I really loved Virginia Heath's Merriwell Sisters series so was really excited when I saw she had a new series coming out! This was the perfect kind of slow burn romance, tons of tension but not a lot of painful angst. Georgie is a bit of rebel and free thinker which I loved and Harry is a bit uptight and needs order and strict time management. They both have trauma in their pasts that keep them from giving in to each and is what motivates them. Georgie is brought in to be governess for Harry's nieces and nephews and I loved how Harry and Georgie interacted with the kids, the best moment is when they are interrupted by one of the kids before things can get too far between them! The secondary characters were all so loveable and I can't wait for the next book! Also the dogs truly steal the show!

I found this a difficult book to get into, as the FMC was not particularly likeable. However, the starchy MMC was wonderful as were the children and dog. I did like the progression of friendship between the couple, and as they became closer, the story certainly improved for me. It wasn't a perfect story, but an entertaining read. I think a lot of readers will really like the FMC and love this book.

Georgina Rowe was a trained governess who was having a hard time finding her first family. Enter Captain Harry Kincaid, a man desperate to find a governess who could manage his sister's hellion kids after she left them with him while on a trip abroad with her husband. Initially Harry had stringent rules for how the children were to be taught and as he was paying her top dollar for her duties, Georgie tried to comply. Of course, the best laid plans often go awry and Georgie had to change her plan to better suit the needs of how the children were wanting to learn. There a long period of time where Georgie and Harry tried to fight the attraction that was building between them and I wish the author written their accepting and acting on their attraction sooner than she did but the ending of the story was fire. The ending more than made up for the lagging start to it. I was overjoyed with the ending and wish much of the interplay between Georgie and Harry had taken place earlier. I also love the cast of supporting characters- sister Flora, the nieces, Grace, Marianne, nephew Felix, Ada and Tom and lets not forget Norbert and Cuthbert- the interaction between them was excellent.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Harry finds himself in charge of caring for his two nieces and nephews while trying to balance his naval career. Harry quickly realized he needed help and sought out a governess at Miss Prentice’s School for Girls. Georgie is an eccentric governess wanting children to have freedom in learning. Harry and Georgie are polar opposites, but the children flourish under Georgie’s direction. Will Harry warm up to the sweet and unconventional governess?

I absolutely love this book! It was such a fun read there were so many times I laughed out loud while reading. Those who like Martha Waters will love this book.

I have enjoyed a couple of Virginia Heath’s previous books and this one was no exception. Overall, I enjoyed the storyline and characters. What I did struggle with was the pacing of the book and some of the characters’ inner monologues. Both the female and male main characters had some rather repetitive inner thoughts, particularly the FMC. As for the pacing, there were parts that were slow, which made it difficult to stay engaged. The book was nearly 400 pages long, so I feel that if some of the inner dialogue was cut out and some of the less necessary to the plot bits of the story, this would have been an even more enjoyable reading experience. That being said, I did enjoy reading the book. The children and some of the side characters were quite entertaining. The story picked up upon the change in location. There was a significant amount of character development with regards to the MMC - that was probably my favorite aspect of the story. The realization he comes to at the end was very eye opening. The banter between the characters was fun. I really like the egg metaphors dispersed throughout. I may even use some of those myself. I will definitely read another book by this author. In fact, I look forward to getting more of Miss Prentice’s Protégées is subsequent books.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffey for a digital arc. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I wanted to love it more than I actually did. Some thoughts...

The Good: the humor! Multiple funny moments, one of which actually made me laugh out loud.
- The banter between the leads once they started to like each other eas delightful
- The dogs! Love a book with heavily featured dogs.
- The hero's sister. She's only in the book for a minute but I loved her.

The not as good: the main couple doesn't actually spend a lot of time together for the first half of the book.
- The kids were believable, but I just wasn't thrilled with them.
- The hero's ex for multiple reasons, actually.
- The third act break-up, which was essentially the hero being an idiot.

Parts of it were great, and parts of it weren't. I definitely really enjoyed her last book and will most likely give this series another shot.

I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

All’s Fair in Love and War was a charming read filled with great banter, humorous mishaps (including a naughty dog) and lots of wholesome family moments.

