Welcome to Lit Wicks! This is where we pair an author’s backlist with candles to really immerse yourself in the reading experience. All of the candles featured in these post are from Etsy, which means there is often worldwide shipping and that you’re supporting independent sellers. The Etsy candle rabbit hole is one I have gone down many times.
For April, we’re diving into Tessa Dare’s books!
Confession time: I haven’t read any of Dare’s books. I KNOW! I’m sorry! So for these scents, I’m relying on my fellow SBTB cohorts, reviews, and the books’ descriptions. I’d also love to hear your suggestions in the comments for other scents to go along with these books!
If you’re curious about what other authors have received the Lit Wicks treatment, check out our category page!
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The Duchess Deal: I actually bought this book to support a local independent bookstore’s tiny romance section. It also helped that Elyse loved this book and I trust her judgment. While the heroine is a seamstress, I wanted to pick a scent that was a little sexier than fresh linen or some other fabric smell. Besides, the cover looks like the hero and heroine are about to get a little hot and bothered. One of the reviews I read mentioned a scene where the heroine spills wine on herself and it gave me an aha! moment.
Candle: Lumiere Candle Company — Cabernet Sauvignon 7oz. ($13)
One Dance with the Duke: This is the first book in Dare’s Stud Club series. It was released in 2010 and I feel as though this series is not as talked about as her other ones. The hero is a horse breeder.
Candle: Willowberry Pet — Horse-Sweat & Leather 12oz. ($20.95)
I’m into the leather scent, but I’m on the fence about the horse-sweat component. However, the two together might evoke a more stable-like setting.
Goddess of the Hunt: I know several readers had issues with the heroine in this one, but I was really attracted by the setting! And the cover, too. It looks like a cozy English estate and I can picture some gardens tucked away on the grounds somewhere.
Candle: White Mountain Candle — English Garden 1oz. ($3)
I believe you can find the same candle from the vendor in larger sizes. The garden scent includes notes of rose, lily, and hyacinth.
Spindle Cove: Now we’re digging into some long-running series by Dare! Spindle Cove is a seaside escape for spinsters and has a variety of heroines with really neat interests. Let’s get started!
Candle: The Candle Bar Shop — Cotton Candy 8oz. ($15)
The series in general is often described as feel-good and fluffy, and many readers have fond memories of reading the first book, A Night to Surrender ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ). Cotton candy is definitely fluffy and for me, evokes a feeling of fun nostalgia.
Candle: Old Glow Candles — Vintage Bookshop 6.3oz ($15.92)
Any Duchess Will Do ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) features a heroine who wants to open her own bookshop. A woman after our own hearts! This candle is supposed to smell like coffee, leather-bound books, and antique wood.
Candle: Epic Adventure Candles — Dwarven Forge 4oz. ($10)
Inspired by the Beauty and the Blacksmith novella ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), this candle has a wood wick! I love wood wicks because they crackle and make me feel like I have a rustic fireplace in my room. The description says the candle contains notes of “peppery metal and woodsmoke.”
Castles Ever After: Another series with heroines who have awesome, unconventional hobbies! Most of the books in this series, if not all, have been reviewed here on SBTB.
Candle: Bubble and Geek — Castle Library 8oz. ($16) or a 3oz. wax melt ($5.50)
In Romancing the Duke ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd ), books play a big part of the heroine’s identity. And since the series features a lot of castles, marrying the two aspects seems like a wonderful idea.
Candle: At My Wick’s End — Hops 8oz. ($15) or a 1oz. wax melt ($5)
This was definitely Sarah’s suggestion, since she noted that Say Yes to the Marquess ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) has a heroine who wants to turn a castle into a brewery. Hell, yeah! Now, I’m not a person who enjoys hop-forward beers, but I know my beer tastes lean toward the sour and weird.
Candle: Highland Bluff Studio — Books to the Ceiling 8oz. ($12)
This candle is for When a Scot Ties the Knot ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). When searching for scents, I was torn between tartan, something with lobsters, or a writing-themed candle. I’ve done plenty of “highlander” candles before in Lit Wicks and I didn’t think anyone wanted a seafood-scented candle. This one smells like paper, ink, and history. I know what the first two things smell like. But, history? I’m stumped.
