Miss Anne Gilbert is a governess of Discretion which is just what the Earl of Clarcton wants and needs with his many secrets and mysteries. One of the many surprises in the book is the request he asks Anne to do for him.
I really enjoyed the story, although to me personally it seemed drawn out at times. However that did not detract from the story, just my observation. I give the story 4.8 stars.
Four-year old Frances was a joy. Some interesting characters added to the story. I would recommend the story.
I received an ARC from Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and my review is my own.

I voluntarily received a copy of A Governess of Discretion in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

This book is a wild romp filled with lies, deceit, an insane plan, and of course romance!

Anne Gilbert is a Governess from a highly respected Governess bureau. So when Timothy comes in search of one who knows how to keep a secret he picks her out right off the bat. It doesn't help that she bares more then a passing resemblance to his wife. This leads to them attempting a most difficult charade - for one night she must pretend to be his Countess.

It is hard to talk about particulars with this romance. There was so many layers of lies and deceit that things get revealed throughout and it would be so hard not to spoil it. I really enjoyed this though! Even though quite a few of the twists were incredibly easy to guess. One thing I really enjoyed is that the way this book was structured it gave time for the characters to actually get to know each other so when they inevitably fell in love it made sense!

Definitely giving it ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

A Governess of Discretion, the second book in "The Governess Bureau" Series. Anne is selected as a governess by the Earl of Clarcton because of her discretion, for he has secrets to keep.

I do enjoy this authors writing, but this book was basically the same plot as the first book, almost formulaic.

I enjoyed the book overall.

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

This book has mystery and romance. Great dialogue and engaging story also characters a great book to read on a Sunday afternoon.

I literally just finished reading this and rushed here to award it the full 5. Wonderful story!
Our heroine, Anne, is a governess known for her discretion. For this reason, she is selected and quickly whirled off to Timothy's estate. He an earl with a cute little 4 year old daughter and huge secrets just fated to be unraveled. Add the fake wife trope.... ah what an amazing ride!

Miss Anne Gilbert would be considered the most trusted governess, in her position at the Governess Bureau. So, when the Timothy Lexington, the Earl of Clarcton, visits her employer, that is precisely why he selects her and whisks her away to Clarcton Castle within the hour. It soon becomes apparent to Anne, that Timothy has many secrets. When Timothy asks her to pretend to be his countess at the Christmas Ball to prevent rumours of his wife’s disappearance, he can’t quite tell Ann what has happened to his wife. Nor does he reveal her uncanny resemblance to his wife. Yet Anne knows that Timothy is only telling her half the truth, but despite this, she finds herself falling in love with him.
I loved both characters – Anne for her straightforward manner and her ability to see the good in everything. I loved Timothy for his ability to make Anne feel significant and for his undying love for his daughter. What a lovely couple! This book kept me captivated from beginning to end with all the twists. I must say I found it to be one of my favourite by Emily Murdoch.
I so look forward to more books in this series.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

That was one of the most irritating books I've ever read, everything was Annoying.
The storyline was ... Okay, it could've been handled way better, but it wasn't the most bothersome aspect.
The characters though were in a completely different level, they were two dimensional, i kid you not, some paragraphs felt like they were said by robots, and as we were getting closer to the end, they turned even worse, especially the lead male, he was infuriating, how he was written to be a love interest is beyond me.
I really didn't like it.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review via netgalley and the publisher*

Miss Anne Gilbert is a governess, she has a reputation for being discrete and never gosiping about an employer. Her last charges have outgrown her so she is looking for a new family to work for.

The Governess Bureau only deal with the best governesses and clients.

Timothy Lexington, Earl of Clarcton needs help with young Frances. She is four years old and needs more than a nursery nurse. Unfortunately he has some huge secrets that cannot be allowed to become public knowledge.

All of our hero's staff are very happy working for him, but he does seem to have a hair-trigger temper. The mysterious absence of his Countess has caused speculation.

Our heroine is very good at her job, but can't help being curious.

Is there danger in this home??

I loved all the characters. A fabulous storyline with a bit of mystery.

Although it is part of a series, each book is a seperate story.

Really good fun.

This book was really lovely to read. It started off strong. I loved the tension building up slowly but the end of the sexual tension didn't pay off much for me. I think it was the author's intention to create a strain between the characters, but it wasn't something that pleased me. But I appreciate the angst that came after. However, some revelations to me seemed too stiff and revealed too suddenly without making much sense at the time. Such revelations could be worked out better and presented in another way, an example would be when the reason for the physical similarity between the characters is revealed.

As much as I didn't really like some of the directions taken by the author I really liked the way she solved the whole story and made Timothy suffer a little for being an asshole, don't get me wrong I liked him but at certain times he was an asshole and I loved seeing him suffer a little for his actions.

