The Game and the Governess by Kate Noble

Ahhh, historical romances. Often a delightful read for a bit of escaping reality and often a way to learn more about the time in history too. I was able to read a new book for review this week and can’t wait to share my thoughts with you about it. New from Kate Noble –

The Game and the Governess by Kate Noble
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1476749389

Synopsis: Trading Places meets Pride and Prejudice in this sexy, saucy romance—first in a new series from the author of YouTube sensation The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Three friends. One Wager. Winner takes all.

The Earl—‘Lucky Ned’ Ashby. Pompous, preening, certain that he is beloved by everyone.
The Miller—John Turner. Proud, forced to work as the Earl’s secretary, their relationship growing ever more strained.
The Doctor—Rhys Gray. Practical, peace-loving, but caught in the middle of two warring friends.

Their wager is simple: By trading places with John Turner and convincing someone to fall in love with him, Ned plans to prove it’s him the world adores, not his money. Turner plans to prove him wrong.

But no one planned on Phoebe Baker, the unassuming governess who would fall into their trap, and turn everything on its head…

Three best friends make a life-changing bet in the first book in a witty, sexy new Regency trilogy from acclaimed author Kate Noble, writer of the wildly popular Emmy award–winning web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

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My Thoughts: This book is a fun twist on the plot about trading places. A bored earl and his best friend travel for a stay to the earls birth place for business and decide on a little wager. Sounds harmless, in the beginning. The author takes this to a new level with a look at the boredom of the entitled with plenty of twists along the way.

There are some things about this book that annoyed me. For one, I did not like the main male character, Ned, at all. For most of the book, I wanted to smack him. It was hard to see him actually begin to fall for the female heroine since all of the windup was about only a conquest. But the author has created her with a backbone, ethics and a way to control situations and people unassumingly so that was a saving grace. She was funny in a subtle way and added some levity to the story.

I also did not care for all of the other characters that were added. It is hard to keep track of everyone, especially in a historical based book, when you are trying to get through the back story and details. When someone like me wants to fly through a book and I have to keep going back to see if this person is of consequence to the storyline, that gets me. Most of the added people (women) were not necessary in my eyes, but I can see what the author was offering to Ned and John in terms of choices for their wager. But that added more details to follow in the storyline.

I did enjoy the story and book, but for me waiting until the very, very end to find the outcome was frustrating. I itched to be able to read faster and get through the book, which I guess is a good thing. The author is talented and crafted a good story. I just wish the hero was more likeable. That would have made this book for me.

Disclaimer: Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.