Hopefully, I touched on a majority of Dare’s series! Which scent would you give to your favorite Dare book? Which author should be featured next?
I love Tessa Dare and just seing these books listed here I’m craving me some reading:) I also loooove candles and I just ordered some soy wax (it’s due in the mail today!) and I might just use books as an inspiration to mix my scent, thank you!;)
These are so fun! I love candles but have so many at the moment that it’s hard to justify buying more. Just like with books. I have several candle warmers around my house set on timers, so scents fill the air throughout my home and office all day. Some of these are going on my wishlist.
I discovered Tessa Dare’s books late 2016 and started my 2017 Goodreads challenge glomming through as many as I could get my hands on. They are lovely, fun stories that are low on angst and that was perfect for me last year. I have a feeling I will do a re-read of the whole series this year at some point.
The Tessa Dare book that made me fall hard was Say Yes to the Marquess, which was my second book of hers and has all my catnip. I love the boxer hero, the entrepreneur heroine, the “off-limits” romance, the long-time crush, the cake scene, the hot sex scenes. Hops are a great choice for the book, but I’m not really a beer fan. I would choose a cake scented candle, as an homage to my favorite scene in the book.
I picked up the Spindle Cove series after that book and enjoyed them all too. My favorite from that series is probably A Week to Be Wicked with its screwball comedy, enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, road-trip adventure catnip. A great candle for that would be something that smells like the seashore, to remind me of the cave scene.
When I need to go to a happy place, these two Tessa Dare novels are on my re-read list.
I’d love to see a Lit Wicks for Jennifer Crusie novels. So many of her books feature great descriptions and uses of food and cooking. And I am a sucker for a delicious, food-scented candle. I can imagine the scent I’d pick for Bet Me (donuts), Agnes and the Hitman(waffles), Faking It(orange-pineapple). It’d be fun to see what other scent choices readers would pair with her books.
My favorite Tessa Dare is A Week to be Wicked, so like Marci, I’d go for a fresh sea salt kind of scent there. Another fave is Do You Want to Start a Scandal, for which I would definitely choose a peach-scented candle!
I love all of these suggestions. All of them. I was supposed to be blowing my paycheck on yarn. Now I want to blow it on candles instead (pun intended).
Thank you for opting not to feature a lobster-scented candle.
@Marci, @rhymeswithmaria
YES, ‘A Week to be Wicked’!
And yes to candle + book pairings. Though, hopefully, kept a safe distance from one another.
So, given the candle connection, would that actually be a Week to be Wick-ed?
Curiously, I’m not seeing any of the links to the candles under discussion.
@Kareni: All the candles should be hyperlinked in red/pink! So the format is “Candle: LINK/CANDLE NAME.” Also, clicking on the photos will take you to the product as well.
@Amanda ~ That seems to be the issue; I see neither the photos of the candles nor the red/pink hyperlinks for them though I do see the prices. I do see the hyperlinks for the book titles; they are in red. Perhaps it’s an ad blocker thing.
…I need to stop reading these posts. I get excited because I love candles, but then they’re mostly (or in this case, all) soy wax. Which I can’t use. *sigh* I’d love for a new wax trend to start, preferably one that doesn’t cause me breathing and migraine issues.
I love Dare’s Stud Club series. It’s on my permanent re-read shelf. Only the first one is horse-heavy. For the second one, something outdoorsy with rain and damp earth, something woodsy. The third one, maybe something with cotton or leather overtones. Seriously, I want more people to read the stud club series!!
I’m in agreement with most people here, especially Marci. I love A Week to Be Wicked!
As another option for candles, Surrender of a Siren took place on a ship for a lot of the story. So, sea/ocean scents would work and that fish scented candle you found, but am also glad you didn’t choose. Although, it would need to be a mahi-mahi scent instead of lobster. It is the second book after Goddess of the Hunt.