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Someone to Remember
(Westcott #6.5)
by
It's never too late to fall in love in this enchanting new novella in the Westcott series from New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh.
Matilda Westcott has spent her life tending to the needs of her mother, the Dowager Countess of Riverdale, never questioning the life of solitude she has spun for herself. To Matilda, who considers herself the aging spinster daughter, ...more
Matilda Westcott has spent her life tending to the needs of her mother, the Dowager Countess of Riverdale, never questioning the life of solitude she has spun for herself. To Matilda, who considers herself the aging spinster daughter, ...more
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Kindle Edition, 272 pages
Published
November 5th 2019
by Berkley
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Start your review of Someone to Remember (Westcott #6.5)

Sigh... I really didn't want to do this, but I have to do this, give one of my used-to-be fave-authors a mediocre rating.
Here's the thing:
* I got the sample just to be safe. The sample ended after 2 pages. Why???? Because all of the sample was taken up by MB's long, LONG introduction to the series and how she ended up writing this book. So I got 2 pages to judge the book by. So, not really a sample at all.
* So then I got the book. And I wish I asked someone and had the patience to wait for the ...more
Here's the thing:
* I got the sample just to be safe. The sample ended after 2 pages. Why???? Because all of the sample was taken up by MB's long, LONG introduction to the series and how she ended up writing this book. So I got 2 pages to judge the book by. So, not really a sample at all.
* So then I got the book. And I wish I asked someone and had the patience to wait for the ...more

I squeeed so hard when I saw that Matilda would be getting a book!
August 20, 2019
Now read. Review to come.
November 7, 2019
3 / 3.25 stars
Not one of Balogh’s best, and much too short.
Reviewed with Kaetrin for DA:
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o... ...more
August 20, 2019
Now read. Review to come.
November 7, 2019
3 / 3.25 stars
Not one of Balogh’s best, and much too short.
Reviewed with Kaetrin for DA:
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o... ...more

Someone to Remember is the seventh (and penultimate?) instalment in Mary Balogh’s
Westcott
saga, which has followed the fortunes of the various members of the large and close-knit Westcott family after the discovery that the late Humphrey Westcott, Earl of Riverdale, had committed bigamy and that his second marriage was therefore invalid. This discovery naturally had serious repercussions; his son and two daughters lost titles, fortunes and status; his widow couldn’t even claim to have been
...more

This is seventh in a series, and much of the lead-in or weight of this character is built in the previous books. Matilda has featured in all of them (I think) as a real romantic willing to support the happiness of the other leads and the first to rally the others to do something. That said, she's very much in the background of those others, so you can probably read this on its own. But why would you want to?
I can't say I was yearning for a separate story for Matilda. She has been a sympathetic c ...more
I can't say I was yearning for a separate story for Matilda. She has been a sympathetic c ...more

Someone to Remember was such a lovely romance! Mary Balogh never fails to bring out emotions, and I actually shed a happy tear (or two) while reading.
Matilda as a secondary character in the past, kind of blended in, she was labeled a mild-aged, fussy spinster, and sort of shuffled off to the side. But in the last book Matilda took some initiative and made a bold move that would’ve been considered shocking at the time for the sake of a family member. There were hints at that point of a love lost ...more
Matilda as a secondary character in the past, kind of blended in, she was labeled a mild-aged, fussy spinster, and sort of shuffled off to the side. But in the last book Matilda took some initiative and made a bold move that would’ve been considered shocking at the time for the sake of a family member. There were hints at that point of a love lost ...more

Jul 05, 2019
Rbette1299
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
All romance readers
Shelves:
romance,
historical
So now I have read and absolutely loved this book. Charles made the renewed romance happen and I loved his inner thoughts. Matilda was short on courage most of her life but she finally finds enough to declare her love for Charles and to accept his. There is a scene that made me cry when Matilda tells Charles what is was like for her loving him over 36 years and hum realizing he had not done enough when he was 20 to pursue her hand in marriage despite her parents qualms. They both never found the
...more

