The Secret Desires of a Governess – Tiffany Clare

From the moment Abby meets her new employer—the mysterious, brooding Earl of Brendall—she is appalled by his brutish manner…and even moreso by her own attraction to him. Has she lost her senses? As a governess, Abby has no choice but to play by the rules. But as a woman, she cannot deny the fiery sensations he ignites—or the fantasies he inspires…

From the moment Elliott lays eyes on his new young governess, he knows he’s in trouble. Abby is intelligent, defiant, and utterly captivating, though Elliott must do his very best to resist her. But as the two grow closer, the passion burns hotter. Soon, the only thing that can destroy their love is the darkest secret of his past—and the secret desires of a governess…

I had great expectation for this book, based on some of the other reviews that I had read.  That was my problem.  I’m sure because I had, in my mind, set the bar so high that this book fell short.

Lady Abigail Hallaway needed to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.  Both her sisters had married well, leaving her feel as if she’s the young spinster sister left in the care of her family.  Sure, she’s an heiress who would get her fortune when she was twenty-five (in two short years), but she felt as if she didn’t know where she belonged.   To fix this, she answered an ad for a governess to an Earl’s son in a castle in northern England.

Unfortunately, when she gets to her destinations she’s left to walk 15 miles in the rain.  Then she’s mistaken as a “professional” woman by Lord Brendall when he catches her walking around the castle trying to find someone to help her.

Elliott Wright, the Earl of Brendall hasn’t had it easy.  When he was eight, his mother perished into the sea, leaving him alone with his abusive father.  Later, his wife perished in a fire in the old church on the castle grounds.  All he had in the world was his young son and his secrets that made him feel less like a man.

When he sees Abigail roaming the halls of the castle, he’s immediately drawn to her.  He figures the attraction is because he hasn’t been with a woman in a while.  He vows to stay away from her and not cross the line of employer/employee.  But that is a vow he has a hard time keeping.

Both of these characters seem to spend an enormous amount of time having an inner monologue with themselves regarding their relationship with the other.  At one point, I felt like yelling out that they wouldn’t have half the problems they have if they just freaking spoke out loud rather than talking to themselves.

Then we had the whole “secret” about Elliott.  With such shame about this secret, don’t you think the whole argument about it with Abigail would have lasted longer than 1/2 a page?

The suspense part of the story could have been so much more.  Martha could have / should have concocted so many other evil plots to get rid of Abigail.  The fact that we didn’t get to the meat of that storyline until almost the very end was disappointing.  I needed more of this storyline and less of the fighting with oneself.

This was an OK read, but like I said at the beginning…I think I hyped this one up too much in my head.