I actually started reading Julie Klassen's Ivy Cottage series and dropped it (not because it was bad or anything) but in the back of my head I always wanted to read this one first. It's just how my brain works.

I have a thing for reading about governesses and especially those in a gothic-ish setting; they are being treated poorly, don't get paid enough, and don't know whether they belong upstairs or downstairs. But somehow they still make the best of it, and well if they end up marrying the heir, even better.

Olivia Keene runs away from home thinking she has committed a crime. Running into the forest she comes across a couple of unsavory men, one of whom try to strangle her which is how she loses her voice temporarily. However she overhears a secret which could change Lord Bradley's life as he knows it. So to keep watch over her he hires Olivia as a governess to his cousins. The plot moves fast; I wasn't bored for a moment. Some of the twists you see coming and some you don't.

Now the The Silent Governess wasn't the gothic romance (I don't even know why I am labeling this as one) I was looking for but I still enjoyed reading it a lot. I really really loved how each chapter began with quotes about a day in the life of a governess (and servants) or from retired governesses themselves. The romance was still good and the characters were nice, I mean even some of the main villains weren't that evil. I can't remember the last time I read a book where I had this feeling of niceness throughout about 95% of the book. And that's nice.

It might seem like I didn't really like the book but I did. Another book of hers was on sale on Kindle so I bought it and I put another book of hers on hold.