A budding artist meets a handsome stranger on the train and they instantly connect. They spend one amazing summer together, discovering within each other the one person they could be with without feeling like a misfit of society. Like all good things though, with the end of summer comes the end of their relationship. Annabelle Lawson discovers that the man she's fallen in love with isn't truly who she believes him to be. In actuality, he's Marcus Wallis, the hated cousin of her adopted brother, the Earl of Whitby.

As the family outcast, Marcus knew Whitby would never accept his suit for Annabelle, no matter how much he loved her, or she him. So he did the only thing he could think of. He lied about his feelings for her, told her he only wanted to use her as revenge against her brother and ruthlessly broke her heart. Thirteen years later, after making his fortune in America, Marcus returns to claim the only woman he's ever loved. He knows he's a changed man and he desperately wants to prove it to Annabelle but will she give him a change to show her. And even then, will Annabelle be able to give Marcus a second chance at love, knowing how badly he hurt her the first time?

PORTRAIT OF A LOVER is the first book by Julianne MacLean I've read. I found it to be a great read full of very real characters that pull you into their lives. You experience their emotions and at times get so frustrated with them you just want to yell at the pages, sort of like you do at the TV. A very emotional roller coaster that'll leave you hanging on to the edge of your book. Having never read the previous books in this series, I wasn't familiar with a lot of the secondary characters but that in no way should deter you from this book. It's a complete stand-alone but if you're like me, you'll want to run out and pick up the entire series, just to see what you've been missing.

Book Summary

A picture of deception...

Annabelle Lawson knew nothing about the breathtaking stranger she met on the train--only that he'd make an ideal model for the budding young artist... and that she desired him more than she believed possible. But after she'd been seduced, she learned that she'd also been betrayed. The man she thought she loved was really Magnus Wallis--a scoundrel like his father before him, the loathed cousin of Annabelle's benefactor, the honorable Earl of Whitby.

A landscape of love...

No longer the naively romantic girl who would tumble for a rogue, Annabelle cannot avoid a reunion with the despicable Magnus, who wants to include her portraits in his new London gallery. She means to show him her coldest face--but upon seeing him again, here every intention melts from the heat of his touch. It is clear theat Magnus still burns with love for her. But is he still the villain he once was, or can he be reformed into a man Annabelle can dare to love?

Read an Excerpt