Product Description

When Miss Samantha Prendregast arrives at Devil's Fell to take charge of six rebellious girls, the vibrant, outspoken governess is not quite prepared to deal with the tall, dark and dashing master of the grand estate. The children she can manage with intelligence, guile . . . and a little bribery. Their widowed father, Colonel William Gregory, is not so easily charmed -- and far too easy to fall in love with, which she dares not do.

William always cherished the orderliness of his life, until this captivating troublemaker began flouting his authority and distracting him with her witty defiance and breathtaking beauty. Despite the fact that they clash at every meeting, William finds himself inexplicably drawn to Samantha's fire. And now he's even contemplating marriage, which would be sweet madness indeed.

But before he can successfully woo her, William must discover what it is that Samantha is hiding from him. But the secret the lady is preciously guarding is far too shocking and dangerous to ever reveal . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105966 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The Sound of Music meets Jane Eyre in Dodd's refreshingly humorous addition to her post-Regency era Governess Brides series (In My Wildest Dreams, etc.). After being dismissed again! for her inability to stand by and watch injustice reign, Samantha Pendregast, a born and bred Londoner and ex-cutpurse, is exiled by the proprietress of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses to the wild Lake District and the home of widower Colonel William Gregory and his six daughters, who've already run through 11 governesses. Despite her preoccupation with the governess-eating bears, wolves and lake monsters that supposedly roam the area, Samantha captures the interest of the children and of the colonel, who finds himself distracted from his spy-catching duties by his mouthy and clever governess. Determined to fight temptation, William entertains a noblewoman who has all the wifely qualities he desires except, he realizes, desire itself. The comedy that highlights Samantha's and William's sparring magnifies the couple's compatibility, and Dodd serves her hero and heroine well by allowing them to mostly escape the grim, lust-led relationship that characters from her previous books have endured. But passion still thrums throughout, peaking in the sexy scenes Dodd's fans have come to expect. (Sept. 3) Forecast: The book's bland cover design isn't likely to impact sales Dodd's Governess Bride novels sell well no matter how they're packaged but print advertising in Redbook and the Romantic Times may attract new readers.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Christina Dodd's novels have been translated into ten languages, won Romance Writers of America's prestigious Golden Heart and RITA^® Awards, and have been called the year's best by Library Journal. Dodd is a regular on the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and New York Times bestseller lists. Christina loves to hear from fans.

Customer Reviews

OK, but enough with the spies already
I hadn't considered the similarities to The Sound of Music until I read them here, but they are there. Still, William is much more interesting, heroic, and sexy than that movie's leading male.

William does go overboard on the rules, integrity bit. He's rather dour at first and there are times that he's totally obnoxious. Samantha does forgive him too easily for his horrid treatment of her. Sh'es very energetic and fun-loving, which appeals to both him & his kids. Lady Marchant is interesting as is Duncan. In fact, they sometimes steal the scene. Nevertheless, Samantha is a feisty gal, and her sparring with William is often quite comical.

The spy subplot is very long & involved and detracts from the romance. The worst thing is why on earth did it take nearly 4 years since the last book for the spies to be routed!!!!! Ridiculous! Beyond that, the traitors became stupid (no hints of such different inner characters in previous books) and, once it's done, the reader is thrilled to be finished with it. "It's about time!"

Ms. Dodd makes many mistakes here as well, often forgetting her plotting or the details of her settings. For example, early in the book, there is an appearing/disappearing rug in the girls' room. This sort of thing occurs often enough to distract and annoy the reader.

3 stars for Samantha's excellent characteriation & her interactions with the children & William; and William's not all bad either.

There is still Much Originality Here...
Samantha Prendregast could tolerate many things, but injustice wasn't one of them. Unfortunately, trying to right an injustice just lost her another governess position, and much needed references. So the proprietor of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses has exiled her to the wild Lake District of England, to care for six young girls at the Devil's Fell estate. Being a London girl, living in the country is a little frightening, what with wild animals and such.

The most frightening part of her position comes in the form of her disturbingly handsome employer, and the unmistakable attraction that quickly develops. Colonel William Gregory, military officer and widower, always does the correct thing to keep his life in perfect order, and it isn't logical to give in to desire to bed your children's governess. Or is it? To fight his attraction, William invites Lady Marchant, pretty, rich, and with noble roots, to act as hostess of his house party. She, after all, would be his logical mate. Samantha stands up to him, contradicts him, pushes him to the edge, and he can't stop thinking about her. So much so, it's interfering with his work on uncovering the ring of spies that have been wreaking havoc. And Samantha has problems of her own, her six charges have gone through eleven governesses, and she's to be next. The children she can handle with a little cunning and guile, but their infuriating father is another story. He's becoming harder to resist, and what will he do if he ever discovers the secret of her past?

First of all, I'm presently a huge fan of Ms. Dodd's work. However, this was my very first read by her, and knowing nothing of the author, I read it simply because the premise sounded interesting. It surpassed my expectations, and I went in search of the rest of the series. Now Ms. Dodd is an auto-read for me. Obviously, I didn't read the Governess Bride series in order, since this is the last installment. This book is not only one of my series favorites, but one of my favorite romances period. The number of reviewers who don't like this story because of its familiarity surprises me. Yes, I quickly recognized the Sound of Music inspiration in the story. Believe me, I've seen that movie more times than I can count. This book is still wonderful, and the story is strong enough to stand on its own merit. It's sexy, funny, clever, and fast-paced with interesting, well-developed characters. Samantha was the typical Ms. Dodd heroine I love - strong, outspoken, intelligent and independent. William was also strong, handsome and principled. And yes, his principles also made him rather inflexible, and he accused Samantha undeservingly toward the end of the book. Since he saw things in black and white, I felt what he did was in line with his character. But the secondary character that almost stole the show for me was Lady Marchant. She was delightful, and when she finally cut loose and we saw the real Lady, that was a treat not to be missed! This book remains on my keeper shelf, a place it deserves to be.

I would have liked more origionality
I bought this book when traveling by myself for work and I was scared in my hotel so I ran out to buy a book that would distract me. "My favorite Bride" was the only book in this small town grocery store that didn't look like it would freak me out more (mostly mystery novels) so I picked it up without knowing anything of Christina Dodd!

Pretty much at her first meeting with the children (or maybe even their description before she met them) I thought to myself "Dodd isn't really going to write The Sound of Music is she." Well, she did. There was nothing really wrong with the book I guess, I just love the Sound of Music and feel this was a little ripped. The ending sequence when the kids go to find her and get her back was pretty trite! This was my first Christina Dodd book, and it was going to be my last, but some of her other books got rave reviews on amazon so i gave her a second change and wasn't sorry! I suggest people check out one of her other books first to get a taste of what she is capable of!