Finally, Harry''s story. We've been waiting for this one for, what, six books now? And yes, it is very satisfying. Balogh spends more time with Harry's object of affection, which makes sense as we are already quite familiar with Harrry, but deeper and more interesting aspects of his character are drawn out to great effect as he and Lydia find comfort, and understanding, in each other. Balogh's characters all have their own hurts to get past, and I appreciate that the characters operate in good faith, and find comfort myself in how they all find their own paths to happiness.

I loved reading Harry's story. The story itself was interesting. The back story was pretty long, especially to one who has read all the books. I skimmed parts of that. I enjoy Mary Balogh's writing style, her imagery. She is an automatic buy. I don't think this story had as much angst, troubles to overcome as some of the others like Gil and Abby's story.

Mary Balogh's characters are often conflicted and must work through problematic pasts to move forward as Harry and Lydia do. They face and overcome the difficulties of their deep disappointments in life which occurred through no fault of their own. The Westcott family's willingness to pull together and support each other is always lovely to read about. This is another fine addition to the Westcott series.

Throughout this series, I've always wanted to know exactly what happens when it's Harry Wescott's turn!

Harry is enjoying ( or thinks he is) his solitude when he begins an affair with Lydia Tavernor.
I loved it.

What I really loved about this book is that Harry and Lydia's romance developed almost naturally. Unlike most of the books in this series. They were acquaintances, then friends then fell in love.

I always say that Mary Balogh's books have always been my favorite for just the romance of a story.

This one didn't disappoint! A great end to a great series.

Harry is the last of the Westcott children who is unmarried. While his family schemes to find hi, a bride, he meets the town widow and sparks fly. ARC from NetGalley.

A Regency stroll with the Westcotts. When you lose everything you can still find happily ever after. I have been wanting Harry's story since I started this series. The dynamic between the family members and their spouses are fun to read. While the later books haven't had as much of that as the earlier ones, they are still enjoyable.

I have been a Mary Balogh fan for many years and the books are all keepers. I have not yet read all the books in the Westcott series, but when I won an e copy of this book from the publisher I just had to skip ahead. I was delightfully reminded of how much I enjoy Mary Balogh books. The well thought out characters and their authentically rendered feelings are so lovely to read. The descriptions are just detailed enough to easily envision everything. So enjoyable! I'm off to reread some more of her books!

Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book. I have been a Mary Balogh fan for years and have enjoyed the Westcott series right from the start. I have been anxiously awaiting Harry's story as I believed he suffered the most from the "great disaster". I was so happy to see that he had recovered from all of his war wounds and had moved on and was thrilled when he found "someone to cherish". I also enjoyed Lidia's character. She becomes such a strong independent woman after dealing her whole life with overbearing yet loving men. It was so difficult in those days for women to be independent so I admired her grit and tenacity. This was an engaging story from start to finish and worth the read to continue if you have followed the Westcott series. I can't wait for the next story in this series!

The Westcott series comes full circle in this final book. We began with the story of Anna Snow, the orphan who finds out that she is the daughter—and only legitimate child—of the Earl of Riverdale and have been seeing the fallout of that discovery on various members of the family as the series has continued. Now we come to the story of the other person whose life was most affected by the discovery of the earl’s bigamous marriage and the resulting illegitimacy of the children of that marriage: his dispossessed son, Harry. Throughout the series, Harry has acted almost relentlessly cheerful, but there has always been a serious undertone to his constant insistence that the loss of his title and his subsequent career in the army are “a lark”. That seriousness comes to the fore when he meets Lydia Tavernor, the widow of the beloved local vicar. Like Harry, Lydia is finding herself and figuring out a life of her own. The story of how these two wounded birds come together is a sweet one, as they face down scandalous gossip and well-intentioned families.

As for well-intentioned families, it was interesting to finally see the Westcott men’s reaction to the Westcott women’s family conferences. Also, I appreciated that, while many authors of historical romances give their heroines a spirit that feels more modern than historical, Lydia’s craving for independence never comes across as anachronistic.

At the risk of giving spoilers, I was half-expecting an ending similar to Ms. Balogh’s A Secret Affair, but was pleasantly surprised that when it didn't happen. The “Great Disaster” as the family calls it, is not somehow undone. But that, after all, was never the point. The point has always been about how the individual family members have reconciled themselves to it, and grown in ways they might never have done without it. An important lesson to remember as our world continues to deal with our own “Great Disaster” and all of its repercussions.

Major Harry Wescott has had a hard life of late, first losing his title and fortune because of his father's bigamy and then being grievously wounded in the war, but while he's been content at a family estate, something is missing--someone to cherish. Lydia Tavernor, a widow of the late vicar, has been living a quiet life in the small village after her husband's death. When Harry walks Lydia home a few times, the beginning of attraction begins to for. Lydia does not want to give up her newfound freedom and while Harry understands her position, he can't completely ignore her. Can these two damaged souls find peace, love and happiness together?

I haven't read any of the previous books in the series so I was a little lost with all of the characters that are introduced so quickly. There was too much info dump and lots of exposition that while a little interesting I thought took away from Harry and Lydia. I began skipping paragraphs and pages just to get back to Harry and Lydia. There is no great plot twists and turns in the story, just a sweet slow burn romance between two damaged souls.

