This book is the next in the swooning virgin society of The Clifford Charity School for Wayward Girls, a collective of girls rescued from the rookeries and trained to expose London’s most corrupt aristocrats.

The Duchess of Kenilworth engages Georgiana Harley and Lady Clifford to help find a lady that’s been missing for six years. Getting in Georgiana’s way of solving this new mystery is Benedict Harcourt, the Early of Haslemere, handsome rake, and brother to the Duchess. Harcourt loves his sister and wants to protect her and his nephew. He sort of stalks Georgiana, and she is afraid to trust him. But there’s a strong attraction between Harcourt and Georgiana as they navigate their way through the mystery of the missing Clara Beauchamp.

This book reminded me of an old 1940’s detective movie - part Jimmy Stewart, Hitchcock, Bogey, and Bacall. In the beginning, Georgiana and Harcourt have only one piece of the puzzle, and throughout the book, they uncover more details about the disappearance of Clara Beauchamp. Through mistaken lovers, evil husbands, unknown villains, lost love, and secret motivations, their search takes them through London and along the countryside as they try to find Clara and figure out why she’s important to so many people.

It was delightful! It was a little different from other historical romance mysteries, and Bradley pulled it off. I also loved the romance between Georgiana and Harcourt. Harcourt is drawn to Georgiana, and Georgiana realizes that Harcourt is more than what he seems. She’s initially closed off and then comes to realize that he’s not a rake. I also loved that his position and title didn’t keep him from pursuing Georgiana.

I also loved the way they get together at the end. I have loved this entire series. Bradley is a beautiful storyteller, and it’s nice to see her talents evolve from book to book.

I enjoyed this romantic story because of the ever charming Benedict pursuit of the illustrious Georgina. Clearly he was head over hills for her. The writer did a great job with adding mystery to the drama that surrounds the characters. This made the entertainment in the book very intriguing. I found the book to be a fast read, but I was able to follow the story with great interest. I loved the girls from the school. They helped make the book a joy to read. I also loved that Benedict focused his attention only on Georgiana. Cleaned was smitten with her from the beginning. He was destined to have her and he wasn’t giving up, no matter how much Georgiana tried to hide from it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the characters in this book. Georgiana is a very no-nonsense, analytical person who has been charged with finding the a missing person, by the Duchess Kenlworth, Benedict, Lord Haslemere, is brother to the Duchess, and out of concern for his sister and nephew, offers to help. At first it seems their personalities clash, Georgiana is very serious and Benedict is a fun-loving kind of guy. But as time goes by, she starts to lighten up towards him and he steps up and begins to will do anything to protect his sister and her son, and Georgiana. This book has a lot of unexpected twists and turns and keeps you guessing up until the end. Overall and exceptional read.

Benedict Harcourt, Earl of Haslemere, London's most infamous rake thinks Georgiana Harley is mulish, bad-tempered, hard-hearted, a stony-faced pitiless wretch. In Georgiana's view, Benedict is smirking, reckless, a drunken wastrel, careless, feather-brained, and flighty. How can Georgiana be immune to his charms! When Benedict's sister Jane, the Duchess of Kenilworth, asks Lady Clifford to help find a missing person, Georgiana is assigned the mission and Benedict wants to know what she's up to. Clara Beauchamp disappeared six years ago from a Christmas house party and Jane thinks she spotted her in London. In no way does she want her brother to know she's asked for an investigation. A suspicious Benedict uses a little blackmail (when flirting doesn't work!) to get Georgiana to spill what she knows. Evil Lords, a broken friendship, a secret duel, and Society gossip-mongers, lead Benedict and Georgiana on an exciting road trip to unravel the mystery. Full of fun characters and witty banter, Benedict and Georgiana discover their first impressions of each other may have been wrong. I don't know why the summary of this book on GoodReads and Amazon etc. say "When the Duchess of Kenilworth pleads for help to escape her witty, charming, handsome, heartless monster of a husband, she comes to the right place" This is not what happens in the story, She asks Lady Clifford to find Clara Beauchamp. In fact, this gives the entire secret of the mystery away to the reader.

