The Nanny’s Handbook for Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes by Amy Rose Bennett
“Her supernatural skills can’t compete with the power of love.”
Mary Poppins meets Bridgerton in The Nanny’s Handbook for Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes by Amy Rose Bennett. I absolutely adore both those titles, so I knew I’d immediately fall in love with this.
The story follows Emmeline Chase, a 25-year-old widow from the Parasol Academy for Nannies.
In 1851 London, magical nannies feature things like Pockets (which hold many, and I mean many, supplies), parasols (the umbrellas nannies use in crises) and spells (fae incantations that may be cast if safety is at risk). We have the picture in our heads, right?
Magic and Yearning in Historic London
Miss Emmeline, the most anxious, sweetest nanny I’ve ever met (not in real life, though I wish), is looking to find a job after her graduation. In the midst of all the craziness that happens during a fateful day of job hunting, she finds herself meeting her soon-to-be employer: Xavier Mason, Duke of St. Lawrence.
Now we’re getting to the Bridgerton of it all, the yearning parts of this review. To say the least, Xavier is what we all imagine in our heads: broody but sweet, not talkative but swoons you once he does, a yearner but won’t make it too obvious.
Xavier, as single as he may be, has some luggage on his back: his wards (Harry, Barry, Gary) love to make trouble and run all of their nannies away. But the second they meet Emmeline, it’s an immediate attachment they can’t seem to stay away from — including Xavier, who ends up taking her into his employment and giving her a place to live in his home as well.
Swoon-Worthy Romance and Mystery Clocks
Xavier is the MMC we all look for in books.
“Longing? Yearning? Desire? The uncharacteristic impulse to throw off the nanny’s silly cap, a pointless frippery that seemed as insubstantial as a spineless sugar cloud, and then pull out each and every one of those re-straightening hairpins so he could watch her burnished curls tumble down around her shoulders, persisted like an urgent itch he needed to scratch.”
Yes, you read that correctly. And no, you are not watching Bridgerton. He is super swoon-worthy — and super into clocks.
While preparing for an upcoming clock competition, the many, many clocks around Xavier’s house mysteriously seem to be broken, unfixable or doing funny things, which Emmeline tries to solve. They can’t figure out whether it’s magical beings or Xavier’s wards messing with them (maybe even Xavier’s enemies; yes, he has some, especially since he wants to win this competition).
A Must-Read for Historical Rom-Com Fans
As they go on with their lives, and as Emmeline takes care of Xavier and his wards, the two start to warm up to each other, and they begin connecting on a deeper level with a ton of forced proximity that blooms around them (and I shall not spoil any more).
This is a must-read for fans who love historical romances with a pinch of comedy and fantasy twists. If you ever wished Mary Poppins and Bridgerton could share a book and a space on your bookshelf, this one is it.
Amy Rose Bennett is the award-winning author of fun, frothy, emotion-packed historical romance and romantasy, including The Parasol Academy novels, the Byronic Book Club series, and The Disreputable Debutantes. A former speech pathologist, she is happily married to her very own romantic hero and has two lovely, exceedingly accomplished, adult daughters. She lives in Australia and can be found online at AmyRoseBennett.com.
