doingsomereading: Review: ARC The Perks of Being a Beauty by Manda Collins

The Perks of Being a Beauty (Ugly Ducklings #3.5)
by Manda Collins

ebook

Release Date: June 18, 2013

Blurb:

The beautiful Miss Amelia Snow is not accustomed to being snubbed by the gentlemen of the ton. But when her mother dies unexpectedly, forcing Amelia to take employment as companion to a wealthy cit’s daughter, she quickly learns to play down her looks or risk losing her position. When her employers, the Smithsons, decide to throw a country house party, she is determined to fade into the background. But how can she when the Smithson’s guest of honor is Lord Quentin Fortescue, the childhood friend who stole her heart?

Younger son, Lord Quentin Fortescue, is far more interested in his host’s cotton mills in the north than he is in courting the man’s dim-witted daughter. But it’s the girl’s companion who makes him look twice. Years ago, Miss Amelia Snowe rejected his proposal without a backward glance. Quentin has molded himself into just the sort of man she’d have wanted back then, but is Amelia still the smug beauty who broke his heart? And can either of them risk their newfound positions to indulge the fiery attraction that burns between them?

Review:

This is the novella starring the beautiful Miss Amelia Snowe, the mean child in The Ugly Duckling series.

Although she was mean and hateful (we really did dislike her) in the previous three books in the series, she finally gets to have her own HEA and hero.

And we get to see how she came to be the way she is and can begin to reform our thoughts about her in this little novella.

Okay so her Miss Amelia Snowe’s mother has passed and she is now destitute and penniless, but with the help of her newly found friends the former Ugly Duckling cousins, she has found a job as a companion to a girl from a middle class family. The parents then planned a house party to find their daughter a suitable husband and during this time Amelia is reacquainted with her childhood sweet heart, Lord Quentin Fortescue.But she can’t risk her position as a companion to the girl whom she’s watching because where else could she go. She’ll just have to stay away from the tempting man and let him go on his way.

Quentin was surprise to see his former love working as a companion to a family lower than her social upbringing let alone in more controlled of herself and duller than he remember. The last he had seen of her was when she rejected his suit of becoming his wife years ago and leaving him heart broken to pursuit titled gentlemen in London. Now a widow, he thought he has gotten over his feelings towards the high headiness of a girl he fell for but can’t help but fall back into her gaze and wonder what had happen to the girl he once new and loved.

This was an amazing read as I sit here at six in the morning typing this review. I love the series and am super delight and happy that Ms. Collins had written this story for Amelia and had given her her own HEA. We got to see her in the last book of the series in How to Entice an Earl quite a bit and got to see her break down due to the fact that none of the wealthy titled gentlemen wanted her but fell for the cousin whom she loved the bully. I just love that this novella helped reformed her in our, the readers’ eyes and can come to love her as much as we once hated her.

In this story Amelia was portrayed as the toned down girl whom she used to be and had fallen in hard times with her mother’s death. We also find out that the reason why she was so persistent in finding a suitable and wealthy gentlemen was due to the fact that she wand her mother was living on loans and basically nothing but pride. I love how realistic Amelia’s feelings were towards those she had wronged and how she felt that everything that was happening to her because of her actions in the past. I really admire her strength and courage on holding her head high and learning her position as a fallen beauty and on doing the right thing for a good cause, and for not look down on people because of their status anymore. It was an eye opener for her which was great.

Quentin I adore! He keep to himself and stayed true to himself. He was witty and open with Amelia and their past history and was willing to work it out and put it past him just to get closer and have that bond they used to have years ago. I like how he wasn’t pushy to get Amelia to open up about her thoughts but listened and waited for her responses, along with poking her with small questions at first then letting her open up to more info when she wanted to.

This was a very sweet, fast, touching story of forgiveness, reformation, second chances, and learning to trust and love one another. I really enjoyed this read and can’t believe this series it truly over~ But I cannot wait for the next trilogy series which stars a certain characters we just met in this story

So look out for Why Dukes Say I Do book one in the Wicked Widows trilogies coming the end of July 2013!!!

Hope you readers enjoy this delightful little read