Series: The Survivors' Club #7
Author: Mary Balogh
Published May 3rd 2016 by Piatkus
Goodreads Synopsis
From the legendary New York Times bestselling author of Only a Kiss and Only a Promise comes the final book in the rapturous Survivor’s Club series—as the future of one man lies within the heart of a lost but never-forgotten love...
For the first time since the death of his wife, the Duke of Stanbrook is considering remarrying and finally embracing happiness for himself. With that thought comes the treasured image of a woman he met briefly a year ago and never saw again.
Dora Debbins relinquished all hope to marry when a family scandal left her in charge of her younger sister. Earning a modest living as a music teacher, she’s left with only an unfulfilled dream. Then one afternoon, an unexpected visitor makes it come true.
For both George and Dora that brief first encounter was as fleeting as it was unforgettable. Now is the time for a second chance. And while even true love comes with a risk, who are two dreamers to argue with destiny?
Goodreads
Review
In Only Beloved, George, Duke of Stanbrook, and final member of the Survivors' Club, finally gets his happy ending. When he was just 17, he was forced to marry a friend of the family, and his marriage was not a happy one. Losing his son to war, and then his wife to suicide, he found solace in opening his Cornish estate of Penderris as a convalescence house. Now that all his friends have married, he considers doing the same, and the woman he met last year, Miss Dora Debbins, seems to be the perfect choice. For Dora, she gave up her chance of marriage after her mother's betrayal, and instead raised her younger sister, Agnes, before becoming a village music teacher. But meeting George last year has always made her wonder what she missed out on, and when he arrives at her cottage, and proposes, she's completely blown away. Being married at 39 is one thing, but becoming a duchess too, it's almost too much! Will they both be able to find happiness together, or will the demons from George's past come back to haunt them?
I will admit, that going into this book, I was a little apprehensive. I've really enjoyed the others in the series, though the last few were not as good as the first, and the hero/heroine in this one are an older couple. However, as we've met both George and Dora before, I was already invested in their stories - especially George's, to find out the truth about his turbulent marriage. I will say that this book definitely answered all questions we may have had, and even a few we weren't expecting. George's marriage had been bad, and he'd never really been happy, but with Dora, he had the chance to be so, and with the possibility of children - if they were so lucky. Dora, was the same. She expected that at 39, she had no hope of even companionship, but she found love with George, and was able to reconnect with her mother, too, and get the closure she needed from all those years ago. Honestly, this book - and especially the epilogue - rounded up the series perfectly, tying up all loose ends, and ended with all our favourites being happy, and in love! I'm looking forward to reading Balogh's new series, Westcott, as soon as I can get copies of them!
Dates Read:
May 26-June 1, 2021
Rating
3 Stars
