I really enjoyed Emma and Samuel's story. Every time these two got together sparks flew. They were so much fun!!

This book is so good. I loved everything about it. From the characters to the friendship and those few suspenseful moments. Not to mention those scenes where the chemistry was out of the charts and so beautiful done.
Beautiful, swoon worthy romance

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Emma is such a good character. I loved her story. This was a fun book to read, it just has it all.
3.5 stars

Historical romances are my jam. They are good and bring a bit of romance and loved it. this one was a good one.

I'm really enjoying "The Swooning Virgins Society" books from one of my favorite historical romance authors, Anna Bradley. In a world where so many historical romance books blend together, The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington manages to stand out.

I've jumped around a bit with this series, but these books can easily be read out of order. Feel free to jump in at any point, but just know that all of the books seem to be equally as engaging and interesting, even if the concepts are all a bit far-fetched.

I really enjoyed the set up and pacing of this story. There is a little bit of a mystery and suspense element to this one, which isn't usually my thing but seems to be consistent with this series, but it has been working for me. I enjoyed Emma's hunt for truth and vindication, and I liked how strong she was as an MC. I also always like a large, sort of gruff male MC, so that worked for me as well.

Sure, the plot was a bit ehhhh with believability, but that's sort of par for the course in romance books. All in all, very enjoyable historical romance mystery read from the always wonderful Anna Bradley.
8 likes

In the 4th installment of this series, it is Emma's turn to step up to a challenge. She had endured so much in her young life but was saved from the streets.

She is set to the task to find out what has been happening to the disappearance of maids from an estate. Disguising herself, she soon comes into contact with the Lord of the manner.

Samuel has just returned home and finds the home in chaos. When he comes into contact with Emma, he realizes she is not all she seems.

Suspense, intrigue and of course a building romance keeps this story moving until the end!

Right away I knew something was wrong with this book. The first few chapters were just confusing. The whole book is implausible by the standards of the time. Many plot points go nowhere. It just wasn't for me.

This story will grip your heart, from the first page. Emma's story started when she was 14 and it's a sad one at that. Emma's on a mission to find a killer, but she's not prepared when she meets Samuel, he's the opposite of everything she knew of men and when she finds out everything- what will she be left with?

The last book in an enjoyable series, this tells the story of Emma and Samuel. Emma has been a character that I had looked forward to reading her story since she introduced in previous books, and I still enjoyed her here. The disconnect came a bit with the romance with Samuel. I didn't totally buy their romance or pairing and that reduced my enjoyment. Also I felt they were a bit too apart for a good bit of the book.

I will miss the crew and the first 2 books were really good to read.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

Emma Downing was rescued by Lady Amanda Clifford, who runs a school a charity school for wayward girls, at age 15 from a brothel. Lady Amanda taught the girls she took in how to take care of themselves. When she was twenty, she took an assignment that Lady Amanda gave her. Her assignment was to find out why maids have been disappearing off the country estate of Samuel Fitzroy, the Marquess of Lymington and no trace of any of them have been found – until one turns up as a courtesan at Madam Marchand’s brothel. the Courtesan named Viscount Lovell as behind the maids missing it it's Emma's job to find out if Viscount Lovell is guilty or not guilty. Viscount Lovell is a cousin of the Marquess of Lymington. He is very protective of his cousin and see's through Emma he sets out to find out what she's really doing.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Emma Downing is all too familiar with the seedier side of London, but she’s just as aware that high society homes can also hide dangers of their own. Emma’s benefactor has set her the task of learning what’s going on at the country estate of the Marquess of Lymington, where three housemaids have gone missing under mysterious circumstances. Samuel Fitzroy, the Marquess of Lymington, won’t be easy to fool and Emma is immediately fearful he’ll see through her flimsy disguise and her attempts at indifference to him.

Samuel has been away serving in the Navy for some time and is disquieted to return to find his family in turmoil. His beloved cousin has turned into a disreputable rake, several of his housemaids are missing, and now he must contend with Emma, who he knows is far from the innocent debutante she pretends to be. Despite his misgivings, Samuel cannot squelch his attraction to Emma, beginning a risky game that could result in ruin for them both.

