Temptation of a Proper Governess, Cathy Maxwell

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Title: Temptation of a Proper Governess
Author: Cathy Maxwell
Publisher: Avon
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Times Read: 1
Rank:

Summary: Society dictates that a governess should be modest, quiet, and keep to herself. She should never contradict her employer. And, above all, she must not attract the attention of any male in the household. But Michael Severson doesn't see Isabel Halloran as a governess -- he sees her as a woman, one whose lush curves cannot be hidden behind a dowdy gown ... and whose efforts at hiding her sparkling intelligence are betrayed by her wit. Years before, Michael had left Regency England, falsely accused of a crime. Now he is back, dedicated to seeking retribution -- but not to taking a bride. But when his scandalous actions compromise Isabel's reputation, he does the unthinkable and offers her his hand -- a marriage in name only. But although his bride's passions are untried, Isabel's sensuality clearly matches his own. And with each day, and night, that passes, Michael becomes determined that every kiss, every caress, will be made with one goal: to seduce his proper wife into tender submission. ~ Amazon.com

Plot, Bad Plot!

Cathy Maxwell’s Temptation of a Proper Governess, a regency romance, gets a low rating - not for lack of plot - but for a bad one. First off, let me assure you that I do not read such books expecting an amazingly intricate plot or solid four-dimensional characters. Sometimes a nice, easy bit of smut is nice. What I do expect is for any plot that slides its way into the story to be well-developed, believable, and, at the very least, enjoyable. Unfortunately, this book failed to deliver. Isabel, the main character, is a proper and respectable governess for a very improper young lady, whose parents are eager to marry off to a rich husband. Unfortunately, while saving her charge from being caught in another man’s bed, she herself is compromised and fired. Michael, the man who accidentally ruined her virtue, offers to marry her in order to salvage her reputation. Nothing new so far, of course, and I have the feeling that if Maxwell had spent more time developing their relationship like *good* romances do, it would have been a decent sort of book. Unfortunately, she had to attempt a mystery. Michael happens to be returning to England for the first time in 10 years, after having been accused of murdering his mistress. Unfortunately, the clues were so obvious that I’d solved the whole crime within the first quarter of the book, and since the rest focused more on this than anything else, I found myself extremely bored.

The moral ofthis story, people, is if you’re going to write a plot, make it a good one. Otherwise, just stick to the porn! (Which, I might add, being a regency, was almost non-existent, so I went without both porn AND plot!)
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