The Governess Affair [Kindle Edition]

It is a rare thing indeed for me to give a novella a five star rating. Me and novellas don't often get along. For one, they're short. Which typically means there isn't a lot to them. Not enough there for me to sink my teeth in. Really invest in.

That isn't the case with The Governess Affair. You get a since of history, you see the characters develop, and what! there is actually a plot with substance. And, boy, did I invest in this story.

Serena is a strong, smart woman. Stubborn. Resilient. And the epitome of "won't take no for an answer." It was wonderful to see her will battle against Hugo's. And even more wonderful to see her not back down.

And Hugo. He is a great balance to Serena. As tough and determined as he is, he is not without compassion. And he is definitely a straight-shooter, a no nonsense kind of man. It was touching the way Serena caused ever-growing cracks in his facade.

Their love story was tender and memorable. The HEA was well executed. And the epilogue where we meet the young men who will grow up to be the heroes in the upcoming Brothers Sinister series was perfect. I love how Milan allowed us a peak at their past before we read their individual books.

This novella is well worth the $0.99! And I am very, very much looking forward to the other books in this series... Oliver's in particular!

I have to say, I was really looking forward to reading this. I really enjoyed this author's other books and novella's. Her short story "This Wicked Gift" in anthology "The Heart of Christmas" simply made my Christmas (besides my friends and family of course) and remains my absolute favorite romantic short story of all time. The premise of this story also sounded very interesting. Unfortunately, this novella was a pretty big disappoint, considering my high expectations.

The plot itself is a compelling one. The heroine is a victim of a terrible crime committed by a powerful man, and she is fighting for her personal dignity and justice against immense odds. She has lost her job, her reputation, and dreams, but even though she is a fallen woman and an outcast, she doesn't hide away in shame or fear. She is a great character to like and root for, and the story has a lot of emotional tension to it.

Unfortunately, the "hero" of the story is a horrible, despicable man. I don't expect heroes of romantic novels to be anywhere near perfect or even knights in shining armor. I do however expect heroes (and heroines) to be reasonably decent human beings. What does it say about the hero that he helps a rapist to threaten and silence his victim?

*spoiler alert*

He continues to work for the duke even knowing what he did to her, and keeps fighting her and threatening to destroy her to prevent her from telling her story to the world. He doesn't stop with his harassment until he finds out about the baby.

I don't understand why the heroine, or any woman for that matter, would be at all attracted to a man who helps her rapist threaten and subdue her. She keeps thinking "He's safe" and he keeps saying "I don't hurt women". Um, a man who works for your rapist to threaten you into silence is not "safe", and he most certainly wants to hurt you and destroy your dignity and rights as a human being.

One of the reasons I was originally drawn to Milan's books in the first place was because her heroes were usually good, strong, admirable men, and the heroines also usually were pretty strong, admirable, and unique characters as well. The heroine was wonderful, but it's hard to believe an author who created heroes like Ash and Mark Turner created a hero as despicable as this one. I really hope her next book has a better hero, or I won't be reading it.

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I'm having trouble putting into words my love for this novella. The characters are beautifully realized and unique, and their interplay is utterly fascinating. Their relationship builds believably, step by step, and I completely buy into the obstacles between them as well as the built-in conflict. I loved every bit of this. I never say that. (Well, almost never.) I've read a few novels and a novella by Courtney Milan, and I have tremendous admiration for her intelligence as a writer, but none of the other books felt as fully realized as this short work. Loved it to bits.

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I loved this story and am looking forward to the next book in the series. Although this is a "novella" it is a complete story and the characters well developed. I liked that there were insights into human nature beyond just the typical love and lust sentiments and therefore the story was more than just a romp in the hay, although there was that too of course. If you enjoy romance this is a great read.

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I've read a number of Courtney Milan's books and find her novellas a bit wanting. Unveiled remains her best work, with crisp, unique characters and an attention to historical detail (and very tantalizing romantic tension) that demonstrates why her books are so wildly popular. Unlocked was just OK, a bit rushed and contrived. But this new novella, The Governess Affair, seems as if it were put into production a bit too quickly, for the book has some issues with development (pacing, character depth, emotional journey of H and h, etc.).

From a question of point-of-view in the beginning (is it Hugo's POV as the book opens? Some sentences seem to be, then others seem to come from an omniscient perspective) to a fairly overstuffed first chapter that tries too hard to set the scene, cramming in details over establishing personalities, the beginning faltered almost too much for me to continue.

I am glad I did, for Milan's portrayal of the heroine, Serena, is far deeper and livelier than her treatment of Hugo. And that, unfortunately, is part of the problem. The Hugo we see through his POV and the man we see, as readers, through Serena's POV do not line up well. Not simply in the sense of Hugo's need for greater introspection and Serena's objective view of him (which is a feat for authors to manage) -sadly, the author does not do this. Instead, she creates a disparity between the two viewpoints that makes it rocky to read the story, taking me out of the story itself, and making me focus instead on the little details that shake me out of the romance. I found myself, repeatedly, enchanted by Serena's way of describing Hugo, then incredibly disappointed by the Hugo POV scenes. Chapter Four's ending was pitch perfect, and helped to set the tone for their relationship, but again -it was all through Serena's POV.

Later in the novella, Hugo's POV improves and we get a better sense of him, as his perspective dovetails more with Serena's view of him, but rather than making the story one of redemption for both, the ending seemed forced and rushed. The intimate scenes are extremely well done, which makes the entire novella, on the whole, uneven. Perhaps this uneven tone is a function of the short form, though I doubt it. My critique is not the standard "this would be better if it were longer" meme. Pacing and a more fully-fleshed psychological portrayal of Hugo in his POV scenes earlier on, not length, would have improved this.