The Governess and the Duke

Cinderella and the Duke, Book 2

Lydia Drake presents Book 2 in the Cinderella and the Duke series. Contains mature themes.

©2023 Lydia Drake (P)2023 Tantor

Characters to Root For

Loved the characters & different personalities that made them seem believable.

Plot was too drawn out IMO & would've benefited by being tightened up. Too many overly detailed descriptions that had no bearing on ultimate story, & the actions & interactions lacked real drama & landed flat in many places that, had the narrative been tighter, could've been compelling. At times, it landed as boring or flat or tritely expected...no excitement.

Only minor complaint I had in content overall was having the same ring used to propose to both women. Mentioning it made it mean something, and it didn't land well in portraying the hero as the hopelessly in love man he was supposed to be. Different ring for his true love should've been written in. After entire hour after hour of the book, that detail undid part of the romance of the HEA.

perfect

I'm absolutely in love with the artist.Lydia drake.Her books are nothing short of an amazing fantasy

James and Viola

James and Viola met when she came to be governess to his best friend’s ward. Viola has been in love with James since they met ten years ago. She knows nothing can come from it, can it? What is a precocious ward and a rather dramatic sister (or two) decided the governess and the duke belong together? Viola and Felicity spend time at Moorcliff Castle when Felicity injures her foot. She becomes fast friends with James’s sister Isabelle and Viola and James learn a lot about each other. There are some ruts in the road to their HEA. Grandmama is quite class conscience, and there is an uncomfortable trip to her childhood home. James has his work cut out for him. Can he convince Viola that he loves her and wants her to be his wife, and duchess? A delightful romance with dynamic characters. James and Viola are great together, and Felicity and Isabelle are adorable and steal the show. The audio version of the book was made quite entertaining by Kate Sanders’s narration.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.