From the moment Abby meets the Earl of Brendall, she is mortified with his manners or lack of them. On the flipside, she is hopelessly attracted to him and appalled by her feelings. As a governess, Abby is expected to adhere to the rules of society even though her secrets could unleash her, allowing her womanly desires to be a little less taboo. Likewise, Elliott, Earl of Brendall, finds himself captivated by Abby. His desires flare whenever she is near, his groin throbbing in anticipation of them. Though he tries to resist her, sparks fly and secrets unfold, threatening everyone in their path.

I had high expectations for this novel. The title alone intrigued me with its many possible storylines. I did not expect what I read, the story is definitely unique. Tiffany Clare processes an easy to read writing style. I found myself tearing through the pages of this mysterious romance. The novel offers a little bit of mystery, a little bit of suspense and a lot of heated and fiery passion that make it a recommendable read.

There are a few small issues with this title that didn’t make it a top ten read for me. I found the novel to be slightly choppy in terms of its elements and would have liked to see it flow better. When you first start reading the novel you’re introduced to a basic historical romance. The novel then introduces the lovemaking scenes and switches quickly to the mystery and suspense portion of the novel before ending in a more expected manner. The story didn’t flow seamlessly. I was well aware of when I was being introduced to which elements. I also lost the sense that I was reading a historical due to how secluded Abby and Elliot are. The book reminded me of its historical dating by the language, but not so much by its setting and events. Due to the slight choppiness of this title I felt the book had an unmeasured pace. While it was never slow, at times it was slower than others, giving me a stop and go feeling throughout.

I found the story itself interesting and original. I have not read many historical novels where the characters are so secluded. Since there are not a large number of characters in this title it is easy to keep track of each one. While I enjoyed the seclusion, I also wished there were more characters to make the mystery harder to solve as well as give the spicy scenes an edge of danger in being caught. It would have added to the anticipation and heat of this title.

My favorite part of this novel was the romance scenes. Tiffany Clare has amazing way with words that put the romance in this novel on my top contender list. The scenes were heated and long. There were also quite a few of them since the characters had a hard time keeping their hands off each other. I found myself engrossed in these parts, the heat between the characters was obvious making it impossible to put down. It is definitely written to bring warmth to your body, if you blush easily don’t read this one in the car pool line.

Overall, I enjoyed The Secret Desires of a Governess. In my head the plot could have gone in so many directions which made me think a series of governess titles would be fun to read. I absolutely love the cover art of this title. Even though the book has a few minor issues it was still a highly enjoyable and scintillating read. I would recommend this novel.

~ Tiffany