The Duchess Deal by
Tessa Dare
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
“You are always making these suggestions as though they should be threats. Meanwhile, I’m only intrigued.”
- page 258
This is the first book I've read by this author. Wasn't sure what to expect, what I might find, though figured I might possibly like it after reading the opening in a sample.
The opening wherein a man, the Duke of Ashbury, is writing notes to his solicitors when he is interrupted, important to note that the last thing he wrote before the interruption is 'I need a wife'; he is interrupted by a woman in a wedding dress. Various ways that could have been conveyed, this situation, and I liked the humorous way this was conveyed.
The important part, though, is that the Duke of Ashbury needs a wife - not for any kind of inheritance or similar that sometimes pops up, but just because he wants to continue his family line. Oh, and he doesn't want his cousin to become the Duke. So he proposes an arrangement with the woman in the wedding dress.
The woman, a seamstress who had made the wedding dress but didn't get paid for her work, is Emma Gladstone. She's about to be kicked out of her dwelling for lack of rent, and isn't in a good position to pay for food. Why didn't she get paid? Because the woman whose dress she had created had broken off her engagement to the Duke of Ashbury. Mostly because the social climbing money needing/loving woman becomes literally physically ill when forced to look at the heavily scarred by warfare Duke. (that's the story that comes out first and yes there is more to it, like how that's a misstatement but bah) And so, the wedding didn't happen, the dress wasn't paid for, and the seamstress is in a bad position with those others who also like being paid - like those who rent her places to live and sleep.
Naturally Emma . . . rejects the proposed arrangement, but that's fairly quickly overcome by the persistent Duke. And so they very rapidly find themselves married to each other. With rules. And contracts signed.
Quite humorous book. Nicely told/written. Lovely banter and stuff. And there are some twists and turns to over come to reach the happy conclusion.
Some things picked up in the book: The, now, Duchess upon being caught yet again starring at the Duke:
My apologies. I wasn’t staring out of horror. I was merely undressing you in my mind.
Oh, that would go brilliantly. Very duchesslike, that.
- page 85
Other quotes:
She smiled. “Do you know, I suspected you were a good man, deep down. Even if very, very, very deep down. In a fathomless cavern. Underneath a volcano.”
- page 115
"It would mean a great deal if you’d hold me. You know, with your arms.”
Brilliant, Emma. As if he might have tried to hold her with his knees or eyelids without those instructions.
- page 197
Oh right, the blowjob quote. I'm not exactly big on reading about someone giving another someone oral pleasure upon their penis (or, in this case 'engorged staff'), but I rather liked the scene presented in this book. Probably because of the inclusion of humor. I do like humor with my sex (not all the time, but, you know, helps.)
(view spoiler)[“So what will you do?” She looked up at him, amused. “Bring a suit in Chancery? Your Honor, my wife dared to unclothe me. She proceeded to caress my person, with both hands and lips, against our sworn agreement to the contrary.”
“Emma, you . . .”
“And then”—she gave a theatrical gasp—“the disobedient wench did place her mouth on my engorged staff.”
She gave him a slow, exploratory lick.
“Jesus.”
She backed off, lifting an eyebrow. “My, my. Such blasphemy. Is that in Shakespeare?”
He gritted his teeth. “Second Henry the IV, act two, scene two.”
- pages 230-231 (hide spoiler)]I'm going overboard with quotes, so I'll put this one also behind spoiler - just some set-up: Emma brought a cat with her into the marriage, cat's name? Breeches. Scene: Cat has escaped front door; Duke chases; Duke was in middle of dashing off to a ball when exiting his house.
(view spoiler)[Ash tried, very hard, not to think about how this scene must appear. A scarred madman sprinting up and down the dark lanes of Mayfair, calling the words “come” and “breeches” repeatedly while making kissing noises. Sporting wild hair and a misbuttoned waistcoat. Excellent.
(hide spoiler)] pages 340-341
I've one last quote I could include, but I've already indulged myself too much with quotes.
Oh good, another review where I don't really say much, babble a little, then slap a rating and date on it . . .Rating: 5.00
November 11 2017
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