Product Description

When Miss Samantha Prendregast arrives at Devil's Fell to take charge of six rebellious girls, the vibrant, outspoken governess is not quite prepared to deal with the tall, dark and dashing master of the grand estate. The children she can manage with intelligence, guile ... and a little bribery. Their widowed father, Colonel William Gregory, is not so easily charmed -- and far too easy to fall in love with, which she dares not do.

William always cherished the orderliness of his life, until this captivating troublemaker began flouting his authority and distracting him with her witty defiance and breathtaking beauty. Despite the fact that they clash at every meeting, William finds himself inexplicablydrawn to Samantha's fire. And now he's even contemplating marriage, which would be sweet madness indeed.

But before he can successfully woo her, William must discover what it is that Samantha is hiding from him. But the secret the lady is preciously guarding is far too shocking and dangerous to ever reveal ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105437 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-01
• Released on: 2002-09-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060092641
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
The Sound of Music meets Jane Eyre in Dodd's refreshingly humorous addition to her post-Regency era Governess Brides series (In My Wildest Dreams, etc.). After being dismissed again! for her inability to stand by and watch injustice reign, Samantha Pendregast, a born and bred Londoner and ex-cutpurse, is exiled by the proprietress of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses to the wild Lake District and the home of widower Colonel William Gregory and his six daughters, who've already run through 11 governesses. Despite her preoccupation with the governess-eating bears, wolves and lake monsters that supposedly roam the area, Samantha captures the interest of the children and of the colonel, who finds himself distracted from his spy-catching duties by his mouthy and clever governess. Determined to fight temptation, William entertains a noblewoman who has all the wifely qualities he desires except, he realizes, desire itself. The comedy that highlights Samantha's and William's sparring magnifies the couple's compatibility, and Dodd serves her hero and heroine well by allowing them to mostly escape the grim, lust-led relationship that characters from her previous books have endured. But passion still thrums throughout, peaking in the sexy scenes Dodd's fans have come to expect. (Sept. 3) Forecast: The book's bland cover design isn't likely to impact sales Dodd's Governess Bride novels sell well no matter how they're packaged but print advertising in Redbook and the Romantic Times may attract new readers.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Christina Dodd is the author of twenty romances that made regular appearances on the bestseller lists. She has won numerous awards including Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart and RITA Awards.

Customer Reviews

A governess with a past
Samantha is a former thief who has reformed and become a governess for the Distinguished Academy of Governesses. When she is sent from her natural habitat of London to live in the Lake District so she can work for the widower William, more than just geography changes. When she meets the six daughters of William, who are expected to behave with military-like discipline, I heard doe-a-dear-a-female-dear playing in the background. Once the I got past that, the story become much more interesting. The girls don't like any governess so they try to play tricks on her while their nursemaids and father pretend not to notice.

Things begin to change when Samantha refuses to back down after she accuses William of neglecting the girls by not paying enough attention to them or their needs. After that encounter, they begin to look at each other in a different way. While William is looking for a suitable wife, Samantha knows that she falls short of his requirements for more reasons that just her past as a cut-purse. And as he is working on a plan to round up some spies, things get a lot more complicated.

Overall, an entertaining read. It wraps up some loose ends from previous stories by Dodd and provides a new twist to the governess/master romance scenario.

The Sound of Music
Miss Samantha Prendregast is a former pickpocket, rehabilitated by Adorna (from previous Governess books), and currently a competent governess herself. Unfortunately, Samantha is blessed with a kind heart that can't bear injustice, and when she manages to get herself in trouble in London, Adorna sends Samantha to the wilds of the Lake District to be a governess to Colonel William Gregory's six daughters. Sure she's going to be eaten by bears and wolves, she quickly finds out the kids are a lot more trouble than any wildlife, and their father is a handsome despot. Soon she's got the kids eating out of her hand, but William isn't so easy to manage. He demands disciple and respect. Instead, he gets an intelligent young woman with a witty tongue who is far too attractive. With spies on the loose and a gorgeous woman in his house, William quickly finds catching the spies are the easy part -- more important, he must earn Samantha's love.

Dodd wraps up the connected spy stories from IN MY WILDEST DREAMS and LOST IN YOUR ARMS in this funny, satisfying addition to the Governess Brides series.

Enjoyable book
My Favorite Bride is Christina Dodd's latest book in her Governess Bride series. Like In My Wildest Dreams, My Favorite Bride has a theme that the reader has seen before. But, instead of Sabrina, we see the Sound of Music.

Samantha Prendregast was a pick pocket before she was rescued by Lady Adorna Bucknell, and recruited to be a governess. She is sent to the wilds of Cumbaria, in Northern England where she goes to work for Colonel William Gregory, a widower with six girls. The Colonel lost his wife when she was killed by thieves in Kashmir, and since that time, William has been trying to bring down Russian spies, whom he holds responsible for his wife's death.

Samantha comes in and interrupts his neat and orderly life. She brings happiness and laughter back to his house, and helps his children to be happy also. She really does wonders for the family, and she is really a great character. She has a lot of backbone for a female, especially an ex pick pocket. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes is right, which was why she got dismissed from so many other previous posts.

Of course William can't resist Samantha's feisty ways, but he tries very hard. He even brings in his wife's best friend Lady Teresa Marchant whom he hopes to make his new wife. Conflicts abound in this story, but nonetheless it is very engaging. Samantha is a wonderful character. I really enjoyed reading about her antics and the way her and the Colonel fell in love. There is even a charming side romance between Lady Marchant and William's best friend Duncan which adds to the story.

If anything, the Russian spy plot took away from the story. I looked on it as more of an annoyance. I was much more interested in the romance between Samantha and William, and reading about how William changed from a dispassionate parent, to a man who was much more comfortable in the role of father. This is a great story. I would definitely recommend it to any romance fan. Don't let the Sound of Music like theme throw you off either. I was not very tempted when I heard how it was comparable to that classic story, thinking this book would turn out like In My Wildest Dreams, which wasn't very good in my opinion. But, in fact My Favorite Bride is a wonderful story that will have one wanting to march off to the wilds of England to find their own true love.