(Ugly Ducklings #3.5)
Genre: Regency Historical Romance
Official Blurb
The beautiful Miss Amelia Snow is not accustomed to being snubbed by the gentlemen of the ton. But when her mother dies unexpectedly, forcing Amelia to take employment as companion to a wealthy cit’s daughter, she quickly learns to play down her looks or risk losing her position. When her employers, the Smithsons, decide to throw a country house party, she is determined to fade into the background. But how can she when the Smithson’s guest of honor is Lord Quentin Fortescue, the childhood friend who stole her heart?
Younger son, Lord Quentin Fortescue, is far more interested in his host’s cotton mills in the north than he is in courting the man’s dim-witted daughter. But it’s the girl’s companion who makes him look twice. Years ago, Miss Amelia Snowe rejected his proposal without a backward glance. Quentin has molded himself into just the sort of man she’d have wanted back then, but is Amelia still the smug beauty who broke his heart? And can either of them risk their newfound positions to indulge the fiery attraction that burns between them?
★✩★✩★✩★
THE PERKS OF BEING A BEAUTY is a sweet and heartwarming story of redemption, forgiveness and second chances.
When I finished reading How to Entice an Earl, I was surprised that Manda Collins obviously intended to redeem the Ugly Ducklings’ arch nemesis, Amelia Snow. Amelia had been so despicable, I doubted Ms Collins could make me see her as a sympathetic heroine. Well, not only did I like and sympathise with Amelia but I truly wanted her to have her Happy Ever After!
All Amelia’s actions reveal a very different person…someone who has the courage to openly admit to Quentin the extent of her cruel, conniving behaviour. I could see her determination to be a better person in the way she cares about and guides Harriet and champions the cause of the mistreated maid, Mary.
I adore Quentin! I thought his initial reaction to seeing Amelia humbled was a very human one. Amelia had refused his proposal of marriage in favour of someone more important than a second son and so he enjoyed seeing her brought down a peg or two. Then he begins to see just how much effort she had made to atone for her sins and can’t help but admire her. He also comes to understand how much her behaviour was the result of her mother’s ambitions and why Amelia was so desperate to please her mother even at the expense of her own happiness. These revelations only serve to make Amelia more sympathetic and likeable.
Thrown together for the scavenger hunt, I enjoyed watching Amelia and Quentin regain that easy friendship they had once shared and the rekindling of their love seems such a natural progression.
I love the waltz scene where everyone thinks Quentin and Amelia are talking about horticulture but Quentin is talking about something quite different altogether!!
I also like the inclusion of two characters from Ms Collins’ new Wicked Widows series but blink and you might miss them!
This novella is a such a charming ending to the Ugly Ducklings series. I’m certainly looking forward to Manda Collins’ new series and already have WHY DUKES SAY I DO downloaded on my Kindle.
REVIEW RATING: 4/5 Stars
SENSUALITY RATING: HOT
Read August 2013
Ugly Ducklings series (click on book covers for more details):
Rakes And Rascals 