Someone Perfect by Mary Balogh – a Review

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Description:
As a young man, Justin Wiley was banished by his father for mysterious reasons, but now, his father is dead, and Justin has been Earl of Brandon for six years. A dark, dour man, he, nonetheless, takes it as his responsibility to care for his half-sister, Maria, when her mother dies. He travels to her home to fetch her back to the family seat at Everleigh Park.

Although she adored him, once, Maria now loathes Justin, and her friend, Lady Estelle Lamarr, can see, immediately, how his very name upsets her. When Justin arrives and invites Estelle and her brother to accompany Maria to Everleigh Park to help with her distress, she begrudgingly agrees, for Maria’s sake.

As family secrets unravel in Maria’s homecoming, Justin, too, uncovers his desire for a countess. And, while he may believe he’s found an obvious candidate in the beautiful 25-year-old Lady Estelle, she is most certain that they could never make a match…

Review:

Someone Perfect by Mary Balogh is the 9^th book in her fantastic Westcott series. I usually do not read a lot of Historical romances, but I love the Westcott stories and have read every single book in this series.  Though we do not get to see too many of the Westcott family in this book, (they will make appearance nearer to the end), but Balogh once again gives us a fantastic slow burn romance. 

Justin Wiley, our hero, became the Earl of Brandon, 6 years ago, upon his father’s death; after having been banned from his home years ago, he sent his father’s widow and his half-sister (Maria) to live in another one of their estates.  Upon the death of Maria’s mother, Justin feels as her guardian, it is his responsibility to bring his sister back home to Everleigh Park estate.  Maria currently hates Justin, especially since he sent them away 6 years ago; but she has accepted that she must return to the family estate in Everleigh.

Lady Estelle Lamarr, our heroine, lives at nearby estate with her twin brother, Bertrand, with each being close friends with Maria.  Knowing that his sister may need some familiar friends to help her adjust, Justin asks Estelle and Bertrand to come to his home for a few weeks to help acclimate Maria to her new home.  Justin, trying to bring the family together, invites relatives to their estate to get to know Maria. Will Maria open up to Justin and all the relatives she hardly knew?

Estelle and Bertrand having reconciled a few years ago with their Marquess father, after he married Viola, one of the Westcott matriarchs’, with both being friendly with many of the Westcotts. They both decide to accept the invitation, though they feel Justin is somewhat dark and dour; but their concern is for Maria.

What follows is a wonderful story with realtives from both sides of the family, spending time with Maria, including the gossip and rumors of that past.  At first, Maria resents Justin, thinking that he was banned because he stole her mothers jewelry, which she will learn was a lie by her mother; as much as she loved her mother, Maria learns from the elders many truths, and beginning to realize that she still loves Justin.  While all the many family members enjoy their stay at Everleigh, Estelle spends time with Justin to learn about his hardship when his father banned him.  Slowly, they become closer, but though she begins to see nicer side to him, Estelle is not interested in getting married. As truths are revealed, Estelle begins to have strong feelings for this new Justin.   Will Justin be able to convince Estelle to become his Countess?

Someone Perfect was a great slow build romance that with many revelations, bringing together an unlikely couple to find love and happiness.  Mary Balogh gives us some wonderful new secondary characters, including Maria, Bertrand, and all the relatives who came to meet Maria.  Though it was off to a terrible start, I ended up loving Estelle and Justin together.  I can’t say enough about Mary Balogh’s writing, as she has another winner in Someone Perfect. If you enjoy regency romance with great couples and secondary characters, you should be reading Someone Perfect; which was another fabulous fun heartwarming story.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher