Another beautifully conceived and beautifully written romance about people who aren’t conventionally beautiful in the romance novel sense.

I must confess that I was somewhat concerned when I read the description of this book. I’ve long liked the character of Elizabeth, but the character of Colin felt a little young, despite being about the same age as many of Balogh’s other heroes (and certainly of age to marry). And while I very much admire Ms. Balogh’s daring in writing stories which step outside the usual romance novel conventions of perfect youngish heroes and beautiful, tempestuous, but still slightly younger heroines, sometimes her execution falls a bit flat for me. In her previous book, Someone to Care, I liked the character of Viola, and thought Marcel was interesting, but didn’t quite buy into their romance. With this book, my concern was greater, since Elizabeth’s character had developed more over the previous books in the series, and I was afraid that Elizabeth and Colin would fall madly in love with one another immediately, or burn with an inexplicable but inescapable attraction, which would have felt wildly out of character. I liked that Ms. Balogh defied romance novel conventions again, and had her characters start with a deep abiding friendship, while their own awareness of their age difference blinds them to the possibility that it is growing into something deeper, until outside forces push them together and bring the realization home.

One of my own aunts married a man almost ten years her junior and she and my uncle have been happily married for over forty years—as was another aunt who married a man over ten years her senior. These relationships are real and can be very happy indeed. Kudos to Ms. Balogh for doing such a wonderful job bringing this one to life!

In regency society, there's no such thing as falling for a younger man. Elizabeth knows this, but she still gravitates to Colin over and over. Even though she knows she cannot-should not-compete for the eligible bachelor's affections, there's just something about him that fills her, makes her a happier and better person. As for Colin, none of the young misses paraded out for his inspection quite match the deep feelings the widowed Elizabeth stirs up. Mary Balogh has penned a lovely switch-about romance with two characters unsure about anything in their future, except they want each other in it. Will work well as a holiday read too as much of the first half is taken up with Christmas. Recommend!

This offering in the Westcott series is Elizabeth's love story. Elizabeth is my favorite character so I was excited to read this one. I love the way Balogh plots her characters. They seem so real and relatable. This is not the way I would have gone with the story but it was very well done and I liked it. I finished it in 2 days because I didn't want to put it down. If you haven't read Balogh and you like romance, you must check her out. She is my favorite romance writer because the story is the precedence rather than the bedroom. This particular story, in the arc I read, had less of the spice and more of the story, which I loved! The copy I read was an ebook arc provided to me by Net Galley from Berkley.

It is very hard to rate a Mary Balogh book because I tend to rate them on a special scale using her as the benchmark. As usual I found it very hard to put the book down after starting it and read late into the night.

While it doesn't rank up there with some of my favorites from her (the first 2 in this series, 3 from the survivors series, Slightly Dangerous, A Secret Pearl) I still devoured it in record time.

This is a powerful and hard-to-put down book. I think the romance between the two protagonists is less of a focus than their growth as people, but that is okay because their personal journeys are fascinating. I love how she handles the issue of family. I would be easy, from a modern vantage point, to say the characters should just cut ties with their horrible family members, but Ms. Balogh does not take that easy and a-historical way out.

As always, the secondary characters often steal the show. I LOVED Mathilda and got all teary-eyed during her brief moments in the spotlight.

Ms. Balogh really is the queen of Regency romance and this was another joy to read.

Another amazing addition to the Westcott series! What I enjoyed so much about this book is the May/December romance with the woman being older. Something not seen to often and handled very well in this book. Mary Balogh is amazing at weaving her characters and making you care about them. I can't wait for the next one!

The widowed Lady Overfield and young Colin, Lord Hodges, meet for the first time at a family Christmas house party. They immediately find each other to be kindred spirits. Although Colin has recently decided that it is time for a bride, and jokingly proposes to Elizabeth, neither of them takes it seriously. For one thing, she is nine years older than he. Nevertheless, they agree to share the first waltz at any ball they both attend during the next Season.