I received "The Virgin who Humbled Lord Haslemere" from the fabulous Anna Bradley and Netgalley and voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Can I give this book 6 out of 5 stars???? Absolutely loved this story... romance, mystery, suspense, high emotions..... ohhhhh... fantastic! It's the third book in the Swooning Virgins Society series, but can be read as a stand alone.
Georgiana Harley is a teacher and one of Lady Amanda Clifford's 'special' ladies who Lady Amanda saved from the slums as a child. Benedict Harcourt, Lord Haslemere, is a wastrel and a gambler, basically a spolled privileged man... or is he? He sounds deliciously perfect.
From the start, I was laughing with the wittiness of the characters. Their banter is intoxicating and sensual. Together, they try to discover the mystery behind a missing person, Clara, and how Benedict's sister is intwined in the conundrum of Clara's life. I already can't wait to read the next installment in the series.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

If a duchess comes calling and asks for help, what else can Georgiana Harley do but help her? The Duchess of Kenilworth wants to find a friend who has been missing over 6 years, and doesn't want anyone to know, least of all her brother, Benedict, the Earl of Haslemere. Georgiana is more than happy to keep it from Benedict, as she thinks he's an arrogant scoundrel, and wants nothing to do with him. But, when it seems as if more than just a missing persons case is at hand, and all those involved, including Benedict and Georgiana are at risk, they need to work together to save themselves, and each other.

I think this one might just be my favourite of the series so far. I started it straight after finished book 2, so I knew it would be about Benedict and Georgiana, who's banter and chemistry in The Virgin Who Vindicated Lord Darlington was phenomenal. Where we had seen them as friends of the main characters in the past, now we learn about their history and just how they first met. Their first meeting was not a good one, with Georgiana angry and worried about two of the students of the Clifford School who had gone missing, and Benedict being drunk and flirting with her. Since then, he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her, and being Darlington's best friend, they're around each other more often than not. But once he hears the gossip floating around about his sister and Lord Draven, and that Georgiana is looking into it, he can't help but worm his way into the investigations. Benedict would do anything for his sister and young nephew, even if it means going against his brother in law. Georgiana wants to help people, but more than anything she wants to find a larger building for the school, to give the girls more space, and Benedict is offering his empty property in return for her help to stop the rumours about Jane. Now, enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes, and though this wasn't a true 'enemies' story, I loved seeing how Benedict and Georgiana put aside their dislikes for each other, and became friends first, before the romance really took hold. Honestly, Anna writes amazing couples, and this was no different. The romance was a large part of it, but the plot line was lovely too - even if I had guessed at a few of the twists earlier on. All in all, this was another amazing addition to the series, and I can't wait for Emma's story, in book 4!

This is the third book in the series but can be read without the other 2 books. As usual with this series, there's a little mystery, a little romance, snappy dialogue and lots of cute moments between the main characters. I love seeing cameos from the characters of book 1 and 2 too. Anna Bradley is an amazing writer and her books are treasures. :)

Thank you to the publisher for providing an arc. :)

