Romancing the Duke: Castles Ever After

Only thing is the books in the series are really the length of a novella - but love them!

I have been a fan of Tessa Dare since her debut novel, Goddess of the Hunt, blew me away five years ago. Since then, I have had the great pleasure of watching her grow as a writer and have just been extremely impressed with almost everything that she has put out. So I was very excited to read Romancing the Duke, the first book in her new Castles Ever After series. And what a treat this book was! I loved almost everything about it from the characters to the romance to the setting.The heroine of this book is Miss Isolde (Izzy) Goodnight, the daughter of a famous fiction writer, who has been left destitute by his untimely death. She has very little money and, due to her age (26) and unconventional looks, virtually no marriage prospects. Thankfully, her luck seems to change when she is told that she has inherited a castle from a mysterious godfather. That is until she arrives at the castle and realizes that it is inhabited by a surly duke who has no desire to leave his home.I absolutely adored everything about Izzy Goodnight. She is a intelligent, but plain woman who understands how bleak her prospects are yet still has the audacity to dream of love and happiness. Her loving, but realistic feelings towards her famous father were a breath of fresh air in a genre where parents are viewed as the epitome of evil or as saints. I loved Izzy's confidence and determination to keep her hold on Gostley Castle by any means necessary. It was also fun to read about her reputation among her father's fans (as sweet, innocent little Izzy Goodnight) and how it clashed against the passionate woman she really is.The aforementioned duke of the story is Ransom Vane, a scarred and partially blind man who was injured in a duel almost a year earlier. Ransom was used to the life of a wealthy, careless rake until he was injured and has slunk off to Gostley Castle to live a life of solitude. He is exactly the type of hero that I love reading about in historical romances: grumpy, stubborn, and unwilling to go along with any of Izzy's ideas about learning the truth about who really owns the castle. But, despite his flaws, Ransom also is an honorable man who hasn't had great luck with love (romantic and familial) so he reacts much like an injured animal. Seeing him so flustered by Izzy's backbone was wonderful to read about and made for some of my favorite scenes.Ransom and Izzy are a couple that was obviously made for each other. Their first meeting shows off the splendid chemistry that they have with the constant arguing and attempts to throw the other off their pedestal. Besides the banter, these two also have a ton of sexual tension. Both are passionate people and their arguing just heightens their physical attraction to each other. Things get pretty dirty between these two though there are, of course, plenty of scenes that will grab at the doe-eyed romantic in us all.While Ransom and Izzy steal the show, there were other aspects of Romancing the Duke that made it stand out from all the other historical romances that I read. The setting (Gostley Castle) is the quintessential haunted castle with its secret passages, rooms full of bats, and weird noises at all hours of the night. Tessa Dare does an amazing job of making the reader feel like they are in the moment with Ransom and Izzy.There are also some amazing side characters that provide a nice balance with the romance. My personal favorites were the West Yorkshire's Riding Knights of Morganglia and Cresside's Handmaidens which were an obvious, and respectful, homage to the fan groups that pepper pop culture nowadays. I also loved Ransom's loyal valet (Duncan) and Miss Pelham (the vicar's daughter) who is a huge fan of "The Goodnight Tales" and became a good friend of Izzy's rather than the rival that I thought she might become. And, of course, I have to mention Izzy's pet ermine, Snowdrop, who plays an important role later in the book.All in all, I found Romancing the Duke to be a delightful romp that provided a nice twist to the typical fairy tale retelling format. Tessa Dare does a wonderful job balancing the darker themes with light, humorous moments so that the reader is always on their toes. I can't wait to learn more about the mysterious inheritance of castles that seem to be the overarching theme of the series and to see what Ms. Dare thinks of next.

