4.5 ⭐️

A satisfying ending to this trilogy! There’s just something about a closed off father who gradually comes to accept love in his heart again in large part due to his governess and his spunky spectacle wearing daughter. I loved the long awaited reunion between Rory, King, and Henry and them all being madly in love with their wives.

I hadn’t read any of the other books in this series before reading this book (number 3 in the series), but I have enjoyed Shana Galen’s writing in the past. I found this easy to jump into, even without reading the previous books. I loved Genevieve and the development with Rory and his daughter was believable in its tension but also filled with very sweet interactions. It has me interested enough to want to go back and read the first two books in the series, so I would recommend this book if you are looking for a historical romance!
Thanks to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for this ARC!

Such a great read! Highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Lord Emory Lumlee (Rory) still carries the fear of the witch's curse given when he was thirteen. Just as the curse predicted, when he turned thirty he lost his wife and youngest child. With his oldest child Frances, he hasn't been a father, but the new governess, Genevieve Brooking, guides him to be one. At first it's a marriage of convenience with Genevieve, but Rory soon learns that he's worthy of love and loving in return. Until Rory could lose everything to reverse the curse. I almost hate to see this series end. Explicit sex. I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Directly after my Fair Katie I started on All About Genevieve. Because I really wanted to know if King, Henry and Rory were finally able to break the curse of the witch. Although all three parts of the misfortunes Favorites series are about the curse, Shana has been able to give all three stories a total different flavour. And still, they seamless connect in the last part of this story.

Heart of this story is the loss of Rory’s wife and son on his thirtieth birthday and his subsequent refusal to look after his remaining daughter. When Rory comes back home, after six months of travel, his mother-in-law brings over his daughter Frances. Incapable of taking care of her, he hires Genevieve as her governess.

Genevieve is a great governess and she is able to connect to Frances and create a bond with her. A connection to Rory is much more complicated; but Genevieve recognizes the grieve that is suffocating Rory. Combined with the curse of a witch, makes a strange of chemistry between Rory and Genevieve. When King, Henry and Rory are faced with the witch’ sister: will they be able to break the curse or are the prices too high?

A wonderful ending to the series. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖 (Sadly I was able to set this one down repeatedly for long periods of time and told myself to finish it)
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Intimate Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium
When mains are first on page together: it takes a bit – it’s a good 11% or so until the mains are on page together (chapter 3)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after and a conclusion to the series long mystery.
Epilogue: Yes, ten months later

Should I read in order?
Ideally yes, if you care about the series mystery. The romance itself stands alone. But the end of the book has a resolution for the mystery and will be best in order.

Basic plot:
Rory is in desperate need of a governess, and lucky for him Genevieve and his daughter make a connection right away...

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency – book 1 takes place in 1814 and this one isn’t too much after it
- English countryside setting
- child in the story – the hero has a daughter he is trying to mend a relationship with
- you’re okay with loss being a big part of the story – the hero lost his wife and infant son before the book starts
- a touch of magic – the 3 books feature a curse that they are trying to break (the curse runs throughout the series and wraps up with this book)
- governess
- bit of a marriage of convenience
- hide and seek
- employer/employee relationship
- low to mid steam – 2 full scenes, a short one I didn’t count as a flame and plenty of kisses (though most is in the second half)

Ages:
- I think both mains are 30

My thoughts:
This series has been pretty fun. I like the idea of the curse and the heroes working on undoing their curse and finding love on the way. But this one was my least favorite of the series.

If I can just be honest, the hero ruined this one for me. This whole series features heroes that have made mistakes and mend the bad karma coming their way in their books. But Rory….I wanted to love him but he was so frustrating I just never did.

He repeatedly makes these choices that are hurtful and cringy and you keep hoping he would get better. But even halfway through the book, the hero is threatening his child with ridiculous threats and when she goes missing doesn’t even think to call her name? I felt like his proposal was lackluster and left a lot to be desired. The way he acted once married, the same. And the ending? Well it didn’t salvage any kind of respect I might have started to have for him.

I loved the heroine and even the relationship with the hero’s child was fun in parts. But I felt like the child really took over the whole plot here and I’m not big on that in my romance generally so I was left wanting more from the mains.

I feel bad because I did enjoy parts of this series a lot, and I like Galen’s writing a lot. But this particular book I didn’t like the hero and I couldn’t enjoy the book because of him. I didn’t believe in their happily ever after and felt like the heroine deserved more by the end.

Seven year old Frances steals the show in a book about a grieving father and an independent and wonderful governess. Rory was aloof and stern initially but Genevieve saw through that to the real man inside. Genevieve was the perfect example of the fun, making learning interesting governess. It started out for about 5 minutes as a marriage of convenience, but you know that charade would fall fast. Little Frances was adorable. It's a great book and I'm glad there was resolution with the curse.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Could Their Love Survive His Curse?

Rory left his daughter in the care of others and fled to the Continent. Now that he was back, Frances wanted nothing to do with him. Then came Genevieve and her magical way with children. Frances was running away from home, and when Genevieve found her, she was able to reach her instantly when no one else could. She was seeking the position of governess, and Rory hired her on the spot.

