Anna Black, the seamstress from the Rosewood School for Young Ladies of Quality is escorting Elizabeth Tarryton to her uncle's house after Lizzy was expelled. As they approach her uncle's estate, their carriage overturns and they are met by the most annoying man. When they reach the estate, Anna finds out that the man is Lizzy's uncle, Will Hailfax, Viscount Grandville. Grandville offers Anna a large sum of money to chaperone Lizzy for a month until he can find another school.
Anna Black isn't what she seems. She is on the run because her father's former apprentice violated her privacy and created scandalous drawings of Anna (thus the name of the novel). Now, he is commissioned with painting her in the nude along by the Marquess of Henshaw and they won't take no for an answer.
This was one of those novels that when I wasn't reading I was thinking about it. Anna takes an anti-social man and by the end of the novel, he is willing to re-enter society and make amends with his stepmother. I liked how Anna stood up for herself. She was a young woman without family that stood up to two bullies. Then when she met Grandville, she pushed him to look at his life and his neglect of his niece. Will went from tortured hero to "stand up for your woman" hero. Anna pushed him out of the funk he had been living in for a year and made him live.
I enjoyed all of the major characters in this novel. Lizzy went from spoiled brat to thoughtful young woman And, Will's stepmother, Judith, could have been the evil stepmonster, but was delightful and charming. I was cheering on Will when he defended Anna against Henshaw.
I truly enjoyed reading this novel and didn't want it to end.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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