I struggled to finish this book. It was interesting to begin with but by the middle I found it hard to remain engaged with Tessa and Guy. Most probably because there were too many secrets and obfuscation between them.
While I liked Tessa, I found it hard to believe that someone who has been on her own for most of her life would actually have gotten to where she is by herself. Also I wondered how she could possibly, if she's been on her own, have enough education to teach anything.
And while Guy was nice, I never really got a deep enough sense of him: his personality, what he cares about, his inner thoughts, etc. Given that he's a Duke, I found it a bit unbelievable that he would hire someone without checking her out first.
The plot was interesting but jumped about in a way that was hard to follow along with. I found it hard to see an obvious connection between each event. Was disappointed because I've previously loved Olivia Drake's books.

This is the story of Tessa and Guy, the Duke of Carlin.
Tessa is an orphan, a bastard, raised in a workhouse. She works making hats and dreams of owning her own shop one day. She knows she has a father of the nobility who seduced her mother and wants to find out who he is. While working one day she overhears a conversation about the Duke of Carlin losing another governess, the 5th one in as many weeks. Tessa decides to apply for the job because she isnt able to save enough money to get her own shop doing the job she has now. Also she be around the nobility, so maybe she can find out more about her father.
When she meets the Duke there's an instant attraction between them. She manages to lie enough to get the job on a trial basis.
The Dike hires her because shes different. He suspects she's lying , which is why he gives her a week to prove herself.
This leads to a romance, attempted murder, and a few other twists and turns.
I thought overall this book started out great, bogged down a little in the middle and finished up well. I thought the romance between Tessa and Guy was so-so. I had a difficult time seeing the connection between them. There was no trust on his part at all. It made the romance difficult to believe.
3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4.
I want to thank Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The characters in this book were great, but I found myself losing interesting in the plot mid-way through.

*** A Wonderful Blend of Mystery and Mayhem ***
What an exciting book. So much daring action, unpredictable twist and turns, an orphan Tessa James looking for her family and a duke searching for a governess for his unruly four-year-old daughter. Tessa's background begins with a loving mother who sacrificed her life for her. Literally sacrificed her life when a speeding carriage bearing down on them Tessa's mother threw her out of the way while she was run over by the carriage. While dying in the middle of the road Tessa's mother gave her a necklace she wore and with her dying breath gave her the words to search for her father. Tessa was six years old at the time and placed in a foundling home run by an underhanded cruel mistress. At fourteen Tessa escaped the clutches of the mistress who had wanted to sell her. She found employment making hats. For eight years she lived and struggled on her own all her life. Somehow Tessa still had hopes and dreams. Now how she came to leave her tyrant employer and became employed by the duke as his daughter's governess took guts, confidence in the face of fear and lots and lots of hope. She needed a miracle. Tessa had her work cut out for her when she met four-year-old Sophy. It was no fault of the child she was the way she was. Tessa immediately understood some of Sophy's real feelings that were being overlooked and ignored. Tessa was a blessing to Guy and Sophy as she tried to mend the breach between them. But Tessa had other problems that could get her dismissed. Now Guy was never supposed to be the Duke of Carlin. Five family members before him had died from convincing unsuspicious circumstances. But things were not quite as it seemed. Guy and Sophy's lives were in danger. The villain was not exposed until the very end and it was shocking who it was. While all this was happening the feelings between Guy and Tessa grew and led to possibly scandalous and dangerous ground. This truly is a must read. It hits all the feels for a difficult romance mixed with plenty of action and danger. I highly recommend it.

I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Action-packed
Happily Ever After
Original
Page-turner
Tragic
Twisted
Unpredictable
Wonderful characters

A splendid story! Tessa takes a job as a governess to try and find her father. Guy is at his wits end with his daughter and hires her against his better judgment. This story is a fun romp with a 4 year old terrorizing the household, a curse on the Duke’s family, people being murdered, and pirate gold. There is so much fun packed int between the pages to entertain. There is also the fairytale love story of Tessa who grows up in an orphanage only to meet her Duke and fall in love and get her happily ever after. 💗

A governess/employer has an excellent set up for a historical romance, I love the forbidden aspect of it and really enjoyed Tessa's characyer overall.

However, as can be fairly common, the middle really started to lag. The plot was uninteresting and the romance was just ok. The beginning had a lot of promise but it didn't quite deliver.

