From the Stacks: The Observations of a Curious Governess by Viveka Portman

Today's From the Stacks review is the fourth book The Regency Diaries series by Viveka Portman: The Observations of a Curious Governess.

Viveka Portman’s latest installment in the sexiest set of diaries you have ever read...

When Miss Martha Swan enters the fine home of Lord and Lady Stanton to become a governess, she is full of lofty ideals. Yet something is amiss in the hallowed halls of Stanton: whispers, laughter, and something darker and more wicked echoes from behind closed doors, and Martha is determined to find out what.

She soon discovers that all is not as it seems in this stately home. The lord and lady have secrets-- lustful, carnal, shameful secrets that could spell ruination for all. Martha wants to be appalled, but she finds herself intrigued, and when her long-time friend Mr Jonathan Reeves comes to visit, Martha conceives a daring plan to assuage her curiosity.

Thing are not so simple however, as neither Martha nor Jonathan have the money to marry. Nothing can come from this relationship-- nothing but the experience of ecstasy. In such a situation, what is a curious governess to do?

Overall rating: 5 stars

Curiosity can be a dangerous trait to have, and Martha's curiosity leads her to an awakening in sexual matters. At the same time it was delightful to read her observations as she begins to explore herself and her body's needs, all the while witnessing some of the debauchery taking place around her. It's been a while since I read the second one (Cecelia Stanton's story) but I think these two take place at basically the same time.

I liked seeing another view of the scandalous goings-ons of Lord and Lady Stanton. And obviously where Martha is shocked by what is going on and is concerned about keeping the secrets of both the Lord and Lady Stanton, who both seem to be having affairs, we readers of the whole series already know the outcome for the couple. So maybe it didn't seem as shocking to me as I read this one, though I understood Martha's surprise at it all.

In this fourth installment of the Regency diaries series, Martha is resigned to basically being a spinster, and has become a governess in order to help set aside for her sisters' dowries, in the hopes that they will make more advantageous marriages. She believes they will stand a better chance at finding suitable husbands as they are lovelier than she is. Of course, Martha has her own longings; she pines for a young man, Jonathan Reeves, who she could never marry as they could not hope to have a financially stable life.

But then Jonathan Reeves walks back into her life, as he does some work for Lord Stanton. This complicates things for Martha a bit, but then she decides to take matters into her own hands. If she is to live the life of a spinster, then at least she can indulge her body's physical desires just once with the man she wishes she could have. Right? Because obviously one time and her curiosity will be sated.

Not so much.

It was a delight to see how matters worked out for Miss Martha Swan and Mr Jonathan Reeves. I won't spoil the details for you, but in romance series, you basically expect happy endings, so you can take a guess at what happens. Also, based on certain events in the course of this novella, I believe we might get to see Mrs. Maria Reeves story at some point in future.

This is a wickedly delightful series and I hope to read many more stories by Viveka Portman. I recommend this series of quick and scandalous reads very much. So far the series consists of: The Secret Diary of Lady Catherine Bexley (#1), The Wicked Confessions of Lady Cecelia Stanton (#2), and The Private Affairs of Lady Jane Fielding (#3).