Sweet old aunt Matilda is about to have an HEA of her own and it is beautiful!
Aunt Matilda shows up in several books in the Westcott series and evolved from a small side character into an important instrument of the family’s happiness. She is old, prim, always fussing after her mother, but she is also loyal, intelligent and fun.
At the blooming age of 57, Matilda is about to rekindle an old flame and experience a mature, but not less intense love with the dashing Viscount Dirkson, aka Charles.
As ...more
Aunt Matilda shows up in several books in the Westcott series and evolved from a small side character into an important instrument of the family’s happiness. She is old, prim, always fussing after her mother, but she is also loyal, intelligent and fun.
At the blooming age of 57, Matilda is about to rekindle an old flame and experience a mature, but not less intense love with the dashing Viscount Dirkson, aka Charles.
As ...more

I'm not entirely sure how to criticize what I didn't like it about this book but I'm going to try.
1) Lazy, sparse characterization. Charles was a rake in the past, frivolous and free, ending with him impregnating a woman and refusing to marry her although he was unmarried and could have. I could not for the life of me get into Someone to Honor so I don't know the full effect of how this affected his illegitimate son, Gil, who's the hero in the other book. Some people say that Gil's version of ev ...more
1) Lazy, sparse characterization. Charles was a rake in the past, frivolous and free, ending with him impregnating a woman and refusing to marry her although he was unmarried and could have. I could not for the life of me get into Someone to Honor so I don't know the full effect of how this affected his illegitimate son, Gil, who's the hero in the other book. Some people say that Gil's version of ev ...more

Someone to Remember is the 7th installment to Mary Balogh's Wescott series. I would call it book #6.5 since it is the length of a novella, but that's just me. It shines light on an older member of the Wescott family, Matilda, who has been cast until now as the spinster aunt who is a bit of a romantic.
After finishing Someone to Honor, I was intrigued by Matilda's past with Viscount Dirkson. I was so pleased to see that she was getting her own Happily Ever After! It is smaller than the rest of the ...more
After finishing Someone to Honor, I was intrigued by Matilda's past with Viscount Dirkson. I was so pleased to see that she was getting her own Happily Ever After! It is smaller than the rest of the ...more

Just delightful.
As I have become older, I have grown to appreciate older heroines, and Aunt Matilda is a great older heroine. She has appeared in several of the earlier titles in this series, always as the almost elderly spinster who fusses over her mother. In this book, however, we learn that there is more to Matilda than we thought. Mary Balogh excels at writing this kind of sweet, insightful plot, and you'll be rooting for Matilda and Charles to make a go of it. ...more
As I have become older, I have grown to appreciate older heroines, and Aunt Matilda is a great older heroine. She has appeared in several of the earlier titles in this series, always as the almost elderly spinster who fusses over her mother. In this book, however, we learn that there is more to Matilda than we thought. Mary Balogh excels at writing this kind of sweet, insightful plot, and you'll be rooting for Matilda and Charles to make a go of it. ...more

If you have been following the Westcott series, you know that at the end of Someone to Honor, Lady Matilda Westcott – Abigail’s maiden aunt, goes to see Charles Sawyer, Viscount Dirkson and asks him to help Gilbert get custody of his daughter. In that book, it is clear to the reader that Charles and Matilda share a past and did not part on the best of terms, but the reader is never enlightened about what transpired and when.
Lady Matilda acts as caregiver/companion to her mother, the dowager Cou ...more
Lady Matilda acts as caregiver/companion to her mother, the dowager Cou ...more

Jan 22, 2020
Kirsten
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bc-buddy-read-with-me,
reading-with-catherine
This book seemed a bit big for a novella. (But I may not know the exact rules for that.)
A new Westcott novel is always an occasion. New family members. New romances for family members. And you know it's all going to work out (regardless how stubborn the main characters are), because - hey - the Westcotts are so cool.
This book was just wonderful - and a little different. It is so cool that the author pays attention to the older members of the family and gives them a second chance at love. ...more
A new Westcott novel is always an occasion. New family members. New romances for family members. And you know it's all going to work out (regardless how stubborn the main characters are), because - hey - the Westcotts are so cool.
This book was just wonderful - and a little different. It is so cool that the author pays attention to the older members of the family and gives them a second chance at love. ...more

