I had t read the first book in this series when I read this- I have since rectified this mistake but I would recommend reading them in the correct order! Dare is a captivating writer, and I was completely sucked in and didn’t want to leave. The ending is every bit as wonderful and beautiful as you could imagine.

Delightful historical romance which was a bit different from the usual. Likeable characters and a good storyline.

It is well documented that I am a sucker for a historical romance, and Tessa Dare is one of my favourite authors. If you want to know why… read this book. I am in love with this book and this story and these characters, and it has everything I adore in a romance novel. A feisty, independent heroine who knows her own mind, a devil-may-care hero with a penchant for witty banter, and heart-melting moments aplenty. The two girls add such a wonderful element to the book, as the relationship between all four characters grows. Obviously, I’m particularly soppy when it comes to kids these days, but I defy anyone not to love these girls and their pirate games and their obsession with killing their dolls in all sorts of gruesome ways, all for the chance to stage a funeral with the guardian whose attention they crave so deeply. Ugh. I’m crying just thinking about it. This is a beautiful and perfect love story that might my heart soar, and I demand you all read it immediately.

A great holiday read. I loved all the different characters. A story about a chance meeting that develops with the second meeting. I like the way the author writes about the thoughts and views of the two main characters.

This is a really interesting book as not only is it well written it contains, for us in this year of celebrating Women's Suffrage in the UK, a good reminder that women have been working in scientific fields long before the history books remind us.
Mary Somerville, for instance, born in 1780, was jointly the first of two female astronomers, the other being Caroline Herschel, who were invited to join the Royal Astronomical Society in 1835. Caroline Herschel was awarded their Gold Medal in 1828.
This story brings this science to life and demonstrates the difficulty women had to be taught such sciences and to have a career that matched their intellectual abilities.
We did have a typical love story alongside this of course.

Fun, amusing read with a no-nonsense heroine with a kind heart and patience, and a somewhat damaged hero who pretends to be uncaring, but would do anything for the ones he truly loves.

"Every woman was unique, but she was just so different. Strange and brave and clever."

Alexandra Mountbatten is all alone in the world, except for her three best friends. She's making ends meet but when one mishap leaves her without a way to make a living, she finds herself the makeshift governess to two orphaned girls, whose guardian has every intention of packing them off to boarding school. The guardian? He's the gorgeous stranger she literally bumped into a few months earlier, and has been dreaming about ever since.

"Her gaze nearly knocked him down the stairs. For a woman of small stature, she made a prodigious impact."

Chase Reynaud lives up to his rakehell reputation - he has no room in his life for two little girls, nor is he equipped to be their guardian. However, he needs them to be educated enough for boarding school. When he hires the practical, no-nonsense Miss Mountbatten, he soon realises that he's gained more than he bargained for. Aside from his pesky attraction to her, she also tries to undermine his plans for the future.

"She'd been ensnare by infatuation the moment they collided in that bookshop, and now she couldn't imagine ever getting free."

This is the first time I've read this author and it was a fun read. Alexandra is practical, resourceful and intelligent. She's also a thoroughly modern thinker. I loved her approach to the girls and Chase, and I loved how she owned her independence and sexuality. Chase is a caring, soft-hearted man masquerading as a devil-may-care libertine. He hid his pain and insecurities under a show of impatience and verbal carelessness, but I loved all the little signs that pointed to how much he loved his wards.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel but there were moments where the modern language didn't quite gel with me, but I loved the spirit of the book.

I would say this is a 3* story with an extra star for the humour - Millicent's many, many, many funerals were brilliant, Alex and Chase's banter is quick, witty and genuinely hilarious, and Alex's internal narrative made me laugh out loud on occasion.

The pacing was a little off and I found myself not getting sucked into the story as I have previously done with Dare's other stories, but there's the same warmth and affection in The Governess Game that makes her novels thoroughly enjoyable reads.

After reading The Duchess Deal I couldn't wait to pick up the next book in the Girl Meets Duke series. Even though this book is part of a series I would easily class it as a standalone so don't worry about picking this book up first. Although it was lovely to hear a little bit about the characters from book one in this story.

In this book we meet Alexandra who ends up as a governess to two adorable but very spirited girls. However this also means she has to be in close contact with their guardian, Chase. What follows is a fun and wonderful romance that made me smile throughout. Chase and Alex's interactions were flirty, sizzling and very entertaining! Alex is certainly no pushover, I loved her strong and caring nature making her even more likeable. Then you have Chase who at first appears to be just another rake but slowly as the layers to his personality are reveled you discover there is so much more to him.

