Ravenswood, Book 5
From the publisher:
A soldier and a pacifist make the unlikeliest of pairs, but when passion sparks, there’s nothing that can prevent their love from igniting.
Winifred Cunningham, the adopted daughter of a portrait painter, hopes that her new close friend, Owen Ware, will soon ask for her hand in marriage. But when Owen introduces Winifred to his elder brother Nicholas, the late Earl of Stratton’s second son, the slow burn between them begins.
Nicholas is a cavalry colonel—a hardened soldier whom Winifred at first despises. She finds him intimidating and cruel-looking, while he finds her strange and startlingly forthright. During a summer at Ravenswood, however, Nicholas and Winifred are unwillingly thrown together on several occasions, until they realize the passion that drives their disagreements is not due to dislike—it is because of attraction.
Winifred still awaits Owen’s proposal, and Nicholas has made his intention to marry his commanding officer’s daughter quite clear. With allegiances to other marriage prospects and brotherly bonds at risk, not to mention the age difference between them, Nicholas and Winifred know it would be wholly improper to pursue a romance…
And yet, romance is irresistible. Perhaps even inevitable.
While some readers might find the low stakes and off-page sex make for an undemanding comfort read, others might be turned off by the leisurely pacing and scenes of rural socializing.—Kirkus Reviews
Nicholas from the Ravenswood series and Winifred from the Westcott series cross paths in a story that blends both families’ worlds. Their first glimpse of each other comes at the Trooping the Colour parade, where Colonel Nicholas Ware cuts a striking figure in full dress uniform, leading the cavalry. Winifred attends with Owen Ware—Nicholas’s younger brother and her close friend—who she quietly hopes might one day propose.
They meet properly at Winifred’s come‑out ball. Nicholas enjoys dancing and talking with her and immediately understands why Owen is so fond of her. At thirty‑four, Nicholas has decided it’s time to marry and believes Grace Haviland, the beautiful and impeccably mannered daughter of his commanding officer, would make a suitable wife. Yet Grace is still grieving the loss of two former suitors, and Nicholas is unsure of her true feelings.
Winifred “Winnie” Cunningham, adopted by Camille and Joel Cunningham after being left at the orphanage as a baby, has grown up in a lively, loving household. Joel, a celebrated portrait artist, is invited along with his family by the Earl of Stratton to Ravenswood to paint his mother’s portrait. Grace and her parents are also invited—per Nicholas’s request. Over the two weeks leading up to the Ravenswood summer fête, Nicholas and Winifred spend increasing time together. As he gets to know her, Nicholas begins to see her quiet beauty, warmth, and honesty, and he finds himself unexpectedly envious of Owen.
Winnie, meanwhile, is startled by her immediate attraction to Nicholas. Their first conversation goes poorly—she impulsively equates soldiering with murder, leaving her mortified. She tries to make amends by promising him a dance at her ball, but the evening only reinforces the impossibility of anything between them. Nicholas is courting Grace, and Winnie reminds herself she wants Owen. Yet when her family is invited to Ravenswood for the fête, she realizes her feelings for Nicholas run deeper than she imagined.
Nicholas, convinced he should propose to Grace, arranges for her family to attend the fête so he can make his intentions known. But the more time he spends with Winnie, the more he questions his plans. She is too young for him and not conventionally beautiful—and she seems to dislike him. None of it explains why he can’t shake the sense that choosing Grace would be a mistake.
Winnie, twenty‑one and content with her place in her adoptive family, has never believed marriage essential to happiness. Her friendship with Owen has made her wonder if it could be, but she isn’t certain she loves him. Nicholas, with his noble background and military career, seems entirely out of reach. Still, the spark between them is undeniable, and every encounter at Ravenswood deepens their connection despite their best efforts to ignore it.
The romance unfolds slowly, shaped by two intertwined love triangles and the expectations pressing on both characters. Nicholas feels honor‑bound to Grace; Winnie believes she should marry Owen. Yet fate keeps pushing them together.
The story includes a few kisses and a single mention of the wedding night, which takes place behind closed doors. As with other books in both series, the large cast of secondary characters can feel overwhelming, and the extended descriptions of the summer fête—children’s races, music, maypole dancing, and the grand ball—are far more detailed than necessary. I would have preferred fewer festival activities and significantly fewer characters in order to focus more on the central romance.
Ultimately, this was probably my least favorite book in the series. It felt as though very little happened until nearly three-quarters of the way through, and I found myself repeatedly setting it aside in search of something more engaging. Honestly, if this had been written by almost any other author, I likely wouldn’t have finished it. I did appreciate the happy ending, but given how much I loved the earlier books in both series, this may be where I stop.
1/2026 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
REMEMBER THAT DAY by Mary Balogh. Berkley. (January 6, 2026). ISBN: 978-0593818084. 368p.
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