I cant Get into this book. So it is Sadly a DNF for me. I have no Idea what is going on and I am 30% and dont Get anything. The main character was very irritating and

This read is packed full of everything you could be looking for. I found the two main characters Emma and Samuel a perfect match; enemies to lovers... The story packs a punch with peril, secrets, disappearances, murder mystery, lies, deception and love overcoming.

This book was gifted to me as an ARC and this is my voluntary and honest review.

This book was read thanks to NetGalley.


Longing, I would describe this book with a longing and angst because that's what i loved more about the protagonists, they had a longing and angst for each other really big that the moment they kissed for the first time I was like yesssssssss! I loved everything since the romance, to the characters, everything.

Another great read in the series. It is not your usual historical romance. The heroine is no Ton debutante but a rescued courtesan. There is mystery, murder and suspense and of course romance. The characters were very likeable and well written and the story had you turning the page without a lot of fillers. There was a large sex scene that this reviewer skipped as usual but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of this book. I received this as an ARC through NetGalley and freely give my review.

WFONDERFUL!!! The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington by Anna Bradley is book 4 in the The Swooning Virgins Society series and though in a series this book can be read as a standalone. What I adored about this book was not only the romance but the mystery as well. It was definitely a page turner and I just couldn’t put it down. If you have not read a Anna Bradley book you are in for quite a treat. This original regency story has the most wonderful character, is easy to read and my favorite… enemies to lovers. This story has a strong lady, horrors, secrets, past demons, missing people, helping a cousin to marry, a lord who is suspect, a courtesan, a brothel, abuse, trying to find out the truth, great banter, making mistake and finding love. This book has it all and I am highly recommending you read this book.

***This book was gifted to me and I am voluntarily reviewing.

Lots of mystery and intrigue with this book, but we are still left with unanswered questions. I give this book 3 stars, but the excellent epilogue brings it back up to a four.

This was the best of the series! I've so enjoyed reading this series because it's so much more than an historical romance. There's always a rescue or mystery to solve and it's all about helping women. The fact that the heroines happen to find love is secondary but oh so delightfully integral to the plot. The series is Cinderella stories. This one is Emma Downing was a former young courtesan. She is such a damaged and determined soul and I loved her to death. She's intelligent, well educated & courageous, perfect for the hero Lord Samuel Fitzroy. Emma is carefully digging through the clues she's unearthing to discover who disappeared two maids from the Lymington country estate.

Emma is assuming the life of Lady Emma Crosby while they are out of the country. She is one of Lady Clifford's wards. Lady Clifford came to her rescue when Emma was 15 at Madame Marchand's brothel the night she was actioned off to a violent Lord who almost killed her with a knife. She defended herself leaving the man dead. Lady Clifford rescued her. Now Lady Clifford has given her the the task of finding what happened to two young maids who disappeared from the Lymington's country estate.

Samuel Fitzroy, retired Captain in the Royal Navy, now Marquess of Lymington has come home to his family in chaos. His father & Uncle have died, his beloved cousin Lancelot Lovell is fighting for his life after a stupid duel, and maids are missing from his home! Instead of being in mourning the family have assembled in London to try to straighten out Lovell's betrothal to Lady Flora now that he's recovered from his leg injury. This is when he meets Emma. She's been lead to believe Lovell killed the two maids by a third maid who managed to escape and is now at Madame Marchand's. Samuel tries to scare her off of Lovell but she stands up to him, which completely befuddles him. He's used to giving orders and have them obeyed. She matches wits with him over and over. As Emma sifts through clues trying to determine the truth they match wits over and over. This soon starts sparks flying and kissing ensues. This was so much fun to watch!