You know how sometimes you find a book that you just are SO into that even continuing to binge your new favorite TV show pales in comparison? That was this book to me! It's been a long time since I found a book that has engaged me so much that I'd rather sit down and read instead of watching TV.I discovered Tessa Dare when her first Spindle Cove novel went on sale on eBook for .99. I figured, hey it's only .99, I'll give it a try, and I FELL IN LOVE with Miss Dare's writing and storytelling! I immediately read all her other books that we available and she was added to the list of my "must buy" authors!This story doesn't disappoint! My favorite thing about Tessa Dare's writing is the humor. I love it when the characters personal thoughts are written in a way that is realistic and yet the delivery is a totally hilarious one liner. This novel is filled with wonderful funny and humorous thoughts, situations and dialogue.Another thing that I really liked was that the hero was able to be brooding and stern but still be tender and sweet. I hate it when the hero is what I like to call "an angry hero." When they are constantly getting upset at everything the heroine does and I feel like they always yelling and telling the heroine what to do (I find this happens a lot in historical romance novels) and then she decides that he's the only one for her and the rest of the novel is a quest for her to find his soft side. I hate that. Our hero, Ransom, in Romancing The Duke, has every reason to be a hard, angry, man. But yet, he still has a softness about him, which is why I could see the heroine falling in love with him. And when he finally accepted that softer side of himself, I loved him even more!The heroine is a great woman too. I could absolutely see myself being friends with a woman like that in real life.This is a great "Beauty and the Beast" type tale. It is a wonderful homage to today's nerd culture (cosplay especially!), which I found extra enjoyable and a great addition to the love story! If you love Tessa Dare, or historical romantic comedies, then you will love this book!

Have you been yearning to fall into a fairytale and lose yourself for several hours of humor, semi-drama and sizzling romance? Here it is in all its knights and handmaiden glory. Yes, there are knights, a ghastly, ghostly Gostly Castle, a resident scarred and tortured Duke, handmaidens (on demand it seems) and a feisty, innocent young woman who refuses to be pushed around.Izzy is described as not a beauty, at least in her own eyes her super curly, untameable hair and her nose make her unattractive. But Ransom, the duke, and the reader know that she is beautiful inside and out. She has a pet ermine that attacks at will and also with encouragement. She has knights and handmaidens at her beck and call. Yes, it is true, but I will leave you to find out why.Ransom is scarred and physically injured from a short-sword fight that occurred several months ago, but he is a handsome man in spite of the injuries, but irascible and not at all tolerant of having Izzy invade his space. Duncan his manservant of all tasks just tries to help where he can.This book is Tessa Dare in top form. Her dialog and prose is laugh out loud:“She tilted her face to his. He could feel her breath against his neck. Soft wisps of heat. “And ever since I was a girl,” she whispered, “I’ve dreamed of my first kiss. I just knew in my heart that it would be romantic and tender and knee meltingly sweet.” “Well now you know you were wrong. By this age, you should be accustomed to disappointment.”Or perhaps this passage:“Adolescence,” he said, “is awkward. Attending a past lover’s wedding is awkward. Making love on horseback is awkward.”She was in agreement, so far as the first part. She’d have to take his word on it when it came to the second and third……..….She had a hundred questions she wanted to ask him. Nay, a thousand. And the stupidest questions were the ones that clamored loudest to get out. Have you truly made love on horseback? She wanted to ask. How does that even work? Was it how you were injured?”I recommend this book to all who want a feel good, smile friendly, sexy romance.

Romancing the Duke is essentially a retooling of Beauty and the Beast, a headstrong, if slightly down-on-her-luck heroine, and a bundle deal of a grumpy duke with his dilapidated castle. Even with this well-worn framework, the narrative throws in enough fresh spin on things (some surprisingly contemporary ones, like the concept of a fandom), making this journey still well worth taking.There's no question, Tessa Dare is a master at creating likable leads. Remaining true to her romantic comedy niche, she has nailed the perfect character formula that exaggerates for comedic effect, yet still maintains his/her integrity as a relatable, sympathetic human being; naive characters never derail into helpless dimwit, and the antagonistic ones always possesses enough charm and quirkiness, making them easily redeemable and fall for.The comparison to Disney animations really comes down to the comedic style, both deliver the funnies via snazzy, witty dialogs, and well-timed awkward silence, where characters are startled motionless, simply let the preceding impact (or trauma) sinks in.Romancing the Duke is so cute and wholesome, that when the sex comes (and they are steamy), it's almost a little... unsettling? Then again, this might just be a personal issue, as I've convinced myself the story was played out by Disney-like animated characters not dissimilar to Tangled or Frozen (and animated sex scene is really not my cup of tea, ha!).This is an easy recommendation for a fun, historical, romantic sexy time.