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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
“I can’t agree to a convenient arrangement, my lord. Your devotion to duty may be admirable, but ‘lie back and think of England’ simply isn’t for me.” His voice became low and dark. “I cannot promise you everything you might wish, but I promise you this: When I take you to bed, you will not be thinking of England.”
Brilliant! I loved every word of this story. Piers seems proper and almost cold, perfect polite with sparsely changing facial expressions and excellent perception. And yet, Charlotte is the one I fell in love as soon as she opened up her mouth.
A delightful mix of sweet and feisty. I highly recommend.
Rereading in English: an XY author asked for my opinion on how the book was translated into Slovenian langauage. Therefore I've read it two times, in Slovenian and English. The story read in original language is even more marvelous!
Brilliant! I loved every word of this story. Piers seems proper and almost cold, perfect polite with sparsely changing facial expressions and excellent perception. And yet, Charlotte is the one I fell in love as soon as she opened up her mouth.
A delightful mix of sweet and feisty. I highly recommend.
Rereading in English: an XY author asked for my opinion on how the book was translated into Slovenian langauage. Therefore I've read it two times, in Slovenian and English. The story read in original language is even more marvelous!
I initially forgot how light and silly Tessa Dare’s books can begin and was a little concerned because that’s not really my preferred tone of writing, but then the plot and characters gained some more metaphorical weight and I was back on board, thank god. These books are great fun, with great romances, that aren’t too heavy or too light. She really is a great introduction to historical romance novels.
3rd reading: December 17, 2017
On this read I noticed that I didn't really care for the talk between Charlotte and her sisters. I don't like how being a 'mother' changes Minerva and Diana, so this is still a 4.5 star read for me!
2nd reading: February 14, 2017
Love this still. Tessa Dare rocks.
1st reading: October 8, 2016
4.5 STARS.
Piers = hot. Charlotte = hot. Piers + Charlotte = super hot. Love this couple. The mystery because the unknown lovers was a fun part of the story! I only take off a half star because I wasn't 100% wooed, I don't have a reason why. Basically though, Tessa Dare never fails, that is all.
On this read I noticed that I didn't really care for the talk between Charlotte and her sisters. I don't like how being a 'mother' changes Minerva and Diana, so this is still a 4.5 star read for me!
2nd reading: February 14, 2017
Love this still. Tessa Dare rocks.
1st reading: October 8, 2016
4.5 STARS.
Piers = hot. Charlotte = hot. Piers + Charlotte = super hot. Love this couple. The mystery because the unknown lovers was a fun part of the story! I only take off a half star because I wasn't 100% wooed, I don't have a reason why. Basically though, Tessa Dare never fails, that is all.
4.5 stars
A slow start but ultimately worth it!
It took me a while to get into this book, which is VERY surprising considering how much I dearly love Tessa Dare and everything she pens. In the beginning of the novel, I just wasn't fully connecting with our hero Piers as I found him charming but unreachable. So I went back and reread his brother's novel Say Yes to the Marquess, which I absolutely loved, to remind myself who he was and some of his backstory. After that reintroduction to Rafe and Clio and Ellingworth and eventually Piers, I found myself enthralled by Dare's words yet again and Piers and Charlotte's love story. They were so opposite to the other, and ultimately helped to balance each other out and become something better than they would be on their own.
However, one snag I had with this novel was when Piers royally f*cks up and completely destroys Charlotte's trust. Granted, Charlotte's reaction to Piers' overreaction was not the best either, but Piers' actions were so twisted and f*cked up to begin with. Tessa has never painted her heroes to be so villainous before, and I was surprised by how much I kinda hated him for what he did. Nevertheless, he did realize the error of his ways [eventually] and grovel appropriately, so I guess I forgave him in the end along with Charlotte. Overall though, I am satisfied with the two endings this novel provided for two of Dare's series, and I absolutely recommend this book along with Dare's fabulous other novels! She never fails to create broken but protective and caring heroes and strong-willed, sexually conscious, and amazing heroines. ♡
Some of my favorite highlighted passages:
This must be his secret. How he bent kings and despots to his will. By seeing inside them and using their own broken dreams as leverage. The most dangerous weapon is the one that strikes closest to the heart. --Charlotte
“What am I doing?” He tossed aside the petticoat. “What the devil are you doing? You didn’t answer the door.”
