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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne, decides it's past time he married but can't stand most debutantes and doesn't know where to begin to look for his future wife. As luck would have it, at a party where he considers the matter he meets a famous matchmaker who he asks for help with his problem.
Tessa, the matchmaker, decides that giving him options is the best way to go and so a sort of competition begins where he has to choose among the young ladies who fit most of his criteria, and is a bit unrealistic for the era of the story.
The mystery of Tessa's past is needlessly dawn out to keep some sort of suspense in the story, but it's not unpredictable so it didn't work that well for me, and neither did Tessa's reaction to the proposal at the end of the book.
The narrator did a great job portraying the various characters. I particularly liked the Duchess as a character (Tristan's mother) and her meaningful and vague urging, as well as Hawk (Tristan's best friend) and his wicked sense of humor.
Next comes Julianne (Tristan's sister) and Hawk's story in [b:How to Seduce a Scoundrel|9919877|How to Seduce a Scoundrel (How To Series #2)|Vicky Dreiling|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344271603s/9919877.jpg|14812591].
Tessa, the matchmaker, decides that giving him options is the best way to go and so a sort of competition begins where he has to choose among the young ladies who fit most of his criteria, and is a bit unrealistic for the era of the story.
The mystery of Tessa's past is needlessly dawn out to keep some sort of suspense in the story, but it's not unpredictable so it didn't work that well for me, and neither did Tessa's reaction to the proposal at the end of the book.
Spoiler
The moment would have worked better for me had she acted like a stunned and unbelievably happy woman who just got the man she loves and thought would lose forever, meaning an emotional "yes" and maybe some declaration of love would have sufficed. She needn't have repeated what he said to make the moment emotional and her doing so kind of ruined the moment for me. Then again maybe that's just me being particular...The narrator did a great job portraying the various characters. I particularly liked the Duchess as a character (Tristan's mother) and her meaningful and vague urging, as well as Hawk (Tristan's best friend) and his wicked sense of humor.
Next comes Julianne (Tristan's sister) and Hawk's story in [b:How to Seduce a Scoundrel|9919877|How to Seduce a Scoundrel (How To Series #2)|Vicky Dreiling|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344271603s/9919877.jpg|14812591].
Dreiling took the show The Bachelore and set it in a historical romance and although she kind of bailed on the idea to make room for more sub-plot that wasn't totally necissary, it was still fun.
The period's society was taken seriously here and used to further the drama where as a lot of other authors in this genre just use it to keep their heroines believably virgins but because of that Dreilings pushed her characters out of characters to work in those cliche romance sex scenes we all need.
The period's society was taken seriously here and used to further the drama where as a lot of other authors in this genre just use it to keep their heroines believably virgins but because of that Dreilings pushed her characters out of characters to work in those cliche romance sex scenes we all need.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The story it self is good but I feel like it was draw out over many chapters for no reason. I liked Tessa and I like how she handle most things. But I felt she could have been more up front with the duke (Tristen)
Good story just slow and drawn out
Good story just slow and drawn out
Mixed bag romance
3 stars
This is [a:Vicky Dreiling|4107724|Vicky Dreiling|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1284400527p2/4107724.jpg]'s debut novel and overall it was a fairly enjoyable read. However it really didn't present anything new or different from other romance books and I'm not sure I'll actually remember much about it in a couple of weeks.
Tessa was an enjoyable character - independent and strong without being a cliché. Unfortunately all the other female characters were insipid dimwits that I couldn't take to at all. I also liked Tristan - your typical rakish duke brought down by love but if I'm honest the pair had little chemistry and not enough heat or emotion to give you that 'butterflies in your stomach' feeling that you want when reading romance.
The story was a little disjointed and didn't always flow. Towards the middle I wondered whether anything exciting was actually going to happen and by contrast the ending was so drawn out that I could have screamed! I felt that all the characters were ridiculously proper on occasion - probably correct to the time period but a little dull none the less. And the hugely devastating secret of Tessa's turned out to be fairly tepid compared to other books I've read which was a little anticlimactic.
