Rules of Engagement (Governess Brides) [Kindle Edition]

Christina Dodd (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: London, 1840

Sensuality: 8

When Queen Victoria threatens to reveal a youthful indiscretion if her friend, Devon Mathewes, earl of Kerrich, doesn't strive for respectability, the rakish earl approaches the Academy of Governesses to hire a governess and orphan to sponsor, thus lending him an appearance of kindness and decency.

Confident that she's safe from temptation since she despises rakes, Miss Pamela Lockhart disguises her youthful beauty and accepts Devon's outrageous offer of employment. But Pamela isn't prepared for the impact the handsome, blunt-spoken earl has on her heart. And Devon is fairly stunned to find himself attracted to the frumpy governess with her thick glasses and sharp moral lectures.

While the two struggle with their intense attraction, serious skulduggery is afoot that involves Devon's family bank. The perpetrators may be closely tied to the Mathewes family and scandal looms large on the horizon. And while he should be concentrating on solving the threat to the bank, Pamela and her endearing orphan prove to be monumentally distracting. In the end, however, Devon may have to choose between the two, and either way, the loss will be tremendous.

In this, the second installment in the Governess Brides series that began with Rules of Surrender, Christina Dodd delivers her trademark humor and sensuality in a plot that's rife with treachery and betrayal, true love, and trust. The heroine is strong and independent, a fitting match for a hero who has a faithful heart buried beneath his arrogant exterior. Dodd's deft touch with witty repartee and delightfully endearing characters is right on target with this latest Bride. Don't miss it. --Lois Faye Dyer

From Publishers Weekly

Dodd's extraordinary second book in the Governess Brides series opens with Miss Pamela Lockhart and Miss Hannah Setterington in precarious financial straits: someone has stolen the monthly income that insures the survival of their Distinguished Academy of Governesses. So when the Earl of Kerrich requests a mature governess who will acquire him an orphan and provide Queen Victoria with proof of his respectability, the young ladies are forced to accept Kerrich's profitable offer, despite its slightly dishonorable aspects. Pamela, once a belle of society, disguises herself as an elderly, plainspoken governess and rescues young Beth from the orphanage to become Kerrich's ward. As head of his grandfather's bank (which manages some of the Crown's wealth), Kerrich must convince the queen that he is a man who can be trusted, even while he is aware of a scandal involving counterfeit money and the possible theft of bank funds. As Kerrich investigates the crime, Pamela and Beth become more closely intertwined in the earl's life, and he finds himself relishing the daily sparring with a woman who meets him as an equal. When Pamela's disguise is revealed, Kerrich's banked passion ignites and he tries to convince her to marry, thereby solving her money problems and assuring his respectability. A fiery romance ensues and the two proud lovers discover intimacy in the midst of family difficulties. Dodd's beautifully rendered love story expertly portrays the growth and maturity that develops in the course of realizing true love and continues her series with a thoroughly satisfying addition. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 527 KB
• Print Length: 384 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0380811987
• Publisher: HarperCollins e-books (October 13, 2009)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FC13KY
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,781 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Chat with Christina via Facebook and Twitter, and even better, join her mailing list to have her news delivered right to your inbox! http://christinadodd.com/lists/?p=subscribe

Readers become writers, and Christina Dodd has always been a reader. She reads everything, but because she loves humor, she likes romance best.

A woman wants things like world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants things like a Craftsman router with attachments, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will miraculously make his bald spot disappear. So when Christina's first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to quit work and write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?

Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before her first novel, CANDLE IN THE WINDOW, was published. In the twenty-two years since, her novels have been translated into 25 languages, won Romance Writers of America's prestigious Golden Heart and RITA Awards and been called the year's best by Library Journal. Christina Dodd herself has been a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle (11/18/05, # 13 Down: Romance Novelist named Christina.) Publishers Weekly praises her style that 'showcases Dodd's easy, addictive charm and steamy storytelling.'

Christina's 2011 releases include TAKEN BY THE PRINCE, #9 in the Governess Brides series, and in the tradition of Nora Roberts, a new romantic suspense series starting with SECRETS OF BELLA TERRA and REVENGE AT BELLA TERRA.

