Lord Wynter Ruskin, the hero of Rules of Surrender, is the type of man readers will either love or hate. There’s not much middle ground with this guy. Since he lived for years as a Bedouin in the Middle East, he adopted many of the ways of his adopted Bedouin father. Wynter speaks in poetic phrases and high-handed edicts as he forcefully seduces the heroine. If you like him, you will classify him as a hyper-alpha hero with a poetic soul. If you don’t like him, you’re more likely to picture him as an idiotic caveman clubbing the heroine and dragging her back to his cave by her hair.

Lady Charlotte Dalrumple is a governess with a fine reputation. She has spent nine years tutoring recalcitrant young people and preparing them for their debuts in society. After years of going it alone, she and two friends form a school for governesses. They hope that they can turn it into a profitable business as they help place young ladies in good positions. When Lady Ruskin comes calling at the school wanting a governess for her unruly grandchildren, Charlotte is the first to be placed.

Leila and Robbie have been raised as Bedouins all their lives, but after the death of their mother their father decides to move back to England. Lady Ruskin is determined to have her grandchildren civilized in time for them to attend an important reception. As Charlotte settles in and begins her task, she quickly falls for the children, and although they have occasional lapses, they take her instruction fairly well. However, Lady Ruskin has another plan up her sleeve – she wants Charlotte to tutor the master of the house as well!

Charlotte reluctantly agrees, but Wynter’s advances begin at the first lesson. His intentions are entirely honorable; he has determined that Charlotte would make the perfect mate. She has a very different opinion. Although she’s attracted to Wynter, she has no desire to live in a loveless marriage. And Wynter has made it quite clear that he doesn’t love her. His adopted father told him that it is a woman’s job to love her man, and the man’s job to provide for his woman and bask in her love. When he shares his interesting theories on marital life with Charlotte, she is completely appalled, and when they are forced to marry she vows that Wynter will not share her bed. But Wynter is determined man, and he vows to make Charlotte beg for his affections. It soon becomes obvious that he will claim her as his wife. But will he ever really claim her love?

Rules of Surrender is smoothly written, with an interesting plot and some likable characters. I really liked Charlotte, who carefully controls her emotions even though she has a passionate nature. Her character is multi-layered, and her past is revealed gradually in a way that is quite compelling. The children are cute, and they have the endearing habit of referring to their governess as “Lady Miss Charlotte.”

The problem is that I didn’t like the hero. At all. At first he just annoyed me, but by the end I wanted to hit him with something heavy. It began when he first opened his mouth, talking like someone out of a Hemingway novel (lots of run-on sentences and few commas). What was supposed to come across as poetic sounded childlike to me, and it didn’t help that he referred to the heroine as “Lady Miss Charlotte” also. While the language was annoying, his actions were even worse. Usually I enjoy books with heroes who commit to the heroine early on and pursue her relentlessly. But Wynter was so arrogant and boorish that his actions crossed the line. He repeatedly told Charlotte what was best for her and that he, the man, knew what she really needed. Her feelings and desires were completely immaterial, because he knew she would be happy as soon as she admitted that she loved him. Of course, he was unwilling to make any similar declaration until the bitter end.

There is also the matter of forced seduction – some readers don’t mind it, but others find it appalling in either life or fiction. The love scenes are well-written and evocative, but also disturbing. Charlotte tells Wynter to stop (again and again) and he forces her to respond to him anyway. We have devoted much space to the subject of forced seduction here at AAR, and readers respond to it in different ways. If you have read Christina Dodd’s earlier book, A Well Pleasured Lady, then you already know where you stand on forced seduction. Unfortunately, I was too disturbed by these scenes to enjoy them.

Rules of Surrender is the first book in a trilogy about governesses. I rather like governess books myself, and I wish there had been a few more scenes with Charlotte’s friends, who are the other two proprietresses of the Governess School. I’m intrigued by the idea of the other books, even though I didn’t care for this one. My objections to this book are really more in the nature of a personality clash than anything else. If you like your heroes very alpha and don’t mind forced seduction, you are likely to enjoy this book much more than I did. If forced seduction is too much like rape for your tastes, then pass this one up. And, if you are looking for a good book by Christina Dodd, I recommend Move Heaven and Earth instead.