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Someone to Hold: Camille's Story (The Westcott Series Book 2) by [Mary Balogh]

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Mary Balogh

Someone to Hold: Camille's Story (The Westcott Series Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Mary Balogh (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

1,460 ratings

Book 2 of 9: The Westcott

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A reversal of fortune befalls a young woman in this charming Westcott novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Someone to Wed.

Humphrey Wescott, Earl of Riverdale, has died, leaving behind a fortune and a scandalous secret that will forever alter the lives of his family—sending one daughter on a journey of self-discovery...

With her parents’ marriage declared bigamous, Camille Westcott is now illegitimate and without a title. Looking to eschew the trappings of her old life, she leaves London to teach at the Bath orphanage where her newly discovered half-sister lived. But even as she settles in, she must sit for a portrait commissioned by her grandmother and endure an artist who riles her every nerve.

An art teacher at the orphanage that was once his home, Joel Cunningham has been hired to paint the portrait of the haughty new teacher. But as Camille poses for Joel, their mutual contempt soon turns to desire. And it is only the bond between them that will allow them to weather the rough storm that lies ahead...

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413 pages
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English
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Berkley
Publication date

February 7, 2017
File size

1736 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the novels of Mary Balogh

“One of the best!”—Julia Quinn

"Balogh is today’s superstar heir to the marvelous legacy of Georgette Heyer, (except a lot steamier!)”—Susan Elizabeth Phillips

"With her brilliant, beautiful and emotionally intense writing Mary Balogh sets the gold standard in historical romance."—Jayne Ann Krentz

"When it comes to historical romance, Mary Balogh is one of my favorites!"—Eloisa James

“A superb author whose narrative voice comments on the characters and events of her novel in an ironic tone reminiscent of Jane Austen.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Mary Balogh just keeps getting better and better…interesting characters and great stories to tell...well worth your time.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“I loved this book. I read it in one sitting and it made me smile a lot and cry a little.”—Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

About the Author

"Mary Balogh grew up in Wales and now lives with her husband, Robert, in Saskatchewan, Canada. She has written more than one hundred historical novels and novellas, more than thirty of which have been New York Times bestsellers. They include the Bedwyn saga, the Simply quartet, the Huxtable quintet, the seven-part Survivors’ Club series, and the Westcott series.

"

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01H17U9E6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (February 7, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 7, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1736 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 413 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #162,177 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #252 in Historical British & Irish Literature
- #2,902 in Clean & Wholesome Romance (Books)
- #3,879 in Regency Historical Romance

Customer Reviews:
1,460 ratings

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Mary Balogh

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Mary Balogh is a New York Times bestselling author. A former teacher, she grew up in Wales and now lives in Canada. Visit her website at www.marybalogh.com

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

1,460 global ratings

5 star		67%
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Kristin Young

Iffy Plot, Pleasant Emotional Journey

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 26, 2017

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Camille is the dispossessed child of an earl whose bigamous marriage, uncovered only after his death, has left his family reeling. As one of his three Society-raised children, now revealed to be bastards, proud, cool, well-behaved Camille finds herself struggling to understand who she is now that the social position she has built her life and personality around has been snatched away.

Joel is the talented artist who has always been the closest friend of Camille's newly-discovered, newly-rich, and highly-resented half-sister, Anna (the heroine of the first book in the Westcott series). Joel has settled into a comfortable life as a successful portrait painter and part-time volunteer art teacher at the orphanage where he and Anna were raised.

When Camille decides to step into Anna's shoes as the teacher at the orphanage, and Joel is commissioned by her grandmother to paint Camille and her sister, the two are thrown together far more than they initially like.

I'm a big fan of the dislike-to-love theme, so I was loving that from the start, and I do feel that the emotional story is well developed, with Joel, a very talented portraitist, skilled at portraying the many facets of his subject, finding himself seeing the good behind Camille's very slowly crumbling facade of chilly pride.

Slight spoilers ahead: Joel, an orphan, finally discovers who his parents were, through a curmudgeonly old relative who also wishes to leave Joel his fortune. This bit of the plot feels pretty contrived, particularly after Anna, his best friend, had a similar rags-to-riches experience in the last book, but I feel a bit hypocritical, as a romance fan, caviling about this kind of happy outcome for a character—if I can regularly suspend disbelief to enjoy unconditional romantic love conceived in only a few weeks' time (as it is in many historical romances), then why can't I roll with two orphans being left immense fortunes? Whether or not it's credible, I enjoyed how this revelation of family allowed Joel and Camille to connect. It pushes them, unexpectedly, to relate to each other due to coinciding identity crises, and to grow closer when they look for emotional support during their trials.

Camille, who is extremely unlikable in the series' first book, is not a character you would expect to find so quickly entangled in such a love affair, but I feel that Balogh wrote her very consistently, slowly opening her up to love—of Joel, of Anna, and of the rest of her family—and focused more on Joel's unique ability to see into and connect to her than on her becoming an entirely new person, though there is, of course, character development for her in her new circumstances.

