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A review by elleyotter
Governess Gone Rogue by Laura Lee Guhrke
5.0
I am a total sucker for a story about a woman disguised as a woman. I don't know why I love them, I just do. So when I saw the latest in the Dear Lady Truelove series was a woman disguised as a man/mistaken identities trope, you'd better believe I jumped on it. And I'm so glad I did, because this is my favorite book of the series so far!
I really enjoyed Amanda. I love an unconventional woman in historical romances, and she's got that double pronged attack of being both well-educated and a woman who is "fallen" and thus ostracized by society. Which, okay, how totally unfair is that, that she is totally besmirched and the guy involved has no repercussions whatsoever? I also really like her spirit, and that when she overhears two gentlemen discussion that a woman couldn't possibly prepare Jamie's sons for Cambridge she's basically like "Oh yeah? I so could if I was only given half a chance." And so the seeds are sown.
I love the dynamic between Jamie and Amanda, both while he thinks she's "Mr. Seton" (or Adam) and then once he finds out she's actually Amanda. Either way, she continually pushes his boundaries and makes him question himself and his relationship with his sons. James St. Clair is a deeply flawed character, but despite his neglect of his sons I found myself liking him very much. He's walled himself off because of his pain and basically decided his life ended when his wife died, and it's sad both for his sake and for the sake of his sons.
Also, those boys. As a mother of two young boys (ages 2 and 4) I totally understand the impetus to act out and the idea that bad attention is better than no attention - those poor, sweet, mischievous, evil little boys, haha. Owen and Colin are hands down my favorite part of this entire book, and I love the relationship that develops between them and Amanda probably even more than the romantic storyline.
This is the third book in the Dead Lady Truelove series, and can be read as a standalone with no spoilers and really nothing at all to do with the first two books in the series. Rex, one of the leads from the second book, The Trouble With True Love, makes some brief appearances as a side character, and if you really want to know about the history of Lady Truelove than by all means read the first two books in the series (they're pretty great and definitely worth the read!) but you don't NEED TO in order to get the full impact and enjoyment of this book.
An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ for review.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
I really enjoyed Amanda. I love an unconventional woman in historical romances, and she's got that double pronged attack of being both well-educated and a woman who is "fallen" and thus ostracized by society. Which, okay, how totally unfair is that, that she is totally besmirched and the guy involved has no repercussions whatsoever? I also really like her spirit, and that when she overhears two gentlemen discussion that a woman couldn't possibly prepare Jamie's sons for Cambridge she's basically like "Oh yeah? I so could if I was only given half a chance." And so the seeds are sown.
I love the dynamic between Jamie and Amanda, both while he thinks she's "Mr. Seton" (or Adam) and then once he finds out she's actually Amanda. Either way, she continually pushes his boundaries and makes him question himself and his relationship with his sons. James St. Clair is a deeply flawed character, but despite his neglect of his sons I found myself liking him very much. He's walled himself off because of his pain and basically decided his life ended when his wife died, and it's sad both for his sake and for the sake of his sons.
Also, those boys. As a mother of two young boys (ages 2 and 4) I totally understand the impetus to act out and the idea that bad attention is better than no attention - those poor, sweet, mischievous, evil little boys, haha. Owen and Colin are hands down my favorite part of this entire book, and I love the relationship that develops between them and Amanda probably even more than the romantic storyline.
This is the third book in the Dead Lady Truelove series, and can be read as a standalone with no spoilers and really nothing at all to do with the first two books in the series. Rex, one of the leads from the second book, The Trouble With True Love, makes some brief appearances as a side character, and if you really want to know about the history of Lady Truelove than by all means read the first two books in the series (they're pretty great and definitely worth the read!) but you don't NEED TO in order to get the full impact and enjoyment of this book.
An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ for review.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter