Someone to Care

TEST

Be still my heart: Someone to Care is a love story starring two damaged and flawed grownups. Two years after learning that her marriage was bigamous, Viola Kingsley, once the Countess of Riverdale, is by no means recovered. All the love showered on her by her devoted family is not enough to lift her spirits.

She did not know what was happening to her. Except that she felt … empty. Utterly and totally empty. A black hole yawned inside her, but she could not see to the bottom of it and was frightened at what she might discover there if she could.

At the age of forty-two, she abruptly takes leave of her family who are gathered to celebrate the christening of new grandson. Viola is inexplicably desolate: she wants “someone to care” just for her, a wish that seems fantastical in its improbability.

Marcel Lamarr, who recently came into the title of Marquess of Dorchester, has been a widower for almost twenty years. A widower and a “notorious womanizer”. Years earlier, when Viola was a young mother, she came under his spell. Although she resisted being seduced by him, she was greatly tempted.

Marcel never quite forgot Viola. He and his brother André, on their way home to Redcliffe Court (reluctantly, on Marcel’s part), make an unexpected stop at an unprepossessing inn and who should be there? The woman who “told him to go away,” and “badly bruised” his pride.

While André natters on, Marcel avidly drinks in every aspect of the one who got away: “Hers was a face that had suffered, Marcel thought, and was strangely more beautiful as a result.” Suddenly André notices that “Miss Kingsley” is sitting in the inn’s dining room and events take on a life of their own. Marcel tells André to take their carriage and leave him there. Alone. With a woman whose hair is “still the color of honey.”

Marcel asks Viola to attend the village fair and simply “jollificate” alongside him. “Assuming, that is, you do not find me unutterably boring.” Boring? Hardly. Viola finds it almost impossible “to describe him accurately.” Balogh is unerring in her ability to bring Viola’s thoughts to life.

For with him it had never been just looks. It was … everything. Presence. Charisma. Power. Ruthlessness. Sexuality—though that was not a word very common to her vocabulary.

Viola, surprising herself, says yes. She is in a mood “to do something unexpected and outrageous to fill in the hours and take her mind off herself.” Marcel and Viola wile away a magical afternoon, listening to warbling church choirs, partaking of fairings, and buying frivolities, including a cascade of brilliant jewels.

All of them large and sparkling—even the pearls—and perfectly shaped. All of them unutterably vulgar and not even convincing fakes. He decked her out in some of the more ostentatious of them and paid three times what the two flustered ladies who ran the booth asked of him.

Day drifts into night and Marcel kisses Viola. It seems to her that “she had never been kissed with any expertise.” Until Marcel.

The thought of parting seems impossible. Marcel asks Viola to run away with him: to “go somewhere, anywhere, everywhere until we are ready to return.” How often do adults venture into the “land of running away?” She says yes. Marcel is sure his family won’t miss him and Viola pens a quick note to her daughters, telling them not to worry, that she won’t be home for a bit. Does it sound too good to be true? Will their halcyon days and weeks stretch on forever? Or are they incorrect in thinking that their absence won’t be noticed? It is at this point that their idyllic isolation turns farcical – but charmingly and believably so. Balogh portrays their loving families accurately, all crotchety and concerned.

What was it about Someone to Care that seemed so familiar? It was Georgette Heyer’s Sprig Muslin that had me drawing parallels, particularly the element of farce, here defined as “ludicrously improbable situations.” Secondly, the notion that in the prescribed world of most aristocrats, running away from the ton is a prerequisite for untrammeled, pastoral, passionate romance. Marcus and Viola’s initial relationship is wildly reckless and enchanting – and their journey after their private bubble bursts is equally absorbing. If ever a pair deserved their happily-ever-after, these two do.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

Reviewed by Janet Webb

Grade: A-

Book Type: Historical Romance

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date: 02/05/18

Publication Date: 05/2018

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

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Guest
05/13/2018 10:08 pm

As a baby boomer, I was initially thrilled that Ms. Balogh was giving us an older heroine. And I had hopes for the novel, though it started a bit slowly. (Though that’s fairly common for the author’s novels–they progress at a rather “stately” rate.) The premise sounded interesting.

But man, this story let me down big time.

I was bored. The story bordered on Women’s Fiction instead of romance, for me anyway. There was soooo much “telling” and not “showing.” (which I have found to be a trend in the author’s more recent novels).

I wanted to see more interaction between the H/h–say, an acknowledgment, after being found out, that they actually still wanted to be together, but perhaps one or both feared actually tying the knot, causing conflict…. Instead, the story remained in this “he/she got tired of me before I was ready, but I’m hurt anyway, but I knew it would happen, so I just need to move on, but it’s hard, but …” loop for endless pages. (I’m not a fan of the “Big Misunderstanding” trope, which we have a variation of here.) Normally, I love that Balogh is an author who gives us a view into her characters’ minds. But in this case, there was too much repeated internal dialogue.

So disappointed! (But I can still heartily recommend my favorite Balogh, More than a Mistress, and my second favorite, Simply Love, both of which survived early rounds of voting in the Readers’ Favorites poll. :-) )

Kass
Kass
Guest
05/03/2018 6:24 pm

Now… what about the Someone to Trust (aka Book 5) teaser?! Did you read it? That’s the one that I’m REALLY looking forward.

Kay
Kay
05/02/2018 8:01 pm

I really enjoyed having older lead characters. I love when Balogh does waltz scenes (so romantic). The hardest part of the book for me was all the family. It is always hard for me to remember characters from previous books. I found myself skimming over those scenes. Other than that, it was very sweet.

Caz Owens
Caz Owens
Editor
Reply to  Kay
05/03/2018 4:12 pm

I knew who everyone was, I just wanted them to GO AWAY and stop interfering! I ended up giving this a B+, largely because I felt things lost their way a bit after Alex and the gang descended and stuck their oars in!

Kass
Kass
Guest
05/02/2018 8:01 am

Thanks for the review. Just finished reading and I have enjoyed it very much. I agree with your grade, even if, for me, Viola was a more interesting character than Marcel.

For other readers: in Amazon US both this book and the 1st on the series are in a great price today (1.99$).