i will not be rating or reviewing outside of netgalley as long as st. martin's press is still under boycott.

Georgie had a horrible childhood, getting dragged up and down the country with her ruthlessly strict military stepfather, and as a new governess, she's determined to help children learn and find joy in life. But when she's hired to teach and care for the three rambunctious Pendleton children, she finds her easygoing ways at odds with their punctual, exacting uncle Harry. But opposites attract, and Georgie and Harry can't deny their attraction to one another for very long.

There's something reminiscent of The Sound of Music in this story, though it's definitely steamier and has fewer kids. I appreciate the characters (the kids in particular are fantastic, as is their crazy dog), and the setup for a series featuring Georgie's governess pals. The changes that bring them together for their happily ever after are a bit rushed at the end, but overall, it's a solid Regency romance.

I loved the author's last book, so I was really looking forward to reading this one. But unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy the story as much. I wasn't a fan of the pacing and had to push myself to finish it. But even though it wasn't my cup of tea, I believe other people might enjoy it.

I thought this was such a great and playful book! I was not able to finish it in its entirety, but I plan on buying a copy! Between both main characters backgrounds and how hard they had to fight to not be completely overcome themselves!

Absolutely charmed! It's truly impressive when the inception of a new series not only delves into the background of characters destined for future books but does so with finesse, avoiding the pitfalls of info-dumping. This narrative not only weaves a compelling story around the main characters but also provides an engaging peek into the lives of Georgie's friends, promising a rich tapestry for the entire series.

At the tender age of 16, Georgie Rowe found herself enrolled in a prestigious school for governesses, courtesy of her detestable step-father – her sole remaining relative following her mother's tragic demise from smallpox. The real tale unfolds six years later as Georgie, the last of her friends to secure a position, becomes entwined in the household of Captain Harry Kincaid. Entrusted with the care of his sister's lively children and their canine companion, Harry, a disciplined naval officer burdened with immense responsibilities, embodies order and strict time management. Georgie, a spirited rebel, navigates the challenges of managing the Captain and the energetic children, paving the way for a slow-burning love story against a backdrop of a significant change in location and delightful moments with the children and supporting characters. Throughout, Georgie grapples with the trauma of her past, haunted by recollections of her abusive stepfather, providing depth to her character.

As a devotee of slow-burn romances, this narrative truly captivated me. The romantic tension is palpable without succumbing to painful angst. A touch of miscommunication is skillfully resolved through a grand gesture, maintaining a perfect balance. Not to be overlooked, a scene-stealing canine companion adds heartwarming moments, catering to the sentiments of my fellow animal lovers.

This is one of my favorite authors so I really don’t want to say anything negative. You should still give it a try. Maybe it picks up a bit, but after 25% into it, I just didn’t want to force it anymore. It was slow starting and lots of text between the dialogue. (I like dialogue!) I’m sorry, it was DNF for me.

This was a cute romance but missed the mark for me in a few scenes. Also, the pacing felt off? Some pages felt rushed and others seemed to drag, but the natural ebb and flow, the tension and such, seemed forced or unnatural at times. A nice distraction, but it wasn't my favourite. Nice enough though, that I'll continue the series.

This is one of those books that was really cute and I enjoyed it, but it had moments that could have been better so I think 3.5 is my rating.

I enjoyed Harry and Georgie's romance and the kids were lovable, I wish we could have more of them in the story.

The only thing that made me not want to give this book a higher rating was the intimacy sciences. I don't think all romance books need one, but if you are going to have one then do it right! This book felt like the author was trying to keep it PG 13 but then changed her mind and we were left in this limbo. If you don't want to describe the act that's fine, symbolism could have been used to imply what happened between them, but saying "he touched me down there" feels so awkward, she is not a child neither the readers and I just found it a bit annoying!

But overall I enjoyed the story and won't mind reading the next one :)

3.5/5 Absolutely whimsical!

I was surprised at the author's take on a slow-burn, having read the Merriwell Sisters trilogy. I enjoyed Georgie and Henry's dynamic, and I'm always a sucker for delightful children pushing a romance between the leads. The tension was delicious.

My caveat with this book was the good old miscommunication issues. I'm also not a fan of big gestures in order to get the couple back together. But that is more a personal preference, and it's only a few issues I have with an overwhelmingly enjoyable book.

It made me laugh, it made me cry, and best of all: it made me want the next one!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. A cute historical romance with some cute children and a !! dog !!

I personally haven't read a lot of regency romances but I'm glad that this is the book that got me into it, All's Fair in Love and War is set in the early 19th-century England. Henry Kincaid is a naval captain who was left in charge of his sister's children and dog, he had no experience in managing them, so he hires Georgina Rowe who is a governess for a school for girls. When we're first introduced to Georgina, she immediately became one of my favorite characters, she brings laughter, adventure, and discovery to the children and this captures Henry's attention. It's a slow burn romance which is one of my favorite tropes, it's also a heartwarming read which delivers humor, romance, and well-written characters. I fully enjoyed reading this one!

This book was adorable. I have a love for all things classic literature, so when I saw the title of this book, I had to get my hands on a copy. I especially couldn’t resist when I then saw it was a historical romance.

The story was the definition of slow burn, and it was absolute perfection. The pining between the main characters had me chomping at the bit, eagerly anticipating what they would do next. They had this chemistry that made me grin with giddiness, the subtle glances, and desperate energy was palpable. Even if they continued to deny their attraction, it was still so glee inducing.

