad other woman" by having her be unhappy with honorable Gil, and by having her leave her baby behind to go visiting (not an uncommon action by members of the upper classes at the time).

Never mind the far-too-easy kink-shaming behind the text's bundling Gil's first wife's liking for rough sex as just another sign of her bad character.

My least favorite book of the series.

Balogh does not disappoint in this latest novel in the Westcott series. Harry and Abby Westcott are the focus here. Both have matured and are finally coming to terms with their changed circumstances and their changed family. The characters are nicely developed and the conclusion is satisfying.