701. The Greatest Lover in All England (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Rosie survives as a street thespian by pretending she is a boy and staying one step ahead of the law, but when she has to play Sir Rycliffe's wife in an arranged marriage, his kisses threaten her composure.

My rating: 2 stars

674. Scandalous Again (Christina Dodd)

The Card Players by Paul Cezanne, 1895

Synopsis from Amazon:
Lady Madeline de Lacy, one of the most powerful women in England, is struggling to hold her family together following her gambler father's catastrophic loss at cards. When she learns that he has gambled away her hand in marriage and is planning to stake her most precious heirloom in the Game of the Century, she takes drastic action. She switches places with her cousin and companion, Eleanor, and heads to The Game disguised as a companion herself. Eleanor, in turn, agrees to see Madeline's new fiance and break the engagement. Madeline is accustomed to running her life and the lives of those around her, so posing as a lady's maid proves to be a challenge, especially when she discovers her former fiance, Lord Gabriel, at the party. Now she must maintain her ruse even as she's drawn to the man she jilted four years earlier.

My rating: 2 stars

My reviews: Disliked the main characters.

649. A Well Favored Gentleman (Christina Dodd)

A Faroese stamp depicting a selkie

Synopsis from Amazon:
Powerful Ian Fairchild is a man with magical powers and dark secrets--and he covets Fionnaway Manor. But the Scottish estate is owned by beautiful Lady Alanna, and Ian must marry her to gain the right to claim Fionnaway as his own. Alanna doesn't trust the handsome Ian but all too soon she finds herself falling in love with him. The secrets Ian holds may make it impossible for him to love her in return and despite Alanna's faith, his past and dark heritage threaten a happy ending for the two lovers.

My rating: 3 stars

572. My Fair Temptress (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from author:
Miss Caroline Ritter, accomplished flirt, acknowledged beauty, and ruined gentlewoman, offers lessons to any rich, noble lord too inept to attract a wife. Discard silly affectations and garish clothing! Learn the arts of witty conversation, elegant dancing, equestrian feats and irresistible seduction at the opera! With Miss Ritter’s help, any awkward nobleman can become the most sought-after aristocrat at the ball!

Send your request to the Distinguished Academy of Governesses.

Please, absolutely no devastatingly attractive men with hidden agendas such as secret missions or vengeful plots against evil villains — specifically not Jude Durant, the earl of Huntington, the most handsome, the most covert, the most dangerous of all the aristocrats in Regency London.

My rating: 4 stars

518. Lost in Your Arms (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from publisher:
Enid MacLean is finally living a peaceful life when she receives word that an explosion has injured the husband she hoped she'd never have to see again. Reluctantly, she agrees to do her duty but, except for his distinctive green eyes, the man she nurses back to health is not the man she remembers. And he remembers nothing. From the depths of his amnesia, he reaches out for the woman he believes is his wife, tempting her with ardent words and a reckless passion she finds herself unable to resist. And while Enid finds herself losing her heart to this achingly familiar stranger, she cannot help but wonder how her husband has become such a dangerous, seductive man ... and what secrets he carries locked away in his lost memories.

My rating: 3 stars

445. Some Enchanted Evening (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
When her life is threatened, Princess Clarice flees from her native country to Scotland, where she quietly sells beauty products to local women. Robert MacKenzie invites Clarice to stay at MacKenzie Manor, though he expresses disbelief that she is truly a princess. Robert, an embittered former military man, finds love and passion with the beautiful Clarice as the two embark on a bittersweet romance.

My rating: 4 stars

435. A Well Pleasured Lady (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Powerful Sebastian Durant, Viscount Whitfield, has good cause to hate the Fairchild family, so when his godmother requests Sebastian's help in regaining an incriminating diary she believes to have been stolen by the Fairchilds, he welcomes the opportunity to exact revenge. Lady Mary Fairchild, though estranged from her family for 10 years, is loath to aid the Viscount. Unfortunately, her loyalty to his godmother, and the knowledge that Sebastian is privy to the dark secret she hides from the world, compels her to cooperate. The handsome Viscount and the beautiful Lady Mary pose as engaged lovers, and their charade soon becomes reality as they untangle a web of lies, theft, and betrayal that threatens their very lives.

