The Beautiful One by Emily Greenwood – Spotlight, Excerpt, Review and Giveaway

Roses Are Blue, thank you so much for having me here today! To celebrate the release of THE BEAUTIFUL ONE, the first title in my Scandalous Sisters series, I asked Anna Black, my spirited heroine, to answer a few questions so you can get to know a little about her and her love interest, Will Halifax, Viscount Grandville.

What would you do to have a perfect weekend?
There’s a folly built like a small medieval tower on the grounds of Will’s estate where I could happily spend the whole weekend, like a princess shut away in her tower—as long as my prince, Will, was with me. Also, really good food and some nice wine. And books!

What quality of Will’s do you most admire?
His loyalty.

Do you and your significant other have a song? If so, what is it? I’m afraid most of the songs popular at the time Will and I were getting to know each other were either corny or filthy, so no. I’d prefer the sound of the fire crackling while we sit curled up together next to it.

The Beautiful One
By Emily Greenwood
The Scandalous Sisters, Book 1
Historical Regency Romance
June 2, 2015
ISBN: 9781492613657
$7.99 paperback

Buy THE BEAUTIFUL ONE here: Amazon | B&N | BAM | !ndigo | IndieBound

A PICTURE SAYS A THOUSAND WORDS…
The ton is buzzing about The Beautiful One, a striking figure in a scandalous book of nude sketches. Only two men know the true identity of The Beautiful One, and they are scouring the countryside, determined to find her.

BUT NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES
The unlikely center of the scandal, Anna Black is forced to flee home as disaster looms. Her tomboy’s heart and impertinent tongue serve her well when she meets the most brooding viscount ever to darken a drawing room. Will Halifax, Viscount Grandville, has his reasons for pushing people away, and when his tempestuous teenaged ward arrives on his doorstep, he presses Anna to take on her care. As Anna begins to melt the Viscount’s frozen heart, she knows the more she loves, the more she has to lose. For although Will cares nothing for what makes Society titter, he has yet to see The Beautiful One.

About the Author:

Emily Greenwood worked for a number of years as a writer, crafting newsletters and fundraising brochures, but she far prefers writing playful love stories set in Regency England, and she thinks romance novels are the chocolate of literature. A Golden Heart finalist, she lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

Connect with Emily Greenwood: Website – http://emilygreenwood.net/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/emigreenwood
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emily-Greenwood/365744720128570
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6506600.Emily_Greenwood