Henry is a naval captain who has unexpectedly been left in charge of his sister’s three children for an indeterminable amount of time. Georgina is the governess who takes the job. While Henry is a rule follower who lives by orderliness and routine, Georgina is a believer in teaching children via adventures and discovery. The two clash immediately upon Georgina’s start of employment and a fun opposites attract romance ensues.

Historical romance
He falls first
Governess/protector
Found family

This was a delightful start to a new regency romance series from Virginia Heath, and I look forward to the follow up!

Georgie and Harry are an adorable couple with a fantastic slow burn where you get to literally watch them start to understand one another, then that understanding turns to respect, and finally, fall in love. I loved everything about this novel and if you want a more updated take on regency romances, you can never go wrong with Virginia Heath!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book, my first from the author, and it was cute! I enjoyed the setting willed Georgie, all her quirks a seemingly perfect match for the atypical lifestyle of her charges, the charges themselves, little lovable trouble makers, and Harry, who is in himself such a juxtaposition of light hearted and quite serious. While each of their upbringings informed their temperament, the more each learns of the other, their commonalities grow as does their appreciation and respect, eventually to passion and love. While this book skewed a bit verbose, I did enjoy the story and there were several scenes that made me laugh out loud! I also thought the ending was adorable and came full circle!

I'm really loving reading regency books. They're so entertaining and fun.

I can picture everything I'm reading in my mind, and it's like I have a movie playing.

This book was amazing. I fell in love with the plot when I first saw it, and the writing only made me fall even more in love with it.

I can't wait to read what comes next with the following books. I'll definitely be back.

This book was super cute! Starting to read it, I had high hopes I would be met with some "Sounds of Music vibes". I will say, this book had tinges of that, but ultimately, I would have liked it to lean a little more into this theme.

Blurb: In the first installment of a Regency romp of a series, a governess who believes in cultivating joy in her charges clashes with the children’s uncle who hired her, only to find herself falling in love.

When Harry Kincaid’s flighty older sister decides to join her husband on an Egyptian expedition, Harry, a former naval captain, is left in the lurch, minding her three unruly children and giant, mad dog. But Harry has a busy career at the Admiralty that requires all his attention, and he has no clue how to manage the little rascals or when his sister is coming back. In desperation, he goes to Miss Prentice’s School for Young Ladies prepared to pay whatever it takes to hire an emergency governess quick sharp to ensure everything in his formerly ordered house is run shipshape again.

Thanks to her miserable, strict upbringing, fledgling governess Georgie Rowe does not subscribe to the ethos that children should be seen and not heard. She believes childhood should be everything hers wasn’t—filled with laughter, adventure, and discovery. Thankfully, the three Pendleton children she has been tasked with looking after are already delightfully bohemian and instantly embrace her unconventional educational approach. Their staid, stickler-for-the-rules uncle, however, is another matter entirely.

Georgie and Harry continue to butt heads over their differences, but with time it seems that in this case, their attraction is undeniable—and all is indeed fair in love and war.

I will say, this author isn't new to me... and one of my original complaints with Never Fall For Your Fiancee, is that the story wanted to be fun loving and whimsical, but felt too slow moving- with the characters spending a lot of time in their own head, that it never fully hit the mark. These are the same thoughts I had with this book.

Overall, I love the grumpy/sunshine trope, I loved the overall premise, I just wish it would have leaned harder into the lighthearted tones.

Super cute, perfectly witty new release by Virginia Heath! I thoroughly enjoyed the Meriwell Sisters series, and this new Miss Prentice's Protegees is working up to be equally as enjoyable. With tropes like historical romance, slow burn, boss and nanny, miscommunication, and he falls first, All's Fair in Love and War is chock full of upbeat plot and thick romantic tension. I thoroughly enjoyed Georgie and Henry! The audiobook narrators are also amazing, particularly Shane East, who is an absolute FAVORITE of mine!

I do so enjoy reading period pieces that use old timey words like Mollycoddle [“treat (someone) in an indulgent or overprotective way.”] This regency era tale has fun characters including three adorable kids, an energetic dog, and a feisty governess who reminded me a little of Maria from The Sound of Music!