The action near the end made this hard to put down and a little sad that it was all over. This does start off as a bit of a slow burn but when they finally give in to their attraction, it is worth the wait.
And their confessions of love near the end had me in my feels.

Tessa James has worked hard all her life. When she abruptly quits her job at a millinery shop, she heads straight to the Duke of Carlin's home knowing he needs a governess for his wild daughter. She's also hoping to find the aristocratic father who abandoned her and her mother, in hopes that he'll help her open her own shop.

Guy Whitby is the new Duke of Carlin, having just returned to London after the death of his grandfather. His young daughter has become so unruly that keeping a governess is difficult. When Tessa arrives he almost immediately turns her away because she is young but she convinces him to let her show him results.

As their attraction grows, they start to both begin to face pieces of their past that might be dangerous.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's, the author and NetGalley for this ARC to review.

What a great book! I liked the first two books in the series but really enjoyed this one. I loved some of the little twists that were put into the story. What baseborn child imagines being a governess, let alone a Lady or a Duchess? After her mom dies with a cryptic message, along with a pendant that Tessa wears every day, Tessa is looking for her father. Being hired by the Duke of Carlin as a governess is a way for her to try and find her father. Not wanting to give away any. of the story I won't say what occurs - but suffice it to say that I truly loved this story. This is a stand alone story even though it's part of a series, none of the characters from the previous books are in this story.

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

All Tessa knows about her father is his crest but she's determined to find him so that she can ask him to fund her millinery shop (really? that's all?) When the opportunity to serve as a governess to Sophy, the young daughter of Guy comes up, she grabs it thinking it will give her insight and access to the social circles she otherwise would not be able to see. Turns out, though, that she and Guy fall for one another. He became a Duke after multiple people in the line of succession died in a short period of time and now someone wants him gone as well. What to do? This has an implausible plot (no way she could become a governess just like that among other things) but it's fun. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a light fast read that has humor as well as romance.

Tessa James is trying to determine who her birth father is, so she lies her way into being hired as a governess for the Duke of Carlin’s child. He has recently returned from overseas after abandoning his child at birth and can’t control her unruly behavior.

I enjoyed the mysteries that evolved in this book, but Guy was not my favorite hero. He’s more caught up in his travels and discoveries than getting to know his child and I found him a bit unlikeable. The romance was a little slow for me and the ending of the book seemed a little abrupt. I wish an epilogue had been included to wrap things up.

I received a copy of this book to read and review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book hits the ground running on the very first page and doesn’t stop until it crosses the finish line with a most satisfying HEA. Sandwiched in-between is a petulant 4-year-old, revengeful grandparents, a thief, a betrayer, and a murderer. OH! My!

Tessa James, orphan, hatmaker, and newly hired governess, has had a very hard life. She’s survived being base-born, losing her mother at six years old, living in a workhouse, and working ungodly long hours in a milliner’s shop. Now, she is absolutely determined to identify the aristocrat who sired her and then turned her mother out to fend for herself. When she does find him, she doesn’t want to berate him or punish him, she merely wants to ask him for a loan of enough money to start her own millinery shop. After all, he owes her at least that much in life. Her only clue to his identity is a necklace her mother gave her – a necklace with a coat of arms engraved on it. Tessa isn’t a dishonest person, but she knows she cannot find the person who has that crest while she’s working at the milliner’s shop because she only has one half day a week to search. Her solution is to talk the desperate Duke of Carlin into hiring her as a governess – and to manage that without a letter of reference or any experience. Can she con him into a position in his home? She’s sure she can deal with the wild-child Sophy because she’s spent her life caring for children in the workhouse. However, convincing the duke might be a challenge. You think???

Guy Whitby, the seventh Duke of Carlin, never wanted nor expected to be a duke. However, with a number of very unexpected deaths in the Whitby male line, here he is. He can manage the many estates and financial matters of the duchy, but there is one very small, very angry, very unhappy little girl that he isn’t sure he or anyone else can manage. That little termagant seems to run off a governess every other day. He loves his daughter and feels guilty over having left her to the devices of his former in-laws. However, he honestly felt Sophy would be better off if she was cared for by Annnabell’s parents. Annabell’s death in childbirth triggered Guy to outfit a ship and take off around the world cataloging the flora of the coastal regions – and he left the infant Sophy in the care of his in-laws for four years – until he inherited the title and had to return home. He's a stranger to Sophy and she’s very much afraid of him. She’s also willful, stubborn, and is a master at pitching temper tantrums. Goodness does he ever need a solid, reliable governess for Sophy.

