Rating: 
Summary: A delighful Sabrina like tale
Review: By 1843 all seventeen years old Celeste wanted was the love of Ellery Throckmorton, but the handsome noble never noticed the gardener's daughter. However his older brother Garrick sends Celeste to the highly respected Distinguished Academy of Governesses and after that to Paris.
Four years later, Ellery is betrothed to marry Hyacinth though he prefers to remain a bachelor, but sees Celeste and wants her. Garrick intercedes to insure that Celeste does not remain a distraction and thwart the wedding plans he has for his younger brother. However, he soon finds himself falling in love with the full of life Celeste, but she apparently loves his sibling.
IN MY WILDEST DREAMS, this reviewer never expected anyone to rewrite the classic Sabrina especially when the movie remake so paled in comparison to Hepburn-Bogart. However, the incomparable Christina Dodd provides her audience with a pleasant Victorian era rendition of Sabrina that sub-genre fans will enjoy. The story line is fun when Garrick's plan backfires and he falls in love with his target. Though a subplot involving espionage adds suspense, some readers will find it unnecessarily takes the reader away from a lovely historical romance that shows why Ms. Dodd is so highly regarded by fans. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Very Romantic - Copycat Story
Review: I actually enjoyed the romance in this story very much. The novel gets three stars because its not an original story, but a rewrite of another author's work. In fact the book is an exact copycat story of the 1954 film "Sabrina" starring Humphrey Bogart and the 1995 remake with Harrison Ford. The movie and book are the same except in the movie her father was the chaffeur. Still its a beautiful story. Her father is an employee of a very rich family. Celeste (and in the movie she was called Sabrina) has always watched and had a crush on the younger brother, Ellery. She goes away to school and becomes polished and returns hoping to have Ellery fall in love with her. The older brother, Garrick (who is in charge of the business and considered a ruthless businessman) notices and romances the girl himself to keep her away from his brother. And of course falls in love. The characters are good and the story is romantic. Very light hearted romance and I definitely recommend. In fact, if you like this romance I would recommend seeing both movies.
Rating: 
Summary: romantic plagiarism
Review: I actually enjoyed the romance in this story very much. The novel gets one star because it's not an original story, but a rewrite of another author's work. In fact the book is an exact copycat story of the 1954 film "Sabrina" starring Humphrey Bogart and the 1995 remake with Harrison Ford. The movie and book are the same except in the movie her father was the chauffeur. Still it's a beautiful story. Her father is an employee of a very rich family. Celeste (and in the movie she was called Sabrina) has always watched and had a crush on the younger brother, Ellery. She goes away to school and becomes polished and returns hoping to have Ellery fall in love with her. The older brother, Garrick (who is in charge of the business and considered a ruthless businessman) notices and romances the girl himself to keep her away from his brother. And of course falls in love. The characters are good and the story is romantic. Very light hearted romance but the original movie is better.
Rating: 
Summary: Sabrina 1843 w/ more romance & a stronger heroine
Review: I honestly don't understand the ruckus over the Sabrina theme. There are no new stories; the differences come in the details & the telling. And Christina Dodd has done a fabulous job of rewriting the "Sabrina" storyline, which is itself a variation of the Cinderella story. Personally, I enjoyed the correlation. Garrick is my favorite of the Governess heroes; he's strong, intelligent, and interesting, but not overly macho. Responsible almost to a fault, but not at all "high in the instep," Garrick starts out seducing Celeste to keep her away from younger brother Ellery, but winds up falling for her. Celeste, meanwhile, comes to admire & then love the inigmatic older brother, although she'd had her heart set on Ellery, who is newly betrothed in an important family alliance. Ellery is a self-centered adult boy, much like the younger brother in "Sabrina." Garrick is a widower who desperately needs a governness for his daughter and...another girl. Celeste, the head gardener's daughter, is the perfect fit; the girls love her instantly. The chemistry & sensuality are there; Celeste & Garrick are a thoroughly believeable couple. The spy storyline worked for me; it was just enough for the tone of the book. I considered giving it 5 stars, but 4 & 1/2 is more accurate.
