The Governess Game (Girl Meets Duke: Book Two): Tessa Dare

"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.

The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke, Book One): Tessa Dare

"WHEN GIRL MEETS DUKE, THEIR MARRIAGE BREAKS ALL THE RULES...

 

"Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury's to-do list has been short and anything but sweet:  brooding, glowering, menacing London ne'er-do-wells by night.  Now there's a new item on the list.  He needs an heir--which means he needs a wife.  When Emma Gladstone, a vicar's daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she'll do.

"His terms are simple:

They will be husband and wife by night only.
• No lights, no kissing.
• No questions about his battle scars.
Last, and most importantly...  Once she's pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again.

"But Emma is no pushover.  She has a few rules of her own:

• They will have dinner together every evening.
• With conversation.
• And unlimited teasing.
• Last, and most importantly...  Once she's seen the man beneath the scars, he can't stop her from falling in love."

And we're back to Tessa Dare!  This is her newest book and I was SO excited to start reading it.  I've plowed (no pun intended) my way through the rest of her books and was desperate for some new reading material.  Dare is easily my favorite period romance author.  I have some others whom I very, very much enjoy, but none quite so much as Dare.  Her characters always manage to charm me with their quirks and their extremely unique personalities.  Dare is one author I could never accuse of "recycling" plots or characters; each is so individualistic that I find this to be her trademark.  She writes unique, powerful characters -- each with their own mannerisms, speech patterns, and appearances.  One of my favorite aspects of her writing is probably the fact that she imbues each of her characters with some sort of "flaw," whether it be physical, emotional, or psychological.  This book was no different.

I'm about halfway through this book and Ash has very quickly become one of my favorite characters of all time.  His personality and penchant for Shakespearean insults are spectacular.  I will say that some of his (more comedic) comments thus far feel a bit more "modern" than I am used to in a period book, but I still found them incredibly amusing.  His wit and sense of humor are wonderful.  It took me a minute to understand just why he spoke so archaically, but, once I did, I appreciated him all the more.  It's no secret that he's horribly scarred from his accident at war.  I very quickly saw this book as a variation on Beauty and the Beast, but there is so much more to this book than that...think Beauty and the Beast meet Batman.  This sounds utterly absurd, I know, but you'll understand what I mean once you read it.  I picked up this book believing I would find another physically-and-emotionally damaged, gruff, surly male hero, but I have discovered so much more in Ash.  His character is so refreshing and so very different from the stereotype I was anticipating.  This is not to say that there's anything horribly wrong with the stereotype, just that I am extremely pleased to have encountered such a different hero.  Of course, Ash certainly is physically and emotionally damaged, but it's how he handles his life and his encounters that is so fun (not a very good word, but oh well) and enjoyable to read.

I really enjoy Emma thus far.  She's so spunky and I particularly appreciate that she's so far outside the realm of a "shrinking miss" that they're not even on the same continent.  This needed to happen for the plot to work and for her to match Ash's very powerful personality.  His character very easily could have overpowered his female counterpart in the story, but Dare has managed to make a very nice pairing with both their backgrounds and personalities.  Her backstory is rich and I can believe that it helped to shape her into the woman she was when she met Ash.  Having just read another story with a vicar's daughter as the female lead, I can confidently say that I enjoyed this rendition a bit more.  She felt more human and flawed.  Granted, Emma and the other female lead had very different backgrounds and experiences with their families, so this probably played a big role.  As a character, Emma successfully bridged the chasm between vicar's daughter and romantic lead -- things I, personally, have never really felt went together well.

The reading continues onward and I'll return with the completion of my review.

***

So I ended up devouring the rest of the book mere hours after finishing the first part of this review.  Ash is easily the best male lead I've encountered in a very, very long time -- if not my all-time favorite.  His sense of humor was absolutely charming and wholly unexpected.  He's a goofball.  (I suspect I may have enjoyed him so much because it reminds me a bit of my husband -- he can be very gruff and abrasive sometimes, but he's a totally different man and his personality really shines when it's the two of us and he's comfortable and can just be himself.)  He feels a great deal younger than he actually is, which was rather fun.  I was still completely enamored of his use of Shakespearean insults, even at the end of the book.  While his damaged body, mind, heart, and soul were a huge part of who he was, I sincerely appreciate the lengths Dare went to in order to make him more than just the sum of his broken parts.  He was SO much more than another beast waiting for his beauty to heal him and make him whole; to show him that he was worth loving.  His personality was outstanding and really made this book a success.

Emma, as I suspected, turned out to be the absolutely perfect foil for Ash.  She remained fiery and determined, no matter the circumstances.  She was strong and willful, romantic and sweet.  She was going to prove to Ash that she was attracted to every single thing about him -- whether he liked it or not.

There are a few good twists and turns in this book that kept the plot moving along at a very pleasant clip.  The Monster of Mayfair was a particularly fun aspect and I'm sticking to my earlier statement that this book is Beauty-and-the-Beast-meets-Batman.  It makes complete sense once you read the book...I promise.

I already CANNOT wait to read the next book in this series.  The premise was already put into place in this story and we were introduced to some fantastically unique female characters in this book -- I can only expect that Dare plans on creating a story for each of them.  I'm already itching to get my hands on the next story!

Dare has once again solidified her place as one of my favorite (if not my VERY favorite) author of this genre (or even in general).  This is supremely high praise and I don't think it is overblown in the slightest.  Her characters are rich, charming, and easy to love.  She imbues each and every last one of them with personalities and quirks which really bring them to life.  Her plots are exciting, unique, and steamy.  The romance is believable and fun.  I am absolutely enamored of her writing style and creativity.  I simply cannot say enough about Dare and I HIGHLY recommend her to anyone who is a fan of period romance, or is even just interested in this genre.

EDIT:  I forgot to add one of the main reasons I enjoyed Emma so much...  I mentioned before that she's no shrinking miss, but I failed to mention just how naughty she is.  As opposed to feeling over the top or bordering on just plain erotica (usually where there is very little substance to the characters), it was fun and playful!  She wasn't afraid of experimentation, nor did she shy away from Ash's appetites.  While the mentality was probably a bit more modern, it was SO refreshing.  I didn't realize how tired I'd grown of cautious women who shirk away from anything but the most vanilla of acts.  Few characters (and authors) can pull this off with such ease and believability:  Emma and Dare are the perfect example of this.