Harry Westcott has been through a lot. War, injury, and the loss of his title and fortune have left him world-weary and solitary. The same can be said for the young widow Lydia who has been smothered her whole life in the shadow of her father, brothers, and husband. Two lonely, independent souls meet and try to ignore the spark of attraction, but it will be harder to ignore the determination of the Westcott women who want Harry to find a love match and leave his lonely bachelorhood behind.

My Thoughts
Lydia...Lydia...Lydia and Harry...Harry...Harry!
It actually took 8 books...
8 whole books for Harry to grow up and become a man.
Well, if one must resort to technicalities.
It took a major disinheriting, war service, several near death experiences, PTSD, becoming the consummate "country gentleman" and bringing the wife of the dearly departed "town saint and martyr" to scandalous ruin. To bring about Harry's long awaited catharsis.

And now that it has arrived...
Well...
Hmmm...
The phrase "Still waters run deep." Comes to mind here. Because there is nary a splash to be had plot wise; in Harry's neck of the literary pond.
Because all the other plot worthy points in Harry's existence have been so thoroughly interwoven into every other stories in the series.
The only two real talking points left by the time that readers are to hear from the man himself?
Lydia and the fact that he has indeed survived long enough to meet Lydia.
OKAY!!!!
Insert side-eye here...
As for Lydia?
Well...
Hmmm...
Poor thing!!!
Married to a man who was so married to his work that he wanted her to marry it too.
But then he died.
So then she no longer had to be married to the late vicar or his work.

But now she is expected to be this "paragon of virtue".
What?
It appears that that is the last thing on her mind.
Or Harry's
But to what end?

This is the most staid of all the stories of the series.
It strikes one as being more reflective than romantic.
But it is nonetheless very sweet.
After the long wait for this last piece of the grand puzzle that is the Westcott series.

Reviewer's Notes
This book may be read as part pf its intended series. Or as a standalone.
WTF Are You Reading? Would like to thank Netgalley and Berkley Books for the review copy on which this unbiased review is based.

Absolutely delightful, as I always expect from Balogh. I'd been looking forward to Harry's story so much, and it didn't disappoint.

Long awaited, but well worth the wait, Harry's story has it all, a hesitant widow, a slow burn romance and all of the other Westcott's hovering lovingly to make sure there is a happily ever after. Not to be missed if you've followed the extended family members through their beautifully told stories. This one will not disappoint.

A solid and satisfying story for Harry Westcott, the once heir to the Earldom. Mary Balogh writes beautiful historical romance novels and this is another great one.

This was a satisfying conclusion to the Westcotts storyline. Lydia was more compelling and interestingly drawn than Harry, which was a bit of a let down after waiting so long for his story, and as us typical in these books WAY too much time is spent re-hashing everyone else’s story and describing The Great Disaster over and over again. And way too many westcotts got screen time but since it was a series conclusion I accept that. Standard Balogh fare here, nothing terribly revolutionary though she continues to write lockable beta hero’s which is always a nice change from the alpha heroes who usually grace the pages of romance. So while this story was nothing particularly new and nothing we have not gotten from Balogh before, it was nevertheless a comforting read.

Like many readers, I have been waiting for Harry's story in The Westcott Series, and Mary Balogh did not disappoint. The novel starts slowly, but the gradual unfolding is a journey well worth taking. Both Harry and Lydia have huge disappointments in their pasts that have shaped who they are, and both are slow to trust the feelings developing between them. Lydia's backstory of a marriage that was not as it seemed (to a vicar universally loved and admired who died saving someone) was particularly interesting. Their happy ending is all the sweeter for the resistance and leisurely telling of the tale.

This is the first Mary Balogh book I've read and it's the 8th in a series, so I had some catching up to do with these characters. Luckily, Balogh did a great job of sharing the pertinent details of the previous books so you could understand the many, many characters (even though there are a dizzying number of them to keep track of in this family). I was intrigued enough to read about the other books online and see if my library had them (they have Balogh's whole catalog it seems!)

I had heard Balogh's books gushed about in my online romance book groups and wanted to give her a try. When this came up for review, I felt it was as good as any place to start and just see what her writing style was like and how steamy her sex scenes were or weren't.

I would definitely classify this as just a sweet, simple romance compared to the stories she hinted at that came before. There wasn't much drama or action here, just a war hero and a widow who are next door neighbors falling in love. Only one sex scene that was fairly short and ended awkwardly even for the reader. The story felt a little long and dragged in parts. There was a lot of explanation of why Lydia, the widow, didn't want to lose her freedom that got a bit tedious. There was not a lot of internal insight into Harry's point of view, but I'm assuming he was more flushed out in previous books and reached a level of maturity here that would satisfy the series readers.

It was a more realistic historical romance than others I've read. They were a conceivable match and faced all the problems you'd expect with society rules, gossip, disapproval, etc. If I continue with this series. I think I'd be most interested in reading Anna's story next, but I'm gonna need some better love scenes.

I've been waiting and waiting for Harry's story! I love all the Westcotts, but Harry has a special place in my heart. I enjoyed this book just as much as the others, at this point I don't think Mary Balogh can write a bad book. Don't just read this book, read the whole series.

This Balogh title was interesting. I feel like it was a bit of a departure, as these characters felt...somehow less desperate or less in direct peril at the start than some of Balogh's others. I really enjoyed the fact that the heroine was an overall contented widow at the start. I have been eager to hear Harry's story (it's been teased for many titles now!), so it was fun to go on his journey, which was eventful to say the least! Nothing particularly unique, but this was overall a really enjoyable read.
*I received a review copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*