Eli Dawes returns to his family home after being away in France for over seven years. He was presumed dead, but was in fact recovering from a disfiguring injury during the Napoleonic Wars. His injury and how it was incurred haunt him, and he has no wish to rejoin the society he once revelled in.

But, he finds is home is inhabited by a school of young ladies learning to paint under the tutelage of one Lady Rose Hayward, the woman his now dead best friend was supposed to marry. The woman Eli has wanted for years.

Embarrassed by his injury and his past and baffled by the hostile and cold reception from Rose, Eli must figure out how to live when all he wanted was to be dead.

For Rose, Eli is just as responsible as her dead fiancee for the scandalous publication published before they went to war. The publication that left her and other young ladies ruined for society. Now she hopes to help women see their true beauty by painting them in all their glory, no matter their age, their handicaps, their scars.

But as she learns Eli was not in fact responsible and is appalled he wans't able to do anything, she finds herself falling for the wounded Earl and wants nothing but to help him find his way back to society in a meaningful way. Too bad if she does, she can never join him at his side.

A lovely tale that is quite feminist and handles difficult subjects with a wonderful touch. Both Eli and Rose have inner mental health struggles that are rarely seen in historical (or handled as well). Great to see them find their HEA.

I received a free copy in exchange for a fair review.