Gayle's review All's Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath

Today is the day!

In the first installment of a Regency romp of a series, a governess who believes in cultivating joy in her charges clashes with the children’s uncle who hired her, only to find herself falling in love.

When Harry Kincaid’s flighty older sister decides to join her husband on an Egyptian expedition, Harry, a former naval captain, is left in the lurch, minding her three unruly children and giant, mad dog. But Harry has a busy career at the Admiralty that requires all his attention, and he has no clue how to manage the little rascals or when his sister is coming back. In desperation, he goes to Miss Prentice’s School for Young Ladies prepared to pay whatever it takes to hire an emergency governess quick sharp to ensure everything in his formerly ordered house is run shipshape again.

Thanks to her miserable, strict upbringing, fledgling governess Georgie Rowe does not subscribe to the ethos that children should be seen and not heard. She believes childhood should be everything hers wasn’t—filled with laughter, adventure, and discovery. Thankfully, the three Pendleton children she has been tasked with looking after are already delightfully bohemian and instantly embrace her unconventional educational approach. Their staid, stickler-for-the-rules uncle, however, is another matter entirely.

Georgie and Harry continue to butt heads over their differences, but with time it seems that in this case, their attraction is undeniable—and all is indeed fair in love and war.

Imprint Publisher
St. Martin's Griffin

ISBN
9781250896070

A new series by Virginia Heath is always reason to celebrate. 

All's Fair in Love and War is the first in Miss Prentice's Protegees. Miss Prentice run's a school for governesses and she hand picks the students that will be trained there. All's Fair in Love and War is Georgina Rowe's story. Georgie is sent to the school by her indifferent and regimented stepfather. While she is at Miss Prentice's school she makes friends with three very different young ladies, who each have their own interests. Horse crazy Lottie, Portia the resident bluestocking and Kitty who is easily lost to daydreams. I would have loved to read about their training, but that would have to be a different series. There is a time jump to the present, May 1820, when the young ladies are either getting their jobs or have jobs as governesses. Three out of the four young ladies are able to get jobs, but Georgie's personality and opinions stand in her way of finding employment. She is stubborn and has a hard time getting through the interviews with prospective employers because she speaks her mind and believes in a more open system of learning. Georgie ends up teaching at the school until one fateful day Harry arrives in desperate need for a governess for his sister's children. 

Sparks fly at once between Georgie and Harry but instead of sparks of attraction they are sparks of annoyance. The physical attraction is immediate and mutual, but their personalities are incompatible. Their attraction builds slowly, and it goes against what either one of them wants for themselves. Georgie is resigned to her life in service and a loveless life without a family of her own. Harry is resigned to his life in the navy and does not want entanglement. Both characters are chained to the past and it takes the present-day chaos to shake things up. 

All's Fair in Love and War is filled with charming characters, fun situations and witty dialogue that is Virginia Heath's trademark. The author infuses a sense of history in the world that the characters live in, and it gives the book a lovely cinematic quality. I loved the slow burn romance between Georgie and Harry. The children were fun and individual in their pursuits and dog lovers will enjoy Norbert the children's furry companion.

All's Fair in Love and War is another entertaining five-star read from Virginia Heath. If you love a slow burn romance with a dash of family chaos and memorable characters, then All’s Fair in Love and War is for you. 

I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Reviewed by Gayle

Review ARC provided by St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin via Netgalley

 

Find Virginia Heath at Instagram, Facebook and her website. 

Viscount of Vice by Shana Galen

Viscount of Vice  is the first novella in Shana Galen's new Covent Garden Cubs series,  and will be released January 6, 2015. The novella is a fast-paced regency romp filled with adventure and passion! 

Moisture gathered on his fingers, and his hand slipped. He could not hold on much longer. Perhaps his death was for the best. It wasn't as though anyone would mourn him. It wasn't as though he had anything to live for. 

Still, it seemed harsh even for one such as Beelzebub to claim him when he was hanging naked from a window of one of the most prestigious addresses in Mayfair.

Who could resist a story which opens with the hero dangling naked off a balcony ?? Can you imagine? I absolutely loved the first chapter of this novella as it was well-written and laugh -out -loud funny. I couldn't help falling for the novella's hero ; the charming scoundrel Flynn.

Ms. Galen's hero, heroine and their adventures are well -written and the storyline conflict is credible. Flynn meets with Sir Brooks Derring. Derring has some important information for Flynn and the two men head towards the town of Bath. Flynn meets and dances with Lady Emma Talbot, at an assembly in Bath. The character of Emma resonated with me. She's not the average society miss looking to marry a wealthy nobleman. She's independent and enjoys volunteering at the hospital. Emma has been love with Flynn for years. Flynn might be in lust with Emma but he's afraid of Emma's brother, the powerful Duke of Ravenscroft-- the hero from the author's book Sapphires Are An Earl's Best friend.

Viscount of Vice provides a great transition to Ms. Galen's new Covent Garden Cubs series. The novella explores several social issues and introduces the new series villain. I read the novella in one sitting. It held my interest and I am looking forward to the first book in the series Earls Just Want to Have Fun.

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

Follow this link to Susan Gorman's review of Earls Just Want to Have Fun!