Mr. Gardiner and the Governess
Series: Clairvoir Castle Romances, Book 1
By: Sally Britton / Narrated By: Jessica Elisa Boyd
Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
A trifle >meh< and a trifle exasperating. That said? Dude, it’s cleeeean!!!
I’ve known of author Sally Britton for some time now, what with getting all absorbed in her “Branches of Love” series. So when I saw the cover for this first installment in a brand new series, I was THERE (Sooo easily swayed by a good cover!). The thing about Ms. Britton is that one can be (Fairly) certain that there shan’t be any graphic descriptions of what happens in the bedroom, or the drawing room, or on the lawn and such all. You know, stuff that would make my toes curl.
I do NOT enjoy curled toes…!
Our heroine Alice Sharpe is an orphan who’s used to being passed around by relatives, making herself useful, trying to be invisible, not making any waves. Which was okay when she was younger, but now that she’s a fully-fledged woman, some of her relatives feel she might cause too much of a stir, might attract attention when there are daughters who have to be married off. Wear your spectacles! is the cry. But even with spectacles, Alice is a threat.
And so she’s been sent off to become the governess for the family of a Duke.
Rupert Gardiner is also a kinda there, kinda not person. He’s an entomologist and a botanist who’s employed at the Duke’s leisure, charged with cataloging the flora on the Duke’s estate.
Of COURSE this is their story, and while the romance works leisurely (A plus, as I loathe wham! bam! instant attraction and affection!), it is not without some stumbles. I admit I DID roll my eyes a couple of times. I mean, Alice is the governess for cripes sake, but here she has a truly exTRAOrdinary amount of freedom. I get it: She’s a talented artist who’s been asked to assist Gardiner in this catalog, so naturally the two would come together in this endeavor. Still, the two were together, like, A LOT, and nobody is scandalized by the increasingly common sight of them chatting each other up. In her interview for the job, the Duchess most emphatically says that Alice shouldn’t hobnob with men, she’d lose her position.
But ooooh, that goes by the wayside, right quick, right often. So, seriously, eye-roll right there.
Another thing I kiiiinda am dinging this for? And gosh, I kiiiinda feel obnoxious for this? Oh my it’s enTIREly lacking in excitement. All the people are good as gold, misunderstandings are cleared up right away, people know to share their thoughts and feelings posthaste lest bad feelings occur. And any problem of a governess hooking up with someone (Should she not know her station in life?!), etc. goes nowhere. Britton goes full-on Catherine Ryan Hyde (An author I’ll get to reviewing someday as she’s sooo prolific, but whom I sooo have reservations about…): possible problem, posssssible problem, posssssssible problem, -but- nothing.
So there’s that.
I’ve no problem whatsoever with Jessica Elisa Boyd’s narration as she’s stellar. A multitude of characters, different ages, different social classes, and dude! both genders conveyed clearly. No growly voices for men, none of that weird dropped key that sometimes plague even the best of women narrators. Just dadgum good from the get-go.
‘Twould appear that I kvetched mightily about this, p’raps making it seem like I’d boo-ed it when that’s truly not the case (Or not exACTly, at any rate). Mr. Gardiner and the Governess is not without plenty of charm. Then too, our heroine and Hero are champions of the least of God’s creatures, reveling in the glory of Nature. Which is the surest and easiest way to my heart.
Book 2? You’re next. HOPEfully a bit o’ strife in the mix for that one, but gosh there’s a lot to be said about the lack of toes curled in horror and sheepish embarrassment. Onward, tally ho!
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