My Favorite Bride (Governess Brides, Book 6)
The Sound of Music meets Jane Eyre in Dodd's refreshingly  humorous addition to her post-Regency era Governess Brides  series (In My Wildest Dreams, etc.). After being  dismissed again! for her inability to stand by and watch  injustice reign, Samantha Pendregast, a born and bred Londoner  and ex-cutpurse, is exiled by the proprietress of the  Distinguished Academy of Governesses to the wild Lake District  and the home of widower Colonel William Gregory and his six  daughters, who've already run through 11 governesses. Despite  her preoccupation with the governess-eating bears, wolves and  lake monsters that supposedly roam the area, Samantha captures  the interest of the children and of the colonel, who finds  himself distracted from his spy-catching duties by his mouthy  and clever governess. Determined to fight temptation, William  entertains a noblewoman who has all the wifely qualities he  desires except, he realizes, desire itself. The comedy that  highlights Samantha's and William's sparring magnifies the  couple's compatibility, and Dodd serves her hero and heroine  well by allowing them to mostly escape the grim, lust-led  relationship that characters from her previous books have  endured. But passion still thrums throughout, peaking in the  sexy scenes Dodd's fans have come to expect. (Sept. 3)  Forecast: The book's bland cover design isn't likely to impact  sales Dodd's Governess Bride novels sell well no matter how  they're packaged but print advertising in Redbook and the  Romantic Times may attract new readers.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.