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Summary
Summary
A reversal of fortune befalls a young woman in this charming Westcott novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Someone to Wed .
Humphrey Wescott, Earl of Riverdale, has died, leaving behind a fortune and a scandalous secret that will forever alter the lives of his family--sending one daughter on a journey of self-discovery...
With her parents' marriage declared bigamous, Camille Westcott is now illegitimate and without a title. Looking to eschew the trappings of her old life, she leaves London to teach at the Bath orphanage where her newly discovered half-sister lived. But even as she settles in, she must sit for a portrait commissioned by her grandmother and endure an artist who riles her every nerve.
An art teacher at the orphanage that was once his home, Joel Cunningham has been hired to paint the portrait of the haughty new teacher. But as Camille poses for Joel, their mutual contempt soon turns to desire. And it is only the bond between them that will allow them to weather the rough storm that lies ahead...
Author Notes
Mary Balogh was born in Swansea, Wales on March 24, 1944. She received a B.A. with honors from the University of Wales in 1965. From 1967 to 1988, she taught high school English in Saskatchewan, Canada, becoming principal of the school in 1982.
Her first novel, A Masked Deception, was published in 1985 and she won the Romantic Times Award for best new Regency writer. Since then, she has written more than 60 novels and has received a lifetime achievement award for her work in the genre of historical romance. Her works include The Wood Nymph, Christmas Promise, The Plumed Bonnet, Famous Heroine, A Matter of Class, No Man's Mistress, More than a Mistress, One Night for Love, and Only a Kiss. Her title's Someone to Hold and Someone to Care made The New York Times Bestseller List.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Balogh follows Someone to Love, in which orphaned Anna Snow discovered she was an earl's daughter and an heiress, with the deeply emotional riches-to-rags tale of Anna's half-sister, Camille Westcott, whose loss of status was Anna's gain. At first Camille was devastated to learn that her father had not legally married her mother, making her an illegitimate commoner. Now living in Bath with her grandmother and younger sister, Camille decides to quit moping and take a teaching job at the orphanage where Anna grew up. Her attempts to deal maturely with her reversal of fortune are frustrated by the presence of Joel Cunningham, the orphanage art teacher. Sparks of temper and romance fly between them, but Joel struggles to squash his feelings for his friend Anna and give Camille a fair chance. When old flames and old hurts reappear, both Joel and Camille must decide between safety and courage. Balogh exhibits a fine understanding of how unmet expectations, painful father issues, and identity struggles can both restrain a person and lead to liberation. This Regency romance dives deeper than most and will satisfy fans and new readers alike. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* For 22 years, Camille Westcott was Lady Camille Westcott, the privileged eldest daughter of the Earl of Riverdale. However, when the late earl's marriage to Camille's mother is discovered to have been bigamous, Camille finds her high place in society taken by Anna Snow, a half sister she never knew she had. Hoping that it might help provide answers about who she really is and where exactly she now belongs, Camille takes a job at the orphanage where Anna once taught. When former struggling artist and now fashionable portrait painter Joel Cunningham arrives at the orphanage to teach one of his twice-weekly classes, he is shocked to discover Camille attempting to step into his best friend (and unrequited love) Anna's shoes. However, once Joel is hired to paint Camille's portrait and discovers the woman beneath her formidable facade, he finds his initial antagonism towards the lady quickly turning into something altogether more intriguing. Written with an irresistibly wry sense of humor and graced with a cast of unforgettable characters, the second in Balogh's exceptional Westcott series, following Someone to Love (2016), is another gorgeously written love story from the queen of Regency romances.--Charles, John Copyright 2017 Booklist
Kirkus Review
An unloving heroine in reduced circumstances, an orphan hero, and the gift of unconditional acceptance.Miss Camille Westcott has to undertake an emotional journey after leaving London in disgrace thanks to the recent discovery of her aristocrat father's bigamy. Living with her grandmother and sister in Regency-era Bath, the disenobled Camille is driven by an inexplicable need: to see the orphanage that once housed her newly discovered (and legitimate) half sister, Anastasia (once Anna Snow). On impulse, she then applies to be its resident teacher. Adding to her disconcerting new life is an initially thorny acquaintance with Joel Cunningham, a former orphanage resident-turned-portrait painter who volunteers there as an art instructor. Initially leery of each other because of Joel's affection for Anna, they learn that there is more to themselves than they realized. As their attraction takes hold, Camille discovers something else: how to engage with the family she has always had but kept at an emotional distance. Balogh's unique skill in casting an unromantic woman as the heroine of a romance is on full display as she unwraps the layers of reserve and years of privilege that made Camille so formidable and forbidding in the earlier novel in this family series (Someone to Love, 2016, etc.). Meanwhile, Joel has to learn that his painter's eye can be trusted to see more in her and in his own newly found lineage. While his surprise fortune feels a little too close to the plot of the previous Westcott novel, one can look past it to the richer drama of human intimacy. Likewise, the reappearance of a two-dimensional comic villain seems pat, but only a hardhearted reader will be dry-eyed at the characters who become Camille and Joel's family by the end. This "Cinderella" reversal story seethes with desire, painted paradoxically in the watercolor prose that is the hallmark of this author. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Camilla Westcott is unwilling to let fate chart her course. After her father's bigamous marriage and the appearance of Anastasia, a long-lost legitimate daughter, strip her of her title and wealth, Camilla secures a teaching position-for reasons she doesn't quite understand-at the same orphanage where Anastasia grew up. Artist and part-time teacher Joel Cunningham isn't sure why buttoned-up, humorless Camilla is there, either, and he's certain she'll never last. Yet Camilla surprises them both as she comes into her own and changes in unanticipated ways. A dutiful heroine finally comprehends what it means to love and be loved; a compassionate hero suddenly has issues of his own. This insightful romance brilliantly explores the concepts of class, privilege, and entitlement. VERDICT The importance of love and the ability to give and accept it are at the heart of this beautifully crafted, elegant book that plumbs the emotional depths of loss, abandonment, and belonging. A definite keeper from Balogh (Someone To Love), who lives in Canada. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
