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wanderlust_romance's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
What fun this book was! It had everything I love about Tessa Dare's writing style: history, emotional connection, humor (so much humor), interesting characters, just a teensy bit bonkers plot, and the perfect balance of spice.
In The Duchess Deal, Ash and Emma enter into a marriage of convenience. Ash needs an heir; Emma needs financial security (and has a desire to help a friend with her out of wedlock pregnancy). What follows is an immensely funny and deliciously spicy grand old time. As the first book in the series, it does such a great job balancing the introduction of side characters for future books and maintaining the focus on the primary couple's dynamics. You have scheming servants pushing these two into situations designed to make them "fall in love." You have a cloaked Duke wandering the streets of Mayfair and taking out ruffians (a little bit like Batman but much sillier). You have a group of 3 unconventional "spinsters" who befriend and support Emma. You have Ash and Emma boinking non-freaking-stop in their efforts to produce the ducal heir at the center of their marriage of convenience. This is a good time all around!
Ash is a grumpy, disillusioned, and broody sort of Duke. He lives with significant facial and upper body scars from a war injury at Waterloo. He uses Shakespearean curses quite vividly! He doesn't want to fall in love, but well there's just no helping it when it comes to Emma. For her part, Emma is witty, intelligent, and unfazed by Ash's broodiness. She has worked to make her own way since being thrown out by her father at 16, and is loath to give up her seamstress skills just because of newfound financial security.
You want a fun summertime historical romance read? This is it!
In The Duchess Deal, Ash and Emma enter into a marriage of convenience. Ash needs an heir; Emma needs financial security (and has a desire to help a friend with her out of wedlock pregnancy). What follows is an immensely funny and deliciously spicy grand old time. As the first book in the series, it does such a great job balancing the introduction of side characters for future books and maintaining the focus on the primary couple's dynamics. You have scheming servants pushing these two into situations designed to make them "fall in love." You have a cloaked Duke wandering the streets of Mayfair and taking out ruffians (a little bit like Batman but much sillier). You have a group of 3 unconventional "spinsters" who befriend and support Emma. You have Ash and Emma boinking non-freaking-stop in their efforts to produce the ducal heir at the center of their marriage of convenience. This is a good time all around!
Ash is a grumpy, disillusioned, and broody sort of Duke. He lives with significant facial and upper body scars from a war injury at Waterloo. He uses Shakespearean curses quite vividly! He doesn't want to fall in love, but well there's just no helping it when it comes to Emma. For her part, Emma is witty, intelligent, and unfazed by Ash's broodiness. She has worked to make her own way since being thrown out by her father at 16, and is loath to give up her seamstress skills just because of newfound financial security.
You want a fun summertime historical romance read? This is it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: War, Drug use, and Drug abuse
dkfma's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.25
This was my first foray into Tessa Dare's work, and I don't regret it at all.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mary Jane Wells, and I found her narration to be engaging and easy to listen to. I have a love/hate relationship with audiobooks since I feel like the experience is heavily dependent on the narrator (which can both make a book better or make it worse), but I really enjoyed this one.
This book is the first of the Girl Meets Duke series. It follows Emma Gladstone, a vicar's daughter-turned-seamstress, and the Duke of Ashbury. Ash was injured during Waterloo and his resulting injuries have left half of his face heavily scarred, creating a distance between him and everyone other than those working for him.
Ash sets out to find a wife, but solely to have an heir to carry on his title. Luckily for him, Emma quite literally just appears on his doorstep, demanding to be paid for her labor on the wedding dress she made for his ex-fiancée.
The characterization and development were the strongest points of the novel, and I'll definitely be reading more of Dare's work in the future. Plus, this book was just so much fun. The back and forth between Emma and Ash never felt contrived, and the chemistry between the two just worked. They supported and balanced each other out, and the affection they developed for each other felt natural.
If you're someone who needs their books to be very, very historically accurate, this isn't for you. But if you're like me and can look past it or simply don't know enough about the time period to have your enjoyment marred, I definitely recommend this one.
tl;dr
A fun, lighthearted marriage of convenience story with a Beauty and the Beast-esque angle. Not 100% historically accurate, but 200% a good time.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mary Jane Wells, and I found her narration to be engaging and easy to listen to. I have a love/hate relationship with audiobooks since I feel like the experience is heavily dependent on the narrator (which can both make a book better or make it worse), but I really enjoyed this one.
This book is the first of the Girl Meets Duke series. It follows Emma Gladstone, a vicar's daughter-turned-seamstress, and the Duke of Ashbury. Ash was injured during Waterloo and his resulting injuries have left half of his face heavily scarred, creating a distance between him and everyone other than those working for him.
Ash sets out to find a wife, but solely to have an heir to carry on his title. Luckily for him, Emma quite literally just appears on his doorstep, demanding to be paid for her labor on the wedding dress she made for his ex-fiancée.
The characterization and development were the strongest points of the novel, and I'll definitely be reading more of Dare's work in the future. Plus, this book was just so much fun. The back and forth between Emma and Ash never felt contrived, and the chemistry between the two just worked. They supported and balanced each other out, and the affection they developed for each other felt natural.
If you're someone who needs their books to be very, very historically accurate, this isn't for you. But if you're like me and can look past it or simply don't know enough about the time period to have your enjoyment marred, I definitely recommend this one.
tl;dr
A fun, lighthearted marriage of convenience story with a Beauty and the Beast-esque angle. Not 100% historically accurate, but 200% a good time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Drug use
tinysnek's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
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