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

I haven't read any of this series but I do like this author and know she writes strong and very well-written novels. I enjoyed this story and felt that there was plenty of character depth and a good story arc. But it is slow... Emma and Samuel play a cat and mouse chase for much of the book. In fact, my only critique is that the entire first half and then some, is nothing but this and the scenes are of them jumping from ball to ball which got really monotonous. The tension that usually is needed for such a story was there but then dropped off fast. Once Emma had basically figured out whom she thought was responsible for the disappearances really couldn't have been due to timing, the entire thing was basically over but yet kept dragging along with "well someone is lying then, let's find out who".
I did enjoy the scenes between Samuel and Emma and the epilogue wraps it up all nicely which was appreciated. Overall this is a good story but for me, it needed more action, less talk. I still highly recommend it.
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

I love this series of books and this fourth book in the series only added to the whole story.

In this installment, we get to follow Emma and learn more about her story. Add the Marquess of Lymington to the mix and we end up with a story that kept me turning the pages. Emma and Samuel have great chemistry on the pages and I loved seeing their relationship develop. Emma's background is one that doesn't really allow for trusting people right out of the gates so it's not difficult to understand why she doesn't just tell Lymington everything right away.

I'm sad that this series is over and if you haven't picked it up yet, I highly recommend doing so. I enjoyed every single book and thought Bradley did a great job of closing everything out. I will definitely be looking for more books from Bradley to pick up in the future!

The Virgin who bewitched Lord Lymington - I liked how easy this book was to read. I think Emma is one of my favorites of Lady Clifford's girls. I liked this entire series of the Swooning Virgins Society. I really like the issues that the author addressed in this book. It was a good way to show the different options that women had during the time period. I read the entire book straight through in one night. The book was well written and had a good amount of steam. I loved the romance and interactions between Lord Lymington and Emma. The side characters were also lovable and I wish there would be a side book with their whole story as well (I would say which characters but I don’t want to give away any spoilers). This was a perfect book to end the series. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves a steamy romance with historical elements to it. Thank you Netgalley for the ebook ARC.

Emma Downing, masquerading as Lady Emma Crosby, is investigating the disappearance or several housemaids from the country estate if the Lymington family. Samuel Fitzroy, Marquess of Lymington, is in London to help his cousin win back the love of his life, and to investigate the disappearances that occurred at his country home. Sparks fly from the moment these two meet. The interest and attraction are there, but they don’t trust each other. Emma has a frightening past that she hides. She was rescued from a brothel by Lady Clifford when she was fifteen. Simon is a retired Navy Captain, just returned to England. He is gruff, suspicious, blunt. The road to this happily ever after will be quite difficult. The mystery, who has taken the girls, is a page turner. The answer comes very near the end of the story. Emma and Simon have a volatile, but engaging story. It is a fitting end the series. The epilogue wraps everything up nicely. It’s fun and a bit emotional (you might need a tissue). A great read and a great series.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary

What’s that old joke, if you were going any slower, you’d be going in reverse? What is the fundamental reason that authors will often plot at a glacial pace until around the 75% mark then speed to the resolution? The campaign platform that I’m running consists of legislation that requires authors to parse out the action within their novels to varying degrees. Only in fantasy novels will allowance be given to meandering plots and overly stuffed world building. If you are into this idea, along with wiping out student loan debt, the mandatory use of the Oxford comma, and the cloning of Sebastian Stan, vote for me in 2024. By this thinking, you can imagine that The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington by Anna Bradley would be in violation of my initiative. I’m not sure what the penalty is yet, possibly banning the use of the word bosom for 6 months.

I’m not going to do my usual compliment sandwich because I don’t know if I have that many pros. I can describe a little bit of the plot, although it is convoluted with no true resolution. Emma Downing, a former courtesan, goes undercover as the granddaughter of socialite Lady Crosby in 1795 England in order to solve the disappearance of 3 women from Lymington House. One of the women has been located in the service of Madame Marchand, proprietor of the brothel, the Pink Pearl (a little too on the nose, Bradley). Emma believes Lord Lovell, cousin to Lord Lymington, to be the culprit of the disappearances. She enters society to determine either his guilt or innocence and all the while falls in love (with his cousin..sorry, didn’t mean to bury the lede).