Guy and Tessa are wonderful characters and it was a real treat to watch them overcome their social differences and come to trust each other. That trust is sorely tested when Guy’s diaries of his travels are stolen and he thinks Tessa could surely be the thief. But, when Tessa’s life is at stake, the important things become very, very clear.

I can definitely recommend this read and I hope you will love these very likable and relatable characters as much as I did. The writing is excellent, the pacing is perfect, and the mystery might keep you guessing. I guessed the villain almost as soon as he graced the page, but I didn’t know why – so that was definitely enough to keep me intrigued. Happy reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tessa's goal is opening her own hat shop. She was tasked with teaching the other orphans in the workhouse so she is well equipped to talk her way into a job as the governess for the Duke's problem child. Along the way she finds her grandfather, a brother and a sister, a Duke and a step-daughter, and why all the males in the Duke's family seem to die unexpectedly. The book ends with the promise of Tessa opening her own millinery shop to employ more orphans from the foundling home.

3 1/2 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When A Duke Loves A Governess is a lovingly written story. It weaves a romance full of intrigue, mystery, and passion. The vivid, rich characters populate a vibrant world. From forbidden love, mysterious heritage, and a supposed family curse, this book delights the reader.

Tessa has survived the slums of London with grit and determination. Her past is a mystery; her deceased mother's clue is her only key to her past. Her dream is to own a hat shop. To find her sire, she becomes a governess to a recalcitrant child. Guy is a scientist and explorer. He falls into the title of Duke when five of his predecessors die, all suddenly. Having been gone for most of his daughter’s life, he hires Tessa out of desperation to help reign in his unruly daughter. The couple must battle deception, mystery, and danger to unlock the truth and find unconditional love.

I thought Tessa was an intelligent, scrappy character. Her ability to adjust to whatever life threw at her was endearing. In many ways, Tessa was a Cinderella. I had to warm to Guy’s character. He practically abandoned his daughter to explore the world and is flabbergasted when he brings her to his home and discovers she is a terror. He is clueless as a father, but his desire to help and love his daughter endeared him to me. Guy is much more a scholar than a duke. There are similarities in Guy and Tessa’s personalities. Both are oddities and somewhat misfits.

The secondary characters were lush and complemented and strengthened the plot. As spoiled as she was, Guy’s daughter was a scene-stealer! The tragic circumstances of her short life resonated with me. The story handled the theme of class differences in a plethora of intelligent ways. The storyline had direction and sped by. It was a lovingly, carefully written romance.

When A Duke Loves A Governess is book three in the Unlikely Duchesses series. This could very much be a stand-alone novel. However, I feel that we were introduced to the next couple in this novel. I was enamored with Guy and Tessa’s beautiful, delicate love story. This was an eye-catching, heart-warming romance.!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the third in the Unlikely Duchesses series, but this is completely a standalone novel. Guy Whitby, the new Duke of Carlin, a widower, has returned home to a dukedom he never thought to inherit as fourth in line. Now, he's stuck in his study with mounds of paperwork, even with the help of his secretary, it's overwhelming. Not only that, he's brought his four-year-old daughter, Sophy, who is a terror, home. She's already gone through numerous governesses and he's at his wit's end.

Tessa James has had a hard life, starting with the death of her mother when she was six. She works in a millinery shop and has dreams of opening her own shop one day, the problem is she needs to make more money. After overhearing ladies of quality gossiping about the Duke of Carlin's governess predicament, Tessa decides to lie her way into the position.

Thus begins a lovely story of attraction that is taboo and they both know it, but can't seem to stop talking and kissing. There are of course a few times when Tessa almost gets fired for lying, but she's making progress with Sophy, so Carlin keeps giving her chances. During all of this, there's a mystery afoot. Either a curse or a killer along with strange happenings.

