The Governess Club: Louisa

Louisa wasn't the easiest heroine to like. She was cold, distant, and abrasive. The hard facade she presented to the world shielded her secrets from one and all, but it didn't hide the passionate woman she was. That woman appeared more often than not. That woman took my breath away. Her strength and competence shone bright in those moments, and it helped soften her hard edges a lot.

Man, oh, man, did Ms. Macdonald write Louisa the perfect hero though. A lesser man would have hurt her physically or emotionally or verbally for pretty much anything she did. But John… What an amazing man. A former pugilist with a heart of gold, gentle words, and a tender touch, he exhibited an infinite amount a patience and understanding with Louisa. An example of this is when he showed her how to nail shingles to a roof. It's not a romantic moment, but it made me smile and it showed a lot about his character.

John and Louisa's romance was a wonder to watch happen, but not as much as the change that happened to Louisa when her past caught up to her and her secrets were revealed, when she realized who and what she'd become and how much she didn't like that woman. That moment was brilliantly written. It brought her past and present to one single point in time and helped everything else in John and Louisa's world fall into place.

This is the fourth and last book in this series. It sucks when you have to say goodbye to characters you've grown to love, you know? But it was an incredible journey about four very different women who found friendship in their club and discovered love outside of it.