Portrait of a Forbidden Lady (Those Magnificent Malverns)

by Kathleen Bittner Roth

[Lindsey Gray]

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Lady Georgiana Cressington is biding her time until her father dies to let loose of a secret she held in her heart for sixteen years. When torn from the bed of her one and only love at age fifteen, she did what she had to do to survive.

Sir Robert Garrick was Georgie’s lover before she was forced to marry her father’s best friend. Now that old Cressington is dead and Georgie’s father won’t be far behind, Rob wonders if her reappearance will give him a chance to get her out of his system for good.

I read the first book in this series, The Seduction of Sarah Marks, from cover to cover in one sitting as soon as it was released. I was ecstatic to be able to review book two. I loved it as much or more than the first book. Rob, also known as Sir Crocodile, was introduced in the first novel and while gruff, I fell in love with his charm and enthusiasm. This book only endeared him more to me. Rob is an artist of the first water able to turn oils or even metal into beautiful works of art. He is charming, infuriating, and sexy as hell. Exactly what Georgie needs after her own years of confinement to the country.

Bittner Roth took me into the Malvern family and showed me the privilege and peace that comes from having a supportive brood of relatives. I adored Mum, Rob’s grandmother, even more in this installment. I wish my own family could’ve produced such a wonderful woman.

Lost love, passionate escapades, and bitter agonies are bound within the pages of this exquisite novel. I can’t wait to delve into another offering of Those Magnificent Malverns Series as soon as it releases.