Rules of Engagement

The Governess Brides, Book 3

By: Christina Dodd

Narrated by: Karen Cass

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Rules of Engagement

Choose a bride from this year’s debutantes.
Decide on a proper settlement.
Send an announcement to The Times.
Inform the bride of her good fortune.

Rules of Respectability

Devon Mathewes, earl of Kerrich, finds his income and family name imperiled by his notorious reputation. So he demands three things. A sensible governess who will not wish to visit his bed—he can’t be bothered to make love to every woman who wants him. An orphan he can adopt and seem to care for—his apparent kindness will cover him with respectability. And that his life not be unduly altered—the child and the governess should better his character without his participation.

As a condition of accepting the governess position, Miss Pamela Lockhart has rules of her own. Devon must at all times behave with propriety. She must be allowed to choose a suitable orphan. Most important, Devon must vow to never ever delve into Pamela’s past or appearance lest he discover the deepest secrets of her heart.

Of course, rules are made to be broken . . .

©2000 Christina Dodd (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Wickedly witty." (number one New York Times best seller Julia Quinn)

"Christina Dodd's astonishing talents rise to glorious heights." (Romantic Times) 

"Dodd has done a smashing job with this spicy, swashbuckling Regency-era romance." (Booklist) 

Wonderful!

I listened to the first book in this series and
Thought it was WONDERFUL
I am looking forward to the next
When will that be?
Recently I listened to a book read by Karen Cass and proceeded to buy all interesting books read by her. That is how I came to read these books .
I usually only pick my books only by narrator

Cookie cutter of previous books

I'm listening to all the books in this series...one right after the other. So, it's probably more apparent to me that the characters in this book are just like those in the previous books....just different names and locale. Strong, virile and dominant man meets strong-willed governess with a chip on her shoulder and a ton of baggage from her past. Man doesn't want to love and governess doesn't want to marry and be dominated. If you can get through that character "stuff", the story is pretty good. I personally like a little sex in a romance...makes it more realistic and adds zest. BUT....the books in this series have more sex than necessary. It's like icing on a cake....too much is too much. Karen Cass is really getting into the groove...each book narration is better than the previous.

An entertaining read

The narrator Karen Cass did an awesome job on this book as well. This is one of my favorites in the Governess Brides series. The heroine (Pamela) disguises herself as an older unattractive governess for the orphan he plans to adopt, just as he required from the agency. It's fun to know the hero (Devon) has no idea about her identity even though they met before and it was quite a memorable meeting. He interacts with the orphan girl Beth and by the end has changed into a more likable person.

Enjoyed this Witty Romance

This story had me laughing within the first 15 minutes. Witty banter, interesting story and not filled with a lot of angst or heavy drama made for a fun read. It can be read as a stand alone story, the other books are not required.
Some steamy love scenes are appropriate for the story, though the first scene is a little unbelievable for a virgin. That being said, the book has a wonderful HEA. Having never heard this narrator before, I thoroughly enjoyed Karen Cass' portrayal of these characters!
Looking forward to reading more in this series!

The voice actor is amazing!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of this novel. In fact, it was perfect. I liked all the characters and the 2 leads had great chemistry, and their relationship was unfolding in a way that I found entertaining.
Unfortunately, the situation surrounding their initial intimacy was problematic for me. At this point, this tightly woven story with interesting and likable characters lost a lot of its charm. I found myself wondering if the author had mistakenly inserted a few chapters written for some other characters. From this point on, the quality of the story had too many ups and downs.
The voice actor was excellent from start to finish.

a bit dumb but maybe thats what you want?

pretty cringey occasionally, if youre looking for all story and inaccuracy wont bother you, go for it

A crazy hero and the proper heroine..

I loved this story and hated when it ended....very funny and enjoyable! would read again....

Rules are meant to be broken

Enjoyed the feisty governess and self confident Lord talks. She often got the best of him and turned him around. Add in a orphan child and a sharp witted grandfather for fun times. The past secrets and parents examples have left their marks on the lead pair leaving nearly too many obstacles to overcome.

Excellent

Enjoyed the story. The narrator and the writing. If you like a slow burn, wit and passion and enemies to friends.

Great Story and Narrator

Christina Dodd and Karen Cass are perfect together. Karen Cass is such a good narrator and I love Christina Dodd!!