Victoria Cardiff grew up next door to Raul Saber Lawrence and his half-sisters. He had arrived one day disheveled and barbaric from distant Moricadia, a European country constantly on the brink of civil war. His father, Lord Grimsborough, is determined to beat the defiance out of him and make him into a proper Englishman, suitable to be his heir, far more worthy than Saber's claims of being heir to the throne of small and insignificant Moricadia.

Years later, Victoria has become the governess to the daughters of a wealthy merchant traveling Europe on business when one leg of the journey brings them to Moricadia. In their hotel lobby she spots Saber Lawrence, the man who has held her heart since she was a child. In an offhand remark she mentions his previous claims to be a prince of the country, and sets into motion events which can wreak havoc on many lives.

Saber Lawrence learned to ape the characteristics so prized by his brutal father but he never forgot the pleas of his mother or the needs of the people of Moricadia who look to him to help throw off the yoke of the oppressive usurpers currently ruling the country. He always intended to return for sweet Victoria but overthrowing the government, even of a small country, takes much longer than you might imagine. Victoria's sudden appearance is welcome, until her unwitting remarks put everything he has worked toward in grave peril.

I have never been disappointed with a Christina Dodd book, and TAKEN BY THE PRINCE confirms that faith. Witty, adventurous, and unexpected, the storyline leaps from England to a remote and fictional part of Europe while keeping the reader closely involved in the lives of the main characters. As usual, her ancillary characters are also vivid and amusing in this ninth in the Governess Brides series. Ninth or twenty-ninth, I never tire of finding a new book by Dodd, and I never will.