In My Wildest Dreams (Governess Brides, Book 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Christina Dodd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2001

Since she was a little girl, Celeste has had one burning desire:to marry Ellery Throckmorton. But what chance does a gardener's daughter have of capturing the heart of one of England's wealthiest gentlemen? However, the education she receives at the Distinguished Academy of Governesses enables Celeste to return to Blythe Hall with a refinement that complements her ravishing beauty—and makes her bold romantic dream more attainable. But, alas, temptation gets in the way . . .

For wherever Celeste turns, it is not Ellery she encounters, but his serious, yet undeniably intriguing, older brother Garrick. The elder Throckmorton will have no one interfere with the younger's impending nuptials, and his meddling infuriates Celeste to no end. Still, she cannot disregard the fluttering of her heart whenever Garrick deigns to smile at her. And the passion she senses smoldering beneath his formidable control is tempting her in a manner a lady must never allow . . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Beautiful 17-year-old Celeste Milford is only the gardener's daughter, but she falls madly in love with the younger brother of the very rich and powerful Garrick Throckmorton the Third. Lady Bucknell, proprietress of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses and a family friend, assesses the hopeless situation and graciously offers to enroll and train Celeste as a governess at her academy. So Celeste leaves for London and Paris, protesting loudly.

Four years later, Celeste returns to Blythe Hall a poised, well-traveled, independent woman experienced with the intrigues of politics after a stint as governess to the children of the Russian ambassador. Hired by Garrick to be governess to his motherless daughter and niece, Celeste has a not-so-hidden agenda, for she plans to charm Ellery Throckmorton away from his fiancé. Garrick has no intention of letting Celeste's plans come to fruition and sets out to monopolize her time and seduce her away from thoughts of Ellery. Much to his surprise, Celeste enchants him, fills him with lust, and destroys his famous self-control. Celeste is equally stunned to find herself drawn to Garrick--and she begins to see Ellery in a less flattering light. But Garrick doesn't believe in love, and when Celeste's appeal threatens to overwhelm him, he's determined to send her back to Paris. Before he can do so, however, he'll have to resolve the question of who's leaking information about his spy activities. Could it be Celeste? And just how does she know so much about spying, anyway?

In My Wildest Dreams is author Christina Dodd's historical homage to the classic film Sabrina. Dodd gives the story a unique twist with a heroine more sophisticated and wise than Sabrina and a hero more forceful than scheming. Readers also get witty dialogue, a colorful English setting, and very sexy love scenes in this well-written and thoroughly delightful romance. --Lois Faye Dyer

From Publishers Weekly

With this delicious, witty confection, Dodd adds another early Victorian episode to her Governess Brides series and forsakes the angst that gave her earlier Governess titles (Rules of Attraction, etc.) a bitter flavor. Widower Garrick Throckmorton is a careful man with a clear plan for the upcoming week: get his handsome, irresponsible brother, Ellery, engaged to a wealthy heiress; establish the highly accomplished new governess, Celeste, in his nursery; and uncover the mole in his spy network who is leaking English secrets to the Russians. Celeste, the most benign-seeming item on Garrick's agenda, proves to be the sharpest thorn in his side when Ellery falls for the laughing beauty. To safeguard Ellery's impending nuptials, Garrick selflessly decides to seduce Celeste, but he ends up spinning a sensuous web in which he snares himself. Spunky and self-assured, Celeste fleshes out to be a genuine romantic heroine, and Garrick's self-discovery nicely parallels her own realization that she's falling for the supposedly less handsome and more stodgy brother. Supporting characters such as Garrick's mother, an ex-spymaster herself, Celeste's dour father and Ellery's determined fianc‚e add spicy humor to this delectable mix. (Oct.)Forecast: Reminiscent of the classic movie Sabrina, this heartwarming Victorian-era treatment will please Dodd's many fans. A three-city author tour and positive word-of-mouth will help this satisfying story sell its 550,000 first printing.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (October 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380819627
• ISBN-13: 978-0380819621
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #525,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 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

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not a bad read at all, October 13, 2001

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In My Wildest Dreams (Governess Brides, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Weighing in on the whole issue of whether or not it is worth reading Christina Dodd's latest romance novel in the Governess series, "In My Wildest Dreams," and without sounding incredibly wishy-washy about it, I'd have to say that everything is going to boil down to whether or not you are a fan of Ms Dodd's. Because, barring the few glaring instances where she suddenly reverts to modern day colloquialisms, this novel is rather well written, and is a quite interesting take on the original "Sabrina" movie. Here again, whether or not you enjoy this book, is going to depend on how sacrosanct the Audrey Hepburn/Humphrey Bogart movie is to you. However, there are enough differences between the two, to make reading this book rather enjoyable.

