A Governess to Protect
Series: Love’s Addiction #2
Author: Marie Higgins
Published March 31st 2023 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
When looking for a thief, should she trust her instincts or her heart?

Maxey Langley has been tasked with finding the man who is responsible for killing her employer and stealing the earl’s family ring. Against her will, she and another servant search for Lord Wentworth’s younger brother Ignatius Burke who has been estranged from the family. As the Wentworth’s governess, what kind of skills does she have to find a murder suspect? None at all.

Nash Burke has lived as an opera singer for the past several years, keeping as far away from his family as possible. But when a beautiful governess comes looking for him and intends to inform the magistrate, charming the governess into thinking he is someone else is the only way to make her leave.

Instead, the tables turn on him and she is the one stealing his heart.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Maxey Langley has been the governess for the Earl and Countess of Wentworth, when the earl is found dead in his bed. Only one person is suspected, his estranged younger brother Ignatius. Asked by the countess to search for the brother, whose innocence can be proven if he doesn't have the earl's ring in his hands, Maxey sets out on a journey across the country. Finding Nash, now a prominent opera singer, she expects he will return with her to the Wentworth home, but soon finds herself embroiled in danger, and she needs all her wits about her to survive.

I'm really conflicted on this book. On the one hand, it was an enjoyable book, which took me into another time and world, but on the other, it was too farcical for my liking. I don't really understand why the countess would send her trusted governess to seek out her brother-in-law, especially when she believed he might be the killer, when Maxey's charges had just lost their father. Really, wouldn't it have been better for her to stay with the children, and guide them through their grief? And then there were the journeys that Maxey and Nash went on. I can understand the villain being the person it was, but how come Nash is fluent in Spanish? The side story of Maxey and her mother was a bit out of the blue too, and I don't really think the villains had justice done properly. Nothing seemed to flow that well, and I feel like the book was left too open ended for my liking. Still, it was enjoyable, and I did somewhat believe in Nash and Maxey's love. I will read book 3, mainly just to clear it from my NG shelf, but I'm hoping for much better things than this book!

Dates Read:
August 16-17, 2023

Rating
3 Stars