"HE'S BEEN A BAD, BAD RAKE--AND IT TAKES A GOVERNESS TO TEACH HIM A LESSON"THE ACCIDENTAL GOVERNESS
"After her livelihood slips through her fingers, Alexandra Mountbatten takes on an impossible post: transforming a pair of wild orphans into proper young ladies. However, the girls don't need discipline. They need a loving home. Try telling that to their guardian, Chase Reynaud: duke's heir in the streets and devil in the sheets. The ladies of London have tried--and failed--to make him settle down. Somehow, Alexandra must reach his heart...without risking her own.
"THE INFAMOUS RAKE
"Like any self-respecting libertine, Chase lives by one rule: no attachments. When a stubborn little governess tries to reform him, he decides to give her an education--in pleasure. That should prove he can't be tamed. But Alexandra is more than he bargained for: clever, perceptive, passionate. She refuses to see him as a lost cause. Soon the walls around Chase's heart are crumbling...and he's in danger of falling hard."
What a pleasant way to start the new year: reading a new book by one of my favorite authors. And this latest installment in the Girl Meets Duke series took me only a single day to enjoy. I very much enjoyed the first book in this series and really looked forward to reading the second. Unfortunately, at that time, it hadn't been released yet. So I had to wait...and it felt like forever (when it was really only a few months) and I was thrilled when I finally got my hands on a copy of "The Governess Game". There is little I love more than an excellent series with recurring characters who were once secondary and now have books of their own -- especially when those characters are vivid, lively, unique, and have very strong personalities.
We first met Alexandra and (very briefly) Chase in Emma and Ash's story, "The Duchess Deal". Alexandra is presented as rather quiet, extremely intelligent, and devoted to her work. The glimpse of Chase we are given hints that he's in charge of small girls -- though why, we do not know -- and that he's a devilishly handsome flirt. This book stayed true to that information, though Alex really seemed to find her voice. I'm glad because a shrinking flower rarely makes a fantastic female lead. Alex turned out to be determined and interesting, with a very unique and captivating backstory. I really enjoyed how she handled her accidental position as governess and her reaction made it much more realistic. I appreciated her methodical thought processes and her determinedness to give Daisy and Rosamund what they so desperately lacked. Her unconventional tactics were charming and lent an air of fun and fantasy to the story.
Chase was, for the most part, a very good male lead. I thoroughly enjoyed his personality and his very quick wit. I believe I said something very similar about Ash; I think Dare has really perfected the art of the charming, intelligent, humorous male lead without making him seem too goofy or macho. This is one of the things that can really make or break a story in this genre. So many think it's easy to write good romance (even my husband -- who rarely takes note of my reading materials -- has mentioned that he thinks books of this genre are far too common), but these critics have no idea what it takes to write really captivating male leads. It takes another level of author entirely to write excellent romance. They key is to make the readers fall in love with the characters. To be able to write unique characters (and not simply spout out very slightly different versions over and over again because the formula works) is an art. I know I can hear some scoffs out there, but I assure you that I've read enough books -- both romance and other genres -- to say that it is not as easy as one might believe to craft characters with whom the readers can truly connect on numerous levels. Chase is a good example of this. He has a good backstory and a complicated life. While there was a good portion of the book from his point of view, I felt like a vast majority of it was dedicated to his feelings about Alex or his past/present/future as it might relate to or impact her. I can understand the rationale behind his decisions, but he bordered ever so slightly on a dramatic martyr. This is, perhaps, one of my only critiques. I just wanted a touch more about his personal life or experiences -- not necessarily solely as they related to Alex. What were some of his hobbies -- other than perfecting the libertine arts? I found his personality charming (as charming as the rake was intended to be) and his humor was fun to experience. By far the quick banter between Chase and Alex had to be one of my favorite aspects of this book. He was a man after my own heart with his subtle caring ways and his willingness to play along with Daisy's penchant for holding funerals for her beloved doll after gruesome "illnesses."
Daisy and Rosamund were, quite obviously, the most prominent secondary characters. And I found them spectacular. They were quick little girls who were bruised by their past and reluctant to open their hearts. Some might feel them a bit over the top (I'm referring to the repeated doll funerals), but I had cousins just about their ages exactly and I can tell you that these were some rather perfect characters. Their precociousness and knack for trouble made them fun, but their unique personalities and fascination with "unwomanly" things made them special. They suited the plot and the other characters quite well. I was charmed by their determined little spirits and their delightful torture of their guardian and governess(es) -- yes, that was intentionally plural.
We also see Nicola, Penny, Emma, and Ash once more. Emma and Ash seem to have settled quite nicely into their marriage (yay! I do so love happy endings); Penny is her usual, animal-loving self; and Nicola is baking away and tinkering -- ever protective of her friends. I've some reason to believe Penny's will be the next in the series and, with her trusting and open-hearted nature, that could make for a very interesting story, indeed
I absolutely recommend this book; was there ever a question that I wouldn't? As much as I've always loved Dare's writing, I think it's only continuing to get better. Her characters are becoming even more alive and their stories are fun and unique. Her writing has a way of drawing you in and you never want to put the book down. My only regret is that I finished reading this book so darn quickly.
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