Genevieve was not only able to reach the daughter, but also the father. Would he let her in? The two were attracted to one another, but Rory’s experience with his late wife soured him on love. He would propose a marriage of convenience, but would he open his heart to love?

Then, there was the matter of a witch’s curse, and it struck when his wife and infant son were killed, or so he believed. Would it strike again? Rory was cursed along with two of his friends when they were thirteen, and each one experienced a disaster at thirty. Now, they must go back to the scene of the crime to make things right. Could they find a way to lift the curse? What sacrifices would they have to make?

This book is an absolute delight. I enjoyed the entire series and would recommend it. Although it is not necessary to start from the beginning, you will want to do so. I look forward to what this author writes next.

What can I say? I loved this book! Loved the characters. I really think this author's writing flows well. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great intriguing and heartfelt romance story.

All About Genevieve by Shana Galen is the third in the series featuring three boys who had robbed a witch when they were thirteen and had ended up cursed. The curses happened on each of their thirtieth birthdays and this story is about Lord Emory Lumlee whose wife and infant son had died in a carriage accident on his thirtieth birthday. After running from it he has returned home and is trying to deal with his small daughter who had been staying with her maternal grandparents. To say she was a handful would be selling the tale short. There had been several nannies and none had stayed. Frances had had enough. She was leaving. As small girls don’t think ahead very far, she got just down the drive. She was discovered, sleeping, by Genevieve, who was coming to apply for the position of nanny. By the time they were discovered, she had formed a bond with Frances and her behavior had already improved. And it kept improving. Genevieve didn’t hesitate to tell Rory how he was failing as a father, and how he could improve. Very entertaining.

The witch’s sister had been in contact with all three men with pieces of another curse; one that would remove the first. The price was that they travel to the what was left of the witch’s home and talk with her. They did it, all traveling to Scotland. The price was very high and Rory didn’t know if he could pay it; which choice was right. The characters were perfect. The overall plot arc was enticing. I can’t say enough good about it. This is a wonderful series and each book excellent on it’s own but this one takes the cake. Rory is faced with an impossible dilemma which makes for good reading. Shana Galen outdid herself.

I was invited to read All About Genevieve by Dragonblade. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #ShanaGalen #AllAboutGenevieve

If you like a governess romance with mature leads (they're both 30!), this is a good one to pick up. Rory's wife and son perished in a carriage accident on his 30th birthday, leaving only his daugher alive. His marriage might have been unhappy, but Rory's still grieving. He seems to have forgotten he has a living daughter, so when he returns to his estate, he's shocked when his in-laws tell him they can no longer care for her.

Genevieve is part Mary Poppins governess perfection and part "I don't care about your wealth and title as long as you're a good dad and person" (or, in other words, the perfect match for Rory). And yet she also isn't a Mary Sue paragon! This is a low angst romance despite the background of grief and it's on the shorter side. It's the third in a series and wraps up an overarching plot device, but I think it could be read as a standalone.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

This is the third book in the " Misfortunes Favorites" series. It included a curse from a witch and a counter curse from another, tragedy, loss of loved ones, a delightful reunion, and a lovely suprise romance. I enjoyed all the previous wonderful main characters reunited for an intimate and exciting conclusion. Ans best of all was the beautiful happy ending for all. I highly recommend reading!

I throughly enjoyed the first half of the book and the story was quite compelling but afterwards it lost its all tension and too much focus was spent on a intimate scene rather than developing the characters and showing their growing love towards each other. By the time his friends show up, I lost interest in the story completedly. Perhaps it was meant to attract readers to their own story lines, but I could not care less about new characters so close to the book.

I think a better twist would have been if her ex lover showed up or his ex wife was not actually dead and them having to face and test the strength of their love.

This isn't a romance book.

This review is going to include spoilers because I cannot express my issues without detailing something close to the end of the book. I wasn't aware that this is the third book in the series, but it doesn't matter since the other two couples appear for a short time.

Let me begin by saying that the "hero" of the book wasn't really hero material. He didn't try to be a decent father until Genevieve kinda pushed him to it. They didn't have a good father/daughter moment. The era in which the events took place was off as well. The book took place in 1815 but it wasn't your typical book that takes place in that time period and I was confused about what was socially acceptable or not. Most of the time it felt like I was reading a contemporary book in a more historical setting. But what truly bothered me, is not only the lack of romance but also the lack of a decent declaration of love.

You see, in order to break the curse, all three men had to choose between the lives they had or the lives they got after they met their true loves. The two others made their decision quite easily, but Rory was stuck on the past and he was actually going to choose his old wife and son, instead of Genevieve. And I don't think he would have chosen her. But the witch told his daughter that she can't bring the dead back, the daughter revealed that to Rory, and in the end Rory didn't have to make a choice because the choice was made for him. He was going to return to the old wife and that in my book isn't a declaration of love and dedication to the heroine. It felt like it was just convenient. And it made a book that was already hard to read a huge disappointment. Rory didn't love Genevieve. He just got a convenient new family.

A lovely historical romance. Our hero has been hiding from his responsibilities since a tragedy that took the lives of his wife and son. Now he must face them head on.