To begin with the Sabrina-like character in "In My Wildest Dreams" (Celeste) is not the sweetly single-minded and rather naive and romantic waif that we remember from the movie, but rather, is a very single-minded and feisty young woman, who butts heads with Linus-like character, Garrick Throckmorton (who turned out to be the FIRST hero in the entire Governess series that I actually liked), from the very beginning of the novel. Another difference, and one that I liked, was that the role of the 'other woman,' Celeste's rival for Ellery Throckmorton's affections, Lady Hyacinth, was greatly enlarged. And Lady Hyacinth wasn't portrayed as colourless wet blanket!! I liked that Christina Dodd allowed for a friendship to develop between Celeste and Lady Hyacinth. It made the novel a lot more interesting.

Only a few things detracted a little from my overall enjoyment of the novel: 1) here and there, Ms Dodd reverted to modern day language. Why, oh why aren't these mistakes caught before the novel gets published? 2) the character of Ellery Throckmorton is for nearly three quarters of the novel portrayed as a very handsome but rather dim, frivious and careless man, suddenly in the last quarter, he becomes very intelligent and observant. Garrick Throckmorton was not the only person thrown by the depths his younger brother suddenly displayed. I was rather flabbergasted too. And 3) the entire espionage motif is a muted strain that weaves itself in and out of the entire novel. And I for one do wish that more had been made of this subplot.

Eventhough the movie "Sabrina" is one of my all time favourites, I found myself enjoying "In My Wildest Dreams," and thought that this novel is the most successful of the entire Governess series. The novel is not a bad read, and I would recommend reading it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary Romance Turned into Historical!, May 26, 2005

By 

E. Lynch "romance book fanatic" (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In My Wildest Dreams (Governess Brides, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Sabrina is one of my all-time favorite contemporary love stories. Seeing it turned into a historical novel was wonderful. All the great plotting by business-like Garrick Throckmorten was there. And Celeste Milford - what a heroine - our little gardener's daughter all grown up. Determined to get her man (youngest brother Ellery Throckmorten), she has returned from being educated and polished after serving in the household of the Russian ambassador. She has been hired to serve as governess to Garrick's daughter Penelope and Ellery's illegitimate daughter Kiki.

Ellery in all his roguish glory is ready to abandon his fiancé for Celeste. But Garrick wants to preserve his careful plans for a marriage between Ellery and powerful Lord Longshaw's daughter Hyacinth. So Garrick sets out to seduce Celeste himself or at least keep her occupied and away from Ellery. Throw in a subplot of spying and a couple of mischievous and charming children to round out the storyline. This also made it different than the original contemporary Sabrina.

There is lots of fun, mayhem and laughter within these pages. Also the physical attraction between Garrick and Celeste is acted on. I found those scenes tender and tasteful. Secondary characters such as Celeste's gardener father, the cook, all the other servants and the children are well fleshed out with stories of their own to tell. The villain is nasty and gets his due. It touches your heart in the end.

I believe Garrick's and Celeste's personalities were kept too hidden which made it a little unbelievable they would have fallen in love so deeply. That is why I did not give it a 5. In all, this is a wonderful feel-good book. Not to be missed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sabrina Revisited, January 21, 2005

By 

Book Nerd (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In My Wildest Dreams (Governess Brides, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Yes, the story is Sabrina, but since I love that story, I don't care. The characters are likable and the dialogue is funny. I especially loved the conversation Throckmorton has with his mother half way through the book. I laughed outloud.

I read this book twice because it was so much fun.