This is a wonderful story of found family, growing with others. The side characters are so fun and the children are just the cutest! Harry and Georgie are so clearly perfect for each other - this book made me smile the entire time. Overall, a really easy, happy read!

Slow going story with a lot of repetitive dialog. Sound of Music theme of governess bringing joy and the dour man (in this case uncle) not amused.

It was okay. I don't like large age gaps so I wouldn't have downloaded it if I knew that.

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed. And whole would have thought Regency Rom coms were a thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this book very much. The characters were so likeable. Will Henry be out new book boyfriend. The banter and sweet jokes were what did it for me. I'm looking forward to more.

reading this book led me to read virginia heath's entire bibliography - and i am glad i started with this book, because her growth as a writer is super evident. i found myself rooting so much more for these two characters than i did for any of the others in her books. can't wait to read the next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"All's Fair in Love and War" is Virginia Heath's latest Regency-era romantic comedy and it's a fun and fast read. The premise is silly and fun and the cast of characters are well fleshed-out. Our main characters, Georgie and Harry, have realistic limitations and hurdles to overcome in their relationship; the side characters, especially the children, are sweet and funny. This was a quick, enjoyable read and a fun addition to this genre!

A great start to a new series by Virginia Heath. I really enjoyed the governess school set up and look forward to more stories in this world.

There is a bit of clunkiness in the book at times. They have to dedicate a lot of time to setting the scene but like the Merriwell Sister’s series, I suspect each book to be better than the last.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story!
Spoilers to Follow!!!

The cover of this story, as well as it's synopsis intrigued me greatly but the story I read was not what I expected at all. To start, there were a lot of long winded paragraphs. Pages and pages and pages of nothing but the characters musings of current events. I'm sure this isn't the first book I've read that's done this but it was the first one that was so painfully obvious.

These long paragraphs sometimes even interrupted dialogue so that when one person spoke, the other person's reply was leagues away from it as the author delved into background knowledge or other details. It took me so out of the story and the original conversations that I would sometimes have to go back and re-read the first half to remember what they were even talking about.

I was also immediately confused when people started referring to the Love Interest as "Harry" and not "Henry" which is what the synopsis said his name was. The MMC even referred to himself as Harry in his POV's and he answered to both names in the story without any explanation.

Some of the language was also very... cringy. I know it might have been the language of the time but I couldn't sand it especially when some of the phrases were repeated often. Things such as Harry (Henry?) referring to himself as "in his prime" or when he mentioned (embarrassingly often) that he wanted to "Sow his wild oats". There was also way too much "finger wagging" in the entire story. Henry (Harry?) said Georgie scolded him and the children often in this way.

His behavior towards Georgie also didn't sit right with me. From his own POV's he often thought of her as useless and resented her for her actions despite Georgie constantly proving him wrong.

As for Georgie herself I found her delightful. She was funny and smart and showed how capable she was but I hated how the author kept giving Henry (Harry?) reasons to dislike her by putting her in situations that would piss him off. (i.e the classroom scene where Norbert wrecked the classroom, and the scene with Norbert and the frog, etc.) It didn't seem fair to Georgie as these things were not in her control and without these factors, everything would have run smoothly for her as a governess. I will say though that Georgie referred to herself as a "compact girl" too often (I think she meant she was petite? Tiny? I'm unsure) and there was one line where she said "Her womb tightened" and I about laughed my ass off.

I ope the author made a lot of changes to the story overall for the final product. The ARC I read was 339 pages but the final version is something like 380 pages. I can't even begin to imagine what would length the book by almost 50 more pages but I hope it's better than what I read.

What an adorable and enjoyable romance for lovers of historical fiction and 90s-2000s rom-coms. What I enjoy about Virginia Heath's books is that they are filled with everything one might enjoy about historical romances, but with a much lighter and modern sensibility instilled in the characters. So we avoid the baggage of old fashioned attitudes, but still get the slow burn, the chivalry, the simmering tension of a main couple, along with humor and silly kids and a dog named Norbert driving much of the plot! This book brings strong Jane Eyre and Sound of Music vibes, but with much more satisfying and scintillating encounters than those beloved classics had - the benefit of a romance published in the 21st century even if it is a regency.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

All’s Fair in Love and War is an absolutely charming book. The plot centers around Georgie, a governess is desperate need of a job, and Harry, an uncle in desperate need of a governess to teach his nieces and nephew.
Georgie is the perfect the female main character. I loved that she was strong-minded and never backed down from what she wanted for her life. The slow-burn between Georgie and Harry is perfectly executed. My one flaw with the book is I would have liked more to the ending as it did seem slightly rushed compared to the pace of the rest of the book. Overall, this is a really well done historical romance and I highly recommend picking this one up
Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own.

