Virginia Heath's latest is a gem, the first in her new series about governesses! 📚😍 It features an opposites attract romance, hilarious supporting characters, and a household that's more informal chaos than proper regency. The slow-blossoming romance had me hooked as the main characters navigated their prejudices; his against chaos and flexibility and hers against naval men. 🌹💑 Can't wait for the next one!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was SO FRICKIN GOOD, I'm actually tearing up in the airport now over the ending?? 😭

It was gripping and entertaining right from the start, and the banter between the MCs (and with all the secondary characters, especially the very adorable kids and dog(s)) was so so funny and wholesome.

Virginia Heath has definitely become an auto-buy author for me <3

A fun rom-com, I enjoyed Virginia Heath’s All is Fair in Love and War. It was cool to see a regency book about more middle class people and see how precariously women, and young girls, depended on their husbands and fathers. To counter balance this heavy stuff, Miss P’s school and its characters were sparkling, even if unfortunately underutilized in the novel.

I rate the book a solid 3.5 which could have been bumped up to a four if some editorial changes had been made. The story is as really good, the dialogue was witty and fun, and the side characters were great too. Sadly the storytelling was a bit off. Everytime there was dialogue between the main characters the narration would go too far inside their heads with pages of background. While I was left to skim pages until I could get to replies, there was too much info dumping. The side characters could have been better utilised to tease this background out more appropriately. The story kept me going to the end, but the writing style frustrated me until I got there!

I look forward to seeing if the author can improve this in future novels, she definitely has the potential!

Holy cuteness. This was an entertaining book and I loved it.

Hero: Henry Kincaid aka Captain, aka Uncle Harry. A person who gets twitchy if things are not structured pr regimented. Gaining some weight. Loves his rambunctious neices and nephew and dogs and lusts after and falls in love with one wild red haired governess. About 30 years and one of the youngest rising stars in the navy. Jilted by his fiance leaving him a little wary of love

Heroine: Georgie, 28, governess who cannot interview. Has very strong opinions. Orphaned but has 2 very good friends. On her first job taking care of heros nephew and nieces. Has an unconventional method of teaching.

The whole storyline is very focused on the 2 main characters and how they merge their very real emotions and feelings. Their attraction is strong, and initially Georgie does not see Harry as anything but a prig with 2 watches. But as time goes by she is taken in by his love for his family, his staff and how steadfast he is and his gorgeousness. The kids are hilarious and delightful and very precocious but she gently wields her wand over them.

Harry has the hots for Georgie right off the bat, but knows he cannot take it anywhere, but then she starts to chip way his wall and he is taken in by her, her openess and her passion. He has to make some tough choices between his goals and his love and his penitence in the end is very endearing.

Overall a light, funny read, but with depth of character and emotions.

Heath continues to knock it out of the park. This was sweet and the little kids were sweet, and Henry the mmc was great. His precision and befuddlement were genuinely hilarious and there was a real journey btn the two lovers which made me happy. Can’t wait for the next book in the series.

When Harry’s sister left on a vacation with her husband, she left her three children, 10, 9, and 5 with him. Harry’s life is the navy, and he has a ship to ready so is desperate for a governess. Georgie finished her training as a governess 2 years ago, but she still doesn’t’ have a job. She is too outspoken. Harry employs her anyway and off she goes to his house. Harry has everything planned out including the classroom. Georgie prefers to teach the way that will work with the children and that is not Harry’s plan. The contrast in the way Harry and Georgie see life makes for a lot of disagreements even though they are attracted to each other. The dogs in the story add a lot of humor. The children are not used to schedules and Georgie is very clever in getting them to do what is needed. This story is full of humor, family, and love. Great book and characters.

I've gotta say, after reading Heath's last series and only truly falling in love with 1 out of 3, I was hesitant to pick up another one. BUT, I'm so glad that I did! ALL"S FAIR was a delightful new take on a regency romance, and I was here for it.

Then again - I'm basically a sucker for any novel with amusing or ridiculous children at the forefront - so maybe take my word with a grain of salt. Or don't - totally your call.

rating: 4 STARS
genre: historical romance
format: ebook
release date: 5/28/2024

This romance was really fun for me because it didn't take place between the Lords and Ladies of the ton as they prepared for another season trying to lock down a marriage. This focused on both a FMC and an MMC who were not looking to (or could not) get married, but found themselves in forced proximity anyway. And that was so much fun!

Read if you like:
- Forced Proximity mixed with Fake Dating
- Forbidden Romance
- Quirky heroines
- Hilarious children working behind the scenes

This was my first book by this author, and I found it absolutely delightful. Georgie and Harry were great characters and a great couple. I loved their banter and the way their relationship developed. The nieces, nephew, and the dogs were all lovable and cute, adding humor to the story, and the adult side characters were also fun. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author. Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC via NetGalley.

Just finished the delightful ARC for “All’s Fair in Love and War” - an outspoken (red-headed!) new governess is looking for her first posting, and an uptight naval captain has just been unexpectedly saddled with his three niblings for a few months.

Sparks fly, of course, as they both need to navigate the divide between the expectations of duty to their employers and what, it seems, their hearts actually yearn for.

Each character is distinct and well-rounded, the dialogue is funny - I can’t get over the Captain mis-quoting military geniuses the whole time - and the plot is wholly satisfying.

Definitely recommended for fans of historic romance!