Now for the hot scenes I would grade it a 6 out of 10, it wasn't very explicit, so this book is great for those who don't like very explicit scenes and like a nice and easy-to-read novel.

Timothy Lexington, Earl of Clarcton, needs a governess for his daughter. His life and home are full of secrets, and he wants to keep them there. Miss Anne Gilbert is just what he needs, a governess of discretion.

This is a story with secrets, a missing person mystery, a ruse, and a few twists and surprises. It has a bit of a Gothic feel to it. It takes place in an impressive (according to Anne) castle with a brooding Earl and secretive staff. Anne is intelligent and caring. She is immediately taken with Timothy’s daughter. Four-year-old Frances is delightful. The villain is a surprise, but he gives himself away. I enjoyed the story, and I loved the ending. Engaging story, interesting characters. A good read.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

4 stars

I enjoyed this book more than the first book. Anne is a governess of discretion, she doesn't give out her employers' secrets. Timothy is looking for a governess for his daughter, Frances and has more than his fair share of secrets.

Anne accepts the post but finds it strange that there's no countess around and the servants look at her strangely. Eventually she twigs that there's an unexpected link with Anne's own family. Timothy is very hot and cold. Should he make Anne his mistress, she's not of the same social strata as he is for her to be wife material...really!

Is Anne as calculating as his wife? Is he being duped. Why does Anne come out with the same phrases as his wife. This goes on a tad too long for me but eventually all is sorted. There were a couple of things I highlighted. Anne makes mention of a suit of armour that looked like a bear and she named it Teddy. Which seemed a bit odd as I thought bears were called Teddy after Roosevelt in 1902 and this romance is set in 1812. Timothy's friends wonder if he got divorced secretly, but I thought you'd need an act of parliament around this time so I can't see it would be very private. Uk Parliament web site tells me that there were 314 such acts between 1700 - 1857 mostly initiated by husbands citing adultery.

In my opnion this series is getting better as we progress and I'm intrigued to find out about the petite governess who specialises in twins.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Governess Bureau strikes again and this time with Anne and her new position with Timothy, Earl of Clarcton.

Mystery surrounds the Earl and Anne feels she has heard some gossip about him but cannot remember what. He rushes her off to his home and barely talks to her on the way. It seems he is only concerned with "discretion."

But is she in for a surprise as she finds out what he really wants her to do! Totally unexpected and will keep you wondering until the end! Another great addition to this series!

Anne is a governess of discretion, but even she feels uncomfortable when the Earl that hires her also wants her to pretend she is his dead wife. Timothy’s wife died two years ago in an accident and he told people she was away. Now he wants the governess who looks very much like his dead wife to impersonate her at a ball. I did not like Timothy very much he felt hardly any qualms at having Anne governess his lonely daughter, impersonate his dead wife, and then maybe she can be his mistress too! I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.

Miss Anne Gilbert is a governess & known for keeping her employer’s secrets, and when she is selected by the Earl of Clarcton, that is precisely why as Timothy Lexington, the Earl of Clarcton has secrets. Secrets he has worked hard to keep from the world for the last two years. Anne may be discrete, but that doesn’t mean she’s not curious. When Timothy makes a scandalous request of her – pretend to be his countess at the Christmas Ball to prevent rumours of her disappearance from spreading – he doesn’t tell her why. He doesn’t tell her she has a strange and unexplainable resemblance to his wife.
This is the second book in the series & is very easily read on its own. I found it to be a well written book which started slowly but the pace gradually increased until I was totally engrossed. I loved Anne who was an intelligent caring woman, I liked Timothy but it took me some time to grow to really like him. Frances stole the book but then an adorable four year old was always going to do that! A very entertaining read with lots of secrets, mistrust & misunderstandings
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

This is the second book in the Governess Bureau series.

Anne Gilbert and Timothy Lexington, the Earl of Clarcton's first meeting was intriguing. Anne is engaged to be the governess to his four year old daughter and off to the countryside they go. There is a missing Countess, a cold housekeeper, an overly friendly footman and a Christmas Ball to plan. The Earl of Clacton is somewhat aloof and cold. I never really felt the chemistry between Anne and Timothy. The plot has a lot of twists and turns that drove the story forward and I found myself focused more on the subterfuge and descriptions of the castle and staff than the love story that was supposed to be unfolding.

This is a full length novel with no cliff hangers and does fine as a standalone, even though it is part of a series.

❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

Second in a new series from Emily’s The Governess Bureau.

This has secrets that will remain in the closet way into the reading, if you love in-depth descriptions, chemistry, brooding alpha Earls, beautifully sweet four year olds, and a great and enjoyable storyline, this book is for you.

I for one really enjoyed the story and the characters and found the description of Anne’s first site of Timothy’s castle and grounds riveting, I could see it perfectly in my mind. So good.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review