Rating: 
Summary: Infuriating
Review: I have not read too many books by Christina Dodd, but the ones I had read prior to Rules of Surrender were wonderful. This book simply made me angry. Our hero has been off with the bedoins in the Sahara for 13 years or so and has adopted their annoying male chauvinism. I found nothing lovable about Wynter and could not figure out what their love or attraction was supposed to be based on. What are we supposed to see in him? Charlotte does not seem to like him and yet decides she's in love with him. He was overbearing and seemed to browbeat her into submission. He had awful opinions about women and their subservient roles and second class emotions. To top it all off, the love scenes were all coerced and read like rape fantasies . . . definitely off putting. I did not enjoy this book. I spent the whole time reading it expecting her to slap him and yell at him, which never happened.
Rating: 
Summary: Surrender your heart
Review: This first of the Governess series is a romp thru Regency England with a touch of the Middle East and a glimpse backwards at some friends from previous novels. Lord Wynter Ruskin has finally come home with his two children and his mother, Lady Adorna Ruskin has hired Lady Charlotte Dalrumple to tutor her granchildren into proper English decorum. What Lady Adorna does not tell Lady Charlotte is that she has one other pupil she is to tutor in proper English manners - lord Wynter. Lord Wynter, who having lived with the Bedouins in the desert has picked up some very strange habits! The dialog is witty, and so humourous, you will find yourself with quite a few belly laughs and the addition of the children who in their innocence 'do say the darndest things' - well suffice it to say, that Ms. Dodd never fails to satisfy in the dialog department. Definitely a refreshing and enjoyable read. I look forward to the next two novels in this trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: My first book by Ms. Dodd, but definitely not my last!
Review: I purchased this book on an impulse, and finished it in 1 day! Christina Dodd transports the reader to another time and place, and makes you fall in love with a wonderful "wild" man, Wynter, his children and their wise but lonely governess, Charlotte. The plot is interesting and there is plenty of comic relief (especially whenever Wynter tries to shock Charlotte with his desert ways). The characters, from the children to their grandmother, are well developed and active participants in the story line. The romance that blossoms between the two main characters is slow and sweet, but what I enjoyed the most was waiting for Wynter to realize that men DO love. This is really a wonderful book to curl up with - I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Actions Speal Louder Than Words
Review: This is the first book I have read from CD since A Sandleous Evening, and I enjoyed it. I loved the fact the we got to see what became of Adorna and Jane. In the begining of the book Lady Charlotte seemed like and intelligent woman, but toward the end her emotions and stupidity took hold and she failed to see what was right there in front of her eyes. Lord Wynter loved her more than anything in the world. When a man wants a woman happiness more than anything else, that's his love for her coming through. She didn't have to sulk and cry, because his actions spoke of his love and I am sure that is more important than words to any woman of the 19th or 21th century.
Rating:
Summary: I love this author and this book may be the reason
Review: I have now read the first three books of the Governess series and can honestly say, here is a series where each book is as good at the last. I admit, this first one left me a little skeptical at first. I mean, the ruffian character of Wynter is just a little over the top. But Christina Dodd handles what seems like a loose storyline well and pulls all the pieces together in such a fashion that you just can't wait for the next installment!
Rating:
Summary: Governess Brides series
Review: First book was ok, the second was the bomb. The third one I am reading now and will let you know what I think about it. These are the first books I have read by Christina Dodd and I am going to search for more.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book from Christina Dodd!
Review: I had previously read The Runaway Princess by Christina Dodd, and was impressed. I hit my local used bookstore and bought That Scandalous Evening and Rules of Surrender together, not suspecting they were connected. What a pleasant surprise to have the Jane/Ransom/Adorna story continued! I read Rules of Surrender in two days, and enjoyed it. However, it wasn't as good as some historicals I've read, in that Charlotte seemed somewhat muddled in the last half of the book, like she didn't know what to do with herself. I probably would have hit Wynter by that point. Anyways, if you read this book, I would also recommend reading The Runaway Princess. It is the story of Danior and Evangeline, the Sereminian royals. Also a great story!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as Rules of Engagement
Review: I picked this book up because Rules of Engagement was great. I was a little disappointed. After putting some history to rest, there is no reason to continue the struggle in this story to keep the two characters apart. Charlotte has found herself a wonderfully perfect man, and yet she remains unbelieveably unhappy because he hasn't uttered those 3 little words. I love to read funny bickering between the characters, but Dodd made Charlotte sound patheticly vapid in her false notion that words speak louder than actions. Dodd took a admirably strong and independent character and turned her into a shallow child by the end of the book. I'm still going to buy the 3rd in the series, though!
Rating: 
Summary: AWFUL!!!
Review: This was probably one of the worst books I have ever read...The one reviewer that said that this did not involve rape is seriously deluding themself. Just because someone doesn't fight, no means no. Perhaps I am being a little overzealous, but when a woman gets hauled off to a tent and has her clothes ripped off by a domineering barbarian, I don't care - that is gross. I found myself actually pitying the heroine for being so weak. I only finished this book so that I could give it a proper review. It wouldn't be fair to not finish it and then rip it to shreds. I will never read another novel by this author and she has nearly turned me off of the whole historical romance genre forever. Horrible book!
Rating:
Summary: Lady Miss Charlotte and the Beast
Review: The most arrogant English man just happens to be the most lacking in proper English manners. Lord Wynter Ruskin just returned from decades abroad in El Bahar, where he ended up as a boy while trying to escape the painful memories of his father's death. And his mother, Lady Adorna, the Viscountess Ruskin, decides that a good governess is needed to reeducate his son and her two grandchildren. (Interestingly enough, we last saw Adorna as a debutante in "That Scandalous Evening"!) A granddaughter whose skills on a horse is rather... heartpounding and a grandson who likes to throw big knives at her pristinely papered walls. But Wynter, has other ideas when he meets the beautiful and well-born Lady Charlotte Dalrumple. Especially when he sees that she loves his children beyond the call of duty. His ways of the desert (more chauvinistic, than not) wins no points with the new governess but continues to push Charlotte's buttons in more ways than one. "Lady Miss Charlotte", also known as "Miss Priss" to most Londoners, returns to her hometown to be with the Ruskins which holds painful memories, which she'd rather not rehash... with anyone. But she really needed this assignment to get her new governess school off the ground. And she couldn't afford to make mistakes with her first client. The first in the governess series, this book is funny and entertaining. Wynter Ruskin is a refreshing and interesting hero with his El Bahar background. Which also happened to give Charlotte (and myself) some frustrations. And Charlotte and her ways with Wynter and children are utterly charming.
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