A very delightful and comfy read by Mary Balogh. I enjoy her stories although she does have some that are hit or miss, however this did not fail for me as I enjoyed it alot.
4-Stars
4-Stars

What a tragic story! Don't get me wrong ... there is a lovely beginning to a happily ever after here, but only after 36 years of separation. Thirty-six years!!!! It made me sad to think of the opportunities lost due to a series of tragic choices made while Matilda and Charles were young and in love. It hurt my heart. As we know from the earlier books in the Westcott series, Matilda is the "spinster" aunt who hovers around her dowager mother, giving her smelling salts and adjusting her shawls at
...more

A bittersweet and tender romance!
After reading 'Someone to Honor' I noted 'the amazingly secretive meeting of Aunt Matilda (Lady Matilda Westcott) with someone she has previously known,' and exclaimed, 'therein lies a story!'
Therein did lie a story! A story of lost dreams, of lives taking different paths and an endearing love lying hidden for more than thirty-six years, pushed into the depths of the couple in question's respective hearts, until they meet again.
Charles Sawyer, Viscount Dirkson, a ...more
After reading 'Someone to Honor' I noted 'the amazingly secretive meeting of Aunt Matilda (Lady Matilda Westcott) with someone she has previously known,' and exclaimed, 'therein lies a story!'
Therein did lie a story! A story of lost dreams, of lives taking different paths and an endearing love lying hidden for more than thirty-six years, pushed into the depths of the couple in question's respective hearts, until they meet again.
Charles Sawyer, Viscount Dirkson, a ...more

2019 bk 359. The 7th episode in the Westcott Family drama. This is truly a novella that has been padded out by an extensive author's comment and then at the back end with excerpts from the other 6 books. This is the story of fifty-something Matilda, the maiden aunt, seemingly stuck caring for her mother and eventually for nieces and great nieces with no real life of her own. I will say - I am tired of books depicting single women caring for parents and wasting their own lives in this manner. Bal
...more

In the last Westcott book, we learned a surprise about Mathilda's past- she had a disappointment in love and so had he and then they met again with that old magic still there. I needed that story... and, here it is. It was all I could have hoped for in a reunion romance.
Someone to Remember is the seventh installment of the Westcott series. Each could be read standalone in a pinch. However, the further one gets in the series, the harder it is to read standalone since there is a great deal of fami ...more
Someone to Remember is the seventh installment of the Westcott series. Each could be read standalone in a pinch. However, the further one gets in the series, the harder it is to read standalone since there is a great deal of fami ...more

FINALLY someone has written the book I've been wanting for years: a romance starring a middle-aged woman (of 56), who is as capable of and as deserving of love, romance, and joy as a woman in her teens, twenties, or thirties. I cheered and smiled and even grew teary over Matilda's awakening to love and her decision to embrace happiness and the life she once gave up. A lovely second-chance novella. Full review to come.
...more

Reviewed for Dear Author, with Janine.
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o... ...more
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o... ...more

Oct 25, 2019
Dorine
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
ebooks-kindle,
favorites,
reunited-lovers,
rj,
regency,
historical,
romance,
adventure,
family-dynamics,
read-for-review
Recommended Read! SOMEONE TO REMEMBER is perfection. I laughed, cried, smiled, and sighed my way through this novella. It is utterly lovely, and the sweetest midlife romance. Author Mary Balogh infinitely reigns as the Regency romance queen.
Charles and Matilda are enchanting together. Matilda is flawlessly designed as the suffering spinster, fussing over her aging mother, who decidedly does not want her assistance. Matilda’s first and only love, the notorious rake, Viscount Dirkson — her Charles ...more
Charles and Matilda are enchanting together. Matilda is flawlessly designed as the suffering spinster, fussing over her aging mother, who decidedly does not want her assistance. Matilda’s first and only love, the notorious rake, Viscount Dirkson — her Charles ...more

