Tempted by a Governess by Jane Charles

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: To Love a Governess, #2

Release Date: March 22, 2022

When her father died, Katrina Carrick inherited his bookshop/lending library and his debts. It was with a sad heart that she realized that she would have to sell all the books to pay the debts and seek employment. Having worked as a governess before, she answered an advert from the Viscountess Melcombe in Willanton England. She then gets the news that Lord Timothy Strotham, the youngest son of the Marquess of Shomberg is interested in purchasing her stock. Katrina invites him to examine the books but is not prepared for her reaction to him.

Lord Timothy has been restless, he is not suited for the clergy or the army, but tutoring and teaching at Oxford brought him no joy, so he has decided to open a lending library in the town of Middleton where he owns a small estate. He learns of the book sale and travels to Scotland to meet the owner. He is shocked to learn that the owner is not only a woman but a young, single, and very attractive woman.

Over the next couple of weeks, these two get to know each other and the attraction intensifies, but neither of them is in a position to pursue a relationship and try to ignore the sexual tension that is growing stronger each day. Timothy is firm in his resolve to keep his dealings with Katrina strictly in the friend zone, but Katrina has other plans. When she learns his estate is near to Willanton and that he is traveling there as soon as their business is completed, she figures she can kill two birds with one stone, she will ask Timothy to give her a ride to her interview and since she never plans to marry, she hopes to seduce him and experience passion before settling into a life of servitude. What could go wrong?

This was a well-written, fun novel with very likable characters who share an undeniable attraction yet for whom HEA doesn’t seem to be in the cards. The book is filled with smoldering attraction, risque reading material, a handfasting gone wrong, some warm love scenes, great secondary characters, some surprising twists and finally a HEA complete with an epilogue. This is the second book in the series, but it is loosely connected and this book could easily be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Desiring the Governess by Jane Charles

Tracy’s rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: To Love a Governess, #1

Release Date: February 22, 2022

Miss Althea Claywell has spent four years on the marriage mart and has only ever been attracted to one man, Major Ambrose, but he only danced with her twice and never asked to court her before leaving town. Althea assumed that her uncle/guardian would let her inherit her trust when she turns 25 and go quietly into spinsterhood, but when she overhears him speaking to his friend and learning that he means to marry her off to Mr. Smith who is old enough to be her grandfather, she panics and runs away.

Major Preston Ambrose left town last year after learning that his brother and his wife died in an accident, making Preston the new Viscount Melcombe and the guardian of 5 young girls. His cousin Alec Winters, the Earl of Harwich suggests that he marry, but the only woman he ever wanted is Althea and he was so nervous around her he was never able to ask to court her. Alec suggests having their uncle, Mr. Smith help by arranging a marriage with Althea’s uncle, who is his good friend. But when he sees Althea in the village near his estate, he knows something is wrong and a letter from his uncle confirms it – Althea misunderstood the marriage terms and bolted. He is still tongue-tied around her and too embarrassed to admit the marriage proposal was from him, so instead asks her to be his new governess, thinking that he will be able to spend time with her and court her and hopefully marry her.

Althea agrees to be his governess for one month, she was going to travel to her mother’s family in Scotland but knows that is the first place her uncle will look for her, so staying with Preston is perfect and she hopes that they can get to know each other better and see if what she felt in London was real. But their courtship is plagued with misunderstandings, miscommunications, and a heavy dose of inappropriate lust between a governess and her employer, with all this working against them, will they ever manage to clear the air and find their HEA?

This was a well-written story with two very likable characters and a great supporting cast. The story starts out well and the initial misunderstanding is well done and works perfectly, but as the story moves on, the misunderstanding and miscommunications begin to cause the story to drag and Preston’s inability to talk to her becomes unbelievable when he seems to lose all self-control when he sees her. Overall, I liked the idea of the story and the characters, it was a fun read and had some spicy love scenes, but I just wish the miscommunication/misunderstandings had been cleared up sooner. This is the first book in a new series and I am looking forward to the next installment.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher.