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A review by bhnmt61
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare
3.0
Emma is a disgraced vicar's daughter turned seamstress who must be paid for a wedding dress she created if she wants to eat. Ash is a duke who was horribly disfigured in battle and doesn't want to pay for a dress ordered by the woman who dumped him when she saw his scars. But he does need to marry so he can sire an heir, and Emma is right there in front of him, so he proposes. It doesn't go so well, but he persists. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between these two wounded people and found it believable. And the relationship takes up about 80% of the book, so thumbs up on the bulk of the book.
But the rest of the story-- the unlikely circle of quirky friends, the dropped plot points (what happened to Trevor? what happened to Emma's father?) and worst of all, the trumped up emergency at the end (there were dozens of ways Emma could have helped her friend without going to a ball thrown by Ash's arch enemy) -- that remaining 20% nearly ruined it for me. But still I enjoyed reading this more than I have any romance novel in a long time. Sometimes I just want to read a romance novel, and Tessa Dare is as good as anyone writing them right now. If you can suspend the need for a plot to make sense and just go along for the ride, recommended.
But the rest of the story-- the unlikely circle of quirky friends, the dropped plot points (what happened to Trevor? what happened to Emma's father?) and worst of all, the trumped up emergency at the end (there were dozens of ways Emma could have helped her friend without going to a ball thrown by Ash's arch enemy) -- that remaining 20% nearly ruined it for me. But still I enjoyed reading this more than I have any romance novel in a long time. Sometimes I just want to read a romance novel, and Tessa Dare is as good as anyone writing them right now. If you can suspend the need for a plot to make sense and just go along for the ride, recommended.