The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

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Title: The Governess Affair
Author: Courtney Milan
Series: Brothers Sinister #0.5
Published by: Indie
Release Date: September 15, 2013
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 152
Genres: Historical Romance
Potential Triggers: View Spoiler »rape (not detailed, but definitely some things that could be triggering); childhood physical/emotional abuse flashbacks « Hide Spoiler
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 Backlist Reader Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Summer, Lenoreo's 2021 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 Historical Romance Book Bingo
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

Hugo Marshall earned the nickname "the Wolf of Clermont" for his ruthless ambition—a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner's son to the right hand man of a duke. When he's ordered to get rid of a pestering governess by fair means or foul, it's just another day at work.

But after everything Miss Serena Barton has been through at the hands of his employer, she is determined to make him pay. She won't let anyone stop her—not even the man that all of London fears. They might call Hugo Marshall the Wolf of Clermont, but even wolves can be brought to heel...

My Review:

4.5 stars — Wow, this one really surprised me!  I don’t even know why exactly, it’s not like I had low expectations necessarily.  I think I was a bit wary of it initially based on not knowing what happened to Serena until part way through (not usually a fan).  But I just kept getting sucked in more and more.

It’s funny, b/c often I find novellas very frustrating because it feels like there just isn’t enough time to fall in love with 2 characters, watch them believably fall in love, and feel satisfied by the end.  And yet, that’s exactly what happened.  How?  I have no idea.

Before I get going, there might be slight spoilers going forward.  Not overt, but if you truly want to go in without a vague hint, then skip the rest.

Serena was stubborn, principled, courageous…vulnerable but strong.  I wasn’t expecting her story, it hurt my heart.  Especially seeing how she viewed her role in what happened to her.  I found it fascinating the way she took that incident, and decided she wasn’t going to be a victim anymore.  There are so many different reactions to trauma, and I appreciated that we got to see 2 different ones between her and her sister, and they matched with their inherent personalities.

On the face of it, I couldn’t see Hugo being a match.  I kind of loved that we slowly got to know him more and more as Serena did.  He kept himself buttoned up around most people, but he allowed her to see into his heart.  He was dealing with his own aftermath of an abusive childhood, and it informed so many of his decisions.  I loved that while he didn’t see himself as a completely good man, he clung strongly to certain moral values.

I LOVED seeing them connect with one another, despite the fact they were adversaries of a sort.  It’s like, they were both reluctant, but they didn’t shy away from their attraction necessarily…it was just inconvenient.  And once they finally gave in to their feelings, I was delighted with the way things went.  Fantastic steamy scene, Hugo was so considerate but still super sexy.

And in the end, I appreciated that the change and growth wasn’t immediate…but rather it fit for our characters.

I was super surprised by the “aftermaths and beginnings”, but I really loved that it was in there.  I remember reading the blurb for the first book, and obviously after this book I was dismayed with who I *thought* the hero was.  This gave me the clarity that I needed, and set the series up perfectly.