cover image When a Duke Loves a Governess

When a Duke Loves a Governess

Olivia Drake. St. Martin’s, $8.99 mass market (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-17449-9

A woman gets more than she bargained for when she fudges her qualifications to become a governess in Drake’s tantalizing third Unlikely Duchesses Regency romance (after Forever My Duke). Milliner Tessa James is determined to track down her aristocratic father, who got her mother pregnant while she was in his employ and then left her to raise Tessa in poverty. When she learns that Guy Whitby, the seventh Duke of Carlin, is having trouble keeping a governess for his unruly daughter, Sophy, Tessa finagles her way into the job, hoping to use the position to gain access to her father’s social circles. Guy is skeptical of Tessa’s qualifications, but he’s also desperate, and Sophy’s misbehavior is just one of his concerns. Guy unexpectedly gained the title of duke after four family members died within five years of each other. When he’s shot and his home is burglarized, he begins to think his aunt may be right about the family being cursed. As Tessa searches for her father, strengthens the bond between Guy and Sophy, and helps Guy to sniff out the burglar and would-be killer, the pair struggle to ignore their growing desires. With suspects and motives aplenty and the heat steadily rising between the alluring pair, this proves impossible to put down. [em](July) [/em]