https://marybalogh.com/
I wanted to love this book. It was written by one of my favorite author’s, Mary Balogh. It’s
part of the Westcott series. It was about an older couple, both at the advanced age of 56. While a number of people may not want to read about so-called older people being in love, I figured that in the hands of Ms. Balogh, I would be in for a magnificent ride. By the way, shame on those people who think love is only for the young. I have news for you: feelings never go away and they never become placid. Remember some of the goofy things you did for love when you were young. Well, you still do them when you’re older. You still have doubts. You have just as many emotions now as you did then, but this time you have wrinkles, and sagging body parts to add into the blend. Be warned, love is not easier the second, third or fourth time around. Anyway, back to Someone to Remember. If anyone could pull an older couple romance off, it would be Mary Balogh. Sadly, for me, she did not succeed. My disappointment did not have anything to do with the age of the couple, it had to do with characters not being fully developed, and a plotline that didn’t go anyplace.
Short story issue. Yes, I know this was a short story, but Ms. Balogh has never let that stop her from giving us some amazing stories before. There was an introduction by Ms. Balogh explaining why she wrote this story. In that intro, she states how much she has come to care for Matilda. Then the story. Following the story were five excerpts from the previous books in the series. For me, Someone to Remember turned out to be an advertisement for Ms. Balogh’s other books, and not the story of Matilda and Charles. I was expecting so much more, especially after Ms. Balogh’s stated how much Matilda’s character meant to her.
Once upon a time Matilda and Charles were in love. He had a rakish reputation, and her family let her know that because of that reputation he was not good enough for her. Matilda and Charles were both heart-broken. Charles went on to be even more rakish, even fathering an illegitimate son in the process, (Gil from Someone to Honour). Matilda went on to become an unappreciated drudge for her mother, and a fixer-upper for the rest of the Westcott family. Now Charles is a widower, and Matilda is still a spinster. At this point it would be nice to say “the sparks are about to fly.” That my little Petunia’s was my issue with this story. There were no sparks.
There was not any real conflict, and there was no chemistry between Matilda and Charles. I could perceive no friendship building, no sexual tension, nothing. The only emotion exhibited was anger from Charles. He’s angry with Matilda for letting her mother walk all over her for years. When Matilda did finally confront her mother, the reasoning behind her treatment of Matilda through the years was weird. Also tiresome was Matilda’s continuous lamentation about her age.
This was a big disappointment for me. The story could have taken a different path, but didn’t. There could have been some flashbacks, or something, which would have given us some insights into Charles and Matilda, but there were not. If characters are fully developed, they become living, breathing people in our mind. They become someone we have affection for, and we want their happily-ever-after. I was hoping that Ms. Balogh would give us a romance between two mature people, but there was no intensity, no passion, and no connection between the two. Sorry to say, Someone to Remember was not one of my favorite Balogh stories.
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Missing
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