My rating: 4 stars

415. In My Wildest Dreams (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Beautiful 17-year-old Celeste Milford is only the gardener's daughter, but she falls madly in love with the younger brother of the very rich and powerful Garrick Throckmorton the Third. Lady Bucknell, proprietress of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses and a family friend, assesses the hopeless situation and graciously offers to enroll and train Celeste as a governess at her academy. So Celeste leaves for London and Paris, protesting loudly. Four years later, Celeste returns to Blythe Hall a poised, well-traveled, independent woman experienced with the intrigues of politics after a stint as governess to the children of the Russian ambassador. Hired by Garrick to be governess to his motherless daughter and niece, Celeste has a not-so-hidden agenda, for she plans to charm Ellery Throckmorton away from his fiancé. Garrick has no intention of letting Celeste's plans come to fruition and sets out to monopolize her time and seduce her away from thoughts of Ellery. Much to his surprise, Celeste enchants him, fills him with lust, and destroys his famous self-control. Celeste is equally stunned to find herself drawn to Garrick -- and she begins to see Ellery in a less flattering light. But Garrick doesn't believe in love, and when Celeste's appeal threatens to overwhelm him, he's determined to send her back to Paris. Before he can do so, however, he'll have to resolve the question of who's leaking information about his spy activities. Could it be Celeste? And just how does she know so much about spying, anyway?

My rating: 3 stars

382. The Prince Kidnaps a Bride (Christina Dodd)

Pic de Bugatet in the Pyrenees

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
When it seems the assassins tracking her for the last decade have finally discovered her whereabouts, Crown Princess Sorcha knows it is time to leave the Scottish convent and return home to Beaumontagne to take up her royal duties. But getting back to her small homeland in the Pyrenees will not be easy. At first, Sorcha has the idea of traveling with arnou, a fisherman, but Mother Superior and the good sisters of Monnmouth Abbey have another plan in mind. A disguised Sorcha soon finds herself wending her way across Scotland. Then, to her surprise, a very determined Arnou soon catches up with her. Arnou insists he only wants to see her safely to Beaumontagne, but Sorcha thinks something is fishy about his story.

My rating: 3 stars

353. That Scandalous Evening (Christina Dodd)

Michelangelo's David

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
When Miss Jane Higgenbothem's sculpture of Lord Blackburn -- the man she secretly adores -- was revealed, making her a laughingstock, she fled to the country in shame, but now, ten years later, she returns as a chaperone to her niece and encounters Lord Blackburn -- a man who is not about to let bygones be bygones.

My rating: 4 stars

287. Rules of Surrender (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Prim English governess Lady Charlotte Dalrumple is determined to civilize Lord Wynter Ruskin, but it is she who will be bested by his unruly charm and passionate touch.

My rating: 3 stars

171. The Barefoot Princess (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Kidnapping a man was more difficult than it looked, as Amy Rosabel discovers when she abducts Jermyn Edmondson, Marquess of Northcliff. All Amy wants is for Jermyn to pay for stealing Miss Victorine Sprott's idea for a beading machine and neglecting his duties to the residents of the isle of Summerwind. Amy manages to imprison Jermyn in Miss Sprott's house, where he will have time to review his transgressions while Amy waits for his uncle to pay his ransom. But her carefully crafted plan unravels, leaving Amy with a hostile, hotheaded, and handsome nobleman chained up in her cellar.

My rating: 3 stars

162. Rules of Attraction (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Setting: Regency England
Sensuality: 8
Having sold her successful business, the Distinguished Academy of Governesses, Miss Hannah Setterington arrives in Lancashire to accept a position as caretaker to the earl of Raeburn's elderly aunt. Hannah is shocked to learn that the newly titled earl is none other than Dougald Pippard, the man she loved and ran away from nine years before. Dougald isn't the slightest bit surprised to see Hannah, for her arrival at Raeburn Castle is the result of a carefully planned scheme to bring her back into his life. Furthermore, he has the power to compel her to remain in Lancashire, for he can give Hannah something she yearns for -- a meeting with her deceased father's parents. While Hannah and Dougald are engaged in a battle of wits and wills, something wicked is afoot at the Castle. The prior two earls were killed in accidents shortly after coming into the title, and when Dougald is shot at and then attacked by thugs, it's clear that he's next on someone's hit list. Whether Hannah and Dougald will arrive at a mutually agreeable truce is debatable, but before the two can live happily ever after they must first discover the identity of the mysterious villain.

