Elley the Book Otter: Blog Tour: The Governess Game by Tessa Dare (Review, Excerpt, Teaser, Giveaway)

He’s been a bad, bad rake—and it takes a governess to teach him a lesson.

The accidental governess.

After her livelihood slips through her fingers, Alexandra Mountbatten takes on an impossible post: transforming a pair of wild orphans into proper young ladies. However, the girls don’t need discipline. They need a loving home. Try telling that to their guardian, Chase Reynaud: duke’s heir in the streets and devil in the sheets. The ladies of London have tried—and failed—to make him settle down. Somehow, Alexandra must reach his heart . . . without risking her own.

The infamous rake.

Like any self-respecting libertine, Chase lives by one rule: no attachments. When a stubborn little governess tries to reform him, he decides to give her an education—in pleasure. That should prove he can’t be tamed. But Alexandra is more than he bargained for: clever, perceptive, passionate. She refuses to see him as a lost cause. Soon the walls around Chase’s heart are crumbling . . . and he’s in danger of falling, hard.

About the Book

The Governess Gameby Tessa Dare
SeriesThe Girl Meets Duke Series
GenreAdult
Historical Romance
PublisherAvon Books
Publication DateAugust 28, 2018
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Review

I really loved The Governess Game, the second book in the Girl Meets Duke series. Give me a Regency romance about a woman who is into science any dang day of the week, please and thank you! I loved Alex from the moment I met her in the first book in this series, The Duchess Deal, and I was so pumped to read a book all about her. It sounds like Penny will probably be the lead in the next book, but I'm very excited (and impatient!) for Nicola's story.

There seem to have been a LOT of stories about Dukes and governesses lately, and this one - to some extent - is more of the same: hot, stand-offish Duke doesn't want to connect with his charges for whatever reason. There is some sort of identity mix-up or miscommunication and the unlikely governess enters the scene. I adored Rosamund and Daisy, two lost little girls who are clearly hurting, and appreciated some of the approaches Alex took to get them to warm up to her. I do wish there'd been some more care into what on earth the girls' backstory actually is, and it seemed a little lazy on the author's part not to give them a solid backstory. I expected a whole story arc about it, actually, and it just never materialized.

That being said, this book is still filled with amazingness, and that a story arc I'd have liked to see wasn't included and that the premise itself is a little overplayed in today's market are my only twits. The characters are wonderful, both the leads as well as Alex's friends (more Nicola please! and more of Penny's OTTER!!!!) and Chase's charges as well as his man of business. I really like that Chase has some reasons behind acting some of the ways he does, and those reasons are addressed and NOT magically solved by the love of a woman. LOVE DOESN'T FIX EVERYTHING, and I'm so happy that this romance novel shows that.

This is the second book in the Girl Meets Duke series, but can be read as a stand alone with no big spoilers for the first book (other than that the MCs end up together, which, frankly, if you've read ANY romance novels you already should know...) and without missing any necessary foundation to understand what's happening in this book. NOW BRING ON BOOK 3 PLEASE!

Excerpt

As many women as he’d charmed and seduced in his life, he could honestly say he had never, ever encountered a woman like this one. She rolled a sugar lump back and forth with the tips of two fingers. He wanted to suck those slender fingers into his mouth and run his tongue over them, between them, lapping up the sweetness until she gasped with forbidden pleasure. The fantasy was so vivid, he could taste it.

Good God.

Perhaps the brandy had muddled his senses.

Or perhaps he couldn’t help wondering how it would feel for a rational, clear-eyed woman to see

Him—truly see him—and still find him worth the risk.His heart clawed up his throat and battered his eardrums, and all because a tidy little governess was taking longer than usual to reject him. Absurd. Stupid, really.

“I don’t want you to kiss me,” she said, “now that I’ve thought it through.”

See? There it was. She was clever enough to see the black, rotted mess where his soul ought to be, and she wanted no part of it.

She lifted her tiny, delicate hand to his cheek.

Her gaze drifted over his face like an apple blossom, finally coming to rest on his mouth.

“I think . . .” She wet her lips. “I think I’d rather kiss you.”

Tour Wide Giveaway

To celebrate the release of THE GOVERNESS GAME by Tessa Dare, we’re giving away one hardcover set of The Duchess Deal and The Governess Game!

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to US shipping addresses only. One winner will receive a hardcover set of The Duchess Deal and The Governess Game by Tessa Dare. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance. Giveaway ends 9/28/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copies out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address. Duplicates will be deleted. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

About Tessa Dare

TESSA DARE is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty historical romances. Her books have won numerous accolades, including Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® award (twice) and the RT Book Reviews Seal of Excellence. Booklist magazine named her one of the “new stars of historical romance,” and her books have been contracted for translation in more than a dozen languages.

A librarian by training and a booklover at heart, Tessa makes her home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband, their two children, and a trio of cosmic kitties.

This promotion is brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.