They call him the Duke of Ruin.
To an undaunted wallflower, he's just the beast next door.
Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society—and now he wants to get even.
Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart.
When her imposing—and attractive—new neighbor demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes.
Done, Gabriel says. How hard can it be to find homes for a few kittens?
And a two-legged dog.
And a foul-mouthed parrot.
And a goat, an otter, a hedgehog . . .
Easier said than done, for a cold-blooded bastard who wouldn’t know a loving home from a workhouse. Soon he’s covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. Now she’s set her mind and heart on saving him.
Not if he ruins her first.
Title: The Wallflower Wager
Author: Tessa Dare
Series: Girl Meets Duke
Pages: 368
Genre(s): Historical, Regency, England
Hot Buttons: heroine experienced childhood sexual abuse, confronts abuser (and family don't believe her) <-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)
Release Date: 13th August, 2019
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The last time I read a Tessa Dare book I wrote that I couldn’t understand why this woman wasn’t on my auto-buy list. Now I’m wondering why I don’t have a shrine to this woman and her writing. It’s just so. Damn. Good.
This is the third book in the Girl Meets Duke series - and I’m loving how we managed to get a lowborn hero in the series because he’s Gabriel Duke. Fear not - you don’t have to have read the first two books to understand and enjoy this one, even though both our couples from the first two books do appear in this one. I have read the first two books and all this book did was remind me of how brilliant - and hilarious - those first two books in the series were and make me want to go back and re-read them!
This time, Lady Penelope “Penny” Campion is our heroine. That’s Lady Penelope with the menagerie of animals living in her home. And the same Lady Penelope who makes the most god-awful sounding, experiments in finger sandwiches.
Gabriel Duke is a boy from the streets who’s made good. Very good. Oh, and he’s also turned into a man with a very bad reputation. But what a man! Anyway, when he moves in next door to Penny, he realises that having aristocracy next door will drive the price of his home up when he decides to sell. But only if she rids herself of her pesky pets.
Luckily for him, Penny also needs to find her pets new homes after a bargain with her aunt will take her out of hiding and back into society. So from the first, our hero and heroine forge a tentative friendship and are working towards the same goal. And I can’t tell you how wonderful that interplay is. Penny is finally free to be herself while Gabe realises that there are some people in the world - some people in the aristocracy - that are actually good people. They are honest with each other. Themsleves with each other. And it's kinda great.
It’s so subtly done - I really couldn’t tell you if their love was an instant thing or a slow burn. The chemistry just sizzled and I loved how Penny and Gabe were with each other. They were soulmates finding each other - and finding out that happiness was all they had ever wanted or needed. Gah - it pierced my heart! Do they make men like Gabe in this day and age?
There’s a secret of Penny’s that gets teased throughout the book and finally revealed in the last third of the book. At that point, the love story takes a very slight back seat for what is, or could be for some, uncomfortable or upsetting. It’s not done in much detail but perhaps read yourself some spoilers if you’ve got specific triggers.
I liked the fact that the sex in this book was more of two consenting partners who were all in from the get go. Penny was taking control of her life and I liked that it was her who pursued Gabe and propositioned him! It was an adorable about-play for an unlikely pairing. And that’s without mentioning the delicious build-up to said sex. That first encounter in the inn? Damn near set my Kindle afire!
With any Tessa Dare, not only are you getting a vivid romance with rich characters and hot sex - you’re also getting a huge dose of humour. It's laugh out loud funny without being silly. But having said that, Ash and Chase’s bickering and back-and-forth was delightfully childish and I couldn’t get enough. I hope to read more of them in the future - hopefully with Gabe’s no-nonsense attitude thrown into the mix.
Nicola is the final friend in the four and I cannot wait to read her story. A massive tease was dropped in this book… and then nothing. Nothing. Damn you Tessa Dare - I need more right now!
I feel like it's a bit of a betrayal to note a few American turns of phrase in the book. Hardly surprising but a little jarring to my British ears, especially in a Regency book. But it's only a few tiny slips rather than anything horrific!
If you love Tessa Dare’s writing or you’ve never read her before, and like a smart and sassy historical romance, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Give it a try. I hope you love Penny and Gabe (and Bixby, Delilah, George, Marigold etc etc) as much as I did. 5 stars.
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* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
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