I actually enjoyed reading this book and it was never a chore to pick it up. It wasn't overly exciting but if you've got it on your bookshelf then it's still worth a read. 3 stars.
Tristan, Duke of Shelbourne, has decided it is time to leave his youth behind and get a wife and take his duties as Duke seriously. He has many requirements but wants a woman, not some young debutante girl. When he accidentally steps on a fan and meets the lovely gaze of a woman, he is smitten. But when he learns her identity as a matchmaker who has declared that she will never marry, Tristan decides to hire Tessa. Tessa enjoys her matchmaking business as she helps the painfully shy and overlooked wallflowers find their own happiness but she knows that a successful match of a duke will give her the coup she wants. But here the fun begins! Instead of having just one woman for Tristan meet, Tessa does something daring. She invites twenty some young ladies to her home all at once and announces that they are all competing for the dukes hand (very much like our modern day show, The Bachelor.) Tristan initially refuses, he is persuaded by Tessa that this is the best course of action....plus he has a hard time denying Tessa anything already *g*
Sigh, I really enjoyed this book. For a debut novel it was excellent!! It is funny, sweet, sexy, emotional and guaranteed to leave a smile on your face. I am sad that I do not have a back list to devour and I can not wait for the next book in this series, How to Seduce a Scoundrel to come out in July. It was so much fun watching Tristan and Tessa trying to ignore their growing feelings for each other, after all, Tristan had committed himself to finding a wife and he couldn't just stop the courtships and choose the matchmaker! I was happy that Tristan truly did not develop any feelings for any of the other woman, other than friendship. All his emotions were for Tessa alone. And oh, sigh, the ending...what a beautiful ending! I highly recommend this one and look forward to more! 4 1/2 stars
Sigh, I really enjoyed this book. For a debut novel it was excellent!! It is funny, sweet, sexy, emotional and guaranteed to leave a smile on your face. I am sad that I do not have a back list to devour and I can not wait for the next book in this series, How to Seduce a Scoundrel to come out in July. It was so much fun watching Tristan and Tessa trying to ignore their growing feelings for each other, after all, Tristan had committed himself to finding a wife and he couldn't just stop the courtships and choose the matchmaker! I was happy that Tristan truly did not develop any feelings for any of the other woman, other than friendship. All his emotions were for Tessa alone. And oh, sigh, the ending...what a beautiful ending! I highly recommend this one and look forward to more! 4 1/2 stars
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence
3.5*s. This was a fun read. If you're one to not like silly premises in historicals then be aware this one isn't for you. They don't always bother me but I'm not a fan of shows like The Bachelor I've always been fond of the Wanda Sykes quote: Why don't they just call it vagina auction. so to take that and put it in a regency setting, I was pretty skeptical. And I have to say that those scenes were not my favorite. They weren't really cringe-worthy but I found that I didn't like the premise any better when moved to a different era. Luckily those scenes weren't a huge part of the book and the characters were all very likable. Tessa and Tristan are both likable and I was definitely invested in their relationship. Hawk, the roguish friend, and a couple of the final girls in the contest were also appealing (if in some ways obvious sequel bait). Not sequel bait but also fun were Tristan's mother and Hawk's Aunt Hester who shows potential for comedy/disaster in his book.
This book reminded me in some ways of [b:When Harry Met Molly|7951571|When Harry Met Molly (Impossible Bachelors, #1)|Kieran Kramer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312027582s/7951571.jpg|11574842], another book with a silly premise that I thought was saved by charming characters. Personally, I can get past that sort of thing if I'm invested in the characters so this one worked for me as a fun, witty, lighter read.
This book reminded me in some ways of [b:When Harry Met Molly|7951571|When Harry Met Molly (Impossible Bachelors, #1)|Kieran Kramer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312027582s/7951571.jpg|11574842], another book with a silly premise that I thought was saved by charming characters. Personally, I can get past that sort of thing if I'm invested in the characters so this one worked for me as a fun, witty, lighter read.
Anytime a young lady tries to help a young man find a wife, they will get married. That’s just all there is to it. Matchmaking always ends in getting married.