Review for The Virgin who Humbled Lod Haslemere
Anna Bradley was definitely a happy surprise in the genre 😊.
More often than not when there is a mystery element to a historical romance, it tends to be pushed to something secondary, but here we had a villain, a missing woman, and a couple forced together to solve everything. The stakes felt high and paid off nicely. And and and - the romance was adorable! (p.s. where can I find a Benedict to go?). Anna Bradley can absolutely pull off suspense and adventure with excellency.
So – what it is about: Hazel is a math tutor at a school for girls, but she and her employee also solve problems on the side. That is how one day, a duchess comes knocking on her door, asking for her to investigate a missing woman by the name of Clara Beauchamp. Turns out - the duchess’s brother happens to be none other than London’s greatest rake: Lord Benedict Haslemere, who thinks his sister is in trouble and wants to assist Hazel.
Due to an… unusual… meeting some months before, Hazel does not have a good impression of Benedict (strong enemies to lovers vibe here so my heart went yaaaay at the bickering), but when he offers to donate a building to expand Hazel’s school, she has no choice but to work for the enemy, bicker a little, and mostly fall in love.
Benedict is the absolute cutest and their romance was the super cutest. Am I overusing that word? No! I mean, maybe, but that’s because I’m not a good writer. A good writer makes cute relationships for my poor word choices.
My issues here were reaally minor, but this is a review, so you know how it goes:
*We didn’t get much time with the villain before knowing he was the villain. Nothing particularly wrong with that, I just think it would be something I’d like to read about, that would likely make me understand other elements of the story better, giving more light as how some of the characters never thought him to be a bad guy before, even those closest to him. – To be fair: the author did explain this later on - after we knew he was our guy, - but I’d love to have seen it before then to get a better sense of him.
*Somewhat like this: Hazel had some really cool backstory that never really paid off. That does not mean that her character development was not good (it really was) but there were mentions of her mother that were never fully explored, her love of mathematics never really helped in solving the mystery, nor her previous experience with cards and gambling from when she was an orphan. Again – I really liked Hazel as a character, and I liked her in the story as she was – but this side of her had so much potential it could have been nice to spend a little longer exploring it.
*Once or twice in the book the author seemed to refer to other works in the series and I’d get this feeling of “did I skip something?”. Now, the book really worked as a standalone and these issues were probably super punctual and always about things secondary to the narrative. This issue only bugged me a tiny little bit, and did not affect my overall experience with the adventure that permeates everything.
*Lastly: I had some issues following through with this book that had nothing to do with the author, but my arc on kindle (hopefully they will fix this issue later on) had some sort of formatting problem where many words had no spacing between them like with the following example: “Cold dreaddroppedfromBenedict’s chesttothepitofhisstomach” – it happened every other page or so, and really pulled me from the world the author was creating and I would often take breaks from the story… I did not take it under consideration for my review, but I leave this here just in case this feedback might prove useful for something.
Anna Bradley is now my new girl for historical romance suspense, and I’ll definitely check her work going forward.
Many thanks to the author, the publisher, Netgalley and all those involved in granting me this copy. I received this book for free and leave this review because I wanted to 😊

Innocent, though not in the ways of the streets, Georgiana is tasked with finding a woman who disappeared years ago under mysterious circumstances. Rake, Benedict, finds out this woman has something to do with his sister’s marriage and joins in the hunt. Georgiana and Benedict can’t fight their attraction as they face various trials in their pursuit of justice. I can’t wait to read the next in the Swooning Virgins Society Series, Emma’s story. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Books for my honest review.

4.5 stars

This novel is the third in a series; I haven't read the first novel, but I really enjoyed book 2. Therefore, I was really excited to have the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel.

The basic storyline follows teacher slash investigator Georgiana and Lord Benedict Haselmere as they work together--somewhat reluctantly--to untangle a mystery involving Benedict's sister, a missing woman, a mysterious earl, and a diabolical duke.

It took me a little longer to get into this story than the previous book because I didn't love Georgiana or Benedict at first. She seemed brittle, and he came across as a bit of a rakish ass. However, as the story progressed, it became clear that I was supposed to see them that way at first, a surface-level impression that faded away as I got to know more about them and as they got to know more about each other. By the end of the story, I adored the couple and cheered for their HEA.

The only part that I wanted more of--and this was the same feeling that I had with book 2--is to know about Georgiana's childhood on the streets of London. Moreso, I wanted Benedict to know more about it. Georgiana's brittleness stems from her childhood experiences (presumably abandoned by her mother), and it seems slightly incomplete that Benedict doesn't show any curiosity about Georgiana's past.