5/5 stars

I promised myself I was taking a short break from ARCs for a bit because my bookshelf is becoming a bit overwhelming. However, I was invited (me?! Invited?) to read this Virginia Heath book and I couldn’t stop myself because I swoon over her books.

Georgie is an orphan and a would-be governess who is too strong-willed to land a job. Harry is an admiral who is dumped with his sister’s children while she adventures for several months. He hires her to teach them in her absence. You can, of course, imagine what happens.

Read this if you love a strong female lead, enemies to lovers (kind of? They aren’t QUITE enemies but definitely aren’t friends at the beginning…), and a “he falls first” trope.

This is a wonderful story of found family, growing with others. The side characters are so fun and the children are just the cutest! Harry and Georgie are so clearly perfect for each other - this book made me smile the entire time. Overall, a really easy, happy read!

Slow going story with a lot of repetitive dialog. Sound of Music theme of governess bringing joy and the dour man (in this case uncle) not amused.

It was okay. I don't like large age gaps so I wouldn't have downloaded it if I knew that.

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed. And whole would have thought Regency Rom coms were a thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this book very much. The characters were so likeable. Will Henry be out new book boyfriend. The banter and sweet jokes were what did it for me. I'm looking forward to more.

reading this book led me to read virginia heath's entire bibliography - and i am glad i started with this book, because her growth as a writer is super evident. i found myself rooting so much more for these two characters than i did for any of the others in her books. can't wait to read the next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"All's Fair in Love and War" is Virginia Heath's latest Regency-era romantic comedy and it's a fun and fast read. The premise is silly and fun and the cast of characters are well fleshed-out. Our main characters, Georgie and Harry, have realistic limitations and hurdles to overcome in their relationship; the side characters, especially the children, are sweet and funny. This was a quick, enjoyable read and a fun addition to this genre!

A great start to a new series by Virginia Heath. I really enjoyed the governess school set up and look forward to more stories in this world.

There is a bit of clunkiness in the book at times. They have to dedicate a lot of time to setting the scene but like the Merriwell Sister’s series, I suspect each book to be better than the last.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story!
Spoilers to Follow!!!

The cover of this story, as well as it's synopsis intrigued me greatly but the story I read was not what I expected at all. To start, there were a lot of long winded paragraphs. Pages and pages and pages of nothing but the characters musings of current events. I'm sure this isn't the first book I've read that's done this but it was the first one that was so painfully obvious.

These long paragraphs sometimes even interrupted dialogue so that when one person spoke, the other person's reply was leagues away from it as the author delved into background knowledge or other details. It took me so out of the story and the original conversations that I would sometimes have to go back and re-read the first half to remember what they were even talking about.

I was also immediately confused when people started referring to the Love Interest as "Harry" and not "Henry" which is what the synopsis said his name was. The MMC even referred to himself as Harry in his POV's and he answered to both names in the story without any explanation.

Some of the language was also very... cringy. I know it might have been the language of the time but I couldn't sand it especially when some of the phrases were repeated often. Things such as Harry (Henry?) referring to himself as "in his prime" or when he mentioned (embarrassingly often) that he wanted to "Sow his wild oats". There was also way too much "finger wagging" in the entire story. Henry (Harry?) said Georgie scolded him and the children often in this way.

His behavior towards Georgie also didn't sit right with me. From his own POV's he often thought of her as useless and resented her for her actions despite Georgie constantly proving him wrong.

As for Georgie herself I found her delightful. She was funny and smart and showed how capable she was but I hated how the author kept giving Henry (Harry?) reasons to dislike her by putting her in situations that would piss him off. (i.e the classroom scene where Norbert wrecked the classroom, and the scene with Norbert and the frog, etc.) It didn't seem fair to Georgie as these things were not in her control and without these factors, everything would have run smoothly for her as a governess. I will say though that Georgie referred to herself as a "compact girl" too often (I think she meant she was petite? Tiny? I'm unsure) and there was one line where she said "Her womb tightened" and I about laughed my ass off.

I ope the author made a lot of changes to the story overall for the final product. The ARC I read was 339 pages but the final version is something like 380 pages. I can't even begin to imagine what would length the book by almost 50 more pages but I hope it's better than what I read.

What an adorable and enjoyable romance for lovers of historical fiction and 90s-2000s rom-coms. What I enjoy about Virginia Heath's books is that they are filled with everything one might enjoy about historical romances, but with a much lighter and modern sensibility instilled in the characters. So we avoid the baggage of old fashioned attitudes, but still get the slow burn, the chivalry, the simmering tension of a main couple, along with humor and silly kids and a dog named Norbert driving much of the plot! This book brings strong Jane Eyre and Sound of Music vibes, but with much more satisfying and scintillating encounters than those beloved classics had - the benefit of a romance published in the 21st century even if it is a regency.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

All’s Fair in Love and War is an absolutely charming book. The plot centers around Georgie, a governess is desperate need of a job, and Harry, an uncle in desperate need of a governess to teach his nieces and nephew.
Georgie is the perfect the female main character. I loved that she was strong-minded and never backed down from what she wanted for her life. The slow-burn between Georgie and Harry is perfectly executed. My one flaw with the book is I would have liked more to the ending as it did seem slightly rushed compared to the pace of the rest of the book. Overall, this is a really well done historical romance and I highly recommend picking this one up
Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own.