Georgie’s boisterous and headstrong nature, was the exact opposite of Harry’s craving for organized perfection and obsessive need for control. The two of them could not be more different, yet so similar and they both craved a sense of belonging and assurance. They could not have been more perfect for each other. I’m
So glad I had the opportunity, thanks to NetGalley, to experience this beautiful world.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book for the first 20 or so percent. The main male character, Harry, is SUCH a dork but by the end…I loved him. I loved the romance and the characters and how they changed. This ended up being a very lovely read.

I really had to slog through this book and kind of fell into a reading slump during it. It wasn’t necessarily bad just not for me, it just felt very repetitive and honestly a little boring. I liked the concept for this better than Trouble by Lex Croucher, aka the other historical-romcom-ARC-with-an-unconventional-governess-taking-care-of-kids-for-a-stoic-naval-captain that I read last month (did a bunch of authors do a Sound of Music rewatch recently?), but in execution it ended up just not working for me.

Some of the major things I didn’t like:
- Georgie and Harry were constantly in their heads, so a ton of the backstory, thoughts about the other characters, etc. was happening internally and felt like info dumping. Basically a lot of telling rather than showing
- The entirety of the third act break up Harry and Georgie were so annoying
- SPOILERS but Harry randomly deciding to fake an engagement with Georgie was the dumbest decision ever and would’ve had nothing but bad consequences for him literally why would he do this. We get he’s kind of irrational around her but come on now
- The amount of times I had to read Harry call Georgie a vixen/siren or Georgie call herself Saint Joan/Joan of Arc should’ve been illegal

There were some positives. The banter between Harry and Georgie was cute sometimes. They liked each other a lot and it was cute how they were both fighting against that attraction (I love some good dual POV). Also the way they both bonded with the kids was sweet. As usual I always tend to remember the things I disliked in a review more than the ones I liked bc I’m a very picky person so take all my negativity with a grain of salt.

Overall this book was pretty mediocre, but I think the things I disliked were pretty subjective. We’ll see if I ever read more Virginia Heath, but don’t take this review as a reason to totally write off this book or her works as a whole. I guess it just wasn’t for me

This was the first time reading from this author and it was a cute story that didn't disappoint.

I usually do not read historical romances, but this was so cute and easy to follow. This was written well that you wanted to find out what comes next. was a page turner and i really enjoyed the writing.

It was a slow burn but stick with it because it is well worth the read.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

****4 stars!

“Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems.”

First I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an arc of this wonderful book! I am honored to have been given a chance to read it and give an honest review.

I was really excited to give this book a read, I absolutely love the governess romance trope! I thought Georgie and Henry were really interesting and complex characters that meshed very well. I loved how both of their personalities seemed to clash at first and how different they seemed to be to one another, that made their romance very interesting!

I also really adored Felix, Marianne, Grace and especially Norbet! I loved all of the little antics and trouble they all got up to, which only seemed to push Henry and Georgie closer to one another. They were all so ridiculously sweet and precious!

While I really enjoyed this book, I did wish there was less internal monologue and more conversation/dialogue between the characters instead. Other than that, I had a lot of fun reading this book and I do look forward to reading the next book in this series!

This is a book I would highly recommend if you’re a fan of Historical Romances and The Merriwell Sisters series! Virginia Heath is one of my favorite historical romance authors and I absolutely can’t wait to read more of her wonderful books!

All's Fair in Love and War was a slow start at the beginning but eventually captivated me and had me wanting to read one more chapter each night. I love how the story played out and how the author wrote a perfect balance of details and descriptions to help the reader visualize what was happening. Some of the dialogue was hard to figure out who was saying what and needed some rereading to figure it out. I can’t wait to read the next set of books.

This is my first novel that I've read written by Virginia Heath and it didn't disappoint. As a lover of historical romances, romances, and anything that has to do with history in general, this book. Regency romances never fail to deliver on something so risque, yet so tempting that it becomes a page turner that anyone would enjoy.

I did struggle with pacing at some points as the two MCs danced around their emotions, though this is disguised as a slow burn. I do like a slow burn, but it has to be executed well! It felt true to character and the histories of both of their stories.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I can always count on Virginia Heath to deliver a fun and sweet Regency romance, and this one delivered. Captain Henry "Harry" Kincaid, is committed to his career in the Royal Navy, and is determined to obtain the rank of Admiral in the near future. He likes order in his work and his life, and expects it from others around him. One day, Harry's older sister literally dumps her three unruly children, and one very large, unruly dog, at Harry's home so she can join her husband on an expedition to Egypt. Harry goes in search of a governess, and hurriedly hires Georgina "Georgie" Rowe, who, after seven years of training to be a governess, has not found employment due to her inability to contain her opinions.

From this beginning, Heath unfolds her story, and it's delightful. Harry and Georgie find that they can't stop thinking about each other, the children (and their dog) create quite a few funny scenarios, and the side characters add a sprinkling of wisdom and humor to the book. I did find myself flagging during the middle section of the book, but the last third moved quickly, and had a satisfying resolution.

This was a fun book to read.

Virginia Heath is the master of historical fiction, and her newest book is no exception to this rule! Heath's newest book, "All's Fair in Love and War" is the first in the "Miss Prentice's Protegees" series. In this book, Georgie has been trained as a governess, but since she does things in her own creative, spontaneous way, she's had a hard time finding employment. Along comes Navy captain Henry, whose sister has just dropped off her kids before sailing around the world. As he's desperate, he can't afford to be picky so Georgie moves to his house to help him with his new charges. While she may be exasperating to him, he can't deny that she's fantastic with the children and somehow her methods work. Along the way, Henry and Georgie are surprised to discover that maybe they shouldn't give up on love after all.

I really enjoyed the slow burn between Henry and Georgie and thought they had great chemistry. I also really liked the relationship between Georgie and the children, and thought their sweet devotion to each other was really inspiring. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.