A special mention has to go to the two little girls, they are pretty wild and play some very interesting games but beneath it all are just looking for a family. It really added an extra depth to the story and was balanced out so well showing a lighter and then a more deeper side to the book.

The Governess Game is a gorgeous romance with a fun and heartwarming lift!

Five stars from me!

With thanks to Lucy at HQ for my copy.

This is a delightful historical romance which starts with an unexpected encounter, continues with a misunderstanding, then an accident, two children in need of care and plenty of humorous moments before there’s any possibility of a HEA ending!

Alexander Mountbatten has a very different childhood, one that make her unexpected role change to governess to rebellious orphaned sisters who pride themselves on getting their governesses to leave. With pirate adventures and blue sky thinking, Alex starts to win them round because she understands and relates to them and their previous experiences. Their guardian is Charles (Chase) Reynaud, and Alex is just the stubborn, determined and attractive person to break down his barriers and help open his heart to love.

Get ready to go through the whole gamut of emotions reading this novel - from spark filled encounters, to scheming, determinedly stubborn children, the story has laugh out loud moments, heartbreaking events and everything in between. It flows well and has great characters - and I really hope some of the secondary characters will have books starring them in future. I was particularly impressed with the characters' emotional and attitude development through the plot. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and will definitely be looking out for more by this talented author in future.

I requested and was given a copy of this book, via NetGalley. This is my honest review of the book after choosing to read it.

This is my first Tessa Dare novel but not my last. I loved the start. Alexandra falling in love with a stranger following a chance meeting in a bookshop, a stranger who turns out to be a scoundrel on all levels. A year later, following an unfortunate accident Alexandra finds herself governess to his unruly wards. Both Chase and his wards need work and who better to instil some discipline?

Beautifully crafted, I raced through this in a couple of sittings. If there is one criticism there were a couple too many bedroom scenes than I’m used to but that’s all a matter of personal choice

I received with thanks an ARC copy of The Governess Game from Mills & Boon and Netgalley.

This is my true and honest review of The Governess Game (Girl Meets Duke #2). This was published on 6th September 2018.

This is book 2 of ‘Girl Meets Duke’ and follows Alexandra and Chase. Chase never wanted to be heir to his uncle’s dukedom but due to unforeseen tragic circumstances, he is now heir and guardian to two young and unruly girls. He has hired multiple governesses, and none have lasted. He thinks all is lost until Alexandra turns up to offer her services as a clock repair/maintenance lady. Due to a miss understanding that was started and year and a half before, Alex is offered the job of as his ward's governess. At first, she turns down his offer, but circumstances mean to has to take the offer. Alexandra knows that Chase is not the ideal employer as he is known as a scoundrel and rake well known in society as a seducer of women. But Alexandra can’t help the attraction towards the notorious rake.

Like all Tessa Dare’s books, this is romantic, funny and highly enjoyable. I loved Alexandra’s and Chase’s relationship. It was great to see other characters from book one of the series. This was just as adorable as book one. Cannot wait for book 2.

A great book anyone who loves romance and historical romance.

I am really quite new to regency romance having only tried my first ever one this year!! So i always go into them with trepidation, Tessa Dare is a new author to me, but i needed to not worry this book was brilliant. The romance and longing and passion sizzled from my kindle. I did not know a regency could have such banter it was brilliant the two main characters have such a great back and forth with each other you are dying for them to commit to the next level(wink wink ) of their relationship, but i was still wanting them to hold off as the tension was fantastic. Brilliant descriptions of the period it was set in made the story so vivid and luxurious as well. This is book 2 in a series but i can tell you now i have got the regency romance bug and need to read many more now.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I described this book to my husband as a Victoria Sponge of a book, and I stand by that assessment.

On a fundamental level Victoria Sponges are just really enjoyable, they're easy to make and they taste extremely nice. And this was the book all over. It was very easy to read and get absorbed in, the characters were all charming and it made me flail over the feelings a few times. It was thoroughly a pleasant, enjoyable and lovely book that I really enjoyed reading.