Overall, though, this is a fun read with an interesting plot, and I recommend it for sure.

I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks!

A little mystery, a little evil, a lot of loving! This story is fast paced and the characters are great. Benedict is a self confident young man who meets Georgiana, a young woman who works in a girls' school. I don't want to spoil your fun or the mystery. They secondary characters are very important to this tale and I think you'll be spellbound and glued to this book till the very end!

A woman who is involved with helping others while running a school for girls. A man who is a rake, but cares deeply for his family. Both come together to help his sister, who is carrying a few secrets of her own. Georgiana and Benedict are two people from different worlds, but share a common goal. Georgiana is a woman that has struck Benedict down, who uses his charm to get his way. He is intrigued by her and desires her more as they spend time together. Georgiana knows she does not belong with the upper class and begins to see a different side to Benedict. Benedict is determined to discover why Georgiana is so intent on helping his sister, but plans on getting involved, regardless of what either woman thinks. Georgiana and Benedict end up working together to solve a mystery that has been kept secret for years, which leads them into dangerous situations, not only for their lives, but their hearts as well.
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the romance and mystery that were interwoven in this story. I thought Georgiana and Benedict had good chemistry and I liked how they worked together to solve the mystery. I would have liked to see more of their interactions play out on the page as they spend a lot of time in their heads with repetitive internal monologues. Other than that, I think the story was well-written and enjoyable. This is a read I’d recommend!

The Virgin Who Humbled Lord Haslemere is the third in Anna Bradley's Swooning Virgins Society series, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Georgiana Harley is a member of Lady Clifford's school, which does some clandestine investigating (it seems, it wasn't exactly spelled out). When a duchess asks her to find a missing person and not tell anyone, it seems like an easy enough task. Until, that is, the duchess' brother butts in. Benedict, Lord Haslemere, is London's most beloved scoundrel, and Georgiana can't stand him. Benedict, likewise, could do without Miss Harley and her sharp tongue. When the missing person case starts to unravel, however, they have to work together to solve a mystery six years in the making.

This book is very action-packed, and so so much fun. A little bit enemies-to-lovers, and a pretty slow burn. Bradley does a great job with making the plot and character development progress pretty evenly, with both being dependent on the other.

I can't wait to read more from Bradley, both of the books I've read of hers are really good, with amazing characters and mysteries that you want to unravel as much as you want the leads to get together.


Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! The romance was swoon worthy and amazing. I did confuse some of the character names at times, but it might be because I have not read the previous 2 books within this world. I would definitely recommend this book to people for an easy romance.

What delightful chemistry between Georgiana Harley and Benedict Harcourt, Lord Haslemere! Both characters were well written and charming, and their story was a great deal of fun, and came along with a mystery to solve to boot! I have enjoyed the Series and this was the best so far 4-1/2 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to read and review this ARC for my honest opinion.

I received an ARC from the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love Anna Bradley's writing, her characters, and her stories. This one had me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading. I didn't want to stop. The story was exciting with all the twists and turns that kept you guessing. The chemistry between Benedict and Georgiana was palpable. I adore heroines that are so witty, especially when they are castigating the hero, and man did Georgiana really give it to Benedict. it was really fantastic to have that witty banter between her sharp tongue and Benedict's carefree constang flirting. So entertaining.

I literally have nothing negative to say at all. It is my favorite Anna Bradley book that I've read, and I think if you've never read her then you're missing out on a special voice in historical romance. P!ease do yourself a favor and read this book.

4.5 stars

Good story. The title I think is a bit disingenuous as Benedict was actually a kind man and he'd come to the stage of looking for a life partner. He thought Gabriella was lovely and didn't want to hurt her. There's a mystery to be solved involving Jane, Benedicts sister and his friend Lord Draven.

I enjoyed it and perhaps will look out books 1 &2 of the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.