As the new governess to the duke's family, Alice Sharpe must learn to control her impulsiveness. Employment in the duke’s household is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and could mean living in comfort the rest of her days. Unfortunately, her first encounter with the duke's houseguest, a handsome gentleman obsessed with insects, proves she may not be ready for the austere role of governess.
Rupert Gardiner has one goal: to have his work in entomology and botany published by the Royal Society. He is fortunate that the Duke of Montfort, believes in him and enlists Rupert to make a record of all the flora on the castle grounds. But Miss Sharpe’s spontaneity and continual appearance during his work is an annoying distraction. At least, that’s what he tells himself.
While Alice struggles to adapt to her new role, constantly striving to go unnoticed while still being herself, she cannot help but admire Rupert’s intelligence and focus. The more often they fall in together, the more her admiration deepens. But could a gentleman such as he ever fall in love with the governess?
Comment: I can't remember why I've added this book to my TBR but it was likely because of the different class dynamics, since the hero is a guest of a duke and the heroine is the governess. I'm always on the lookout for romances where the characters need to deal with their circumstances.
Alice is a young woman who, despite her being an orphan after the death of her parents, has had the privilege of an educated life but at the mercy of many relatives who, from time to time, would pass her around to someone else. Now she is starting her life as a governess and that is how she meets mr Rupert Gardiner, a scientist interested in insects who is working on the duke's garden. They like each other from the start and their common interests make their conversations interesting, however, he is the son of an reputed member of the Royal Society and she is only the governess. It doesn't seem they should match but is there any hope for them to be a happy couple?
This is a very light and almost novella sized story, which means it was easy and quick to read. I liked this in general, but it is true that it wasn't a very challenging read, because for me nothing was developed with much depth. The characters were likable, except the ones who were meant to be antagonists, but there wasn't much to them and I foresee this won't be a story I'll remember much of later on.
The plot is very simple and doesn't offer any real drama nor challenge because while we are told about the protagonists and of the fears/difficulties they claim to have, we never dig deep into anything. I mean, I certainly would not like to read about all the negative aspects that surely I can imagine they would think of - for instance, Rupert's need to prove himself to the Royal Society and Alice's need to prove her reliability as a governess - but even though we knows these things worry them, this is only addressed superficially, for plot purposes.
I suppose I need to be fair by saying the story doesn't take long to happen, thus no time to really discuss serious issues. Although, I think in terms of writing skill the author could have done things differently to convey the importance of some things without them sounding as superficial as it happened to be. I can infer and understand what the point was, of course, but the telling instead of showing really seemed like a miss in this book, which means the potential was a little lost.
The romance is mostly cute, and nothing intimate happens except for a kiss if I remember correctly. It's not always the case, but this time this decision made me think the chemistry between them was mute, and not really special. It was cute yes, that they respected each other, but I wasn't blown away by how they behaved and acted with one another. It was very meh.
There are some situations that are meant to convey doubt and that provide a contrast to what "feels right", namely how another governess at some point is unfair, and we see how much more adequate Alice is, or when another man mistreats Alice and we see how much more decent Rupert is, but these things felt like they were presented in a very juvenile manner, at least to me, although I assume the point was to offer a contrast, but why would the author use this tactic, after all the reader should understand this easily anyway.
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