A traditional Regency romance, drawing room rather than bedroom. When Mr Edmund Winterton of Woodside dies, his daughters find themselves penniless and homeless. What can they do? Unless they wish to live on charity, they will have to find genteel employment for themselves.Annabelle becomes governess to the daughters of the recently bereaved Earl of Brackenwood. She has no idea how to teach, but … how to teach, but her pupils can learn all they need from books, so how difficult can it be? She’ll need all her ingenuity to cope with the rebelliousness of her charges, and the unwanted attentions of their father. But when her past returns to haunt her, she has to make a difficult decision.
Allan is slowly getting used to life as a widower, but his mother is determined that he must marry again and produce an heir. He is determined that he won’t, although the new governess is just the sort of woman he could fall in love with. But when a face from long ago reappears and stirs up suspicion, he has to consider the possibility that his wife’s death was not natural. What is worse, he himself is the obvious suspect. If he can’t prove his innocence, he may lose everything – his home, his new love and even his life.
Book 1 of the 5-book Sisters of Woodside Mysteries series, each a complete story with a HEA, but read all of them to find out all the family secrets!
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Great series. Clean romance with a mystery added.
Enjoyed it very much. Nice to read a clean love story. Glad I found this author
What must it have been like to be a good girl born to a bad father? How does a woman of any time period accept the lose of all her possessions ,separation from close family, a love that seems unattainable? By being practical, and being kind, and accepting what cannot be changed while still hoping for a bright future.
This book was written with historical language for that period. The story was well told with interesting characters. I would recommend this book. It is clean and has strong characters.
This is a clean, easy read with dialogue that reflects the period. It is entertaining, light and a pleasurable day’s read.
i really enjoyed this book. not at all what i expected
GoodGood
A very satisfying story.
I really enjoyed this book. I think I would have liked to see a bit more into the future of this couple and see how they become partners and more interaction as a family. It could be a sequel!
The book is really well written and you can picture her descriptions in your head perfectly. The characters are very realistic and endearing.
Loved it!
First – and not last – of this series for me. I enjoyed reading this smoothly written story. The heartache of the sisters, suddenly without funds and having to separate. How lucky, they find positions!
Annabelle’s governess activities are not the center of the story. With her loving family background, she manages to draw the earl closer to his three young daughters. I especially liked the scenes of the French lessons.
The solution to the countess’s death was somewhat predictable, but not a given. A “Rebecca” situation also came to mind while reading. This kept my interest throughout.
Great story love always finds a way. The governesses was predictable but has its some twists.Great characters development. The story was believable. I love Ms Kingswood writing.
Good story, with a mystery to solve. Also had several surprise twists.
When Mr Edmund Winterton of Woodside dies, his daughters find themselves penniless and homeless, so they will have to find genteel employment for themselves.
Annabelle becomes governess to the 3 daughters of the recently bereaved Earl of Brackenwood. She has no idea how to teach, but her pupils can learn all they need from books, Allan is slowly getting used to life as a widower, but his mother is determined that he must marry again and produce an heir. He is determined that he won’t, although the new governess is just the sort of woman he could fall in love with.
A traditional regency novel which was very enjoyable & left me wanting to read the rest in the series. The characters are well portrayed, the pace of the book is very good & kept my interest all the way through. Allan & Annabelle are attracted to each other & find that they are able to talk to each other & gradually become friends. There is a mystery attached & past loves which add to the story. I loved the disapproving Dowager & as well as annoying me she also made me laugh.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
The father dies and leaves a household of young ladies to fend for themselves because he has gambled away the family fortune. Each of his daughters will have to find some form of gainful employment in order to survive.
Annabelle takes up the position of Governess to Allan’s daughters.
He quite fancies the idea that she is easy to talk to and finds that he is eager to seek her out to do this, very often.
She enjoys his company but is still madly in love with her former beau and is holding out hope that he will come to his senses and propose to her.
Allan’s mother is quite the ogre! She is determined to marry him off again and is really not happy that Annabelle and Allan get along so well.
In addition to the love story there is the mystery of how Allan’s first wife died. This needs to be solved rather quickly so that his life can proceed.
The story is written with such feeling that I felt and empathized with the characters without any effort on my part and I found myself laughing, crying, getting angry and so on and loving every moment of it
This is a delightful story and worthwhile reading.
I was supplied with an advance readers copy and my review above is voluntary and unbiased.