by Mary Balogh
Part of Westcott, book 4
First published 2018
Viola Kingsley sits alone in her drawing room, no longer a countess after her husband's death stripped the family of titles and wealth two years ago. Her children have moved on with their lives while she remains adrift, cut off from the society that once welcomed her. Then she encounters Marcel Lamarr, the Marquess of Dorchester, a man who has pursued countless women since losing his wife twenty years earlier. He had tried to seduce Viola years before, but she had refused him then. Now he finds her even more compelling. When Marcel proposes they cast aside convention entirely, Viola makes a shocking choice. She abandons her quiet life to run away with him. But as they flee together, both discover that breaking free from the bonds of respectability proves more complicated than either anticipated. The pleasure they seek comes with unexpected consequences that neither can escape.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult, adult-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, second-chance-romance
Period: 19th-Century, 20th-Century
384 pages · Paperback · Piatkus Books