The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

I keep buying Courtney Milan books even though I haven't read one yet!  Her short stories have always fallen short for me, but they were interesting enough to keep me buying.  This one wasn't perfect but it definitely made me interested to read more...

The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan
(2012, Victorian)  6/5/12
Grade: 4

Serena Barton has arrived at the home of the Duke of Cleremont, determined to make him pay for ruining her and making her lose her position as a governess.  But instead of the Duke, Serena ends up with Hugo Marshall, the Duke’s man of business.  Initially Hugo just wants to get rid of her, but he begins to admire her determination... and to want to get to know her better.

I’ve read several of Courtney Milan’s short stories, but so far they’ve all been promising but disappointing.  They both had an interesting premise but fell down on execution.  This one worked much better for me.  The characters were interesting, and the author managed to build attraction and sexual tension that felt believable even in a short period of time.  (This was her weakness in previous books.)  It was refreshing to read about characters that weren’t titled, weren’t part of the ton and had a completely different idea of what a “happy ending” might be.  The only failing was that the book started to feel somewhat unbelievable near the end.  I wanted more, but the novella length meant that the characterization had to be cut short.  From what I’ve read, Courtney Milan wrote this as a novella because she didn’t think there was enough story to fill an entire book.  She may be right, but I’m greedy - I wanted more.  So very good, but not a keeper.