Review by Veronica

These are affiliate links. This means when you use them to purchase a book, we earn a small commission that helps keep more great content coming your way with no additional cost to you!
Win-win 🙂

Series Name: Lairds of the Isles, #1

“This woman was dangerous. Bad enough to be knowingly employing a Sassenach to educate his child. A Sassenach this beautiful would cause havoc everywhere she went.” 

A Laird for the Governess will transport you to the Scottish Highlands where you will get swept away in a love story that will capture your heart. 

A penniless governess

And the dour Laird of Ardmore

Lydia Farnham must travel to a remote Scottish island to work for widower Alasdair MacDonald, who doesn’t trust her or her unconventional teaching methods! Yet as his daughter flourishes, so, too, does the intense connection between Lydia and Alasdair. Only she should know better than to fall for the handsome laird when it could leave her without a job, or a home…

Laird for the Governess is just one of those books that draw you in right away, and before you know it, the day has gone, and you realize you have read the whole book in one sitting. Catherine really did create a masterpiece with this book. I laughed, cried, and fell in love with all these wonderful characters and found myself becoming invested in what happened to them. I wanted them to all have the happy endings that they deserved. The setting in this book was just utter perfection; Catherine painted such lush and vibrant images in my head of South Uist (the island this book takes place on) and Castle Ardmore. Catherine’s descriptions had me wanting to pack my bags and fly on over to the Highlands and spend time exploring these beautiful lands.

I can’t decide which relationship I adored more, the one between Lydia and Alasdair or Mairead and Lydia. Let’s start with the relationship between Mairead and Lydia. Their friendship was so cute. Mairead is a lovely and fierce child and quickly found a place in my heart. I loved how Lydia and Mairead’s relationship as governess and student grew to friendship and became more maternal. The moments between these two were sweet and heartfelt and always had me smiling.

The romantic relationship between Lydia and Alasdair was just so wonderful. If you are a fan of forced proximity love affairs, you will love the romance in this book. Alasdair is that handsome broody Scotsman with a heart of gold under that gruff exterior. The way he adores his daughter Mairead just made my heart-melt. Both characters have pasts that have made them wary of pursuing any romantic relationships. Lydia and Alasdair’s past experiences often shaped how they interacted with each other. Alasdair was often moody and very abrupt with Lydia and she was distant and polite to Alasdair. But as they spend more time together, those walls start to crumble and they both realize that their feelings for the other are something worth pursuing. For me, their relationship was realistic, and the chemistry and love between them was believable and often had me swooning

I am super excited about the next books in this series. I hope Catherine focuses on the stories of Angus and Eilidh Ruadh.

Thank you Mills and Boon, Harlequin, and Rachel Random Resources for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.