In London, Colin auditions debutantes for his future wife, while Elizabeth tries to decide if she will accept her solid suitor. Complications ensue.

Solid characterizations and a believable romance. Recommended.

Three Little Lies is the second offering from author Laura Marshall. It's one of those books with a synopsis that sounds like a thousand others you've read recently, and yet, once you get fully immersed in the lives of the characters, you realize it's far more complex than you first thought.

Sasha and Ellen meet in 2006, when Sasha and the family she lives with move in across the street from Ellen's childhood home. Ellen is almost immediately fascinated by the artsy, bohemian lives the Monktons seem to live. She wants desperately to be thought of as one of them, and it is through her burgeoning friendship with Sasha that she begins to achieve this deeply held desire. Soon, she's spending every spare moment with Sasha and the Monktons, and yet, she can't help but wonder about the secrets Sasha seems to be keeping.

Then, on New Year's Eve, tragedy strikes, and the lives of Ellen, Sasha, and their families are changed in unimaginable ways. Suddenly, everything Ellen thought she knew about this family she practically worships is called into question, and she finds her loyalties put to the ultimate test.

Ten years later, Ellen and Sasha are living together in a London flat. Ellen still considers Sasha to be her closest friend, but it's obvious from the start that Ellen is far more invested in the friendship than Sasha. When Sasha fails to return home from work one evening, Ellen is immediately worried. What if someone has learned the truth about that long ago night and is trying to get even with Sasha? Of course, she calls the police to report her friend missing, but they don't take her seriously, and so Ellen decides to look into Sasha's disappearance on her own. After all, if whatever has happened to Sasha is related to that terrible New Year's Eve, Ellen might be in danger as well.

My description of the plot probably sounds a little vague, but it's important for potential readers to go into this story with as little information as possible. I very much enjoyed trying to fit the various pieces of the puzzle into place, and a more complete summary would spoil that for you. Just be prepared for a very twisty ride, and remember to trust absolutely no one.

The story is told mostly from Ellen's point of view, but we also see things from Olivia Monkton's perspective. We move back and forth between 2006 and present day, but Ms. Marshall makes it very easy to keep up with things. I never struggled to understand where I was in the timeline or through whose lens I was seeing events.

If you're someone who needs to like the characters you're reading about, this particular story might prove difficult for you. Most of the characters are deeply flawed, and while I didn't out-and-out dislike very many of them, neither did I fully embrace them. Ellen, for example,  is incredibly idealistic, and there were several times I found myself frustrated by her seeming inability to see things the way they really were instead of through rose-tinted glasses. The Monktons are quite wealthy, and all of them possess a sense of entitlement I found difficult to deal with. Fortunately, the story was compelling enough to keep me reading despite the tricky nature of the characters.

The novel contains a great deal of discussion of sexual assault. It's not unnecessarily graphic, but neither does Ms. Marshall hold back when she describes the unfolding of certain events. Still, she handles the topic with a great deal of sensitivity. I never felt she was sensationalizing things, or painting survivors in a bad light, but I recognize that the subject matter might be troubling for some readers.

I figured a few things out before the end of the book, but that didn't ruin my overall enjoyment of the story. Of course, I would have preferred to be a bit more caught off guard, but that's hard when you read as many thrillers as I do.

This isn't  the best novel of psychological suspense I've read this year, but it's definitely far from the weakest. It takes some familiar subjects and puts a unique spin on them, making this a book I'm pleased to recommend to fans of this particular subgenre. Ms. Marshall has crafted an extremely intense story that is sure to keep readers engaged and make them think at the same time.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

I liked this, but did not love it. I can't really put a finger on why. I liked the people I was supposed to like, and I didn't like the ones that I was meant to dislike. This is the first time that I felt like the family was a bunch of busy-bodies. And it really was the same family members, behaving in the same way, but I feel like there was more of it in this book.

I find all of Mary Balogh's books to be very soothing, and this one is no different. The "older woman, younger man" plot is a little different from most, and the characters feel real, and show real growth. I love the Regency world Mary has built and will always recommend a book starring the Westcotts!

