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)


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The wonderful people of Mills & Boon sent me some rather delightful packages in order to celebrate the release of The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare.

“Oh, and here’s my favorite.” Hammond shook open a letter and cleared his throat for dramatic effect. “‘Dear Mr. Hammond, if it is not too great an imposition, might I ask that your workers refrain from performing heavy labor between nine o’clock in the morning and half-three in the afternoon? Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals, and sensitive to loud noises. My dear Freya is losing quills. I feel certain this will concern you as much as it does me. Neighborly yours, Lady Penelope Campion.’” He tossed the folio of letters onto the table, where they landed with a smack.

“Her hedgehog. Really.” 

“If you won’t protect yourself,” Ash warned, “we will have to take protective measures on your behalf.”

“What sort of protective measures?”

Nicola rushed into the room. Wisps of ginger hair floated about her head in an unkempt halo. In her hand, she carried a brown-paper packet. “I brought the poisoned biscuits,” she said, breath- less. “I’m still perfecting the spring-loaded trap for her door.”

Wonderful. Yet another addition to the “Protect Penny” brigade.

“That’s very kind of you, Nicola.” Penny took the packet of biscuits from her friend, tucked them behind her back, and while completing her circuit of the room, discreetly tossed them into the fire. 

Gabe opened a strongbox hidden in a cabinet and withdrew a large, flat velvet box. He placed the box on the desk blotter, inordinately anxious. “Go on, then. Open it.”

She lifted the top and peered inside. “Oh, Gabriel.”

He moved behind the chair, looking over her shoulder at the sparkling array of rings. Diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald . . . every precious gem he could think to request at the jeweler’s, and a few he hadn’t known existed.

“I thought you’d prefer to be surprised, but I didn’t trust myself to choose one you liked. So I simply bought them all.”

“They’re exquisite.”

He waved off her praise. “None of them are fine enough for you.”

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And if you want to read my review again, just click here.

Next up on the Blog Tour is...

Carti Cu Colti

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Buy this book:

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *


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The Girl Meets Duke Series:

               

   

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Click to see other books by Tessa Dare

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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Buy this book:

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *


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The Girl Meets Duke Series:

               

   

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Click to see other books by Tessa Dare

For a dashing duke and the proprietress of a secret, sensual club, passion could lead to love…
Thomas Powell, the new Duke of Northfield, knows he should be proper and principled, like his father. No more duelling, or carousing, or frequenting masked balls. But he’s not ready to give up his freedom just yet.

Lucia—known as Amina—manages the Orchid Club, a secret society where fantasies become reality. Yet no member of the club has ever intrigued her…until him, the masked stranger whose heated looks sear her skin. After months of suppressed longing, do they dare to give in to temptation… ?

Title: Dare to Love a Duke
Author: Eva Leigh
Series: London Underground / Scandalous Ladies of London
Pages: 384
Genre(s): Historical, Regency, England
Hot Buttons: /

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This is the third book in the Scandalous Ladies of London series (also known as the London Underground series). While the couples from the first two books (From Duke Til(l) Dawn and Counting on a Countess respectively) pop up in this tale - this can be read entirely as a standalone.

I enjoyed the first two books in the series - giving them both 4 stars - but this one just didn’t hit the mark for me. I think that might partly have been because both Tom and Amina/Lucia have appeared throughout the series with little glimpses that set out to tempt readers into wanting to know the couple’s story. Instead, I always thought they were a mismatched pair which definitely had me going into this book waiting to be convinced.

And I was not convinced.

I normally like a couple who are hugely different in some way and have to find a way to overcome their situation/temprement/ideals etc to be together. In this story, I found Lucia and Tom were so similar - jaded, world wise characters - that even their difference in stations hardly seemed insurmountable.

I also very much enjoy sex in a story - in fact I prefer a story with some graphic shenanigans going on and if there’s graphic language it’s all the better. So I was very much surprised that I found the sex, and the descriptions of the Orchid Club’s goings on, to be vulgar, gratuitous and a little gross. And the use of all the f-words in a Regency tale…well, it didn’t feel right, somehow.

