Title: The Governess Affair
Series: Brothers Sinister
Author: Courtney Milan
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: April 21, 2012
Publisher: Courtney Milan
ASIN: B007WIOP68
She will not give up...
Three months ago, governess Serena Barton was let go from her position. Unable to find new work, she’s demanding compensation from the man who got her sacked: a petty, selfish, swinish duke. But it’s not the duke she fears. It’s his merciless man of business—the man known as the Wolf of Clermont. The formidable former pugilist has a black reputation for handling all the duke’s dirty business, and when the duke turns her case over to him, she doesn’t stand a chance. But she can’t stop trying—not with her entire future at stake.
He cannot give in...
Hugo Marshall is a man of ruthless ambition—a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner’s son to the right hand man of a duke. When his employer orders him to get rid of the pestering governess by fair means or foul, it’s just another day at the office. Unfortunately, fair means don’t work on Serena, and as he comes to know her, he discovers that he can’t bear to use foul ones. But everything he has worked for depends upon seeing her gone. He’ll have to choose between the life that he needs, and the woman he is coming to love...
My rating:
***eBook available for free on Amazon***
The Duke of Clermont sics his man of business on a governess to whom he apparently promised employ and is now sitting (every day, all day) on the park bench on front of the Duke's London home, demanding compensation for "breach of contract". But not all is as it seems, and Hugo Marshall quickly realizes the Duke was less than truthful, and he has no intention of turning to "darker" methods of turning the woman away...
This is the first book by this author I've read (courtesy of InstaFreebie), and I can honestly say I'm glad I did, since it offered a surprisingly fresh approach to historical romance.
The story was different, not improbable or implausible, because we all know things like that happened back in the day when women lived and died at the whims of men, but becuase I've never read the subject matter in historicals before. It was different, it was fresh, and it was damn nice to read.
The two leads were wonderful, though the heroine's motivations were a bit murky at times, providing a bit of doubt as to her final leap into love. They were fleshed-out, multi-layered, and felt rather real for a fictitious couple from two centuries ago. In comparison, the "villain" ended up more like a caricature than a person, but I guess the length of the story didn't allow more insight. He got his in the end, though, and that's what counts.
I liked the narrative style and voice, the pacing was good, and the epilogue set in Eton intriguing. I'm looking forward to the next book.
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