I have two major complaints about this book. Firstly, as if you couldn’t tell from my above meandering, it was SLOW. Like as if I was driving a car and a turtle with a flat tire passed me while flipping me off yelling “suck it!” - slow. I understand that we need to build up the disappearances and the circumstances behind the elusive involuntary courtesan. That being said, hints and clues dribble out slower than the leak in my tub faucet. (Note to self, fix leak in tub faucet) Additionally, when we do finally meet the culprit, I’m not entirely sold on their motive. Let me rephrase that, I’m not at all sold on their MO. I’ve watched enough true crime and have researched senseless crime. But this is a book - it should make sense! Unless the book is from the perspective of the villain, you can’t make a case for just violence for violence sake. You don’t get an Alfred, “some men just like to watch the world burn” moment, unless you build the crimes into the main thrust of the story or your story is told from the view of the antagonist. I think Bradley wanted to write a mystery novel, but was waylaid by the historical romance aspect. She throws in the romance when it suits her. Most of her plot threads are left hanging with no resolution.

The second complaint I have is with the realism in this book. Emma is a former courtesan who eventually marries the hero, Samuel (spoiler, this is a romance novel). At one point, she comes clean and he learns her truth. Keep in mind that she has slipped into the ‘diamond of the first water’ persona quite easily, as she’s been parading around as the real granddaughter of Lady Crosby. While we don’t meet the real Lady Emma, we know she exists, she just hasn’t made her presentation at court yet. Which leads me to believe that when the real Emma Crosby has her “coming out” the ton is going to reject her, and it will be revealed that a courtesan was parading around as a virginal debutante the entire time. Maybe they thought, ‘eh, no one will remember what she looks like’. Well, having her be the belle of the ball, might not be the best idea then. If Carrie taught us nothing, we never remember the prom queen, right? I don’t know what the equivalent of dumping pigs blood on someone during the big dance was in the Regency era. Probably...dumping pigs blood on someone during the big dance...nevermind.

I may be a little harsh on this because I’m not into the ‘courtesan turned lady’ concept. Most of those books, however, devote a modicum of plot to dealing with the prostitution angle and how it affects the relationships in the book. Literally everyone in Samuel’s family knows she’s a former prostitute and is like “dude, whatever” and move on. Which I applaud in 2021 because it’s a job and sex workers deserve a living wage and health insurance. But in 1817? No way in hell. At least one conversation would be had where Ma Lymington was like, “Yeah, Samuel, if you marry that girl our legacy and estate will literally be in ruins”. We get nothing like that here.

We don’t even really know what happened to Emma during her very violent run-in with her one-and only client. Bradley only indicates that while Emma is not a virgin, she’s never experienced an orgasm or enjoyment from sex.

“God, I’ve never seen anything more erotic in my life than watching you come for me, Emma.”
Emma cupped his bristly cheek, “I never have, before.”
His heavy-lidded eyes widened.
“Never?”
“Never.”
Samuel went still for an instant, but then a satisfied smile curved his lips.”Only for me.”
“Only you...I didn’t think women could er..do that”.

Good on her for getting hers, truly. But we aren’t going to be privy to what happens when the newly minted Lady Lymington makes her first appearance in a London ballroom after everyone knows her history as a kept woman? I’ve read enough HR to know that it would be ugly, but Bradley just glosses over this.

I can’t say that I would recommend this book unless you are a completist and want to finish out the series. Although, having only read one of the four, I’m not likely to venture into the others. I think there are better authors that handle both mystery HR and courtesan turned lady HR in a more deft hand. Seek out any Amanda Quick, Lisa Kleypas, etc.

I had a lot of fun with this book. The characters were all so much fun and I really liked the romance between our two main characters. Their banter was really good and I also just really liked the developement of it. Even the conflict I completely understood. The side characters were also great and I liked the side romance that was going as well. The only part I didn't really like was the mystery. I mean, it was fun seeing Emma try and figure things out. The storyline was also really interesting and a lot of interesting themes were brought up in it. However, I just didn't really like the way it was resolved. It just seemed a bit out of nowhere to me and I just overall don't really like the way the reveal was done. This was quite a quick read and it didn't really let me go once I got into it. I'm also quite interested to read the rest of the series, because I did indeed start at the end.

