Book Review: Mary Balogh’s Someone to Honor

Posted September 9, 2020 by kddidit in Book Reviews

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review: Mary Balogh’s Someone to Honor

Someone to Honor


by

Mary Balogh


It is part of the Westcott series and is a historical romance in a Kindle edition that was published by Berkley on July 2, 2019 and has 396 pages.

Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon


Other books in this series include [books_series]

Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Slightly Married, Slightly Wicked, Slightly Tempted, Slightly Scandalous, Slightly Dangerous, A Summer to Remember, Simply Unforgettable, Simply Love, Simply Magic, The Proposal, The Arrangement, Only Enchanting, Only a Promise, Only a Kiss, Only Beloved, Someone to Love, Someone to Hold, Someone to Wed, Someone to Care, Someone to Trust, Someone to Remember, Someone Perfect, Someone to Cherish

Sixth in the Westcott historical romance series and revolving around the supportive Westcott family. The couple focus is on Abigail Westcott and Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Bennington.

My Take

It’s a sad tale of opposites, of people from different stations in life. Gil’s status is particularly heartbreaking, if only for the judgements of Caroline’s family who refused to see what their daughter was.

Harry has always had his family to support him, even when his father’s betrayal was revealed. Gil had only his overworked mother, thrown out by her family.

What they have had in common is the shunning they both experienced in the Army.

Abigail has her own issues that are surprisingly freeing and yet discomforting, as she realizes what she wants from life. Respect.

The decision to marry was weird. The way Balogh wrote it made no sense with none of the reasoning I would have expected from Abigail. For all her dreams of marrying a supportive man, it seemed she was marrying only to help Gil. As for the reaction from the Westcotts, hoo boy! No, Someone to Honor was not a very believable story.

It’s a contentious tale of two people trapped by their desire to help Harry recover, and we learn quite a bit about their angers from the third person dual point-of-view in Abigail’s and Gil’s perspectives.

The Story

Banished from the society she had expected to join, Abigail is unhappy, unsettled, trying to discover what she truly wants.

Gil knows exactly what he wants. He wants his Katy back.

The Characters

Abigail Westcott was raised a lady only to become ostracized by society once the truth of her father’s perfidy was revealed.

Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert “Gil” Bennington bought Rose Cottage in Gloucestershire. Beauty is the really ugly dog Gil rescued after the Battle of Waterloo. His mother was the daughter of a blacksmith. His father was a nobleman. His wife, Caroline, likes it rough and thought he was the answer to her wants. Katy is the daughter taken from him. Mrs Evans is Katy’s nurse. General Sir Edward and Lady Pascoe are Caroline’s parents who live in Essex.

Grimes of Grimes, Hanson, and Digsby is Gil’s lawyer.

The Westcott Family

Alexander Westcott, the Earl of Riverdale, is the head of the family, holding Harry’s former title and prefers living at Roxingley Park. He’s married to Wren (Someone to Wed, 3). Three-year-old Nathan is their oldest son, Richard is one years old, and Jonah is the baby. Elizabeth, Lady Hodges, is Alexander’s sister who’s now married to Colin, Lord Hodges (Someone to Trust, 5). They’ve just had their second child, a daughter, Eve. George is their two-year-old. Colin is Wren’s brother. Althea is Alexander and Elizabeth’s mother.

Hinsford Manor, Hampshire, was…
…Harry’s childhood home, which Anna has deeded over to him. Major Harry Westcott is a hero, a severely wounded one. Viola is his mother, who is now married to Marcel Lamarr, the Marquess of Dorchester (Someone to Care, 4), whose estate is at Redcliffe. His children, the twins Estelle and Bertrand, Viscount Watley, have become friends with Abigail, who is the youngest. Camille Cunningham is Abigail and Harry’s elder sister. She’s married to Joel, an artist (Someone to Hold, 2), and they’ve adopted quite a few children as well as having their own: thirteen-year-old Winifred, the mutinous seven-year-old Robbie, the sunny four-year-old Sarah and the mute Andrew, three-year-old Jacob, two-year-old Alice, and baby Samuel. Mrs Kingsley is Viola’s mother and Harry, Camille, and Abigail’s grandmother.

Mrs Sullivan is the housekeeper at Hinsford. Mark Mitchell is the publican’s son and had been Harry’s valet…and will be again. The Reverend Jenkins is the local parson. Back in the day, Mrs Benyon had been a neighbor at Hinsford.

Eugenia, the Dowager Countess of Riverdale, is mother to Louise, Matilda, and Mildred, who is married to Thomas.

Avery Archer, the Duke of Netherby, is married to Anna (Someone to Love, 1). Rebecca is their two-year-old. Jessica is their four-year-old. Louise is his stepmother, the Dowager Duchess of Netherby, née Westcott, a sister to the bigamous Humphrey. Jessica is her daughter and Avery’s half-sister.

Viscount Dirkson is Gil’s unwanted father and had been a friend of Humphrey’s.

The Cover and Title

The cover is in soothing greens as Abigail, in a straw poke bonnet with green ties and a pale yellow empire dress and over-the-elbow pale yellow gloves, stands in profile looking out over a green pond strewn with lily pads. On the other side of the pond is a wooden bench under a huge willow tree with more trees in the background. An info blurb is in white at the very top with the author’s name, also in white, just below it. A testimonial in a pale, pale pink is under the name on the right. The title is in a darker pink script, centered across Abigail’s waist with the series info in white at the very bottom.

The title could be about Abigail, Gil, or the both of them in Someone to Honor.