Rating:
Summary: Sabrina 1843 w/ more romance & a stronger heroine
Review: I honestly don't understand the ruckus over the Sabrina theme. There are no new stories; the differences come in the details & the telling. And Christina Dodd has done a fabulous job of rewriting the "Sabrina" storyline, which is itself a variation of the Cinderella story. Personally, I enjoyed the correlation. Garrick is my favorite of the Governess heroes; he's strong, intelligent, and interesting, but not overly macho. Responsible almost to a fault, but not at all "high in the instep," Garrick starts out seducing Celeste to keep her away from younger brother Ellery, but winds up falling for her. Celeste, meanwhile, comes to admire & then love the inigmatic older brother, although she'd had her heart set on Ellery, who is newly betrothed in an important family alliance. Ellery is a self-centered adult boy, much like the younger brother in "Sabrina." Garrick is a widower who desperately needs a governness for his daughter and...another girl. Celeste, the head gardener's daughter, is the perfect fit; the girls love her instantly. The chemistry & sensuality are there; Celeste & Garrick are a thoroughly believeable couple. The spy storyline worked for me; it was just enough for the tone of the book. I considered giving it 5 stars, but 4 & 1/2 is more accurate.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written & entertaining, but it's still Sabrina!
Review: I wish I'd read the reviews here before I checked this out of the library! Then I would not have been so surprised when, a couple of pages into the book, I thought, "Wait a minute, this is Sabrina's plot!!" So the rest of the book I had to picture Humphrey Bogart as Garrick and Audrey Hepburn as Celeste! But that's all right, as the book was enjoyable anyway. After all, Sabrina doesn't have the suspenseful subplot involving the Russians, although I do not feel that was well enough explained, really. I almost felt that the book needed a prequel to set up the whole "Great Game" thing, along with the many mysterious references to the "family business". That said, Celeste, Garrick and Ellery are all well-done characters, even if we've already met them on film. The plot has its little twists and turns, but you know how it ends before you even begin (if you didn't, you wouldn't be a romance reader!). I loved Celeste's sassiness especially, even as I grew tired of Garrick's glowering. If you want a predictable, sweet romantic tale, this is a good read. If you want a novel plot, well, look at one of Christina Dodd's many other wonderful books.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I'd just got done reading One Kiss From You and was looking forward to another fun read. I nearly didn't get past the first 50 pages because it was such a scene for scene rip off of the movie "Sabrina" -- yup, should have read the other reviews here first *sigh*. Anyway.. I figured I'd go along and see if it possibly got any better (read, different from the movies I love). There were some twists and turns along the way, but it really felt like the whole thing was just grafted on to that storyline. I really wonder how it made it through to publication. I'm hoping the other few Dodd books I ordered are better than this... if they're not, I'm liable to stay clear of her stuff in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: OK, I have never seen this movie Sabrina. Honestly never heard of it. Maybe that is why I liked it so much. The movie must be good, because this book was great. I really dont care that it is a copy cat story. It is one of the best in the series. Celest was a very smart woman. She was pretty and very independent. We first meet her while she is a young woman living with the Thockmortons. Then she goes to Pairs, comes back polished and takes everyone by storm. She thinks she loves Ellery and plans to snare him. Enter Garrick. Hard man, head of the family with a stone face. When we mix these two, its like mixing night and day. What an effect they have on eachother. Celest and Garrick have their own awakening. You can almost see when Garrick's light bulb turns on. I loved this book. Sabrina or no Sabrina this book is a winner and I highly recomend it. Enjoy!!
Rating:
Summary: Much better
Review: This book much was a lot better than all of the other ones I have read so far. It flowed so much better and made a little bit more sense. Celeste has always thought herself in love with Ellery and when she comes back from Paris to take a job as Governess at his brothers request she thinks that is the perfect time to win Ellery over. Garrick Thockmorton can not allow Celeste to mess up the engagement with Ellery and his fiancé so Garrick decides to seduce Celeste.
Celeste is a very smart woman. She is always smiling and has a good way, most of the time, of thinking of life. When she finds out what Garrick has done she makes him pay for it and basically makes him beg, but not too much. I loved the end of this book because Garrick had to come out of his shell of what he should be and who he was. Garrick grew up the oldest and thought he had to be a certain way so he stopped being him and was the person he thought he should be. Celeste makes him lose that control. He try's to fight it but of course loses. Garrick can get on the nerves, but really what man can't. He is very proud man and stubborn. He is a very smart man when it comes to business. Garrick and Celeste are really good characters together because they complement each other so well. Celeste will not let him be too arrogant without putting him in his place and Garrick will not let Celeste back away from certain feelings.
This book was a really good read. The characters are great and I think that is what made the book.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Nice Dream
Review: This was my first read in Dodd's Governess Series and I was not disappointed. The SABRINA-esque storyline is apparent from the first few chapters yet the characters themselves and the regency setting kept my interest. The author also adds an underlying spy intrigue for some suspense in between the sizzling love scenes. All of the characters in this novel make up an excellent ensemble and the writing has them interacting and behaving in very believable ways. This was an enjoyable read which got me hooked to learn more about Dodd's other governesses!
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