In the heart of Mayfair lies the Clifford Charity School for Wayward Girls, where a secret society of extraordinary young women conspire to bring England’s wickedest aristocrats to justice . . .
In London’s brothels and bawdy houses, sin and scandal run rampant. Yet as Emma Downing knows, far worse perils often lurk within the lavish homes of high society. Emma has been tasked with uncovering secrets at the Lymington family’s country estate—the scene of a rash of mysterious disappearances. Samuel Fitzroy, Marquess of Lymington, is no easy mark, and Emma fears he may see through both her disguise and her feigned indifference to his seductive charm.
This is an interesting book full of mystery, murder and love.
The last book in the series, it is a great example of the authors work.
Anna Bradley has written a great book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

3.5 stars.

Having mixed feelings right after reading the book. Not sure if I will re-read it though.

Inspite of the title being a misnomer, liked the book overall.

I'll be buying this book outright, since I really want to read this series. I had several emails with Netgalley regarding an incorrect download of this book. I was approved for The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington, what was downloaded was another copy of a different Anna Bradley book. Netgalley stated they corrected the issue and sent another download, and the same problem occurred.

So I'm leaving feedback here, so that it can be cleared from the NetGalley shelf, I won't be leaving this type of review on any other platform, and I will eventually buy and review The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington on my own.

Thanks for the chance, wish it would have worked out. This is the first time I've had an issue like this happen.

I enjoyed this read. The marquess is a bit of a grump, but loyal, honorable, and caring on the inside. Lady Emma may not actually be a lady, be she has more than enough beauty and grace to captivate an entire ballroom. Together, the not-quite lady and the marquess make an intriguing pair. There’s some push and pull that allows the sexual tension to build. Even the villain is handled well. It took me at least 75% of the book to figure out who-done-it. My only complaint, and it’s major enough to make this read lose a full star, is that the heroine is not a virgin. The title is misleading, and I don’t understand why. Otherwise, it is a very satisfying read.

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

This story was a nice historical romance, but had a lot of intrigue and action, more like a mystery.
The heroine is a young lady who had been taken from a brothel after her customer had attacked her and threatened her life. She had severe knife wounds on her hands, but she was saved by a lady who runs a charity for young girls she bought from brothels. The lady was trying to find out who was responsible for the deaths of 3 girls, all about 15, who had gone missing. They all figured it was Lord Lovell, the younger cousin of our hero, Lord Lymington. So while our hero is trying to save his cousin from the London night life, he meets up with the heroine and begin their acquaintance. Our hero had left his life when his uncle all but forced him out. He had recently returned when his uncle had died and he was trying to turn his young cousin into a better man. His cousin had been a man about town, gambling, drinking and the other, and almost died from a bullet to his leg during a duel. The hero feels guilty for how his cousin turned out.
This was an exciting read. I think the heroine and hero had a large gap in their ages, but most authors do that although I prefer less of a gap. The heroine is a spy sent around to prove Lord Lovell was the one behind the girls' disappearance. The author did a very nice job of setting the story and I felt that I was there as the story unwound. The mystery and suspense kept up until the end when the villian is revealed. There were some anxious moments for the heroine and she had to relive her attack. The characters developed nicely and the supporting characters added to the story. At the end, the reader finds out is was part of a series, but the story was very independent of any other books. I would give this 4.5 stars because of the age gap. But I do recommend this as a good read.

Full disclosure, I had no idea this book was the 4th book in the series. This book really made me want to read the others in the series. I found The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington the perfect read with the perfect character chemistry.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the 4th and final book in the Series, but it can be read as a stand alone. Emma is the fourth student at the Clifford School and her past is much darker than the other three young ladies. Emma is on assignment to find out if the rake, Lord Lovell, is behind the disappearance of several young female servants from his family's estate. But Lord Lovell has a very protective cousin, Lord Lymington, who is making this assignment extremely difficult. A battle of wits between Emma and Lord Lymington ensues and soon a mutual attraction threatens everything.

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher and NetGalley for my honest option.

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

Emma Downing has scars that mark both her skin and her soul, and secrets that she wishes she didn't have to hide. When girls start going missing at Lymington House, Emma is enlisted to find out the truth and prove the guilt of Lord Lovell. Lord Lymington, Samuel, does not trust Emma's charm or beauty, but they team up to find out the truth of the missing girls. Sparks fly between Emma and Samuel, and they both find out things aren't always as they seem.

I feel that Anna Bradley has really hit her stride with the last two books in this series. They get better and better, and that's saying a lot because I'm a super fan. Her writing is some of the best out there. I just loved Emma and Samuel's relationship. This book is dripping with emotion and sexual tension. I could feel the constant pull between them, and it makes for amazing chemistry between these two. The mystery was excellent. It is up there with my favorites by her.

I'll read anything she writes because she is amazing, wonderful, great, and all the other synonyms I could use to describe how perfect and special her stories are.