Victoria sponges are also kind of fundamentally a bit dull, though. They're nice, but the vast majority of the time they do nothing new with flavour or styling. And this was also very much true of this book. It was very easy to read, but that was at least partially because I've read it all before. The plot is a traditional romance plot (member of nobility acquires kids, is taught about emotions by the love of a good woman), the characters are traditional romance characters (bold working class woman and rake who is tortured by past "sins") and it just doesn't really do anything interesting.

This is obviously fine, romance has its tropes for a reason and they're certainly used to great impact here, but while I enjoyed this book the fact that it was so generic stopped me from outright loving it. It was definitely good, but it fell disappointingly short of great.

4.5 stars

What an utterly delightful and effortless read! I completely adored the first book and when I saw that there was a second one and it was available to request on NetGalley I rushed to do so. Nearly broke some fingers in haste. And I was right to want it so badly. It always thrills me when I find good books and even more so when my expectations and hopes for them become reality. And for a person that hardly ever highlights, I feel like I highlighted half the book almost.

"Bang. A collision of cosmic proportions."

After so many years of reading romance (in it's many and varied genres), I still love the moment the two protagonist meet. The meet-cute here was delicious! And in one of my favourite settings, fictional and real-life, a bookshop! I fell hook, line and sinker from the first page.

Meet Alexandra Mountbatten

"She set goals, and she worked to achieve them. Feet on the ground, shoulders squared, and head on straight.
She would not-absolutely not-be carried away with romantic fantasies.
Sadly, her imagination ignored this memorandum."

A practical dreamer. A pragmatic romantic. A stargazer and a clock fixer. What a beautiful combination of contradictions. Also I don't recall reading another book where the protagonist is Mestiza in Regency Era England.

And of course Chase Reynaud:

A libertine, a scandalous rake and a worthless scoundrel. An irredeemable, broken man. According to himself.

"I thought you understood this from he very first day. I'm a bitter disappointment,remember. A poor excuse for a gentleman. A man incapable of understanding the consequence of stockings."

Chase is in a bit of pickle. He is set to inherit a title and become a Duke. But along with all the riches and title that he doesn't want, he also inherits two little girls. Rosamund and Daisy.

"Chase's wards were incorrigible morbid hellions."

After losing several governess because of their antics, he's desperate. He mistakenly interviews Alexandra for a governess and offers her an astronomical amount to stay. Following an accident, she accepts out of desperation. Soon, Alex sees through Chase's nonchalant airs and efforts of detachment and into his heart. Can she make him feel again without getting hurt?

"Here was a woman willing to stare into dark emptiness night after night, on the hope that someday some tiny speck might shine back. As she gazed at him, Chase found himself wishing he could reward her observation. "

"I'm not worried. You said the thought of seducing me would never even cross your mind"
"Yes, but sometimes", he murmured,"a man acts without thinking at all."

"Every woman was unique, but she was just so different. Strange and brave and clever. She made him different, too."

If I could I would add all the quotes I highlighted but I fear that would probably be the entire book copy pasted on my review. The relationship developing between Alex and Chase was entrancing and entertaining and even though they both had their fair share of hardships, the reading was so easy. It just flowed from page to page. No stumbles, drama or miscommunications. They both grow and make each other better. And of course their love encompasses the two hellions wards making it that much more touching. It made me tear up, it made me laugh, it made me flash with excitement and it made me supremely happy that my daughter doesn't conduct funerals for her dolls. (My kid resurrects every thing with a magic kiss.)

I could not recommend Tessa Dare more and I am giddily awaiting the next book!

Absorbing and Exciting Story
4 stars

Tessa Dare always write an absorbing and exciting story filled with highs and lows that ultimately lead to a satisfying and rewarding happily ever after.

This is the second book in Dare’s Girl Meets Duke series (after The Duchess Deal and before The Wallflower Wager. The series follows four unusual heroines as they each find their own happy ending. Despite being part of this series - and the obvious inclusion of the other three girls and one husband - this book stands completely alone and you don’t have to have read any other book to read this one. Although of course I’m going to suggest that you do!

This story doesn’t meander into the start of the tale - it gets there and it gets there quickly. That sets the tone for the whole of the book. I couldn’t put it down and damned if I wanted to.

Chase is, I suppose, a bit of an unusual hero in that he’s not brooding and angsty. Sure, he’s got issues, but he’s got a sense of humour, a playful side and a very lusty nature. I shouldn’t be surprised that his opposite, Alex, is just as unusual. She’s a penniless clock setter turned governess of Spanish and American parents, born and raised on a boat - which may or may not have been piratical.

