The Virgin Who Ruined Lord Gray
Series: The Swooning Virgins Society #1
Author: Anna Bradley
Published October 27th 2020 by Lyrical Press

Goodreads Synopsis
Behind the doors of the Clifford Charity School for Wayward Girls, there lies a secret society of brilliant, fearless women who are bringing justice to London's most corrupt aristocrats, one nobleman at a time...

Other young ladies might occupy their spare time with drawing or needlework, but Sophia Monmouth spends hers scaling rooftops and shadowing suspicious characters. Her objective: to gain information that will free a friend wrongly accused of murder. She hasn't bargained on being spotted and followed back to the Clifford School by a mysterious earl who holds almost as many secrets as she does.

Tristan Stratford, Lord Gray, earned the nickname the Ghost of Bow Street because no man has ever escaped him. Sophia—all soft curves beneath her disguise—is a unique challenge. Determined to learn the truth about the Clifford School, he joins Sophia in a scheme that leads from Newgate's cells to the pinnacle of power. But when desire is at odds with justice, succumbing to temptation may lead them both into the heart of danger...
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As a former student, and current teacher, at the Clifford School for Wayward Girls, Miss Sophia Monmouth doesn't spend her time on traditional ladylike pursuits. Where you might expect a woman to upholster chairs, or embroider a cushion cover, Sophia instead spends her time scaling rooftops, and following suspicious characters, even more so now that her friend has been wrongly accused of murder. She knows he is innocent, but without proof, Jeremy is doomed to hang. What Sophia didn't count on was that Tristan Stratford, the new Earl Gray, and former Ghost of Bow Street, would spot her lying on the pediment of his neighbours doorway, and follow her. He's had his suspicions about the Clifford School for some time, and it was his friend who was murdered, and Tristan wants justice. As they form an unlikely partnership, will Tristan and Sophia be able to uncover the truth about the conspiracy, and come out unscathed?

I will admit, I've had this book on my TBR and NG shelf for some time, and didn't start it until the long Easter bank holiday weekend, when I realised I had books 1, 2, and 3 all to read and review. Well, I'm actually glad I waited, because I spent the weekend reading all three, and was happy to have the next one to start as soon as I was finished - and there's only a few months until November now to wait for book 4. This book sees Sophia and Tristan having to overcome their inherent differences and dislike of each other to first save Jeremy from the hangman's noose, and then to work out why people are being wrongly accused of theft, and later murders occurring, all in the same churchyard, with the same witness. Honestly, the mystery and plot line was perfectly concocted, and I didn't guess at who the fourth man was until really close to the end. The book, being about the students of the Clifford School, definitely set the stage for the following books, as we meet Sophia's friends - who are more like sister's really - Cecelia, Georgiana, and Emma, who will be the heroines of the subsequent books. As a romance, obviously the chemistry and love affair between Sophia and Tristan played a big role, but their banter and uneasy friendship to start off with, as well as the moments they opened up to one another, really cemented Anna as an author I'll definitely be watching out for in future. There's so many moments were you think that nothing can pull Sophia and Tristan apart, and then there's angst were it seems they're in danger, and may not make it out alive, but I loved the ending, and think that seeing them in future books will be amazing. Definitely a book for lovers of historical romance and mysteries!

Dates Read:
April 3, 2021

Rating
4 Stars