Our heroine is a knowledgeable governess, with a calming influence, that works on frustrated fathers as well as children.

An emotional story that will get you crying and giggling.

I don't know how I missed the other books in the series, but I'm sure I will go and read them soon.

Good fun.

The third book in the series Misfortunes Favorites, follows Emory (Rory) Lumley, younger son of the Duke of Tralee. Curse at 13 by a Scottish witch, tragedy strikes on his 30th birthday, claiming the lives of his wife and infant son and leaving Rory consumed with guilt. He flees to the Continent, abandoning his young daughter. Six months later, he returns to find his daughter is now a willful, spoiled child prone to tantrums. Determined to live a quiet existence, Rory finds a governess who can take Frances in hand while he attempts to rebuild his life. At thirty, Genevieve Brooking takes the position of governess to Frances knowing that she will be a challenge but fully understanding her ways. What she isn’t prepared for is Rory and his grief. He is cold and distant at first then grudgingly appreciative, and when she marries him out of convenience, she sees a side of him she could love. However, Rory knows that he must find the counter-spell if he and his friends are to return to their previous lives. Yet, Genevieve knows that if Rory reverses the curse, she may end up losing him.
This was such a great story to end a trilogy. Both Rory and Genevieve were such endearing characters, finding love in each other, when they least expected it. I also found Frances and her relationship with Genevieve such a delight, and enjoyed seeing her transformed from the frightened child to one who knows she is loved. A delightful read!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the third and final installment of this series. While it can stand on its own, I think it makes the story, especially the ending, more enjoyable to have read the first two books as well.

This is the story of Emory (Rory) Lumley, the youngest son of the Duke of Tralee, and Genevieve Brooking, governess. Rory's first wife and infant son died in a carriage accident, but he feels it was really due to a witch's curse placed on him and his friends when they were 13. Guilt over that fact caused him to flee the country, leaving his daughter with her grandparents.

Now that he's back in the country, the grandparents (rightly) bring his daughter, Frances, to live with him. Completely out of his depth, he hires Genevieve upon first glance but commits to being more present for Frances. As they usually do in these stories, Rory & Genevieve fall in love, much to Frances' delight.

I won't give away the ending, but I will say the curse is dealt with once and for all, in a very satisfying conclusion.

This was a fun series, and I especially loved this book. Seeing how Rory & Frances' relationship grew and strengthened in their shared grief was lovely. And Genevieve was exactly what they both needed.

This is officially my favorite of the trilogy! I didn't think anyone would surpass King, but then I met Rory.

Rory is a bit tortured. His wife and son were killed in a carriage accident, which he blames himself for. His wife only pretended to love him so he would marry her, but then wanted nothing to do with him, so he is still dealing with his feelings about that as well, and his daughter refers to him as an evil prince. To say Rory is really going through it would be an understatement.

Thankfully, he hires Genevieve as a governess for his daughter Frances. It doesn't take her long to see the good, kind-hearted man underneath all the guilt and hearbreak.

There were so many complex emotions in this book, and they were written so beautifully. The grieving process, insecurities on both sides, fear of getting hurt again... it's all so well done.

Much like side character Notley, I am not a kid person and don't generally love having them turn up in a romance I'm reading. Having said that, I really enjoyed how Frances was written. She is realistic for her age (which seems to be rare in books) and comes with all the baggage of having been in the carriage when her mom and baby brother died. She has abandonment issues and can't accept that her mom isn't coming back.

While the book has its fair share of angst, there are certainly many happy moments and humor thrown in. I found it to be a very satisfying read!

This witch's curse does get wrapped up as well.

A childish prank ...
Three friends cursed...
A witch seeking revenge
Spicy ☕🔥🔥🔥

Lord Emory "Rory" Lumlee is approaching his 30th birthday. Forced to face his parental responsibilities it's time to focus his attention towards his daughter. Can he put aside his anger and resentment towards her mother or will it leave a dark cloud over them both? In order to connect with Francis Rory will face his biggest challenge- hiring a governess who can keep track of a precocious and imaginative child.

Genevieve Brooking is resourceful, creative, patient, and most of all has a kind heart. One who is able to connect with children and communicate without being condescending. I love the way she pays attention to Francis and can read the room figuring out what she needs.

When Rory witnesses the connection between Genevieve and Francis he will need to make a choice if he hopes to connect with his daughter while finding a way to forgive himself for the pain and deception.

Rory must find a mother for his child, will the marriage be simply transactional? Will three childhood friends finally be rid of the curse that has plagued their lives and find true love?

This spicy historical romance is best enjoyed with your favorite iced beverage, a cozy chair, and maybe a fan. Characters comfortably express their desire with kissing and passionate exploration. If you're looking for a medium level of heat this should be a satisfying read.

Thank you Dragonblade Publishing for the advance reader copy for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A curse is about...

Rory looses his wife and son due to a "curse." So off he flees, he literally runs away from his daughter. Who in the months that he is gone, turns into a horrid brat, because she was left alone to deal with her raging emotions unchecked.

He hires Genevieve as his governess and they end up married.
But more witches curses abound.