Tessa James has worked and planned tirelessly to open her own millinery shop. All she needs now is a loan from the lord who sired and abandoned her. The only problem is, she doesn’t even know his name. What’s a woman to do to find him but enter the aristocratic world by becoming a governess?Guy Whitby, the new Duke of Carlin, has returned to London after years abroad to discover that his young daughter Sophy has become a wild-child known for scaring away every governess who's crossed his doorstep. When Tessa James applies for the job, he hires her in desperation despite his misgivings that she’s too bold and beautiful–and that she might be fibbing about her qualifications.
Their blooming attraction leads them on a completely unexpected path to love that neither wants to deny. But when an old enemy threatens Guy's family, their forbidden romance goes up in flames. Can they still learn to love and trust each other as forces try to tear them apart?
Series: Unlikely Duchesses #3 | Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks | Genre: Historical Romance | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4.5 Cups
As a Jane Eyre fan,
I absolutely love a good governess/employer relationship and this one delivered
a fun Regency romance with a bit of action, a bit of mystery, and a lot of fun.
Guy is the brand new Duke of Carlin. As fourth in line, he never expected to inherit the dukedom—he’s more comfortable exploring the flora and fauna of exotic locations—but due a series of accidents while abroad, he now finds himself in a position he never really prepared for. To make matters worse, he’s come home from his voyage to discover that his wife has died and his young daughter (he really doesn’t know) hates him. He’s in desperate need of a governess that can tame is wild child.
Tessa hasn’t had the best life. After her mother’s tragic death, she was raised in the workhouse then become the assistant to a milliner, who underappreciates her hard work. When she hears the new Duke of Carlin is looking for a new governess, she sees this as the perfect opportunity to search for the lord she believes to be her father in hopes of securing a loan to open her own millinery shop. Even though Guy has qualms about her qualifications, Tessa is determined to prove she was the right choice.
As Guy and Tessa develop an attraction, her lies and an outside threat looms over them.
It’s been a minute since I’ve picked up an Olivia Drake romance and this book reminded me of how much heart and soul she puts into her writing. Her characters are realistic and realistically flawed, which really endeared them to me.
Tessa’s a very strong-willed, feisty, and intelligent person who is very task/goal focused. She knows what she wants and she’s determined to make it happen. Guy is not your typical duke, and I liked that because it’s not a role he was trained for. If he had been all high and mighty, roar is me, I’m the duke I don’t think I would have liked him. He’s someone who followed his passion and now he’s struggling to fit back into his home life, if that makes sense.
Tessa and Guy have a lot going on emotionally. He’s working through some guilt and trying to figure out how to connect with his daughter as well as how to be a duke. She’s trying to figure out where she came from as well as juggling the white lies she’s told Guy. Even though they have a lot going on, they have this great connection, this pull of attraction that they want to explore. I loved watching how they navigated the tricky class divide.
I also loved watching Tessa mend the relationship between Sophie—who was quite the little scene-stealer—and Guy. It was magical watching the three of them on the page together and I would have liked more of it.
While this is one of my favorite books of 2021, it’s not a perfect 5-cup read. The way Guy handled something towards the end of the book, after something was revealed about Tessa, should have come sooner. I don’t think that Drake meant for it to come across as some readers are going to take it—I’m not going to give anything away—but I would have liked it earlier.
There’s also the late addition of the mystery/danger aspect, which I did enjoy but I think it should have been added a bit earlier into the story. There was a sampling of it spattered about but, again, had it been earlier it could have added more intrigue.
I would have also liked to see more of Guy and Tessa’s romance develop on the page. While this was in no way an instalove story, it felt like some of the development was behind the scenes so to speak.
Guy’s relationship with his daughter—or rather, the lack there of—isn’t going vibe well with some readers. Honestly, some may end up disliking him because of it, but it needs to be judged according to the era and not by the era we live in now. Back then, society or aristocratic fathers (and mothers) had very little to do with the upbringing of their children—it was rare if they shared a household and often visited very little. That wasn’t something that dissuaded me from Guy or the book.
This is the third in the Unlikely Duchesses Series and I had no problem following along having not read the first two books.
Overall, this was a great read with some fun twists and turns. There were a few things I would have changed but I thoroughly loved it. I have a feeling you’re going to have fun with Guy and Tessa—even Sophie’s antics are amusing.
Go forth and get your Regency Romance Read on!
Unlikely Duchesses Series
The Duke I Once Knew #1
Forever My Duke #2
When a Duke Loves a Governess #3
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