Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley

Narrated by Angela Dawe

Roberta “Bertie” Frasier is glad that the Scottish barrister got her friend off on the charge of murder, but her father is angry that said barrister, Sinclair “Basher” McBride, got his friend charged with the crime instead, so he sends her to pick his pocket as revenge. Cockney, streetwise and a practiced thief, she almost gets away with it. But Sinclair isn’t so easily fooled, especially not when his dear, departed wife gave him the watch Bertie pinched.

Once the watch is returned, things get a little – well, odd. Bertie becomes a sort of stalker, walking by McBride’s house to learn more about him – and what she learns is, he has two ill-behaved (or is it “high spirited”?) children, Cat and Andrew, who have gone through a dozen or so governesses. The current governess leaves the children with Bertie when she quits and voila! cockney-pickpocket-turned-governess. Right – and she creates Rules for a Proper Governess too. Plus there’s that strong attraction between Sinclair and Bertie…

The action and excitement in the plot come from the confluence of their acquaintances. The children’s deceased mother Daisy has 2 men who want something from McBride – her brother is angry that she ran off with McBride; Daisy’s former fiance is also a little miffed about her leaving him for McBride, and he hires a street-thug associated with Bertie’s father to cause mayhem for them all. Having some influential family – remember the Mackenzies? and Fellowes? – helps McBride save the day. Once the action started, maybe halfway into the book, I slipped back into their world with ease, and really enjoyed the story. But my credulity was stretched very, very thin on the setup – 26-year-old Cockney pickpocket is also a virgin? And then she’s a stalker and then she’s suddenly a governess to a rich lawyer’s children? Children who immediately love her when they terrorize every other governess? No, that really had me shaking my head. But if you’re a Jennifer Ashley/Mackenzie series fan, I recommend you stick with it because it really does get better after you get past all that.

Angela Dawe is wonderful – as usual – with the McBride/Mackenzie series. She does very credible male Scots accents for the McBride and Mackenzie men, and her Cockney street folk are also easily identifiable. I love her Andrew voice – he’s depicted as always using his OUTSIDE VOICE and she manages to convey that child-like way of talking without actually blasting your earphones out. Her pacing is natural, if occasionally a touch sing-songy, and her characters are all easily distinguished by tone, accent, and register. All in all, it’s a standout narration.

Melinda

Narration: A

Book Content: B

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: Fighting

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Rules for a Proper Governess was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for a review.