A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
The raging war in Russia causes Anna, a countess, and her mother and brother to flee the country. Betrayed by their wet nurse the family is left penniless. They arrive in England to live with Anna’s former governess.
Concealing her true identity Anna takes a job as a servant to help in her families finances, although she keeps it hidden from her mother and brother. The job is going swimmingly until Rupert, the Earl of Westerholme, arrives along with his fiancee. Against his better judgement, Rupert finds himself falling in love with Anna.
Again, as with Dragon’s Keep, this was a book I had high hopes for and I was left with disappointment. Anna as a character seemed too perfect, she was perfect. There wasn’t any chemistry between her and Rupert, I didn’t encounter any of the instant attraction that the book summary suggests. At times I found myself lost in the reading. I liked the idea of the story, but again I think it was poorly executed. I liked this book, but I didn't by any means love it. If you are interested in reading it, I would still give it a try, hopefully you will end up liking it more than I did.