But as for the plot, there were a lot of things of which I wasn't a fan. As other reviewers have mentioned, the sex was gratuitous, and it was particularly hard to believe that two people who have been so profoundly affected by their own illegitimacy would take no precautions against pregnancy. It was also surprising that Balogh, who otherwise wrote Camille so consistently, would have this young woman, previously so focused on behaving properly and being the perfect lady, throw caution to the wind in that way. It's written as her exploring a life completely separate from the respectable lady she's always strived to be, but there's nothing in her character to suggest that she would be so drastic; deciding to leave her family and become a schoolteacher may be extreme, but it's not a complete rejection of everything she's always been.

In the same vein, the amount of time she spends at Joel's bachelor lodgings was also rather strange. She ends up there once because of rain, and I think that worked and should have been reserved as the excuse for a single visit to his home. Another point mentioned by several other reviewers: how absurd Viscount Uxbury is. He's presented as unbelievably rude, and based on Camille's memory of him as a perfect gentleman, I think his villainy should have been far subtler. I also wasn't sure about Camille and Joel adopting two of the orphans. Camille's attachment to the baby at the orphanage did serve to help her understand the unconditional nature of love and reveal a nurturing nature within Camille to both herself and others, and her choice to adopt righteous little Winifred was a sweet acknowledgment of her desire to help a child avoid the sort of emotionally drained existence Camille had lived for so long, but the fact that Joel had no special connection with either child made it feel awkward to put them all together as a family at the end, and Camille's relationship with the girls felt poorly integrated in the story.

Overall, this is a fairly good continuation of a really promising series: generally lovely with lots of so-so plot points. I'm really excited for the coming Westcott books (the teaser at the end for Alexander's story is precisely that: a huge tease!), and the more I think about this series, the more impressed I am with the concept. Balogh has done a great job setting up a plausible but hugely dramatic premise that has left us with several characters in really interesting emotional positions that should make delightful stories.

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D. Miller

Another Beautiful Romance

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 17, 2022

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Mary Balogh has done it again…she’s written another beautiful romance in The Westcott series. This is the story of Miss Camille Westcott, formerly Lady Camille Westcott, and Joel Cunningham.

When Anna Snow, formerly an orphan from Bath, was summoned to London, it became known that her father had indeed married her mother and that she was now the owner of all unentailed property and a great fortune. It also became known that he had married Camille’s mother while his first wife was still living, thereby rendering Camille, her sister Abigail and her brother Harry, as illegitimate.

Camille and Abigail went to Bath to live with their wealthy maternal grandmother, while Harry’s guardian purchased a commission for him in the army, and their mother went to live with her brother Michael. Camille, who had been jilted by her fiancé after she told him of her illegitimacy, couldn’t bring herself to join her grandmother and sister on their social outings. Instead, she applied at the orphanage for their vacant teacher position and was hired for a two-week trial. Shortly thereafter, she moved into the empty teacher’s room there.

Joel had grown up in the orphanage and an anonymous sponsor paid for him to attend art school. He was developing a reputation as a very gifted portrait artist, but he always managed to find time to teach an art class two days a week at the orphanage. He had experienced problems with the last teacher, with whom he shared a classroom, but found Camille much easier to work with.

This should set the scene for the novel, although there were numerous other characters and situations. The character development for the two main persons was exceptionally well written, as both were rather complex individuals. I loved the interactions of Camille and Joel and how he’d study her to see which persona she was wearing any given day. Although their relationship wasn’t exactly a slow burn, it wasn’t insta-lust either. There was much more world building in this novel than in the first book and Bath was fairly well described, together with the grounds of certain locations.

I really loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance books. My Rating: 5 Stars!

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

avidreader

Balogh on top form

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 22, 2017

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I didn't know how the author was going to redeem the unlikeable heroine of this book, based on what we saw of her in the first book, 'Someone to Love' and for a while I wasn't sure it could work. But this is Mary Balogh and she does it beautifully, with flowing prose and a deeply moving, realistic story. It is, as others have said, a journey for two souls from entirely different backgrounds who actually have to deal with the same stigma - illegitimacy. Camille had lost everything, Joel had never had anything in the material sense. I was moved to tears more than once, testament to the author's wonderful story-telling and deep understanding of her characters as she charts their progress to find their way in a world turned upside down.

My only quibble with this story is that when Joel and Camille sleep together, Joel doesn't attempt any type of contraception [and this wasn't unbridled passion, it was a conscious decision by both parties] - and having explained it to Camille later, she goes back to sleep with him again and still no contraception. This didn't ring true for two people who were determined that their own illegitimacy should not be inflicted on any potential offspring, in effect forcing the prospect of marriage which at that stage neither party consciously wanted. However, I think this approach to consenting sexual partners is true of all MB's books.

She introduces us again to the whole cast of characters, with the exception of Harry, who is off fighting in the Peninsula Wars - and I look forward to more encounters with them throughout the series. Very well done, Mary Balogh

7 people found this helpful

Carol Cork

A beautifully written and emotional story of self-discovery and finding love.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 17, 2018

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SOMEONE TO HOLD, the second book in Mary Balogh’s Westcott series, is a beautifully written and emotional story of self-discovery and finding love.

