Julianne MacLean, Portrait of a Lover

Portrait of a Lover

Julianne MacLean

Avon, Mar 2006, $6.99, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0060819359

In 1879, Annabelle Lawson met the handsome stranger on a train and found she wanted Jonathan Edwards in her bed and as a model for a painting she was creating. However, once she learns who he really is, Annabelle feels betrayed and her love turns to hate, as she knows that Magnus Wallis loathes those who nurtured and loved her after her parents died when she was an infant. Annabelle vows to never see him again, though she knows how hard that will prove to be since he is the cousin of her adopted brother and patron, the Earl of Whitby.

Thirteen years later, Magnus has never forgotten the woman on the train who stirred his soul, though she quickly turned against him. He wants to display Annabelle's work in his London gallery so he arranges to see her. Her intentions of ignoring him vanish when he sweetly caresses her face. Annabelle realizes she still loves the scoundrel, but doubts she can trust him with her art or her heart. Magnus knows he must prove himself to the woman he cherishes above all else, because this will be his last chance.

PORTRAIT OF A LOVER is an intriguing Victorian romance that stars a somewhat rebellious heroine and the man who loves and regrets what he did to her when they met as strangers on a train. The storyline is driven by Magnus' efforts to gain first the forgiveness of his beloved, and then regain her love. A bit of mystery involving Magnus' roots adds to the uniqueness of this fun late nineteenth century romance.