Lydia Tavernor, widow of the local preacher, declares her new independence by buying a cottage and setting up house, with only her dog for company. Living alone becomes both a salvation and a curse when she catches the eye of Major Harry Westcott, the former Earl of Riverdale, who comes to Hinsford Manor injured from the Napoleonic Wars and trying to heal away from his overbearing family. Lydia and Harry's attraction cannot be denied. When they are spotted together--kissing--the town soon paints Lydia as a woman with loose morals. The Westcott clan jumps into protective mode, shielding Harry and Lydia from gossip; there's nothing inappropriate about a family friendship, they declare. But Harry and Lydia struggle to stay apart. What value has independence when your heart's desire is denied? VERDICT A must-read for fans of the series, this installment is a continuation of the high-quality characters and plot that readers have come to expect from Mary Balogh.--Judy Garner, Strayer Univ., Herndon, VA

Two people find the cure for loneliness in each other in Balogh's enchanting eighth Westcott Regency romance (after Someone to Romance). Harry Westcott was once the Earl of Riverdale, but he lost his title when his mother discovered that her husband had committed bigamy in marrying her, making Harry illegitimate. He fled England to fight in the Napoleonic Wars, only returning to his childhood home of Hinsford Manor after being injured in battle. When Lydia Tavernor's husband died, she decided never to remarry, valuing her independence. But independence proves lonely, and she hopes to take Harry, her neighbor, as a lover--she's drawn to "the suggestion of darkness that he well hidden." After she awkwardly propositions Harry, the pair spend one glorious night together--but Lydia stops it there, hoping to avoid village gossip. Harry agrees as, after their tryst, he knows he wants more from her than she's willing to give. But when gossip erupts despite their best efforts, Harry proposes, hoping to quell the rumors and perhaps win Lydia's heart. The seamless plotting and enticing characters make this a romance to be savored. Balogh is in fine form, and this may be her best Regency to date. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency. (June)

A widow who cherishes her independence meets a gentleman who might support her desire for sovereignty. In the eighth novel of Balogh's Westcott family series, former soldier and dispossessed Earl of Riverdale Harry Westcott is single and about to turn 30. His extended family, concerned about his solitary life as a gentleman farmer, is scheming to get him married off. But even as Harry is grappling with his future, he crosses paths with a quiet vicar's widow he's never noticed before and receives an unexpected proposal for companionship. Lydia Tavernor might as well have been cast as Sleeping Beauty, not only by her overprotective male family members, but also by her clergyman husband, who had devoted himself entirely to his vocation. Now that she finally has some say in her own life, she can't imagine legally handing it to any man again. But she also longs for intimacy without the ties that would threaten her freedom. As is common in Balogh's work, Lydia and Harry forge a carnal connection before they deepen their emotional bond, but when village gossip pushes them toward the outcome she dreads, Harry has to prove to her that she has nothing to fear. The Westcott family backstory and the appearances of many relatives slow down the plot's momentum, but the couple's stop-and-start courtship ably reflects a woman's hesitancy in considering marriage in a gender-unequal world. A sentimental, contemplative, suffragist-leaning upper-class Regency romance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Major Harry Westcott doesn't care what the women in the Westcott family think; he doesn't need a wife. Harry might be willing to concede that after returning home from Waterloo, he has been a bit of a recluse. But the solution to his occasional bouts of loneliness is not marriage. After six years as wife of the Reverend Isaiah Tavernor and another year spent mourning after his death, Lydia Tavernor is reveling in her independence. If the comforts of companionship are the price Lydia must pay for her new life, well, she is perfectly fine with that. But if two matrimonially unencumbered people find a discrete way to occasionally allay their moments of unhappy aloneness together, what would be the harm in that? With the eighth sublimely satisfying addition to her Westcott family series, following Someone to Romance (2020), Balogh continues to delight readers with her adroitly etched characters, devilishly rapier wit, and the deft way in which she conjures up a veritable ocean of emotions in one deceptively simple story line.