by Mary Balogh
Part of Westcott, book 5
First published 2018
Elizabeth Overfield stands in the snow at Brambledean Court during a rare white Christmas, listening to carolers with Colin Handrich, Lord Hodges. The widow came to the Westcott family gathering planning to find a suitable second husband. She never expected to enjoy the company of a man nine years her junior. They walk back from Christmas morning church service together. They throw snowballs in the afternoon. When their sled crashes into a snowbank, they share a kiss that surprises them both. Back in London for the Season, Elizabeth and Colin each search for appropriate matches while agreeing to dance one waltz together at every ball. This simple arrangement threatens to destroy their careful plans. Each dance draws them deeper into feelings that defy social expectations. Elizabeth must choose between the security of convention and the risk of following her heart with a younger man who makes her question everything she believes about love and propriety.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, adult-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, second-chance-romance
Setting: Brambledean Court, London
Period: Christmas, Victorian Era
509 pages · Library Binding · Thorndike Press