As has sometimes been the case with this series, the mystery very much overshadowed the romance here. Don’t get me wrong, I love some good mystery/suspense in my romance, but I think I didn’t care for it so much here because the mystery was happening for the most part separately from any romance and the heroine was actively working against the hero. I really had a hard time liking or rooting for Emma despite her tragic past, just because of the volume of her lies to Samuel, especially given how long those lies were allowed to continue. Even after Samuel had come to trust Emma and ceased seeing her as the enemy, rather than finally working together, she still kept him mostly in the dark. The mystery here was really solid, but that lack of cohesion just had me wondering what business Emma even had investigating a problem at Samuel’s property given that she was still unwilling to involve him in solving it. I did find Samuel charming even if I couldn’t quite understand his attraction to Emma beyond her physical attributes, but his gruff exterior hiding a cinnamon roll center was endearing. The last quarter or so of this story in which Samuel and Emma were actually working together was lovely and I have to give this book credit for holding my attention and actually making me want to finish it, because that hasn’t been happening much for me lately. Overall, this wasn’t my favorite, but I did enjoy it.

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

The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington was a delightful read featuring a romance between a woman investigating several missing women and the Marquess whose family may be connected to the disappearances.

Emma Downing knows the depravity that goes on in London's brothels, just as she knows the same behavior is found behind the closed doors of the homes of high society. Assigned to uncover who is behind the disappearances of several young women at the Lymington country estate, Emma poses as a debutante to get close to those she suspects are involved. Samuel Fitzroy, Marquess of Lymington, has recently returned to England to find his family in turmoil with rumors about his cousin floating around. After meeting Emma, Samuel realizes she's not the naïve young women she pretends to be and soon finds himself helping her in her quest for justice.

Prior to joining Lady Clifford's school, Emma spent time in a brothel as a young girl. Her experiences when she was young made her the perfect person to put in place to discover what happened to the missing women as the most recent victim has a connection to the brothel. Samuel has recently returned home from the Royal Navy to a very different situation than the one he left. With his cousin going gown the wrong path, Samuel is determined to help him as the pair grew up more like brothers than cousins.

Upon first meeting, Emma and Samuel are immediately drawn to one another although they both quickly realize the other has ulterior motives. I enjoyed the cat and mouse game the pair played as they both tried to figure out what the other was after. I did enjoy when they ultimately decided to pair up to figure out what happened to the missing women as they worked well together. I liked that Emma never simply gave in when Samuel wanted to do things his way as she contributed some great ideas to their investigation. The chemistry between Emma and Samuel was great and I enjoyed the steamy scenes.

Overall The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington was another fantastic installment in the series and I highly recommend the series for anyone looking for a great historical romance series.

A really great book, the background story and the plot all were exceptional and I really enjoyed uncovering the plot twists while reading. Looking forward to read more from the author!

Thank you at Netgalley and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC

The suspense plot is full of twists and kept me guessing. The intrigue didn't overwhelm the romance but complemented it. The fact that I dislike romantic suspense in general but loved this series says a lot about Anna Bradley's deft character development and vibrant writing style. She left the door open for another book in the series, and I'm hoping there will be more.

The mystery and the twists and the push and pull dynamic between Samuel and Emma made for a very amazing read that didn't want to let you rest until you had answers. Every time you think you get close to figuring things out, it twists again. I adored this story and enjoyed the ending. I only hope there is a spin-off so that more closure can be had for certain characters. #netgalley #thevirginwhobewitchedlordlymington

Review copy received.

I love the idea of a school that trains young ladies in arts that they are not supposed to learn. Although the characters were good, there were very big holes in the story that threw me off. There is no way that they would be able to keep her origins a secret and that would have consequences for the whole family.

This book will be great for a lot of people but it just did not work for me.

Good story, intriguing plot and such loveable characters ❤️
I loved the sequence of events in the book, but to be honest the love scenes were kind of repetitive and a tad bit many, and they were all explicit, there weren't a lot of in depth conversations which i would've loved considering both characters had rich personalities.
But overall, it was a good escapism.
* I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review via netgalley and the publisher*

I’m going to give this book a 4 for story-telling. The heroine is strong and brave (if somewhat implausibly placed in society), and the hero gets over his grumpiness by falling in love. It took me a while to sort out who was who in this fourth-in-series book. Readers who are up to speed may not have the same problem!

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

I am a big fan of Romance books and I found this one to be a very enjoyable read. I loved the cover and would recommend this book. I will be looking for more books from this author.

I enjoyed this book. There are some great moments between the characters. I enjoyed the quick witted banter.
This book could be a stand-alone, but is so much better when read with the previous books in the series in order. It was a perfect book to wrap up the stories of the four Clifford School girls.

Thank you Anna Bradley for the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.