Great book with characters you care about and a different storyline and a great HEA. The only thing I wish was that there was a moment with Sophy at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa James is a hat maker, who would like to own her own shop someday. She is an orphan who believes she has a titled father. She would like to find him to see if he would lend her money to start her own business. Guy Whitby, the Duke of Carlin has a 4-year-old daughter who needs a governess in a hurry. Sophy needed discipline – she has gone thru many governesses. Tessa decides to apply for the governess position. This story has a lot going on. It has a love story, and it has a few mysteries. I wish it had less of the mysteries and more of the love story. I would have like to know more about Tessa and her new family. I wish there was an epilogue I just felt like it ended. I did like the authors writing style it was smooth and easy to read, but because I felt disappointed at the end is why I am giving it a 4.
I voluntarily read and received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Guy Whitby, the new Duke of Carlin, feels out of his depth when it comes to his young daughter. How can a 4-year-old child disrupt a household so badly? When his wife dies in childbirth, Guy sailed the world gathering specimens for his scholarly pursuits, leaving the infant in the care of his in-laws. But when he is thrust into the role of Duke by the deaths of his father and older brother, he returns to England to take up the mantel and the care of his daughter. He's now in desperate need of a governess for Sophy as she's driven away too many of them with her bad behavior. When Tessa James appears to apply for the position, Guy is suspicious of her qualifications, but hires her anyway. Little did either of them know, their lives would be changed forever.

I've read other books by Ms. Drake and have enjoyed them. I was on the fence with this one though and had to suspend belief right at the beginning that a duke would hire a governess with such sketchy qualifications. I did love the interactions with Tessa and Sophy as she taught the little girl that not everyone will leave her especially her father. The mystery "The Carlin Curse" that ran through the book wrapped up quickly when the villain spills all his secrets to Tessa thinking he'll get away with another murder. I thought the romance between Guy and Tessa took a backseat to the mystery in this book. The newly discovered family relations was a nice touch bringing Tessa's life full circle back to her dead mother.

What a tangled web the rich and famous can weave when they are at their autocratic best. When a Duke Loves and Governess by Olivia Drake is all about autocrats being themselves - somewhat priggish and stubborn. That just adds to the drama of the story. This is the third story in the Unlikely Duchess Series.

Tessa James had dreams! Larger Dreams than working for another hatmaker with really bad taste. She has been scrimping money hiding away pennies when she can. Tessa wants to open her own shop. She overhears about a new job and ends up talking her way into the job - a governess for a five year old who acts very badly.

Guy Whitby, the new Duke of Carlin has a daughter who acts out at every chance and is struggling to find someone - anyone who can help. He knows somehow Tessa is lying but his daughter needs her.

Tessa is looking for her true parentage based on a locket. Guy is looking for his place in his house and family. Guy never planned on being duke, but all the males before him died in accidents. Guy and Tessa spark off each other, but she is the help.

There was quite a bit of suspense in this novel with lots of twists and turns that kept the story moving along. I found I admired Tessa's determination, even if I was not impressed with her actions. Guy’s nerdiness certainly explained why he kept looking for the simplest solutions. When A Duke Loves A Governess by Olivia Drake was an interesting historical suspenseful romance.

This was an enjoyable historical romance. There were many twists in the plot and that kept me flipping pages. The romance was good and it was a great beach read.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

When a Duke Loves a Governess is the third book in the Unlikely Duchesses series by Olivia Drake. A steamy historical romance that is sure to sweep you away to another place, another time. I was drawn in from the very beginning and could not put this one down. I had to know what was going to happen next. The characters are well-written with intriguing backstories that help to make it easy to get lost in. When a Duke Loves a Governess is perfect for readers who love a historical romance with lots of steam. The chemistry between the two main characters is off the charts. I look forward to reading more in the Unlikely Duchesses series.

This is the third stand alone story in this series and by far the best in my opinion!

Tessa is working as an assistant in a milliners shop and dreams of opening her own store, she is an orphan who never knew her father other than that he was a nobleman who got her mother pregnant while in his employ. She has been searching for him since her mothers death. She takes a governess job for the dukes daughter thinking it will give her more opportunities to meet those in the nobility. The Duke of Carlin never expected to become the Duke, but a series of events that killed of much of the male line in his family has put him in that role.

I loved that this book had a couple of mysteries that kept it interesting! Who is Tessa's father? Is there a murdered on the loose killing off the Dukes family? I thought the love story was really well done too, not too spicy but the love scenes were well done. I don't love kids on the page, but this one didn't ruin it for me lol.