The Governess Affair

lovely, delightful, unique plot and characters, wish I knew more about what became of Hugo's dreams but otherwise a tale I couldn't put down.

I loved this prequel to The Brothers Sinister series. Serena and Hugo had seemingly insurmountable barriers to their HEA. Courtney Milan resolves then beautifully while highlighting with the absolutely awful situation many women were in while in service.

4.5 stars — Wow, this one really surprised me! I don’t even know why exactly, it’s not like I had low expectations necessarily. I think I was a bit wary of it initially based on not knowing what happened to Serena until part way through (not usually a fan). But I just kept getting sucked in more and more. It’s funny, b/c often I find novellas very frustrating because it feels like there just isn’t enough time to fall in love with 2 characters, watch them believably fall in love, and feel satisfied by the end. And yet, that’s exactly what happened. How? I have no idea. Before I get going, there might be slight spoilers going forward. Not overt, but if you truly want to go in without a vague hint, then skip the rest. Serena was stubborn, principled, courageous…vulnerable but strong. I wasn’t expecting her story, it hurt my heart. Especially seeing how she viewed her role in what happened to her. I found it fascinating the way she took that incident, and decided she wasn’t going to be a victim anymore. There are so many different reactions to trauma, and I appreciated that we got to see 2 different ones between her and her sister, and they matched with their inherent personalities. On the face of it, I couldn’t see Hugo being a match. I kind of loved that we slowly got to know him more and more as Serena did. He kept himself buttoned up around most people, but he allowed her to see into his heart. He was dealing with his own aftermath of an abusive childhood, and it informed so many of his decisions. I loved that while he didn’t see himself as a completely good man, he clung strongly to certain moral values. I LOVED seeing them connect with one another, despite the fact they were adversaries of a sort. It’s like, they were both reluctant, but they didn’t shy away from their attraction necessarily…it was just inconvenient. And once they finally gave in to their feelings, I was delighted with the way things went. Fantastic steamy scene, Hugo was so considerate but still super sexy. And in the end, I appreciated that the change and growth wasn’t immediate…but rather it fit for our characters. I was super surprised by the “aftermaths and beginnings”, but I really loved that it was in there. I remember reading the blurb for the first book, and obviously after this book I was dismayed with who I *thought* the hero was. This gave me the clarity that I needed, and set the series up perfectly.