Romanced

Someone to Romance by Mary Balogh, which I actually finished before the Anne Stuart romp in November, made a welcome change from all the eh/emotional wrecking ball/no-don't-do-that clunkers that have plagued me in 2020. I do love this series, and the author is an auto-buy for me, so I'm prejudiced, of course. But sometimes it's just such a relief to have a well-written, emotionally satisfying GOOD book to write up.

Lady Jessica Archer. sister to the Duke of Netherby, is now twenty-five and still unmarried. Out of solidarity with her cousin and BFF Abigail, daughter of the bigamist who created the whole mess in this series, she's refused to even consider being romanced. She was happy when Abigail fell in love and married her one true guy (Someone to Honor) but she also feels a little left behind, too. So she decides it's time to find a husband.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Thorne, a new and myserious dude on the ton scene who has spent most of his life getting rich in America, decides he needs to find a wife among the privileged and titled in London. This is so he can lay claim to his true name, title and estates before the man who ruined his life grabs them. Gabriel is looking for a lady who can not only step up and take on the role of his countess, but help him protect a particularly vulnerable poor relative about to be booted to the curb by grabby life-wrecker.

I have to say first that these two are an interesting pair. Both of them have their own agendas, and neither of them are clueless. There's actually very little drama at first; it's all done by the ton book. Plus they're hard-headed, know what they want, and go after it in a fairly linear fashion. What's interesting is the slow burn of their romance despite all that. It's not as dramatic as some of the other novels in the series, but I liked it because of the deft way the author stayed true to the characters while having them fall in love.

The first part of the book suffers from lengthy series syndrome: there's a lot of backstory drop that literally has to be done so new-to-the-series readers can sort out the massive cast. Also, it's a bit slow, action-wise. A few times I actually saw where an editor probably said to Mary, "You need to explain that for the reader." Second half of the book picks up speed and things start to happen. As Gabriel's true identity is made public lots of excitement and drama ensue. Poor relative is saved, grabby guy gets his just desserts, and Jessica and Gabriel get their HEA.

Bottom line, I highly recommend Someone to Romance as a solid romance, an interesting character study and an antidote to anyone's reading woes.