Love on Assignment

February 15, 2011

Rhode Island newspaper reporter Charlotte Hale accepts an undercover assignment during the summer of 1900 to work as a temporary governess to Daniel Wilmont's children. She has been instructed to find dirt on the rival columnist, who's outspoken in his Christian faith. But over time Charlotte discovers Daniel is not as she has been told, and she sets about clearing his name. VERDICT James's second series historical (after Love on a Dime) is a tired tale. There is nothing new here to recommend it despite the nice enough story and the likable characters.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2010
In James second Christian historical romance set at Summerhill, Charlotte Hale, 22, supports her paralyzed younger sister and their elderly arthritic aunt. When her irascible boss offers her a special assignment, she eagerly accepts, even though she must sink her scruples to spy on Daniel Wilmont as live-in governess to his two children. Daniel is a well-respected biblical scholar at the local Christian college, but he also writes columns urging social reform, and many local industrialists want him silenced. When Daniel proves himself above reproach and Charlotte finds herself in love, she must weigh her growing faith and persistent conscience against the lure of her ambition and her familys need for money. In spite of historical inaccuracies and jarringly modern attitudes, James uses carefully described settings and characters and an entertaining if improbable plot to dramatically contrast life in the Gilded Age in Newport, Rhode Island, between the working class and the wealthy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)