Christina Dodd is married to a man with all his hair and no Corvette, but many Craftsman tools.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, October 5, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rules of Engagement (Governess Brides, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Queen Victoria threatens to blackmail Lord Kerrich unless he becomes respectable. Having no plans to marry, Kerrich decides to pretend to adopt an orphan. He goes to the financially struggling Distinguished Academy of Governesses to make his demands, which include any ugly spinster as the governess. Part owner Pamela Lockhart dresses in a disguise to hide her beauty and accepts the job.

Pamela finds Beth at the orphanage. Kerrich, who has a super-ego when it comes to women, thinks Pamela is perfect, but has doubts about a girl. Kerrich also is trying to uncover the head of a counterfeiting ring that includes his cousin. To his shock, Kerrich is attracted to Pamela and she to him after he kisses her. However, she wonders how he will react to her when he learns the truth about her deception. Additionally, she worries about his tossing Beth out of his home.

Christina Dodd, author of sixteen wonderful romances, which include SOMEDAY MY PRINCE and THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS, has written an interesting historical romance. The Victorian love story provides an intriguing look at the era's gender relationships, especially how males stereotyped females. The two ethical lead characters struggle with the seeming lack of commitments and honor by his still living mother and her now deceased father, which adds to the fun of their developing love for one another. Beth is a fabulous secondary player who deserves her own Victorian romantic tale hopefully told soon by the always-entertaining Ms. Dodd.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How can he possibly be attracted to the governess???, November 25, 2000

By 

B. S. Andrews "barbiesa" (Toledo, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rules of Engagement (Governess Brides, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

The earl of Kerrich was careful to employ only an unattractive, strict governess who wouldn't try to entrap him into marriage. When his grandfather seems to see her differently, Devon finds himself looking at her with a critical eye. Is she REALLY as old as she pretends to be? Is her astonishing figure the result of tight corsets? Could he really be attracted to such an odd character? No, his grandfather must be getting senile.

Miss Pamela Lockhart of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses has no wish to attract a man. She saw what loving a man with a roving eye was like with her own mother and father's disastrous marriage. Although society frowned on single women at the time, she is determined to make her own in life rather than become the chattel of some faithless man.

But she has sadly underestimated the effect that being with an attractive man could have on her resolution, especially when that man shows himself to be a loving father for a penniless orphan. It would be enough to turn any woman's head, and Pamela has not succeeded in completely eradicating her natural woman's desire to have a husband and family. Perhaps it is time to move on to a new position.

And now, ironically, the earl of Kerrich finds himself fighting an uphill battle to win the hand of the governess he chose specifically for her unattractive qualities. How can he get through her ironclad defenses?

One of Christina Dodd's best! I heartily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good romance with a healthy dose of humor thrown in!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miss Dodd at her best!, December 5, 2000

By 

Guppie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rules of Engagement (Governess Brides, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

In order to restore Queen Victoria's favor, Devon Mathewes, scoundrel, rake and enjoying his life being single must do something meaningful with his life to make him respectable again. His plan in adopting an orphan along with hiring a governess that must be plain and must be able to resist his charms backfires when Pamela Lockhart from The Distinguished Academy of Governess enters his home, his life and his heart. 

Pamela Lockhart takes on the challenge. Disguising her beauty under plain and drab clothing, a severe hairstyle, glasses and powder she becomes the governess Devon wants her to be and goes along with his plan and adopts an orphan from the orphanage.

Rules of Engagement with a twist of "Annie" is a book with lots of tender, romantic and laugh out loud moments and love scenes that will scorch your senses and leave you breathless for more.

Rules of Engagement made me fall madly in love with the wit of Christina Dodd! This is by far one of her best book yet and the story of Pamela Lockhart, governess extraordinaire and Devon Mathewes, earl of Kenrich, arrogant, good looking and a hero to definitely drool over in spite of his vanity is, a story worth reading, worth sighing about and a book definitely worth buying! I truly recommend this one!