The story opens with Emma being saved by Lady Clifford and brought to the Clifford School for Girls at the age of fifteen. Orphaned a year earlier, she had been groomed by a Madam to be a courtesan serving one man. He held a knife on her and she ended up stabbing him. He ran off never to be seen again. Five years later, Lady Clifford has charged Emma with investigating the disappearance of two maids from Lymington House. Samuel, the Marquess of Lymington, doesn't realize Emma suspects his cousin of being a murderer. Emma is posing as the debutante granddaughter of Lady Crosby. Samuel knows something isn't right and he sets out to discover her secrets. With a murderous villain on the loose, these two need to work out their differences before someone else is killed! SPOILER.... I was surprised the man Emma stabbed didn't show up again. I was sure at the beginning of the book he'd cause trouble, and I was wrong! I can't help thinking how did Samuel and Emma explain who she was to society when they got married? What happened when the real Emma Crosby returned to London? How would Lady Crosby explain she was lying to everyone about her granddaughter? Samuel married a low-born courtesan. Wouldn't they be ostracized by most of his peers? The other women from the Clifford school are seen in the epilogue, but I'm hoping for a prequel about Lady Clifford.

I started off this book feeling apprehensive. I'm not normally one who loves "period dramas". But, having said that, it only took me a few pages to get absolutely hooked. I feel the characters were perfectly written, the storyline was captivating, and the twists and turns along the way kept me intrigued. In the end, I think we all fell in love with Lord Lymington.

4.5 stars

I've really enjoyed this series by Anna Bradley (I missed one though, gah), and The V Who Bewitched... is a lovely conclusion.

Emma is the last of a quartet of young women who were rescued as children by Lady Clifford. As young adults, each woman works to solve crimes that involve harm to other young women. In this novel, Emma is trying to find out the truth behind the disappearance of three housemaids from the Lymington household, with Lord Samuel Lymington's cousin Lovell as the prime suspect . Her quest takes her to London where she splits her time between posing as a young lady of quality and sneaking about London's less savory areas, most specifically the brothel where years ago, she spent her darkest days.

In the process, she befriends Lady Flora, Lovell's apparent love interest, and spends time with Lord Lovell, who seems more innocent by the day. She also spends time with Lord Lymington, who suspects that she is not all that she seems. As Emma and Samuel grow closer, her lies are harder to maintain, but she knows they're necessary if she's to find justice for the missing housemaids. The question is whether she can trust Samuel with her secrets.

The story is rich and unhurried without being slow, and the characters are mostly well developed. Emma is the type of heroine that I like: strong, smart, and steadfast. Samuel is a great match for her, all gruff and growly, but also flummoxed by and at times tongue-tied around her. The villain, however, is not so well thought out. The villain does villainy things and gets the proper comeuppance, but in the end, I was never quite sure why the crimes were committed in the first place.

Overall though, this novel was fun to read and is an excellent conclusion to a very good series.

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

I love that this author gives voice to a female character that is strong-willed and resilient even though she isn't of perfect lineage or circumstance yet driven to help others despite the perils of the hidden secrets of society life. The suppressed magnetism between the main characters explodes into an ecstasy neither can contain once released. The plot mystery is intriguing and also kept me fully engaged. Uncommon backgrounds find common ground and everlasting love. I haven't read any of the other books in this series but this one did a fine job of piquing my interest into wanting to read more of this Swooning series.

I am a fan of Anna Bradley’s books and was excited for this read. However, having finished the book, it was unfortunately a little meh for me. First off, the title is a bit of a misnomer since the heroine is a former courtesan and not a blushing debutante. This only makes a difference because I find romances between courtesans and titled men as pretty unbelievable. That aside, I thought that the story was well-written and the characters were engaging. So, this read might be for you if you like mystery and romance and find the general premise believable, which unfortunately I did not.

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

As the final girl from the Clifford Charity School for Wayward Girls, Emma Downing feels she owes Lady Clifford more than she can ever repay. After escaping a notorious brothel, she was cared for by the school, and now works to find the truth about what is happening to maids who are going missing from the estate of the Marquess of Lymington, recently returned from the Navy. When one of the maids turns up at the very brothel she used to be imprisoned in, Emma will have to face her fears and past enemies to discover if it is true that Lord Lymington's cousin, Lord Lovell, has played a role in the disappearances, and to do so, she masquerades by day as Lady Emma Crosby, a naive debutante new to town, to get close to the handsome Lord Lovell. But wherever he is, is his cousin, Lord Lymington, who seems to have an issue with Emma, and is thwarting her at every move. And when he realises she has also be involving herself in the investigation into his missing maids, he wants to put a stop to it, but is the old adage correct, and two heads are better than one?

