My sister gave me three books for my birthday. Yes, she gave me a series. The Duchess Deal is the first one. So I decided that it was time to read it. This was my first Tessa Dare novel.
George Pembrooke, Duke of Ashbury is the hero of The Duchess Deal. He goes by Ash to his friends, of which he doesn’t have many. Ash was injured and disfigured in the war. As a result, he pushed away a lot of people.
Emma Gladstone is a seamstress. Her father turned her out of his home at the age of 16. She walked to London in the snow. Emma was fortunate to have found a place to work.
Brief Summary (while trying not to give everything away)
The Duchess Deal starts with Emma arriving at Ash’s house, wearing a wedding dress. Yes, I said wedding dress. You see, Emma had been hired to make Ash’s fiancee’s wedding dress, but when the wedding was called off, Annabelle refused to pay Emma for her work. Emma needs that money or she will be unable to pay rent.
Ash had just written that he needed a bride when Emma appeared. He offers her a deal. He can pay her for the dress or he can make her a duchess. Like any self-respecting woman, Emma thinks he’s gone mad at first, but Ash wears her down.
Recommendation?
This book reminds me in a lot of ways of Beauty and the Beast (which is my favorite Disney movie ever). The disfigured hero, the meddling staff, all lend itself to Beauty and the Beast. I must say I preferred this one to A Court of Thorn and Roses.
This was my first Tessa Dare book and it won’t be my last. Not only because my sister bought me two more, but I really enjoyed this book. If you’re a fan of historical romances and are willing to be swept away (in other words, don’t nitpick the historical accuracy), you’ll want to get this one.
Jennifer Pitney is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
And in case you hadn’t figured it out, my plan for 2021 is to write a blog post for each book I read. Last year, I read 150 books. We’ll see how I do this year.
Want to see all the books I read this year? Check out my kit here!
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