Perks of Being a Beauty by Manda Collins

Perks of Being a Beauty by Manda Collins.
This is book 3.5 in the Ugly Ducklings series.
Miss Amelia Snow's place in society has taken a turn for the worse. She was once adored by the gentlemen of the ton and welcomed into the ton's ballrooms. That all changed when her mother passed away and she had to become the companion to a wealthy cit's daughter. Now she down plays her looks and her outspokenness so that she doesn't lose her job.
Lord Quentin Fortescue is surprised to see his childhood friend acting as companion to his host's daughter. Amelia broke his heart years ago when she turned down his proposal of marriage. Unfortunately, Quentin still holds a torch for her. Will he get burnt again?
Since Quentin's arrival changes the number of people in the party, Amelia is forced to participate in the house party activities to even things out. During the course of the party she is thrown together with Quentin, much to the chagrin of Harriet's mother who seems to delight in putting Amelia down every chance she gets. Will the time spent together rekindle the love that they once shared?
When I saw that this was part of a series, I had to read the other books before reading this one.  I fell in love with the "Ugly Ducklings" and couldn't imagine that I would like reading about their arch nemesis.
At the end of How to Entice an Earl (book 3), we see the cousins have forgiven Amelia as she truly seems to have remorse about what she has done to them.  During the course of this book we get some background information about Amelia and can see why she might have acted the way she did. You can definitely see the change in her personality when she with Harriet. There are some snarky women at the party and Amelia knows just what to say to them since they are acting just the way she use to .  
I was pleasantly surprised that Collins was able to get me to actually like Amelia by the end of the story. By telling us Amelia's backstory, we are able to empathize with her and understand why she acted the way she did. This was a wonderful story of redemption and second chances!

You can get this book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.