I’m so happy to have read Someone to Remember because it was a second chance of love story for an older couple. The romance genre needs a story to show that love happens at any age and not just for the young. Matilda Westcott has lived in the background as a spinster and being her mother’s companion. She came to the forefront in the last story (Someone to Honor) to initiate a happy ending for its couple. Now she is about to find her match herself with the love of her youth.
36 years ago, she turn ...more
36 years ago, she turn ...more

Novella featuring Matilda following the set up in the previous book. Matilda is the 50's aunt to many in the Wescott family most known for taking care of her mother and staying in the background. In book 6 we got to see her as a whole person, and this short expands on that as we learn the reasons she never married. It's a complete story, despite its length, but I felt some expansion would have been helpful, especially as the main couple get to know each other again after so many years apart. Thi
...more

So I'm really glad Matilda got a story. She's not the kind of character who normally gets one. And I'm always into "old" characters getting romance (they're both 56). Buuuuut it's also a second chance romance, which rarely works for me (people change and grow! They hadn't talked to each other for 36 years!) and in this case, I think the fact that Matilda is "old" made it work even less well for me. What if you're 56 and DIDN'T have a great thwarted love when you were 20? Are you just out of luck
...more

I enjoyed this little novella, it was a perfect and quick morning read. I have a soft spot in my heart for second chance love stories (I blame Persuasion for that) and the fact that this particular second chance story had a hero and heroine aged 56 made it all that better. I enjoyed seeing Matilda come into her own, I liked the open conversation she had (finally) with her mother and the fact that she was allowed to make her own choices re: marriage and Charles, something she hadn't done for many
...more

I really like the Westcotts and al their assorted friends and relations. This novella was a sweet addition to the series.

Having devoted her life to caring for her mother's every need, she is forced to reevaluate her life's trajectory when it is determined that her mother's younger sister along with her even younger companion will be coming to live with the Dowager Countess, thus robbing Matilida of her sense of purpose in her mother's home. How different might her life have been had she married and left home?
This question is triggered for Matilda once more when Viscount Dirkson, Charles Sawyer, the lost love from ...more
This question is triggered for Matilda once more when Viscount Dirkson, Charles Sawyer, the lost love from ...more

**4.5 stars**
How does Mary Balogh get me to invest more of my emotions in a ten chapter novella than many authors do in a full novel? She’s a magician, and the pen (or keyboard) is her wand. I’m sure of it. Mary Balogh novels are always chalked full of characters. SO many characters that I am never sure if I’ll be able to get into the book. Then the romance heats up, and I’m sold.
SOMEONE TO REMEMBER is a profoundly romantic second chance romance between two adults in their mid-fifties, how aweso ...more
How does Mary Balogh get me to invest more of my emotions in a ten chapter novella than many authors do in a full novel? She’s a magician, and the pen (or keyboard) is her wand. I’m sure of it. Mary Balogh novels are always chalked full of characters. SO many characters that I am never sure if I’ll be able to get into the book. Then the romance heats up, and I’m sold.
SOMEONE TO REMEMBER is a profoundly romantic second chance romance between two adults in their mid-fifties, how aweso ...more

Thirty-six years after a squashed romance, a reformed rake and a middle aged spinster are reunited. What an odd and unlikely scenario for a Regency romance! Is it possible to fall in love if one was already in it? Could one fall in love twice with the same person? And how old is too old for love?
When Lady Matilda and Charles Sawyer (now Viscount Dirkson) were twenty, they had fallen madly in love—but because he had the beginning of a wild reputation, her father refused his suit when the young v ...more
When Lady Matilda and Charles Sawyer (now Viscount Dirkson) were twenty, they had fallen madly in love—but because he had the beginning of a wild reputation, her father refused his suit when the young v ...more
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Mary 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 curl
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“I asked on my Facebook page recently how many people are rereaders and was surprised that the overwhelming majority of those who answered are. So am I. There is something very comforting about meeting old friends again within the pages of a loved book. It’s a bit like coming home.”
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“It is not easy to be a woman, is it? Especially a spinster.”
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