A Ravenswood Novel, Book 3
From the publisher:
Lady Jennifer Arden and Ben Ellis know that a match between them is out of the question. Yet their hearts yearn for the impossible. Discover a new heartwarming story from New York Times bestselling author and beloved “queen of Regency romance” Mary Balogh.
Left unable to walk by a childhood illness, Lady Jennifer, sister of the Duke of Wilby, has grown up to make a happy place for herself in society. Outgoing and cheerful, she has many friends and enjoys the pleasures of high society—even if she cannot dance at balls or stroll in Hyde Park. She is blessed with a large, loving, and protective family. But she secretly dreams of marriage and children, and of walking—and dancing.
When Ben Ellis comes across Lady Jennifer as she struggles to walk with the aid of primitive crutches, he instantly understands her yearning. He is a fixer. It is often said of him that he never saw a practical problem he did not have to solve. He wants to help her discover independence and motion—driving a carriage, swimming, even walking a different way. But he must be careful. He is the bastard son of the late Earl of Stratton. Though he was raised with the earl’s family, he knows he does not really belong in the world of the ton.
Jennifer is shocked—and intrigued—by Ben’s ideas, and both families are alarmed by the growing friendship and perhaps more that they sense developing between the two. A duke’s sister certainly cannot marry the bastard son of an earl. Except sometimes, love can find a way.
Book 1: Remember Love
https://amzn.to/3Of4SjQ
Book 2: Remember Me
This was such an interesting twist on the Regency romance. Our heroine, Lady Jennifer, comes from a well-to-do family high up in society. She suffered an illness in childhood that left one of her legs and one of her feet deformed. She is unable to walk unassisted and uses a wheelchair. She cannot manipulate the wheelchair herself, but luckily, she is wealthy enough to have a full time staff person to help her. She had an offer of marriage by a suitable young man, but he made it clear he was only interested in her fortune, and Jennifer refused him, content to stay unmarried and live with a family member like her aunt.
Ben Ellis is the bastard son of a member of the ton, and when his mother died, his father brought him home, and he was raised as a member of the family. But he never forgot that he truly was different than his half-siblings. His stepmother always treated him as family, as did his siblings, but there was always that undercurrent of being lesser than.
Ben observes Lady Jennifer struggling to walk a few steps with crude crutches, and he immediately starts to think of a better way for her to gain some mobility. Ben is a fixer – he likes nothing better than solving a tricky problem. He speaks with Lady Jennifer, and a friendship is formed. He is strongly attracted to her, and she to him, but his lack of title makes him ineligible for marriage to a lady.
Ben’s ideas are excellent, and once Jennifer gets past her embarrassment about being helped in this way, she is excited to try out some of his ideas. He sets up a small carriage with a place to rest her deformed foot and teaches her to drive. He speaks to the town cobbler and blacksmith about making a brace for her foot, better crutches, and even a much-improved wheelchair. Love is in the air, and everyone, including their families, can see it, but there is nothing to be done about it.
Then, circumstances change a bit when someone reaches out to Ben about his mother. He knows nothing of her as she died when he was a toddler, and all his father ever said was how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. As he and his family learn more about his background, things start changing a bit. He will always be a bastard, but eventually love wins out and they find their happy ending.
I really enjoyed this story – it was a bit different than the usual Regency, and as always, I’m sure the research was impeccable. The story moves quickly, and I couldn’t help but get caught up in this romance. I was so sorry to turn that last page!
1/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
ALWAYS REMEMBER by Mary Balogh. Berkley (January 16, 2024). ISBN: 978-0593638385. 368p.
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