Rules of Surrender (Governess Brides, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Christina Dodd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2000

The Rules of Employment for The Distinguished Academy of Governesses: Always remember your station; after all, you are higher than the house servants but certainly not a member of the family. Be sure to maintain a disciplined schoolroom and to take your meals on a tray. And Bnever become too familiar with the master of the house...

Lady Charlotte Dalrumple is known as England's most proper governess, a woman who has never taken a misstep socially -- or romantically. So, on the surface, she seems perfectly suited to accept the challenge of reforming English-born Lord Wynter Ruskin, sadly uncivilized by his travels abroad.

But the ruggedly handsome man has no desire to be taught manners. He has glimpsed an uninhibited beauty hiding beneath her prim exterior, and he'd much rather spend his days -- and nights -- instructing her in the ways of love.

And when ardor erupts between them, Charlotte learns the pleasures of desire and Wynter the passions of the heart, but before they can love both must first master the rules of employment.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Victorian England
Sensuality Rating: 8

In 1839 England, the newly formed Distinguished Academy of Governesses is a daring venture. Three young ladies--wellborn, beautiful, and poor--have decided to take destiny into their own hands and carve a societal niche as governesses. The Academy's first client employs Lady Charlotte Dalrumple to teach her untrained grandchildren the rules of proper English society. It isn't until Charlotte meets the children that she realizes she's also been hired to re-train their father, who left England at 15 for a life of adventure among the Bedouins of the Far East. Once she meets the handsome Viscount Wynter Ruskin, it becomes instantly apparent to Charlotte why his mother feels he needs instruction in manners--the viscount seems determined to shock her at every turn.

Wynter accepts his mother's edict that he pay heed to Charlotte's lessons in decorum, but only because he has plans for the lovely young woman. He needs a wife and Charlotte fills his requirements perfectly. But while Wynter is tutoring her in the art of seduction, Charlotte just might teach the stubborn viscount more about women and his heart than he'd planned to learn.

Rules of Surrender contains all of the witty repartee, detailed English society setting, and passionate romance that Dodd's fans have come to expect. You won't want to miss this wonderfully warm and entertaining tale. --Lois Faye Dyer

Review

"A memorable reading experience; joy mingling with tears." -- -- Romantic Times

"A real treat...Dodd fashions her hero and heroine with such candor and wit that it tempts the imagination." -- -- Publisher's Weekly

"Memorable characters, witty dialogue, steaming sensuality." -- -- Jill Marie Landis

"Treat yourself to a great book---anything by Christina Dodd." -- -- Jill Barnett

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (March 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380811979
• ISBN-13: 978-0380811977
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Dodd, Christina

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

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rules of Surrender, March 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rules of Surrender (Governess Brides, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Read this book!

But don't start it if you have to work the next day because you'll be up all night. I liked Charlotte a lot, she was feisty and very proper. The children were good, especially Leila who made trouble without meaning to. Wynter was the best. He thought men were better than women, and it was funny watching Charlotte teach him differently. Also, it was good to see Adorna from THAT SCANDALOUS EVENING get her own romance. Great stuff!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very "The King & I", March 12, 2000

By 

Passionate (Miramar, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rules of Surrender (Governess Brides, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

In Ms. Dodd's latest work we meet Charlotte, a governess who is hired by Adorna--the incredibly beautiful "airhead" from "That Scandalous Evening". Charlotte is to teach Adorna's two grandchildren, who have grown up in Arabia; what she doesn't know is that she also needs to instruct Wynter, their father, on the intricacies of British etiquette.

If you have seen "The King & I", you'll have a pretty good idea of how their interplay is going to go. Wynter is very Yul Brenner, right down to the hands-on-his-hips stance. On the other side is Charlotte, who tries to remain at all times the picture of British gentility when what she'd really like to do sometimes is hit him upside the head with a frying pan. Sparks fly when Wynter gets it into his head that Charlotte would make a convenient wife.

The sparring between these two characters is entertaining, at times what we all wished had happened betweeen Deborah Kerr and the King of Siam. Unlike their counterparts in so many other works, the children's antics here ring true and are hilarious enough to endear them to readers. However, after having so enjoyed Adorna in the previous novel, I wished we could have seen more of her "I'll pretend I'm stupid to get what I want" act.

I love Christina Dodd stories, and was especially awaiting this one. What I usually appreciate about Ms. Dodd are her strong, no-nonsense heroines. This book left me a little disappointed in the last couple of chapters, in that I really didn't understand what Charlotte wanted or how it could be resolved. All in all, I thought Jane Higgenbothem (from Scandalous) was a stronger character. However, this book is clearly the first of a trilogy, and I'm awaiting the stories of Charlotte's two partners in the governess business.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beauty and the Beast, March 22, 2000

By 

ladybug10 "ladybug10" (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rules of Surrender (Governess Brides, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Lady Charlotte Dalrumple (also known as Miss Priss) has the unenviable task of civilizing two children who have known only life in a Bedouin tribe until their father decides that it's time to return to his family responsibilities in 19th century England. The children, however, turn out to be a piece of cake - it's their father who is truly the beast. Although he lived his first fifteen years in England, he seems to have lost his civilized English veneer and he's wholeheartedly assimilated a thoroughly male-centric world view: men are like the sun, and women revolve around the sun, loving it and drawing from its warmth and protection. Of course, "everyone" knows the sun doesn't love those that orbit it - its job is only to stay strong, warm, and functional. Picture Miss Priss trying to teach this man (because she ends up getting drawn in to becoming his governess, too) how to conduct himself in polite Victorian society, when HE has already decided that she is need of his warmth and protection (and it doesn't hurt that he likes her body, too), and you have the story.

I liked the plot, but I found that the characters were not always as likable. Lady Charlotte often came across as a thoroughly neurotic woman who developed a load of guilt for something fairly tame (however, I suppose Victorian England really was that repressed - I just kept waiting for us to learn about a far juicier past than she turned out to have). I found Lord Ruskin surprisingly dense, for a man portrayed with a fair amount of native intelligence. However, the conversations between these two sparkled, and the sexual scenes were slowly and wickedly developed. I stifled a laugh at the vision of Lady Charlotte falling off her chair in panic, in front of Queen Victoria - the author has a gift for painting pictures with words! All in all, an enjoyable read.