Romancing the Duke (Castles Ever After, #1) by Tessa Dare

Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the second Tessa Dare book I’ve read. This one stars Isolde Ophelia Goodnight & Duke Ransom Rothbury and is set in Gostley Castle in Northumberland England. On the border with Scotland. The story opens with the meeting of Izzy and Ransom at the castle. Izzy’s there because she’s received a letter about some inheritance – whatever it might be, however small or large, is very much needed by Izzy who is down to a very small amount of money and has been bouncing around as a guest here and there with no home of her own. Ransom is there because he lives there.

This book is from both of their point of views, Ransom and Izzy being the ‘both’.

Duke Rothbury, a widely known rake, hasn’t been seen . . . well, anywhere, in about seven months. There are reasons for that. Izzy, despite the image presented of being near penniless, and homeless, is also widely known in England. Because she’s the, let me rework that, she’s the Izzy Goodnight of a long-running, now stopped due to author death, Izzy Goodnight adventures. Written by her father.

There are two reasons why the duke hasn’t been seen in roughly seven months: 1) he had been on the verge of marrying, but his intended eloped with ‘her love’ (another man, if that isn't clear enough - a lower class one at that) – and there are always issues when something like that occur; 2) though normally those issues are fairly easily waved away when one is a Duke, harder when said duke chased after the eloping party and ended up injured for his trouble. This is yet another ‘hero’ (‘I’m no hero’) who has facial scars. In addition to that damage to his good looks, he’s also blind.

Right, so, Izzy and the Duke circle each other in this book. Izzy has inherited the castle and refuses to leave – she needs the place. The Duke alternates attempting to force Izzy from the building, and thinking about, or acting upon, certain carnal desires – it has been a long while since he’s ‘gotten any’. Izzy, for her part, is a twenty-six year old virgin (don’t worry those historical fiction lovers who like a good age difference, and/or expect it, the duke, whose age escapes me at the moment, is past thirty - his exact age may or may actually be referenced in the book, what is said, though, is that once he reached the age of thirty, he went about the task of doing his 'duty', i.e., finding a woman to impregnate so the family line can continue; and he went about it with the same level of emotion and caring for others as might be expected from the wording used, as in he was a cold bastard looking for a woman to plant his seed in).

As mentioned above, carnal desires are felt – and acted upon. This is one of those quite sexually charged books. No no, I don’t mean sex erupts every three pages, or desires for sex, just that sexually graphic ‘stuff’ occurs frequently.

Also there’s a fair bit of humor involved in the book. Much less, though, than in the prior book I read by Dare.

And interesting and good way to pass the time, not the best I’ve read, but definitely not the worst.

Rating: 3.88

December 22 2017



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