Another member of the Westcott family finds true love in Mary Balogh’s Someone to Trust. The setting is snow-covered and the company jolly, but two people at the holiday family gathering are feeling gloomy. Widow Elizabeth Overfield, at 35, wonders if now might be the time to find another husband and try for children. Eligible bachelor Colin Handrich, Lord Hodges, is 26 and contemplates doing his duty in the New Year and beginning the business of finding a wife. The pair enjoys each other’s company and feels an undeniable attraction, but the age difference makes them incompatible—or does it? Colin and Elizabeth bring out the best in each other, but on the way to a happy-ever-after they must confront ugly gossip, societal expectations and manipulative relatives. The quiet, authentic intensity of the characters’ emotions is a hallmark of Balogh’s work, and it is a pleasure to experience each heart-wringing moment in this romance made for warming a winter night.
This article was originally published in the December 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