I loved the pair together. They sparred, they laughed and they had sexy times together - and everyone knows how much I love the sexy times. Sadly, that’s also where this book dropped a star. In the beginning, the chemistry sizzled between Chase and Alex, giving me that lovely jump in the tummy kind of feeling. They got intimate without being intimate aaaaaand….suddenly two weeks had passed and we were being told that the pair had been having fun this whole time. Without me.

Okay, fine - I have an imagination - I could work with this. And then the grand old consummation came…and it was uncomfortable and awkward. For Chase and Alex and for me. I know that sex isn’t all popping cherries then popping the champagne, but come on, I don’t read romance novels for real life. Especially not real life sex.

To be honest, those missed two weeks really seemed to change the tone of the book. I felt I’d missed out, not just on the sexy times but on the relationship building with the girls, and the growing feelings between Alex and Chase. Oh, I believed everything when the end came around - and I was really happy for it - I just wished I had more knowledge of how things got there.

And speaking of the girls - I don’t really care for children in books (or children in real life either, really) but Rosamund and Daisy (and Millicent) were really quite funny. The continual death of Millicent was particularly hilarious. (It’s okay - she survives in the end!)

Please don’t get me wrong - I really loved this book and practically devoured the thing. I just wanted a teensy bit more of the build up to the finale. But Tessa Dare has reaffirmed her position as one of my emerging favourite historical romance novelists and I cannot wait for the next book to see whether Nic or Penny gets her man.

I really enjoyed this - a grumpy scared to love rakish hero with two wards to take care of, a very wary accidental governess who sees the job as her ticket to her own independence and a bit of forced proximity and bingo, my catnip. The dialogue is sparky, the characters are great - I loved the little girl who keeps killing her doll off with various gruesome illnesses and forcing everyone to take part in the funeral - and the resolution is sufficiently romantic. Really very good.

My only problem with it really is that that the heroine's surname is Mountbatten which I *think* originated as one of the invented surnames for some of the British end of the Royal Family when they were Anglicizing things during World War One. It's also the one that Prince Philip adopted - meaning the current British royal family has the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. If you're not a massive nerd like me, it probably won't bother you, but it made me think of Prince Philip every time it was mentioned. And I'm sorry if by mentioning it I've caused the same issue for you...

The Governess Game is the second in the series Girl Meets Duke.

The relationship of Chase and Alex started with a bump and the journey of their relationship is anything but smooth.

I loved Alex's occupation, its something that never occurred to me to think of as a job for a woman in a regency romance. The fact that she becomes an unconventional governess is not unexpected hence the name. However this book had me wanting to know more about Alex's background been a biracial child in that period was uncommon enough that I really would have liked a little but more.

Chase is not your normal silent and moody lead character, he was breath of fresh air.. Yes he had a insecurities but his dialogue with Alex just zinged ( and yes its not a word but its one that I think it suits)..

I loved the interaction between Alex and the children but the relationship between Chase and the girls warms the cockles of your heart.Best line was from Chase at the end of the book ( don't want to give anything away), which makes you just say awwww....

Its a lovely read to take away the blues and I love the fact that the characters are not conventional and it fits in with the series of other characters Tessa has introduced which I am eager to see who they are matched with.

I so enjoy Tessa Regency Tales They are really funny .... I found myself giggling out loud in the hospital waiting room....... warm and lively.
The pace of the book is good and the characters are highly believable.
Altogethera thoroughly enjoyable read !!

Another hilarious regency romp from Tessa Dare! After running into Chase Reynaud in a bookshop, Alex just can't forget him. This story links with Dare's previous laugh-out-loud title, The Duchess Deal, having some of the same characters. It's a good tale of how Alex who, rather bizarrely, winds clocks for a living, finds herself acting as governess to Chase's wards: the pupils from hell. Of course Alex eventually wins them over and (spoiler!) wins the heart of their guardian. Along the way we have several very funny situations which make for an enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley and Mills & Boon Insiders for this review copy - all views my own!

I was attracted to this book because it said it was a regency romance. I am a big fan of Georgette Heyer novels and, whilst not expecting this exactly, had it in the back of my mind. However, this book is a modern romance transferred to Regency England. None of the characters behave in anything other than a 21st Century manner. If this doesn’t matter to you, this is quite a sweet romance and the main characters are very likeable,
Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for my fair review.