In SOMEONE TO LOVE (book 1), Camille appears downright dislikeable, especially in her hatred towards her half-sister Anna, but such is Ms. Balogh’s skill as a writer that I not only came to like Camille but also sympathise with her.

As a girl, Camille desperately wanted her father’s love, but the Earl of Riverdale was a selfish man and only ever loved one person – himself. It broke my heart to think of the seven-year-old Camille painstakingly embroidering her father’s initials and ‘I love you, Papa’ on a handkerchief, only to find it crumpled on his desk and covered in ink stains, where he had used it to clean his pen. She dedicated herself to becoming the perfect lady in the hope that, at least, he might be proud of her. I think the pain of her father’s rejection had a profound emotional impact on Camille because, in her search for perfection, she has become the prim and proper, haughty Lady Camille Westcott, for whom any show of strong feelings is considered unladylike.

I could understand how devastated Camille feels when she discovers her father’s betrayal. Her well-ordered life has crumbled around her and she no longer knows who she is or what her future will be.

The future yawned ahead with frightening emptiness and uncertainty.

I enjoyed following Camille’s journey of self-discovery and I like how Ms. Balogh doesn’t change Camille; she is still fundamentally the same person but with a different focus in life. She still displays the same strength and determination she applied to becoming the perfect lady, but it is now focussed on forging a new life for herself and a single-minded determination to succeed.

I especially enjoyed the scenes where Camille is teaching the children in the orphanage because they reveal what a tender-hearted, compassionate and intelligent person she is beneath that prickly exterior. I love how, despite her initial fears, she has a real aptitude for teaching and makes her lessons instructive, creative and fun too, capturing the children’s hearts in the process. Watching Camille’s relationship with baby Sarah slowly develop was really touching because she had never allowed herself to form an emotional attachment before.

I like Joel very much. He is good-natured, intelligent, dependable, talented and honest, all qualities I love in a hero. Although raised in the orphanage, Joel has been supported by an anonymous benefactor, thus enabling him to attend art school and pursue his passion for portrait painting. I love how his honesty extends to his portrait paintings. He refuses to flatter his subjects but studies them carefully so that he can capture their true essence on canvas. His unique style has gained him a prestigious reputation and numerous commissions from wealthy clientele. He also teaches art a few afternoons a week at the orphanage. He was in love with Anna and is still heartbroken over her marrying the Duke of Netherby.

I love the slow building romance and watching Camille and Joel gradually move from dislike and distrust to friendship, attraction and finally falling in love. It seems both natural and believable. I particularly like how, with his artistic eye, Joel is able to see the real person beneath Camille’s protective shell.

“You are an incredibly strong person, Camille,” he said. “But sometimes you build a wall about yourself. You are doing it now. Is that the only way you can hold yourself together?”
She was about to utter an angry retort. But she was feeling weary. Her feet were sore. “Yes,” she said.
His eyes continued to search her face. “Yet behind the wall,” he said, “you are amazingly tenderhearted. And loyal hearted.”

I enjoyed seeing Camille realise that she had previously suppressed everything that made her human and now…

…she wanted to live. And she wanted to love, even if that word was a mere euphemism for desire. She would live, then, and she would enjoy. She would not stop to think, to doubt, to feel.

There is a point, early in the story, where Camille asks Joel to hold her and, when Joel has to cope with life changing events himself, it is Camille to whom he turns for support. This mutual respect and support further convinced me that their love would endure.

The story is very much about family too, because Camille comes to realise that her family’s love is unconditional. I love the poignancy of the moment when Camille finally calls Anna her sister rather than her half-sister.

I enjoyed seeing the other family members especially Avery who always appears cool and aloof, but beneath that facade is someone who takes a keen interest in what’s happening and can demonstrate great kindness. He is always guaranteed to bring a smile to my face with quips like this.

“My dear Camille,” he said, “I hope I never admonish anyone. It sounds as if it would require a great expenditure of energy.”

After receiving a bloody nose courtesy of Avery in SOMEONE TO LOVE, I was delighted to see the odious Lord Uxbury receive a bloody mouth courtesy of Joel’s fist in this book!

MY VERDICT: Once again, Mary Balogh delivers a beautifully written, emotional character driven romance. Highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

Ancy

Someone to LOVE /Someone to Hold ( books one and two)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 19, 2022

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I thought it was time to read something from my classic collection again. I've not been disappointed only eight more books to go!. This author knows how to satisfy it's reader using great storylines and awareness of adventure and always true to illustrate the character's basic sense of life and truth.

Linda Gilmore

I really enjoyed reading this story and finding out how Camille coped ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 10, 2018

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I really enjoyed reading this story and finding out how Camille coped with the devastation of her life caused by her wicked father. Joel was a favourite of mine from Book 1 and
really loved how this story panned out. Well worth a read, but would advise you to read Book 1 first to get the tales into sync. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

One person found this helpful

Mrs S J

Unputdownable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 12, 2017

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Mary Balogh at her supreme best. I could not put this book down. It literally compelled me to keep turning the pages to get to the next step in this heartwarming and also sad story of family life set in Regency times. The ups and downs for its heroine and the decisions she makes in order to realise who she really is makes for a first class read. Well done MARY BALOGH.

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