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After reading this book, I literally had to take a minute to myself.
Sometimes, you read a book and never really consider the politics or the subtext beneath the surface.
I already knew that governesses used to occupy a sort of gray area in society – they were neither servants nor masters.
Being in that spot where they earned a moderate living but had to pick sides often put them in very difficult positions. I had never really thought about that until I read this book.
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This is a romance through and through. The primary story is about our female lead who, after being sexually assaulted by her boss and having her career ruined, decides to run away.
She adopts her sister’s name – her sister recently got married and is now living a good life.
So, she takes on her sister’s identity because she was about to be employed by our male lead. She travels to his place of employment, which is also where he lives, and begins working for him. Of course, they fall in love.
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Their love story is very romantic because both of them are very aware of their positions in life. She knows that she’s in a vulnerable position, and she’s hesitant to do anything that would seem like she’s using him – especially since he warns her from the very first interview.
He, in turn, becomes very cautious after falling for her. He’s honorable and doesn’t want anything to feel like sexual harassment.
Over the course of the book, they dismantle the misconceptions and assumptions they’ve held about each other. I think that was important and necessary, especially for two people who have had such jaded experiences with others.
Neither of them is a civil rights champion, so don’t get it twisted – this is a romance novel. Also, neither character is trying to make the world better for others, but we do see how their evolving understanding of each other changes their lives for the better. That’s the beautiful part.
When she visits his home and meets his daughter, the love between them is almost instant. Early on, we’re told that his daughter is gloomy and distant.
I thought we’d dive into the emotional drama of her losing her mother, but that’s never really touched on. I would have loved to see more of that explored, but I also understand that wasn’t the focus of the story.
What we do get is a glimpse of the three of them functioning as a family unit, and that was amazing. She becomes very dear to the family in a short time, and I really enjoyed that part.
I have to quickly mention the evil character, who essentially brings the antagonist back into the picture while doing some annoying things herself.
I honestly think the story could have done without her. Yes, she repents in the end (though she doesn’t really face consequences), and we’re told she realizes the error of her ways.
Still, I wish that hadn’t been the case. But to be fair, she did add her own layer to the story. I’m just not a fan of cartoonish villains. And that’s what the over the top primary antagonist in this book felt like.
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To be honest, many of the characters overreact, which made parts of the book feel more dramatic and theatrical than necessary.
As I said earlier, our female lead was sexually assaulted at her previous job. That trauma stays with her and manifests in nightmares and fear. Over time, we see her start to heal, and we see how her perspective shifts.
She realizes that not everyone treats their domestic staff the same way and that realization is powerful. I particularly enjoyed her storyline.
The male lead, on the other hand, sort of just exists. There’s a subplot about him looking for investors for his railway project, but even that doesn’t go anywhere.
I thought we might see some tension with the female antagonist trying to leverage her influence to get him to agree to something in exchange for investment. But no, that never really happens.
I wish he had more at stake. It felt like the only thing he had to do was stay honorable, and while that’s a nice trait, it didn’t feel like a deeply rooted struggle or internal conflict – it was just who he was.
Anyway, I really, really enjoyed this book. It’s one I might reread in the future, and it’s definitely made me want to get into the author’s backlist.
So make sure to check this out if you want a sweet, mostly clean, single-parent historical romance book.
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