by Mary Balogh
Part of Westcott, book 9
First published 2021
Justin Wiley became Earl of Brandon six years ago after his father died, the same man who banished him as a young man for reasons that remain unclear. Now Justin must collect his half-sister Maria from her recently deceased mother's home and bring her to live at the family estate, Everleigh Park. Maria once loved her older brother, but she now despises him completely. Her friend Lady Estelle Lamarr witnesses how deeply Maria's hatred runs when Justin's name alone causes her distress. Justin arrives and asks both Estelle and her brother to accompany Maria back to Everleigh Park, hoping their presence will ease his sister's transition. Estelle reluctantly agrees to help Maria through this difficult time. At Everleigh Park, buried family secrets begin to surface during Maria's adjustment to her new life. Justin finds himself drawn to the twenty-five-year-old Lady Estelle and begins to consider her as a potential countess. Estelle, however, remains convinced that any romantic connection between them would be impossible.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction, historical-romance, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, second-chance
Setting: Everleigh Park
Period: 19th-Century
429 pages · Kindle Edition · Berkley