Someone to Wed

August 14, 2017
With her signature voice and steady pace, Balogh crafts a thoughtful, sweet Regency-era love story to follow Someone to Hold. The new Earl of Riverdale, Alexander Westcott, inherited a title and property without the money to support them, but he refuses to consider marrying an heiress merely for her bank account. When Wren Heyden, a wealthy young widow, shocks him with a marriage proposal, Alexander will only consider it if she consents to exploring their compatibility with a proper courtship. But Wren is a virtual recluse due to the purple birthmark covering half her face, and she resists opening herself up to potential ridicule from society. She only proposed in a desperate attempt to experience marriage and gain a family, not having considered the public duties expected of a countess. As Alexander gets to know Wren, he realizes that her physical veil is matched by the veil around her heart, hiding the pain of loneliness and shame. His efforts to convince her that love sees past appearance will appeal to series fans. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency.

September 1, 2017
A financial exchange turns into quiet passion as a scarred heiress and a down-at-the-heels aristocrat fall in love after their wedding.In this third novel in the Westcott family series, Balogh (Someone to Hold, 2017, etc.) employs the classic "marriage of convenience" trope but without the rancorous couple often found in such plots. Wren Heyden has led the life of a recluse, fearing people's reactions to a facial blemish. Raised by kindly distant relatives, she has shunned other intimacy but knows she must act if she is to have any family in the future. The target of her ambitious proposal is Alexander Westcott, the new Earl of Riverdale, who has unexpectedly inherited the decrepit neighboring estate. Alexander is taken aback by her offer but torn between offense and a nagging sense that Wren has hidden depths. This instinct, and the rationale that her money from a prosperous business could restore his holdings, convinces him to wed the woman who warns him she is a bad bet. As their courtship and honeymoon unfold, Wren sheds her veils to trust the growing love of her thoughtful spouse. In turn, Alexander is outraged when he learns who forced a fearful mask on his gentle wife but understands that she needs support in confronting her demons, not rescuing. Balogh constructs detailed portraits of both characters, but some members of Wren's family seem like caricatures, and there's too much screen time given to the many Westcotts seen in previous books, slowing the pace of the action to a crawl. The back story recaps also feel excessive though done in service of the idea that marriages are not just between two people. In the author's familiar meditative style, the novel demonstrates how family ties can be forged by patient and persistent devotion in marriage.

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Starred review from September 15, 2017
Balogh's delightful ugly duckling tale may be the nonpareil Regency romance of the season. Wealthy, successful in business, and well-educated, Wren Heyden has decided she wants to marry. A lifelong recluse who hides her hideous facial birthmark behind heavy veils, she has researched the single gentlemen living near her estate and found three who might possibly be interested in marrying her for her fortune and invites them, one-by-one, to tea. Alexander Westcott, the new earl of Riverdale, has unexpectedly inherited the title and, with it, vast responsibilities, without the means to carry out his duties. When Wren makes her proposition, Alex asks her to remove her veil and is repulsed not by her face but rather by her aloof and forbidding demeanor. Wren withdraws her proposal and visits London, where the secret of her origins becomes of interest as she unveils. Wren and Alex are both complex, vulnerable, kind, and likable characters, a joy to encounter in Balogh's exquisitely rendered early-nineteenth-century setting. The friendships and loving relationships in the Westcott family are a great counterpoint to the abuse and neglect in other families, and they leave the reader feeling upbeat.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

Starred review from October 15, 2017

When independent, reclusive businesswoman Wren Heyden gathers her courage and offers Alexander Westcott, the newly minted but impoverished Earl of Riverdale, wealth in exchange for marriage, it's an unconventional but definitely intriguing proposal. Alex needs funds to restore his badly neglected estate, and wealthy Wren, cursed with a purple facial birthmark she believes renders her generally "unmarriageable," wants a husband and a family. It's a logical choice, and they agree to a tentative courtship. Neither, of course, is expecting the attraction and deep affection that eventually develop. With a courageous heroine who gradually reclaims the sense of self-worth that had cruelly been stripped from her as a child and a hero observant enough to see what she needs, this story restores faith in the human spirit to survive against the odds. VERDICT Balogh delves into her characters as only she can and delivers another emotionally compelling romance that is truly unforgettable. This brilliant novel will find a place on readers' "keeper" shelves. Balogh (Someone To Hold) lives in Canada.

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