Rules for a Proper Governess (Jennifer Ashley)
Overall Response
This one of those books in which the romance and characters are so good you almost don’t notice how ridiculous the plot actually is. We first met Sinclair McBride, brother to Ainsley from The Many Sins of Lord Cameron, in The Perfect Gift. He’s shown up once or twice since, having been established as a widower of two small children, Andrew and Caitriona.
Roberta “Bertie” Frasier is a Cockney pickpocket with a violent, criminal father and similarly suited beau. She’s directed to rob Sinclair after he puts someone in jail that her father and beau like. Sinclair catches her but lets her go because of her effervescent charm. Hijinks ensure, Bertie ends up as governess to the kids, and there you go.
Bertie is a lot of fun, but she seems a bit…younger than she’s supposed to be. She’s established as twenty-six, and she’s an East End girl, so I would have imagined that she’d be a bit more…I don’t know exactly. I think we’re given hints that her mother was a bit more put together and lady-like, but her past is never developed enough for me. Sinclair is a good match for her, and you can actually feel him being charmed by Bertie’s antics against his will.
The romance is nice, the characters are fine, and as always–there’s not much plot here. Most of the novels in this series haven’t had a central narrative–it’s been more about how the characters handle the things that come their way, which is fine. But what plot there is more convoluted than normal and there are moments when you just…stare and think there’s no way you just read what you just read.
Still, it’s actually pretty good and probably the best book in the series since the original Mackenzie brothers quartet.