My rating: 4 stars

123. The Runaway Princess (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Evangeline Scoffield of East Little Teignmouth, Cornwall, is a fraud. Rescued at a young age from an orphanage she had called home for most of her life, Evangeline goes to live with an eccentric and rich woman named Leona. When Leona disappears without a trace, Evangeline learns that she is the sole heir to the woman's fortune, and she wastes no time in packing a cache of cash and heading for Spain, posing as the refined lady she had always longed to be. To her shock, Prince Danior of Baminia appears and announces that he is her fiancé. He insists that she is the Princess Ethelinda and that they must return immediately to her kingdom where they are to be married. Evangeline's protests are cut short when someone lobs a bomb into her room and Danior pulls her to safety, explaining all the while that evil forces are determined to kill them both to prevent their marriage and the subsequent joining of their two kingdoms. The two set off on the long journey to Princess Ethelinda's kingdom, with Evangeline feeling as if she's tumbled down the rabbit hole. Not only does Danior stubbornly refuse to listen to her, but he's determined to consummate their betrothal. Evangeline's determination to set right this wrong is sadly undermined by her own growing attraction to the powerful, dark-haired prince. Still, Evangeline knows she must convince him of her humble beginnings, for a prince could never truly love a simple girl such as herself. Who is right, Evangeline or Danior? Is Evangeline the Princess Ethelinda or isn't she? And if not, how will Danior cope with the deep love he feels for her?

My rating: 3 stars

122. Rules of Engagement (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Setting: London, 1840
Sensuality: 8
When Queen Victoria threatens to reveal a youthful indiscretion if her friend, Devon Mathewes, earl of Kerrich, doesn't strive for respectability, the rakish earl approaches the Academy of Governesses to hire a governess and orphan to sponsor, thus lending him an appearance of kindness and decency. Confident that she's safe from temptation since she despises rakes, Miss Pamela Lockhart disguises her youthful beauty and accepts Devon's outrageous offer of employment. But Pamela isn't prepared for the impact the handsome, blunt-spoken earl has on her heart. And Devon is fairly stunned to find himself attracted to the frumpy governess with her thick glasses and sharp moral lectures. While the two struggle with their intense attraction, serious skulduggery is afoot that involves Devon's family bank. The perpetrators may be closely tied to the Mathewes family and scandal looms large on the horizon. And while he should be concentrating on solving the threat to the bank, Pamela and her endearing orphan prove to be monumentally distracting. In the end, however, Devon may have to choose between the two, and either way, the loss will be tremendous.

My rating: 5 stars

Excerpt: [from Chapter 1]

This was the best day of the month, payday.

Miss Pamela Lockhart gave a light-hearted skip as she made her way toward home. The residential London street might be prematurely dark from the rain, she might be chilled and wretched, and once again she'd had to try to teach tone-deaf little Lorraine Dagworth how to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on the pianoforte, but she had easily collected the month's fee from Lorraine's mother. She had also, after a bit of struggle, collected from the aristocratic Lady Phillips. And finally she had given Lord Haggerty's son his dancing lesson and—while fending off both the younger man's groping and the older man's offer of an ignominious affair—secured the month's reimbursement without offending either of the loathsome gentlemen.

Yes, a governess's work proved difficult and occasionally abhorrent, but payday, glorious payday, made it all worthwhile, and as Pamela cut through the filthy, garbage-filled alley, she tipped up her head to the raindrops and laughed aloud—and stumbled to a halt.

Something snagged her skirt. A protruding board, perhaps, or…

A sharp point jabbed at her back and a rough voice snarled, "Give me that purse ye've got hidden in yer bosom, miss, an' I might spare yer life."

Pamela froze, heart pounding. That object… a knife! A thief held a knife to her back. He might stab her. She might die.

He wanted to steal her money.

The knife prodded her, and the man snarled right in her ear, sending the stench of gin and tobacco on the puff of foul breath. "I said, give me that purse. No denyin' ye've got it, miss. I saw ye at th' greengrocers payin' fer them pretty strawberries."

She clutched the bag with her purchase. Rain sluiced endlessly down. No one remained in sight; everyone with any sense had hurried home to sit before his fire and toast his toes. Only she remained, bait for this footpad who planned to steal her beautiful, hard-earned, just-collected cash.

The blade jabbed again, and the thieving fiend grabbed her arm hard enough to bruise it. "Are ye a half-wit? I said give me yer money or I'll kill ye."

Frustration roiled within her. Frustration, anger and despair.

The knife jabbed deeper. She felt the pop of threads as it cut through her gown and corset cover.

She snapped, "Let me think about it."