This was a charming story with some truly cute moments but it was also a bit slow and had unnecessary filler in many of the chapters. A lot of the story is told in the minds of the two main characters but I most enjoyed when the characters conversed aloud, the dynamic of those moments were my favorite and I wished there was more of that overall.

Those who enjoy the regency era, a slower pace, nautical terms, and fiery personalities will most likely find this a lovely addition to their summer reading.

Georgie Rowe has excelled ever since attending Miss Prentice’s School for Girls. The only problem is she has trouble holding her tongue and keeping her opinions to herself. When a desperate Captain Henry Kincaid is left with his two nieces and nephew he comes to Miss Prentice seeking a governess. Miss Prentice is more than happy to suggest Georgie for the job. At first Captain Kincaid is appalled by the disorderly Miss Rowe and doesn’t seem to think she’s up to the task. But he soon discovers that her ways seem to be working and having an impact with the children. He cannot imagine his life running without her. Slowly their feelings for each other come to light and Georgie and Henry must decide the kind of life they really want, together or otherwise.

This is a brilliant start to a new series by the talented Virginia Heath and I cannot wait for the next installment!

Harry is in dire need of a governess for his sister’s kids that he is temporarily taking care of. Georgie is an orphan handpicked for a governess school scholarship. She completed her studies and developed strong sense of right and wrong way of raising kids and is desperate to find a position. Like magnets of destiny they find each other.

I breezed through this book in a day and absolutely loved it!! I’m always a sucker for different social class historical romances, and I really fell in love with the characters in this one. The FMC and MMC had a cute love story with just the right amount of build-up (and some enemies to lovers elements.) And I enjoyed the vibrant side characters, including the kids, who all had well-defined personalities.

The burn in this book was a bit too slow for my taste, but there was great yearning so it helped to make up for the wait. This story did a wonderful job of being a series opener. The women this series is focused on are introduced, some briefly and some a little more. I did wish there had been more of the beginning of their friendship. However, that could have made this book too bulky if it had been included.

Georgie is loving, smart, witty, and strong. She knows her mind and doesn’t hesitate to speak it, which can be a huge problem when you are a governess. Harry likes order and is, at first glance, a cold slab of immovable marble. Turns out there is actually a very gooey center to Harry, especially when it comes to his family. These two have an instant spark, but both realize it is ridiculous to even think about such things when they are so different. Harry represents something Georgie hates after her upbringing, and Harry has no time for distractions if he wants to keep his career on the right path. Of course, they cannot resist each other forever.

When Harry and Georgie are working together they are fantastic. Whether it’s getting on the same page regarding the children or attending an important dinner together, they have each other’s backs and work well off each other. Those are my favorite parts of this book. Like I said, this is a very slow burn and there were times during the first half of the book that I wished they weren’t so adversarial. The deep longing was phenomenal though.

This is a first book in a new series called, Miss Prentice's protoegees. It's about 4 girls who attend a special school to learn how to become governesses.
This story is about Georgie. She has been raised by a cruel step father and is so happy when she is finally able to leave and attend a school for girls. When she finally gets a job, it's with a man who seems very much like her step father.
Harry is a Captain in the navy . He lives his life by the book and by the clock. His life is thrown into turmoil when he unexpectedly finds himself responsible for his sisters 3 children.
Georgie is everything Harry isn't. She believes children should have freedom not structure. Harry believes everything, including children, must be scheduled. To the minute.
Who's POV will win out? In this story of opposites attract, you have romance, attraction, laughter. With 3 kids and a dog , you had some very funny moments.
I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series.
5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

While I really loved these two together, the pace of this book did not work for me. I loved Georgina and Henry, but I slogged through this book for their happy ending. The children provided a fun bit of comedic fun, but overall I was just waiting for these two to figure themselves out. This one was fairly steamy, but still overall very sweet.

Charming and fun, I truly enjoyed this romance. While it is very much its own story, this book did have me experiencing some very "Sound of Music" vibes. I really liked Georgie's spunkiness and Harry's stuffiness, and together I thought that they balanced each other out beautifully. I'm very eager to read more of this new series.