REMEMBER WHEN is book number four in the Ravenswood, Regency-era historical romance from long-time author Mary Balogh. Balogh was one of my gateway romance authors way back in the day. Her writing has matured over the years and has become even gentler and more introspective. I stopped reading Anne Perry Victorian mysteries a decade ago because Perry stories became repetitive monologues musing about morals and social mores, and I feel like Balogh has hit that stage now too. Perhaps this is a function of age and/or years of writing.
Not much happens in REMEMBER WHEN. This is a second-chance romance between two middle-aged individuals. The romance is gentle and sweet. There is very little conflict. But there is a lot of navel-gazing. I quickly grew weary of the endless musings about life changes and what makes one happy.
The best part of this book, as with all of Balogh’s books, is the large cast of characters, family and acquaintances, who each get their own book in the series. The heroine here is the mother of children who have already found their Happily Ever After in previous books (and one who will get her HEA in the next book, the youngest daughter Jennifer).
It is refreshing to have an older heroine, as so many romances feature hot young women in their twenties. Mature characters are always appreciated, especially as I age myself! The hero went off to find himself in foreign lands for several decades, and there’s a loose and reductive inclusion of mindfulness and Eastern meditation in REMEMBER WHEN. This series has been hit or miss for me, and Balogh’s REMEMBER WHEN is firmly in the miss column for me. Hopefully, the next book will be more lively and less introspective.
Discover the beauty of second chances at love and life in this heartfelt new novel from New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh.
The Dowager Countess of Stratton, Clarissa Ware, née Greenfield, has just presented her younger daughter to the ton, and the rest of her life belongs only to herself. She returns to Ravenswood, intending to spend the summer alone there. But the summer has other plans for her.
Born a gentleman, Matthew Taylor has chosen to spend his life as the village carpenter. Growing up, he and Clarissa were close—dangerously so, considering his family’s modest fortune. As a young man, he never would have been a suitable match for the daughter of the wealthy Greenfields. Clarissa married Caleb Ware, the Earl of Stratton, so Matthew married another, though he was widowed soon after.
Now everything is different—Clarissa has already lived the life expected of her by society. And Matthew is as attractive and intriguing as he was when they were young. As their summer friendship deepens into romance, they stand together on the precipice of change—essentially the same man and woman they remember being back then, but with renewed passion and the potential to take their lives in an entirely new direction.
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