Refreshing to read a romance with the main characters close to my age. Some parts were a bit slow and wordy. Overall, a lovely book to read.

Love love love Mary Balogh books! I was delighted to see the next title in this series would be about the matriarch - Clarissa! (Although there are characters from the other books mentioned, you don't need to have read the other books to read this one - the author does a fantastic job with this). I loved this second chance romance book! Clarissa and Matthew's romance is so sweet! Looking forward to more!

An absolutely captivating read! This angsty historical romance featuring Clarissa and Matthew, is beautifully written with deeply emotional storytelling. The author's prose effortlessly immerses you in their world, allowing you to feel every heartfelt moment of their tumultuous love story. It's a book that stays with you, painting a vivid picture of love and longing in a bygone era. Highly recommending to anyone who enjoys heartfelt historical romances.

Remember When is the 4th book in Mary Balogh's Ravenswood series. We first meet Clarissa, the Dowager Countess of Stratton in Devlin's book when her husband's infidelity at the annual Ravenswood fete is discovered by Devlin and sends shock-waves through the family and the community. This book picks up years later after Clarissa has launched her baby (Stephanie) into Society and suddenly finds herself on the brink of turning 50 and questioning how the rest of her life will play out. She goes home to Ravenswood for the summer to be by herself and discover who she is now that she is no longer just a wife and mother.
Matthew Taylor and Clarissa were best friends until the day she became betrothed to the Earl of Stratton. Both had been a little bit in love with the other, but Clarissa did what was expected of her and became a countess. Matthew left the country for ten years and came back to settle as the town's carpenter though he was a gentleman's son. Clarissa wants that friendship back and contacts Matthew about building a crib for her another grandchild as a pretext.
This book is a sweet second chance romance that has the reader cheering for both the hero and heroine. Both characters go on a journey of self-discovery that is especially poignant for Matthew. Mary Balogh fans will not be disappointed with this latest installment.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This is my favorite book in the Ravenswood series so far! It’s Clarissa’s story (Devlin’s mother, The Dowager Countess of Stratton) and it’s very sweet.

Clarissa has returned to Ravenswood after a season in London, where she presented Stephanie, her youngest daughter. Stephanie has gone to Pippa and Luke’s home to help her sister in her confinement. Clarissa has been longing for peace and quiet and some time alone. When she is back home in Ravenswood, she goes to see Matthew, her childhood friend, who is a wood carver (and a gentleman) and she commissions him to make a beautiful crib for Jennifer and Ben (Always Remember). The descriptions of Matthew’s carvings sound incredible.

Clarissa and Matthew were close when they were young but went on to marry others and are now both widowed. Now, thirty years later, they enjoy spending the summer going for long walks with each other. Clarissa dreams of having her own cottage near Ravenswood. Matthew has been thinking about his older brother Reginald (Reggie) who he has been estranged from for years. They had a difficult father that was hard on Matthew and something happened between Matthew and Reggie to cause Matthew to leave and never return. There is a theme of forgiveness in this book that was lovely. Clarissa turns fifty in the fall so the main characters are older which was fun. We get to see many characters from the earlier books in the series coming to Ravenwood to visit Clarissa. This was a nice, gentle read and I adored it.