Review: Dangerous Lord, Innocent Governess

Reviewed by Jen
 

Daphne is convinced there is more to her cousin Clare's death than meets the eye. In fact, Daphne is certain that Clare's husband Timothy is to blame. So in order to find the truth, Daphne poses as a governess for Clare's children. The plan is simple: ingratiate herself into the household and expose Timothy as a murderer.

She never expects to care for the children.  And certainly, she could never anticipate the undeniable attraction between Tim and herself.  Yet, she finds herself falling in love with the entire family. With her changing feelings, she starts questioning whether Tim is really a man who could commit murder... and she realizes her cousin may not have been the woman she thought she knew.

I enjoyed this book. It had a kind of gothic, Jane Eyre feel to it.  I know some people are put off by such a similarity, but it worked for me.  There was yummy sexual tension, steamy love scenes and some delicious angst from our brooding hero.  All good things, as far as I'm concerned.

It wasn't perfect. It's kind of hard to like Daphne at first. She's pretty self-absorbed and callous about the children.... though that changes over the course of the book. And I was a little taken aback by the manner in which she lost her virginity. I won't get into specifics, but it's not exactly gentle and there was no acknowledgement that such a thing may not be all sunshine and roses for an innocent.  But, in the grand scheme of things, I wasn't bothered all that much.  It was sexy, dark and satisfying.  4 stars.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley

Dangerous Lord, Innocent Governess

by Christine Merrill

Re-Release Date: June 21, 2011

Original Release Date: August 7, 2009

Publisher: Harlequin