Emma Downing knows that the homes of high society are where secrets are kept and can pose far greater danger than the brothels of London. Her past is all that keeps her motivated. When she is tasked with uncovering the disappearance of several young women from the Lymington family's country estate, she finds herself confronted by Samuel Fitzroy, the Marquess of Lymington. He is not a man to hide secrets from and he will do all that he can to protect his family, including his young cousin, Viscount Lovell.
I have loved every book in this series and found the characters of Emma and Samuel, two very passionate people. Samuel appears to be strong and forceful yet when he is confronted by Emma, his gentleness becomes apparent. I loved that she could bring this person, who society perceived as rough and one to be scared on, to such a tender and compassionate man. Despite Emma’s difficult background, Samuel could see through all of this, seeing the real ‘Emma’.
I was so hoping for more books in this series but realise that this might be the end. I loved the final scene and just can’t wait for more of the magic of Anna Bradley to appear, in a new series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emma Downing pretends to be an innocent young lady, but she has a violent past and is looking for a murderer. Her only information points to Lord Lovell, but his older cousin stands in the way. Samuel Fitzroy, Marquess of Lymington, left the Royal Navy and returned to England on his father's death. Two maids are missing from his country estate. His one clue is a courtesan at the Pink Pearl. Samuel and Emma's paths cross looking for the same answers. Samuel purses Emma for the information she has but, his attraction to Emma is distracting. Emma sees the compassionate man behind his fierce exterior and is growing to trust him. She comes up with a plan to catch the murderer, only Samuel objects and plans stay close to protect the woman he loves. An attractive hero and a strong heroine. These two are the perfect match. A good mystery and a romance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

This was a very enjoyable read. Emma was definitely my favorite heroine of this series and oh, how my heart ached for her! The story quickly captured my interest and maintained my attention well. I liked Samuel a lot and together I loved these two as a couple. The blend of romance and mystery really worked for me.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥 (There are 2 but they are directly following each other.) This may feel like a 2 flame to you.
Humor: Just a touch

Should I read in order?
It’s not really necessary, each story stands alone with its own mystery and only brief appearances of other characters. But if you want more background on the Swooning Virgins Society and Lady Clifford’s school for girls that Emma was brought into at 15, then start with book 1. The epilogue is one big happily ever after between them all!

Basic plot
Emma is trying to solve the mystery of servants going missing at the Lymington country estate. Simon, Marquess of Lymington, has returned home to find his family in chaos – servants missing and his cousin needs a firm hand. Emma is trying to glean information from Simon’s cousin, but Simon himself quickly steps in to try to control the situation.

Give this a try if you want:
-1795 time period - I love that this isn't the typical regency - I do wish it had a bit more details that showcased that
- A mystery focused romance – each book in this series has its own mystery the heroine is working on and it’s the main focus of the plot
- Lower steam – There are 2 scenes here but they are directly after each other (scene 1, he tells her to sleep, and it picks up with scene 2) so I counted this as 1 flame, since it feels like 1 long scene, but it may feel/be counted as 2 by you.
- Soldier, aristocrat hero and a clever heroine that has survived danger and abuse in a brothel

My thoughts:
I know I’ve whined about the mystery focus on pretty much every book in this series so I’ll keep it brief. I miss her older works that were all romance focused. It’s just my personal preference. If there’s going to be mystery, I want them on page together pretty much the whole time (which is probably why I enjoyed book 2 the most, as they were together at a secluded country estate for most of the book) and while this book did have some of that, it also had a lot of just Emma crime solving time and I wanted more romance.

The mystery itself was decent. Like other reviewers have said, I wasn’t really sure how pretending to be a real person in society was going to work out long term – it’s never addressed and it doesn’t bother me that much, though I just wish it had been written with a different solution to her masquerade in society.
I found Simon to be a rather unique hero. Our first view of him, he’s described as:

He was the tallest man Emma had ever seen, and the wide, powerful breadth of s shoulders exaggerated the effect of his height, making him look positively massive. It wasn’t his size that arrested Emma’s attention, though.
It was everything else.
He had none of his cousin’s fashionable prettiness. Everything about him was hard, dark, forbidding, and excessively masculine. His clothing was impeccably tailored, yet somehow every seam appeared on the edge of bursting with the effort to contain him.