Excerpt from THE BEAUTIFUL ONE by Emily Greenwood:
Rounding the edge of the wood at the back of Stillwell, he was startled to see his ward standing about. She was looking up at a tree in which, from the movement of its leaves and branches, some large creature seemed to be thrashing. A crow?
As he drew nearer to the oblivious Lizzie, he was almost certain he heard a woman’s voice coming from among the leaves. Lizzie stepped closer to the tree and lifted her hands upward, and he saw that on a thick branch perhaps six feet off the ground were perched two feet in past-their-prime dark ankle boots, and above them he was treated to a view of trim calves he could not regret. The surrounding leaves and branches mostly obscured the rest of his recently hired governess. In the instant before Lizzie became aware of Will, he saw that she held in her cupped hands a fluffy white ball.
Lizzie turned and saw him, her mouth forming into an “O” as a voice called from above, “Lizzie? I’m ready for the owlet.”
“Er,” said Lizzie, looking at him. In the clear afternoon light he noticed that her eyes were a different color blue than Ginger’s had been. But the shape was Ginger’s, as were the eyebrows. Not her fault, but he couldn’t go the route of compassion. It would only muddy what had to be. He looked past her and lifted a hand to rub his eyes.
“Miss Black,” he said, knowing he could not avoid asking, “what on earth are you doing?”
There was a pause as she absorbed his arrival and a shifting of the feet on the branch near his forehead as they drew together, perhaps in an attempt at modesty.
“Ah, my lord,” she said from above him. “Good afternoon. Lizzie and I are engaged in returning a fallen owlet to its nest. It was her idea. She is very caring toward animals.”
He could feel Lizzie’s big blue eyes on him though his own were still covered by his hand. He had no doubt as to whose idea it had been to climb the tree. He hadn’t truly expected Anna Black to be a typical sort of governess, had he?
“Come down at once.”
“If you will wait just a moment, my lord,” she said breezily, “I shall be down directly. Lizzie, the owlet.”
Lizzie cleared her throat. “Here.”
He tapped her on the shoulder before she could lift her arms farther. “Give me that creature, please.”
She looked uncertain, but she clearly didn’t want to displease him, and she handed over the motionless owl. He took it carefully from her and did not return her tentative smile. He could feel her eagerness for him to acknowledge her, but he let it flow past him.
The leaves and branches above them shook as Anna Black crouched down and extended her hand for the animal. Her bonnet, the same horrible blue one, had fallen on its strings around her neck again, and her hair, apparently loosened by her climb, curled crazily about her face as if she were some unkempt urchin, accentuating her pert nose and reminding him of her jack-in-the-box appearance from the coach.
Her pink lips pressed outward at the sight of him; doubtless she was annoyed by his arrival, but her expression didn’t draw an answering wave of annoyance from him. Instead, her lips were making him wonder, unaccountably, what it might feel like to be kissed all over by pink butterflies.
“The owlet, please,” she fairly ordered him.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Get down this instant before you fall. I will return the owlet.”
“I am already positioned to do so. If you will just give it to me, I can put it back and then receive your displeasure properly on the ground.”
He grunted. Why did he keep finding himself in out-of-his-control conversations with this maddening woman?
In his palm the owlet’s heart beat with a rapid, stressed flutter. He reached up his hand, and she gently took the animal and disappeared into the foliage.
From above came a few rustling noises, then the angry screech of what had to be an adult owl and a yelp. Fearing Miss Black would fall, he stepped forward to catch her, but at that same moment she jumped neatly down, so that she landed right in front of him.
He grabbed her arms, a reflex to steady her. She didn’t need his help, but their eyes locked, and for a moment he read vulnerability there before it was replaced with the hard glint of independence. She smelled like sunshine and crushed leaves, and he felt the slim softness of her arms and his body’s yearning to hug her close.
She stepped away from him. It had all happened in the space of a few moments.
But as he watched her brush some leaves from her skirts with her head down, that vulnerability he’d glimpsed tugged at him. Who was this woman? Where had she come from? She was clearly educated and intelligent, and though she was too forthright and she dressed terribly, she was not rough, merely unusual.
That life-on-the-edge-of-propriety quality he’d observed in her the night before had suggested that she’d known some hardship, or that she had some burden she might trade for money. And yet today, in the company of his ward, she looked at ease, even if her eyes seemed to be hiding something.

My Review:

Anna Bristol, now using the name of Anna Black, is running to try to stay one step ahead of the scandal that is following her. Her recently deceased father, who was a doctor, had a young protege, who spied on Anna in her room and bath. He prepared a book of several scandalous drawings of her without her knowledge or consent. He then sold the drawings to a sleazy nobleman, who becomes determined to have Anna pose nude for him This man now threatens to reveal Anna’s name, as he has shown the drawings, and they have caused quite a stir. Anna runs away from her home, looking for anonymous employment. She finds it at a school for girls, where she is hired to be a seamstress.

At this same school, sixteen year old Lizzie sneaks out at night to meet a man and steal a kiss. She is caught, and expelled from the school. She is to be sent home, and because there is no one else available to chaperone her on the trip, Anna is selected. Lizzie is an orphan, and is being sent to her guardian, Will Halifax, Viscount Grandville. Will has also recently suffered tragedy. His beloved wife was killed a year ago, and he has never recovered. He goes through the motions of running his estate, and exhausts himself doing manual labor. He desires no company, he only wants to be left alone to wallow in his grief. When his ward shows up unannounced with her companion, he is less than pleased. Will first attempts to immediately send Anna and Lizzie to an inn until he can make arrangements to find another school. Anna manages to convince him to let them stay for a month.

Anna’s boldness and her willingness to stand up to him intrigue Will. For the first time in a year, he feels desire, and that causes him to feel guilty. Each day Anna chips away at the walls around Will, and he, in turn enchants her with glimpses of the charming man he used to be before his loss. Passion soon flares between them, and Will proposes marriage. While Anna realizes she’s in love, she also realizes that Will is not. There is also the difference in their stations, and the scandal that could ruin her.

I enjoyed this read very much. It has a unique story line, and the characters were wonderful. It was lovely to watch Will come to terms with his grief, and decide to live again. He is a loyal, honorable, and sexy man. Anna had strength, but she wasn’t hardened. She was also generous, and determined to do the right thing, even at the expense of her own happiness. They were perfect for each other. The romance was emotional and encompassing, and the story well written. I look forward to future books by Emily Greenwood, and give The Beautiful One my solid recommendation