ARC Review: Painting the Earl (Marrying a Mabry #2) by Lexi Post
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Series: Marrying a Mabry #2
Author: Lexi Post
Published June 16th 2023 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Goodreads Synopsis
The bargain: She’ll marry him if he poses nude for her.
Lady Amelia Mabry is determined to paint her masterpiece before marrying, but she’s struggling with the male form. It isn’t as if she can hire a nude model – she’d be shunned by the ton. So when the Earl of Sommerset, who she’s privately dubbed the Golden Adonis, surprises her with a marriage proposal, she can’t resist making a counterproposal – pose nude for her, and when the painting is complete, she’ll marry him if he still wishes her to.
Andrew Crauford, Earl of Sommerset has just inherited his title – and as he’s discovered, his father’s significant debt. He needs to marry a woman with a sizeable dowry, but no young lady has interested him. Running out of time, at his friend’s recommendation, he proposes to Lady Amelia. But he never expected a counterproposal, nor such a brazen one at that! Now he’s interested.
Unfortunately, the lady has an aversion to being married for her money, which means he must entice her to fall in love with him.
Though Lady Amelia has fancied painting the earl since meeting him, she’s shocked he agreed to her counterproposal. As his sittings begin, she finds it more and more difficult to focus on her painting instead of her model. If she’s not careful, her carefully laid plans for her future will go amiss.
Bargain or not, falling in love with the earl before completing her masterpiece is not an option.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Lady Amelia Mabry has just shown her artwork for the first time, but after overhearing critique stating she doesn't know how to portray the male body, she knows she needs to find someone to model for her. However, her family is shunned, and it's not as if a lady can just go out and ask a man to model nude anyway. But then the Earl of Sommerset proposes to her, and rather than rejecting outright, Amelia offers Andrew a counterproposal. Seemingly thinking it'll be easy to just paint him and not be affected, Amelia soon realises she's focusing more on him, rather than her artwork.
I didn't enjoy the previous book in the series, but I really want to clear as much of my NetGalley backlog as I can do, so I decided to continue the series. I'm glad I did because this book was definitely more enjoyable than Stealing the Duke. Amelia and Andrew had a strong attraction, and though both tried to hide how strong it was, it was undeniable. The scenes when Amelia was painting were both sweet and spicy, but we really got to know more about both the characters. Andrew wasn't cold and calculating, but caring and trying everything he could to save his newly inherited estate, and the tenants who relied on him. This helped Amelia allow herself to love him fully, and not think of him as a stuffy noble who would look down on her.
Dates Read:
May 5, 2024
Rating
3 Stars
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