* book review *

title: All’s Fair in Love and War
author: Virginia Heath
pub date: May 28, 2024
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5
genre: regency romance

Starting off 2024 strong with this lovely book!!

This story has everything that makes a fun, heartwarming, enjoyable read:
- Structured pacing
- A strong FMC and a sexy, broody MMC
- Rambunctious children with a faithful, goofy pup
- Loveable side characters who add just enough drama to keep things interesting

As a Sound of Music lover, I was absolutely thrilled to read a governess who falls for her employer (who happens to be a captain) romance.

Georgie is a strong FMC who (in her own words) has trouble suppressing her inner Joan of Arc. I love how she chooses to teach the children.

Captain Henry Kincaid is a sexy MMC who adores his nieces and nephew. Their relationship was such a fun one to read!!

The children got up to hilarious shenanigans, and I loved how well rounded their characters were! This story wouldn’t have been half as good without them! Throw in a goofy pup and you’ve got a perfect combo.

My only complaint (and the reason I didn’t give a full 5 stars) is that Harry’s POV could be a little rambling at times, but more importantly, Harry is SUCH and UNSEXY name!! For reference, his full name is Captain Henry August Kincaid, and she chose to call him HARRY. Who thinks Harry is sexier than Henry? No one that’s who.

Despite the unsexiness of the name Harry, I would still highly recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC!

I am charmed! It's impressive when the start of a new series gives you both background on the characters you'll see in future books that goes beyond some info-dumpy bookends and a well-developed story between the main characters. I was engaged in Georgie's story while also enjoying the glimpse into the lives of her friends, who we'll certainly see in the rest of the series.

At 16 years old, Georgie Rowe was sent to a prestigious school for governesses by her loathsome step-father, the only relative she had left after her mother died of small pox. The story starts in earnest six years later, as she's the last of her friends to be hired. She's set to join Captain Harry Kincaid's household after his free-spirited sister dropped her three rambunctious children (and dog) with him before she took off for Egypt. Harry is the opposite of a free-spirit, which helped him rise in the the ranks of the Navy quickly. He has crushing responsibilities that necessitate strict time management and order. Georgie is a bit of a rebel, but she works hard to navigate managing the exacting Captain and energetic children who aren't used to traditional schooling. Of course, the fall in love, but it's a slow descent. That's not to say this is boring at all - there is a big location change and lots of fun moments with the children and secondary characters. Georgie's got some trauma in her background and while there aren't full flashbacks, we do get her recollections of her abusive stepfather.

As a slow burn enthusiast, I loved this story. There's good romantic tension without painful angst. There's a tiny bit of miscommunication, but it's handled with a grand gesture. There's also a dog that steals the show a few times, which always speaks to my animal-loving heart.

I can't wait to see Georgie's friends again in their books!

this was a delightful read! truly charmed by all the characters, georgie was a fantastic mc and i loved her personality, her inner monologue was very entertaining
i honestly had a lot of fun reading the children’s antics, the whole family dynamic was so wholesome and harry was charismatic even through his flaws.
i really liked how the whole story progressed and it was a really satisfying ending
i am excited to read the rest of this series! one of the best historical rom coms i’ve read in a while

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for a review.

As someone who loves a history romance I really enjoyed this book! It was cute and witty, had great banter between characters and really had great side characters as well as main characters. Slow burn romance and spice was closed door, which I think was well done. Overall very fun and easy read!

This was my first book by Virginia Heath and I have found a new favorite author! I’m fairly new to this genre, but I loved every minute of this book and I wanted it to keep going.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

Really cute romance! I liked the characters and the slow burn was very very slow burn. Thanks for the arc! 4.5

cute story. I like the governess storyline. I thought that the chemistry was a little lacking. The characters seemed a little flat. Overall cute but not a big wow.

This is the start of what promises to be a fun series. I did find it a bit slow, though, and wished it would've been a more streamlined that moved at a faster pace.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.

dnf / 1 star

unfortunately, despite a promising beginning, this book didn't fulfill my expectations.

the plot of the book moved very slowly, with the story taking a lot of time to unfold. it felt like it wasn't going anywhere exciting or significant.

additionally, the characters felt superficial and underdeveloped, which made it impossible for me to connect with them in any way.

as a result of that, i couldn’t find the motivation to continue reading and i had to dnf it.

thank you to netgalley and st.martin’s press for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

While I wanted to enjoy All's Fair in Love and War, I just could not truly fall in love with the characters. The longing and interactions between the characters did not stir the same excitement or joy I've found in other regency romances. I found myself constantly walking away from the story and not truly wanting to come back to it. It was an okay book, but I likely will not be rereading it.