The Defiant Governess: 6

Ordinarily, I don't read Signet Regency Romances, but this one opened my eyes and was rather enjoyable. Take one meddlesome aunt, an outspoken daughter, one doting but worried father, and an older brother who encourages wrong doing and add a brooding Marquess with a seven year old ward. Wow! What a mix here. I really don't blame Jane Stanhope for running away from her father after he tries to force her into marrying someone she doesn't like. I liked the way she stood up to her father before she decided to masquerade as a governess to Peter, the Marquess' seven year-old ward. Yes, her bad temper and her mouth get Jane into heaps of trouble, but with no long-lasting consequences, except the aged look her father had when she finally did come home. Any governess that spoke as Jane did to the Marquess would have been dismissed without references and unable to find work anywhere else. I liked what Edward said in Jane's defense, "I don't fire people for telling the truth." That only proved he could take as well as give. Jane could too so this was a perfect love match. Loads better than the intolerable bore her father chose.

I picked this up after utterly enjoying Ms. Pickens' second Signet Regency, CODE OF HONOR. I'm rather surprised that I hadn't bought this when it first came out--THE DEFIANT GOVERNESS sounds just like my kind of heroine! I must have been extra poor in January 1998.At any rate, I sat down to read last night for just a bit before going to bed. Hah! Four hours later I closed the book with a happy sigh.Lady Jane Stanhope's father, the Duke of Avanlea, loves his daughter, but feels that she cannot make a wise choice of husband at only twenty years of age--so he will make one for her. After all, it is much his fault that after her mother died, Jane grew up reading any books she chose, racing on horseback with her brother, and speaking her mind.Naturally, Jane doesn't wish to marry a man she has no regard for; she wants to marry for love, as her parents were lucky enough to do. She hears of a situation in which a governess is needed for a seven-year-old boy whose guardian is never in residence. The household is a pleasant one, young Peter is very much in need of a loving hand, and Jane won't have the common problem governesses face of having the master of the estate chasing after her.When the Marquess of Saybrook returns home unexpectedly, the whole household is in a turmoil, except for "Miss Jane," who constantly must remember to keep the demeanor of one in service. Saybrook seems cold and haughty to her (and acts so to his young nephew as well), but Jane soon suspects that he has some warmth underneath and that there is more to him than meets the eye. Saybrook is both shocked and amused at this new governess who struggles to keep her place, but since she has already done so much for Peter, he can hardly turn her out.Although the plot may seem unlikely, Ms. Pickens makes it easy to happily suspend disbelief. We see the events that have lead Jane to even ponder such a course as she takes, and we eventually learn why Saybrook acts so high in the instep. For readers who don't care for children in their romances, don't let Peter turn you off this book--he is a joy to watch grow and learn to trust--as are Jane and Saybrook.THE DEFIANT GOVERNESS has a reletively small number of characters who come onstage, giving the hero and heroine time to get to know each other... conversing, teaching Peter to play chess and the pianoforte, exploring the estate, and plenty of verbal sparring that never degrades into bickering or fighting.The very beginning of the book reads like the first novel that it is, but very quickly do we come to care for the characters and get swept up in the story. After this showing, you can be sure that I will be purchasing--and reading--Ms. Pickens' third novel the day it hits the bookstore shelves. Andrea Pickens is a delightful new author to watch out for.Kimberly Borrowdale Under the Covers Book Reviews

Ms. Pickens has written an enjoyable Regency romp with intelligent, sympathetic characters. Both the hero and heroine are imperfect yet extremely likeable. As the relationship develops, Ms. Pickens demonstrates how the heroine matures and the hero heals past wounds. The plot (governess and lord of the manor fall in love) was thin and familiar, but that isn't that a common problem with genre works?

While not the best Regency I've ever read, this was definatly a good one. The characters are very likeable, and the story moves along very swiftly. My problem? Its pretty obviously a Jane Eyre rip-off. The heroine is a governess named Jane taking care of the ward of a mysterious man named...Edward. They meet unexpectedly when he almost runs her over, then she returns home to find the house in a tizzy because "the Master" has returned home unexepectedly and wants to see Jane in the library. Hmm...Well, there are worse things to rip-off, I suppose. At least it wasn't a Stephan King novel.