“I didn’t hear a knock.” She nodded toward the attached dressing room. “The maids prepared me a bath.”
“A bath.”
“Yes. A bath. Water, soap, tub.” --Piers & Charlotte. I love this quote because it reminds me of another favorite scene of mine from another beloved series, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick :)
“You tell me.” He gestured at the left side of his face. “I thought the eyebrow oracle revealed all.”
“Yes, well. It’s difficult to look at your eyebrow when your head is so far up your arse.” --Piers & Charlotte. Love her putting him in his place!
“We’d hold our own. Dawes here is brawny, and I’ve been in a brawl or two. We were Spindle Cove’s finest militiamen, weren’t we? You know, the finest not counting Bram. Or Thorne.”
“Susanna,” Minerva added. “Susanna ranked above you too, I believe.”
Colin’s mouth pulled to the side. “Yes, can’t deny that. But we’re no slouches.”
“Solidly in the top quartile,” Charlotte said. --Colin, Min & Charlotte. Loved seeing the other couples!!!
She unsettled him; he anchored her. Together, they could be more than they were apart. She must always remain the optimist to his cynic, the laughter to his silence, the chaos to his order, the warmth to his cool. Their hearts would meet in the middle somehow. --Piers
My Piers, trying to figure Charlotte out while hiding behind his left eyebrow ;)
A slow start but ultimately worth it!
It took me a while to get into this book, which is VERY surprising considering how much I dearly love Tessa Dare and everything she pens. In the beginning of the novel, I just wasn't fully connecting with our hero Piers as I found him charming but unreachable. So I went back and reread his brother's novel Say Yes to the Marquess, which I absolutely loved, to remind myself who he was and some of his backstory. After that reintroduction to Rafe and Clio and Ellingworth and eventually Piers, I found myself enthralled by Dare's words yet again and Piers and Charlotte's love story. They were so opposite to the other, and ultimately helped to balance each other out and become something better than they would be on their own.
However, one snag I had with this novel was when Piers royally f*cks up and completely destroys Charlotte's trust. Granted, Charlotte's reaction to Piers' overreaction was not the best either, but Piers' actions were so twisted and f*cked up to begin with. Tessa has never painted her heroes to be so villainous before, and I was surprised by how much I kinda hated him for what he did. Nevertheless, he did realize the error of his ways [eventually] and grovel appropriately, so I guess I forgave him in the end along with Charlotte. Overall though, I am satisfied with the two endings this novel provided for two of Dare's series, and I absolutely recommend this book along with Dare's fabulous other novels! She never fails to create broken but protective and caring heroes and strong-willed, sexually conscious, and amazing heroines. ♡
Some of my favorite highlighted passages:
This must be his secret. How he bent kings and despots to his will. By seeing inside them and using their own broken dreams as leverage. The most dangerous weapon is the one that strikes closest to the heart. --Charlotte
“What am I doing?” He tossed aside the petticoat. “What the devil are you doing? You didn’t answer the door.”
“I didn’t hear a knock.” She nodded toward the attached dressing room. “The maids prepared me a bath.”
“A bath.”
“Yes. A bath. Water, soap, tub.” --Piers & Charlotte. I love this quote because it reminds me of another favorite scene of mine from another beloved series, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick :)
“You tell me.” He gestured at the left side of his face. “I thought the eyebrow oracle revealed all.”
“Yes, well. It’s difficult to look at your eyebrow when your head is so far up your arse.” --Piers & Charlotte. Love her putting him in his place!
