Portrait of Passion by Lynne Barron

Title: Portrait of Passion (Idyllwild #1)

Author: Lynne Barron

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Publication: August 30, 2013

My Rating: 4/5

Source: Author's publicist

What’s a gentleman to do when a mysterious lady with a secret past and a reputation frayed around the edges suddenly appears in London in pursuit of his naive young cousin, setting the gossips’ tongues wagging, stirring his family into pandemonium, and driving him mad with her irreverent ways? If the gentleman in question is Simon Carlisle, Viscount Easton, the answer is quite simple. Seduce the beguiling lady. But Miss Beatrice Morgan isn’t your average tarnished lady. She’s lived a slapdash life wandering the globe like a gypsy, painting fantastical portraits of duchesses and landscapes featuring a crumbling old fountain, all the while harboring a secret desire to return to the only home she’s ever known. Will Beatrice sacrifice her honor, her virtue, her very heart to reclaim Idyllwild?

**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Beatrice's had an amazing and happy childhood with her family and friends. Until one day, after her father's death, they get kicked out of this beautiful house she grew up in, and she makes it her mission to get it back at all costs.

When the book starts, we see that Beatrice actually has a plan to get her home back after all these years, and she has people helping her, too. As the story progresses, we find out more and more about Bea's plan, and how hard it if for her to go through with it in the end. Especially since, along the way, she meets Simon and unexpectedly falls in love with him.

Bea and Simon are attracted to each other right away, and they don't like wasting time, that's for sure. They're all over each other since the very beginning.

And what a beautiful and strong couple they make!

Beatrice is a painter, and I do love characters who enjoy drawing or painting, so that was definitely a plus for me. And I really liked that she's an independent woman, we don't get to see that much in historical romances. Bea also has an amazing personality, she just doesn't care about what others think of her or what they might be saying behind her back (or even right next to her in some cases). And she always tries her best to be as happy as she can.

Simon is also an amazing character. I wasn't sure how I felt about him at first, but it was so adorable when he started to care about Bea and be sweet to her. The love he felt for her was really beautiful and endearing. But he seriously needs to get a hold of that impulsive behavior of his when he gets mad, he's lucky Bea is such a sweetheart and cares about him so much.

He still makes up for his mistakes though, it really broke my heart to see how awful he felt whenever he hurt Bea.

And it doesn't take him long to see that he wants Bea to be part of his life and starts seeing a future with her, even if society's (and his family's) expectations were so very much against the union.

The supporting characters were also great, I especially loved Olivia, and felt so bad for the life other people have decided for her.

This is already the second book I read by Lynne Barron, and I've noticed that she creates relationships where respect is so very important to both people involved, something which I really like :)

Definitely a great read for historical romance lovers!


Thank you for reading! ♥