It's a little sad that this is the end of this series. I've loved each book, and the characters have all been fantastic. In the previous books, we've seen parts of Emma, and she's always put on a brave face, and been a bit of a mystery, so I was really looking forward to her own story, and learning about why she was at the Clifford School. Her story was awful. She was put in the brothel when she was 15, and kept pure until the madam auctioned off her virginity to the highest bidder, and she became his plaything. But when he threatened her with a knife, she fought back, and fled after the death, to the safety of the Clifford School. She has the scars - both physically and mental - from her time there, and will do everything to help protect the girls, and get them out, if she can. To hear that woman are going missing, and the only one who may be able to help is at the same brothel, she has to go back, and that's when she first crosses paths with Lymington, who is waiting in the library while Lovell spends time in one of the boudoirs. I loved the chemistry between Lymington and Emma. He was gruff, and didn't like that she was getting close to Lovell, and when he realised he was jealous, he fought it, but by then it was too late. He also respected her, and trusted her, and it was really refreshing to see. They were the perfect match for each other, and as the mystery ramped up, it was wonderful to see them working together, and talking through their ideas - even if they disagreed with each other. Though I'm sad it's the end, the epilogue was more than I could've asked for, and really wrapped up the series. I can't wait for Anna's next book!

This was my first book in this series and first book by Anna Bradley and I really really enjoyed it. The romance between Sebastian and Emma was perfect and so steamy. The overall storyline was fantastic. I also loved the small amount of angst shown towards the end. This book was fantastic and I highly recommend this for fans of historical romance and romance in general

We finally get Emma's book!

Miss Emma Downing, the last of Lady Clifford's girls, is sent on a mission to discover the truth behind the missing servants of Lord Lymington's household. Two girls have gone missing and the third makes accusations against Lord Lovell, a known rake and scoundrel and also Lord Lymington's cousin. Emma, under an assumed identity, immediately catches the eye of Lord Lovell but Lord Lymington is in her way. Recently returned from serving as Captain in the navy, Lymington has returned to take up his responsibilities as marquess and to ensure his cousin's happiness but worries Lady Emma will distract Lovell from winning back his childhood sweetheart. He senses that Lady Emma isn't at all what she seems. She's keeping secrets and he's determined to uncover them.

There's an immediate (if unwanted) attraction but both are wary of each others' motives and intentions. Because of her past, Emma is slow to trust and doesn't understand the concept of love but I love how Lymington sees her for who she is. He works to gain her trust through his actions. Their romance was just lovely.

While the story isn't anything new and you're not that heavily invested in the mystery, the writing and characters are great. If you read the previous 3 books, it's also great to see old characters again.

Thanks Netgalley for a arc copy of this book for a honest review..

I did not know that The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington was the 4th book in the series. I thought the book was delightful I am read to read book 1,2,3. 4 star read 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Happy Reading Lisa 📚

This is the first book I've read in the series and loved it! It's a historical romance plus mystery kinda book. We have Emma Downing, the fourth girl Lady Clifford saved, and you need to read the previous books to get more context. Emma is trying to find out the reason behind the disappearance of several young girls from Lord Lovell's estate. However, I was very confused about why these disappearances occurred. Emma's 'sidekick' in this mission is Samuel Fitzroy, the Marquess of Lymington. Samuel's cousin is the one who's Emma investigating but this proves to be great for both of them as their growing closeness leads to growing attraction- and voila, we have a romance.

Overall, it was a great read as I love mysteries as a sub-genre in historical romances and I am definitely going to read the previous books. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I really hope this book isn't the last in this series as I have really enjoyed every book and all the girls of Lady Gifford's.

Emma Downing goes undercover as a diamond of the ton, Lady Emma Crosby, to get a killer of maids. Lord Lymington has brought his cousin Lord Lovell to town to help his cousin get the love of his life back and figure out what happened to his missing housemaids. Attraction, at first sight, leads to love and other misunderstandings as they both work against each other towards the same cause.

I really liked Lymington a lot as a hero. I thought he was perfect for Emma who is portrayed in other books as being perfect and tightly wound. In this book, we find out that she's hiding deep traumatic wounds. I loved that she didn't fight her attraction for Lymington or push him away. He was the thing she needed to heal and his gentleness was perfectly conveyed.

My one real criticism about this story was that it felt too short, also some of the pieces about the villain could have added up better. Compared to the others, this finale felt a little bit weak; though I loved the epilogue and how all four girls and their husbands are reunited.

Despite some plot holes, I loved it. I can't recommend this series enough. It's a little bit darker than her previous series and it's almost written stream of consciousness which I think lends to the mystery and darkness. It works.

I voluntarily received a copy of The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I think I might have found a new must read author. I absolutely adored Emma and Samuel. Emma is such a strong and well-rounded heroine. And like Samuel is sensitive but a grump. He's also apparently tall and built.

There is lots of twists and turns in this romance. Emma has so many secrets some her own and some she holds for others so when she starts falling for Samuel telling only half truths becomes difficult. Especially since he doesn't know who she really is!

Though I think this book can be read as a standalone (like I did), the epilogue definitely is for fans of the series. In which now I'm going to hunt down.

A 4.5 star but rounding it up to 5!

TW: Discussions of physical and sexual assault.