“We’d hold our own. Dawes here is brawny, and I’ve been in a brawl or two. We were Spindle Cove’s finest militiamen, weren’t we? You know, the finest not counting Bram. Or Thorne.”
“Susanna,” Minerva added. “Susanna ranked above you too, I believe.”
Colin’s mouth pulled to the side. “Yes, can’t deny that. But we’re no slouches.”
“Solidly in the top quartile,” Charlotte said. --Colin, Min & Charlotte. Loved seeing the other couples!!!
She unsettled him; he anchored her. Together, they could be more than they were apart. She must always remain the optimist to his cynic, the laughter to his silence, the chaos to his order, the warmth to his cool. Their hearts would meet in the middle somehow. --Piers
My Piers, trying to figure Charlotte out while hiding behind his left eyebrow ;)
The plot here was, quite frankly, ridiculous — high melodrama, logic and believability be damned. I don't read Tessa Dare for the gritty realism, certainly, but even so, I was rolling my eyes from time to time here. And Piers literally setting fire to her room to force her hand? Um, wtf?!! I can't stand high-handed heroes, and that's some straight up bullshit. Luckily that's not generally his defining characteristic, so I didn't totally hate him, but it was a sour note, to be sure.
But let's be real, you read Tessa Dare for the flirting, the witty banter, and the humor, and that was well on display here. ("Perhaps this wasn't love. Perhaps it was malaria.") It wasn't the most amazing story I've ever read, but it made me chuckle, and it was the fluff I wanted at the moment.
But let's be real, you read Tessa Dare for the flirting, the witty banter, and the humor, and that was well on display here. ("Perhaps this wasn't love. Perhaps it was malaria.") It wasn't the most amazing story I've ever read, but it made me chuckle, and it was the fluff I wanted at the moment.
Tessa Dare is always the best comfort-read choice. Not my favorite but still cute, steamy and funny! For me, I just didn't think there was enough conflict or even an in-depth look at Piers (when compared to Charlotte). The aubergine discussion is the best though!
I completely wasn't going to pick up a historical romance this soon into the year (I'm attempting to cut back on it a bit so that I can read other genres lol), but I saw someone else was reading this and I saw the synopsis here and I couldn't help it! I've read a fair amount of Tessa Dare before, I've enjoyed her stuff on the whole but I get her books mixed up with plenty of other historical romances so can't say anything specific on that front.
This one follows Charlotte, deemed to be a bit of a desperate bachelorette due to bad luck and a meddling mother, and Piers, the Marquis who she tries to warn off, unsuccessfully as can probably be ascertained by the synopsis here. As much as I hate the fact that the guy is called Piers (Piers Morgan has completely ruined the name for me), I really liked this romance and I just thought it was a quick and enjoyable read that made me feel all happy. The mystery bit was a bit odd, and I wanted to throttle Edmund, this 8 year old who is convinced that the Marquis is a murderer (something you'll understand once you read the first chapters), along with Charlotte's mother, but it was just a cute story. I don't think I've read the other Spindle Cove books, and I don't feel particularly inclined to, this books works perfectly well on its own. 4 stars.
This one follows Charlotte, deemed to be a bit of a desperate bachelorette due to bad luck and a meddling mother, and Piers, the Marquis who she tries to warn off, unsuccessfully as can probably be ascertained by the synopsis here. As much as I hate the fact that the guy is called Piers (Piers Morgan has completely ruined the name for me), I really liked this romance and I just thought it was a quick and enjoyable read that made me feel all happy. The mystery bit was a bit odd, and I wanted to throttle Edmund, this 8 year old who is convinced that the Marquis is a murderer (something you'll understand once you read the first chapters), along with Charlotte's mother, but it was just a cute story. I don't think I've read the other Spindle Cove books, and I don't feel particularly inclined to, this books works perfectly well on its own. 4 stars.