Mary Balogh - Someone to Romance

Lady Jessica Archer lost her own interest in the glittering excitement of romance after her cousin and dearest friend, Abigail Westcott, was rejected by the ton when her father was revealed to be a bigamist. Ever practical, however, once she's twenty-five, she decides it's time to wed. Though she no longer believes she will find true love, she is still very eligible. She is, after all, the sister of Avery Archer, Duke of Netherby.
Jessica considers the many qualified gentlemen who court her. But when she meets the mysterious Gabriel Thorne, who has returned to England from the New World to claim an equally mysterious inheritance, Jessica considers him completely unsuitable, because he had the audacity, when he first met her, to announce his intention to wed her.
When Jessica guesses who Gabriel really is, however, and watches the lengths to which he will go in order to protect those who rely upon him, she is drawn to his cause—and to the man.

Comment: This is the 7th installment in the Westcott series by Mary Balogh, following the lives of several members of the Westcott family and their relatives and friends.

Jessica Archer loves her family and the fact most of those who are married are so blissfully happy makes her want to marry for love as well. She is 25 but never felt the urge to find a husband, even more so after the crisis that affected the family years ago which caused her cousin and best friend Abby to not have a come out as they were both so eager to share. Now Abby is happy too and Jessica feels this is the year to see if she can find someone...

Gabriel Thorne left England and succeed in America with the help of an uncle, but he is back to take his place as the earl of Lyndale, especially when it seems the man who would be so if Gabriel didn't who up is not someone who respects those under his care. Gabriel feels Jessica would be the perfect wife to better support his cause in society, but will he discover she is more than her status?

I've been a fan of this author for some years now and have read many books in most of her series. There are situations/themes that are inevitably repetitive but it is always a good reading experience anyway.

This book can be read as a standalone, as all the author's books can in terms of structure and development. However, I would not advise it because a lot about Jessica and her thoughts and motivations in certain moments come from events that happened in past books. Her attitude and behavior in some moments only feels special or meaningful if one had read the first book at least, when her actions and ideas were different than in this book, regarding certain things. This way, how she behaves now feels a lot more impactful.

The plot, however, seemed to me to be a bit more focused on Gabriel and his reasons to return to England. He was successful in America and had all motives to stay there but by coming back we get to see how likable he is and how he can cherish his personality. He is someone who matured and learned from the past - he went away as a young man, urged by others who did not help him as they should - and now feels he has to be there for those who depend on him, namely the workers of the estate he will inherit and an aunt that he cares for.

I've found him to be a good character and was rooting for him, even though there were times where he seemed a little too aloof, although this can be explained too, considering the circumstances. He is, therefore, quite well matched with Jessica, whom we have seen as someone likable but slightly uppity sometimes. Of course they will learn together that friendship and family to support you are some of the best things in life and by becoming a couple they would find themselves with someone who would also understand them.

Their romance isn't very demonstrative, but to be fair this author's writing style isn't meant to be over the top nor fluffy, and a lot of things are inferred in a more subtle way. Actually, to my personal taste, perhaps I could say that a few things related to the romance were a bit too tame, a bit too subtle, and I wish the feelings between them had been a bit more easily demonstrated. Again, however, this is an historical romance and the author does try to keep things relatively realistic in terms of character interaction.

This was an engaging story to read. Gabriel has a lot of things to worry about and with Jessica's help, and of her family, he manages to deal with some. I thought this part of the plot was interesting and made the interactions between many characters to feel more dynamic, since many contributed somehow to enhance the romance between Gabriel and Jessica and then to help him with his personal affairs. 

I'm now looking for to the next story, which will feature Harry, at last.

Grade: 8/10