Mary Balogh does it again, with the newest entry in her Westcott series. The central tension in this story--whether an older woman and younger man can (or should) be together--is unfortunately still relevant today. No one blinks when a man dates a woman nine years younger than himself, but if it's the other way around, she's a cougar or a cradle robber. The protagonists, Colin and Elizabeth, are endearing and likable, and I really wanted them to be together and happy, even if I couldn't see how it was going to happen.

Another fantastic read by Mary Balogh. Elizabeth has been my favorite character since the beginning of the Westcott series so I was thrilled to finally get her story and it could not have been more wonderful. Colin was a perfect match for her and the development of their relationship was beautifully written. Definitely a must read!

Really liked this book. I feel it is better than some of the books in the series. It is nice to see that things can turn out good.

Not the most enjoyable read from Mary but will still be recommending it to my customers as it is important in the series.

I've been reading Mary Balogh's books for over a decade. She's extremely talented at rendering the complexities of human relationships into words. Our hero and heroine were both fully realized individuals with flaws and foibles and strengths, and watching their relationship grow was a delight. I also think the novel did an excellent job portraying both dysfunctional and supportive family relationships.

This book is sure to be a hit with Balogh fans. It starts off as a slow and rather gentle seeming romance, then takes a faster paced, darker turn when the hero's mother begins to interfere in the blossoming romance. If Balogh don't give Cousin Matilda her own romance after this I will be a very disappointed reader.

Another strong addition to the Westcott Family story features a thoughtful reflection on age differences and attraction that asks the reader to reconsider prejudices regarding the subject through the eyes of two people who don't fit the conventional spousal age norm. Wonderful, sensitive portrayal of the power of love to transcend social expectations.

Married young to a bullying, controlling husband, Elizabeth is reluctant to remarry and wary of choosing badly a second time. While nine years younger, Colin is caring, wise and worthy of taking a chance. In Someone to Trust, Mary Balogh deftly twists the tropes of historical romance to create a gripping, of-the-moment story which ultimately proves that regardless of age, the heart wants what the heart wants.

The newest book in the Westcott series is Elizabeth Overfield's story. The ease and friendliness she feels with sister-in-law Wren Heyden's younger brother, Colin, could easily become more, but how can she love a man nine years her junior? Nothing could come from their love because a marriage between them would be so counter to society's standards. After her abusive first marriage, Elizabeth wants to be sure she can trust her partner. Could Colin really care for her in a romantic way?

Balogh unfolds this tale with a light touch in the hearts of the main characters, Elizabeth and Colin. The obstacles and surprises in store are many and both characters confront inner doubts and weaknesses. In the end, each has to choose to trust again, after previous betrayals by family and partners. It is wonderful to see a favorite character bravely achieve her own happiness.

Mary Balogh is an automatic read for me. I've never been disappointed in one of her books, and Someone to Trust now ranks at the top of my favorites list. I loved Colin and Elizabeth from the first with their exuberance for life and seeing joy in everything around them. I was amused as they both looked elsewhere for a spouse, believing the difference in their ages meant they couldn't be together, although Elizabeth, being older, was more adamant about this than Colin was. They both have things in their past they want to forget, though they learn some things have to be faced to get through. I enjoyed everything about this book, the characters looking beyond circumstances and the expectations of the ton to what was right for them, seeing friends from previous Westcott books, seeing them find their happy. I do wish there would have been a peek into the future for them, but perhaps that will come in future books in this series.

Delightful! The thing I appreciate more and more about Balogh's work is that her characters are so well drawn and, because of that, all of her books are different, because the people involved are different.

This was what I would call her "nicer, gentler" romance. I kept expecting drama, and, in the end, there was very little thriller-style drama. Just regular people figuring out their lives in a situation that was less-than-ideal. I also appreciated the fact that Balogh never skips over the part where people figure stuff out.

This series gets better and better and better with every book! Highly recommended.