He’s also someone that wants to discuss full frontal military assaults, whether people want to hear them or not, and it’s mentioned that “Charm seemed to whither and die in his presence”. So it was kind of enjoyable watching him fall in love with Emma and struggle through that. I did enjoy him, he was quite caring and patient with Emma, and even though there’s a cruel moment with him, I understood where he was coming from trying to protect his heart at that point. I did want some more depth to his character, I felt like I didn't know him extremely well by the end of the story as so much focus was Emma, her secrets, and solving the mystery.

Emma has suffered and has a dark past that she hides. With her line of work of trying to find the culprit of who is involved with the missing servants, she has to create the lie of being a society debutante around her to get information. I usually struggle with books that have a number of lies in them. To some people it’s not a big deal but my own personal experiences, it just makes me so angry. I can do some little things or certain circumstances, but in this particular story, it did get to me. When Simon realizes there are lies and he is begging for the truth, and she refuses to budge, it was hard to read. It was resolved fairly soon after (there have been some stories where it drags until the last chapter, and those I usually can’t abide) and I did feel that it was forgiven though, so that saved the story a bit for me.

So overall I enjoyed this one. This series is nothing I would want to reread, and nothing that truly gripped my heart like her previous work has done, but overall pleasant. I think if you really enjoy mystery aspects to your stories this series might be a big hit for you.

He is intimidating because he is gorgeous and unaware of it, stoic and unyielding because he despises weakness and is determined to rectify past wrongs, unapproachable and irresistible.

She is a woman in hiding. She is adept at masquerading as something she is not to ferret out the answers she needs. She is resolute in her vow to protect other vulnerable women from her fate.

From the moment he eavesdrops on her meeting, he is caught in her web. From the moment he glowers at her, she is ensnared.

They must join forces to solve a string of disappearances and murders, and every time they meet more secrets are uncovered between them.

I could not put down this wonderful romance with its unconventional main characters and unique plot. Highly recommended if your historical romance TBR needs a stern brunch daddy and a resourceful, blue collar heroine.

A huge thanks to Kensington and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I had the pleasure of reading the previous book in Anne Bradley's The Swooning Virgins Society series and absolutely loved the intertwined mystery in The Virgin Who Humbled Lord Haslemere. I was thrilled to get an ARC of this fourth installment and it did not disappoint, I was not as besotted with it as I was with the previous book, but I found it still to be a wonderful romance interwoven with a great mystery.
This last installment in the series focuses on Emma Downing and I truly loved seeing the strength of her character come out during her time solving the mysterious disappearances that entail Lymington house. I lived for her interactions with Lord Lymington and the inner monologues she had when she was in the same room as him.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for an ARC of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.

Clever and beautiful Emma Downing is a member of the Swooning Virgins Society, a group of young and brave women set to bring the corrupt members of the aristocracy to justice. She owes a great debt of gratitude to Lady Clifford, the founder of the Society, who helped her escape a life of shame and suffering by bringing her to her Clifford Charity School and she’d hate to let her down… So she pours herself into the task of investigating the disappearance of two young maids and the alleged involvement of a rakish member of the aristocracy. What Emma is definitively not looking for is love, because love doesn’t exist and even if it did, she wouldn’t deserve it…
Lord Samuel Lymington has just come back from serving in the Navy, finding his dear cousin in big trouble. He really has to help him get his life straight and having the seductive Emma in his way is a big nuisance… Especially when he is the one who’s being bewitched by her.
Anna Bradley is firmly in my top ten list of authors and this book was a real treat, full of intrigue, mystery and most of all Romance with the capital R. The chemistry between Emma and Samuel is over the top and sparks fly when they verbally spar as well as when they kiss passionately. Both characters are wonderfully brought to life by the writing talent of the author and the reader can’t help feeling for sweet and brave Emma and suffering with her until her deserved HEA. Definitively a page-turner
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.