Despite the writing being good, I found myself massively struggling to finish this book. I understand that much of this might have been due to my preconceived notions about the book and its characters - which is why I feel it’s only fair that I up my grading to 3 stars instead of my initial thoughts of 2.

Not a book for me, but if you like the idea of a worldly woman who manages a sex club matching with a worldly duke who frequents said sex club - then this very well could be tale for you. But just 3 stars from me.

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Buy this book now:

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

The London Underground / Scandalous Ladies of London Series:

       

         

       

Click to see other books by Eva Leigh

Yay! Welcome to Day 4 of the Counting on a Countess Blog Tour!

I'm delighted to have you here for this, my first ever Blog Tour. I'm a Blog Tour virgin!

Counting on a Countess is the second book in Eva Leigh's Scandalous Ladies of London series, the first being From Duke Till Dawn.

For this occasion, I had the opportunity to ask the wonderful Eva Leigh about the series, her writing and which book she wishes she'd written!

Welcome to the blog! What can you tell me about the Scandalous Ladies of London series?

Regency London was a much more dynamic place than we realize! There was Almack’s and White’s,  but there was a whole underworld full of fascinating people. I wanted to write a series that explored different aspects of that underworld, and I wanted to make my heroines the shady characters.

 

What made you write about the more unusual, underground aspects of Regency life - especially the scandalous ladies themselves?

I love that the high and low mixed together, and that the borders between the two were constantly shifting. Those liminal places are where stories happen. When it came to writing a romance that turned its gaze toward the in-between people and places, I wanted to focus on what it was like to be both a woman and someone who didn’t adhere to societal expectations and regulations. Resistance and nonconformity have always existed, so I wanted to turn the camera towards them.

 

Where did you get your inspiration for this series?

I love stories set in places that we don’t often see in historical romance, and I also wanted to see if I could write heroines who have moral complexity.

 

What kind of heroes are in these books - that can handle and love these unusual ladies?

Oh, yes! For me, the heroes have to appreciate all the aspects of what makes the heroines exceptional. They have to admire and support them. So while my heroes wear tall boots and cut dashing figures in Society, they’re also men who recognize the importance of a strong and unique partner. No matter what, my heroes are never misogynists. That’s not sexy to me, or a man who needs to be redeemed by love. And yes, there were men even then who believed in the equality between the sexes. That is definitely sexy.

 

What’s next for the series? Are we going to see Langdon’s story?

Most assuredly. Keep an eye on Langdon and Amina. They’ll get their HEA in Dare To Love a Duke. Be forewarned, their book is extremely sexy.

 

If you could become any of your heroines from any of your books, and live their story, which would you choose and why?

Honestly, I’m pretty accustomed to being me, though I love aspects of all of my heroines. Cassandra (from From Duke Till Dawn) is a survivor, and Tamsyn (from Counting On a Countess) is extraordinarily brave, so those are qualities I’d love to embrace in myself.

 

Did you always want to become a writer?

Yes! Almost immediately after learning how to read, I started writing. One of my earliest book-length projects, written when I was eleven, included a fantasy epic based on the musical Cats, followed by what we would call “fan fiction” centred around the group Duran Duran. I’m from the Eighties—could you tell? ;)

I went through a few different permutations, thinking I might become a book illustrator, a costume designer, a dramaturge, or an academic, but I always came back to writing, because I never stopped. 

 

Which romance book do you wish you’d written?

I love the wit of Tessa Dare, and the beauty and insight of Julie Anne Long. And I wouldn’t be upset if I, and not Jane Austen, had written Persuasion.

 

If you got transported to the Regency - which three modern inventions or things would you miss the most?

My contact lenses, my medications, and chocolate bars.

 

Looking back to when you were a new author - what piece of advice would you give yourself from everything you’ve learned to date?

Keep going. You’ll face many setbacks and pivots and reinventions, but don’t stop, because the struggle is worth it.


Thank you for joining us, Eva, and for answering the questions. I for one cannot wait to read Dare to Love a Duke!

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To read my reviews of From Duke Till Dawn and Counting on a Countess, 

click on the book covers below.

                                   

                        

BUY IT NOW!	BUY IT NOW!

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The London Underground / Scandalous Ladies of London Series:       

               

Click to see other books by Eva Leigh