TO HOLD


Mary Balogh (2007). Someone to Hold.


This is the 2nd book in the Westcott romance series set in the Regency era of England.

Camille Westcott (raised as lady Wescott but when here father dies, she discovers she is an illegitamate child of an illegitamate marriange) takes on a job as a teacher at an orphanage where her legitimate sister Anne had been teaching for 26 years...she meets Joel Cunningham who grew up in the orphanage and vounteers teaching art...Joel discovers he is the nephew of a wealthy man who dies and leaves him a fortune...Camille and Joel have an awkward relationship, but eventually marry and adopt 2 children from the orphanage.


Favorite quotes:

Choices...accept and move forward, deny and carry on, hide away and close one's mind, explore, make sense of it, and be born anew (49)

Something that seems tragic, in hindsight, often holds an unexpected gift (374)

Joel's paintings capture the character, the qualities of a person, not just the imag,e and for that he has to get to know them and make many sketches of them before painting their portrait (paraphrase)


practice seeing someone with the eyes of an artist as Joel did, spending time looking/observing and sketching, letting the deeper character reveal itself over time...much to be grateful for.




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