Romancing the Duke
RECOMMENDED: Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare is $2.99! This is the first book in the Castles Ever After historical romance series. Sarah reviewed it and gave it a B+:
I think this is a truly unique historical that will appeal to readers who aren’t often historical fans. This story captures both a distant time period, and the present day, reflecting it in the characters – with a story and a parallel set of references beside it that grow together until the meaning of both is intertwined and layered into something I haven’t read before. This is a romance that is also a little bit about the community around romance, and all the many, many people who believe in it and have their fondness for it in common.
In the first in Tessa Dare’s captivating Castles Ever After series, a mysterious fortress is the setting for an unlikely love . . .
As the daughter of a famed author, Isolde Ophelia Goodnight grew up on tales of brave knights and fair maidens. She never doubted romance would be in her future, too. The storybooks offered endless possibilities.
And as she grew older, Izzy crossed them off. One by one by one.
Ugly duckling turned swan?
Abducted by handsome highwayman?
Rescued from drudgery by charming prince?No, no, and… Heh.
Now Izzy’s given up yearning for romance. She’ll settle for a roof over her head. What fairy tales are left over for an impoverished twenty-six year-old woman who’s never even been kissed?
This one.
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Tinderbox by Rachel Grant is $2.99! This is the first book in the Flashpoint series, which is more romantic suspense than contemporary. Readers say the competence porn level is high and the audiobook comes highly recommended.
In the volatile tinderbox of the Horn of Africa, Morgan Adler has made the paleoanthropological find of a lifetime. The discovery brings her to the attention of a warlord eager to claim both Morgan and the fossils, forcing her to make a desperate dash to the nearby US military base to beg for protection.
Master Sergeant Pax Blanchard has orders to intercept Dr. Adler before she reaches the base, and in so doing saves her life. After a harrowing afternoon he safely delivers her to his commanders, only to find his responsibilities toward protecting the obstinate archaeologist have only just begun.
Morgan and Pax are forced to work together in the Djiboutian desert heat, but it is the fire that ignites between them that threatens to combust them both. For the Green Beret, involvement with the woman he must protect is a threat to his career, while for the archaeologist, the soldier is everything she never wanted but somehow can’t resist. When Morgan uncovers a mystery surrounding Djibouti’s most scarce and vital resource, the danger to her reaches the flashpoint. For Pax, protecting her is no longer a matter of following orders, and he’ll risk everything to bring her back alive.
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Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas is $1.99! This is book one of her Bow Street Runners series, and features a courtesan, amnesia, and a hero who is kind of grumpy. Some readers loved him, others found it difficult to forgive him his assumptions about the heroine. You can also grab the second book for $2.99!
Grant Morgan is one of London’s most eligible and unattainable bachelors. He’s also a powerful member of the Bow Street Runners, and when he’s called to the waterfront late one night to investigate a drowning victim, Grant is stunned to recognize the face of Vivien Rose Duvall, a well-known woman of the night. He’s even more startled when he realizes that she’s alive. With no one to care for her, Grant carries Vivien to his home and revives her, only to learn that she is suffering from amnesia.
Vivien hesitantly accepts her handsome rescuer’s claim that she is his mistress, despite her misgivings about her true identity. Nevertheless, she can’t deny the marks on her throat that prove her near-drowning in the Thames was not an accident, and now she must trust the man who claims her as his paramour, for her life is in danger. As Grant searches for Vivien’s attacker, the two find themselves falling in love, all the while struggling to stay one step ahead of the evil forces that will stop at nothing to see Vivien dead.
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The Immortal Matchmakers, Inc. Bundle by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff is 99c! This bundle collects three paranormal romances and a bonus novella. This series seems kind of fun, as it features gods and goddesses turning to an immortal matchmaker for romance help.
From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
IMMORTAL MATCHMAKERS, INC. BONUS BUNDLE:BOOK ONE: IMMORTAL MATCHMAKERS, INC.
SEVEN DAYS TO GO FROM LETHAL IMMORTAL ASSASSIN TO PRINCE CHARMING. DOES HE STAND A CHANCE?
Demigod Andrus Gray may look like every woman’s dream, but when it comes to charm, he sees no point in pretending: He has none and makes no apologies for it. Behaving nicely hasn’t made him the deadly assassin he is today. But is that really the reason he’s still single?The Goddess Cimil–owner of Immortal Matchmakers, Inc.–thinks yes. So when she foresees a mate in Andrus’s near future, she’s determined to make the match happen. That means hiring aspiring actress Sadie Townsend to help the barbarian “act” a little more civilized.
But are seven days really enough? And why does he suddenly have the urge to throw away an eternity of love for just one night with Sadie?
BOOK 2: TOMMASO
SOMETIMES, HOT MEN CAN BE REAL MONSTERS…
Tommaso Fierro is used to the finer things in life–nice suits, nice car, nice house. Okay, his past isn’t so nice, but that’s in the past. Or at least it was until he blacked out after meeting the woman of his dreams.Annnd possibly capturing her.
Annnd possibly terrorizing her before she got away.
Annnd discovering that he’s turning into a horrible creature he loathes with all his heart.Luckily, there’s a cure. Unluckily, it will require him to track this woman down and convince her to give him a second chance. But if he finds her, will she ever believe that he’s really not a monster?
BOOK 3: GOD OF WINE
CAN ROCK-HARD ABS SAVE THE WORLD? HE SURE THINKS SO
Reckless and wild, the God of Wine has been partying for over ten thousand years. And New Year’s Eve, when humans around the world succumb to his naturally occurring spike in powers, is his biggest night. Only this year, things are a bit different.A plague is sweeping the immortal community, and he’s turning downright evil. All those New Year’s bashes will turn into bloodbaths if he doesn’t stop the transformation. Sadly, the only known cure is finding a mate. Not so easy for a rude, beer-bellied mess who’s definitely not husband material.But can a little gym time and help from the pros at Immortal Matchmakers, Inc., turn him into a divine sex machine? Absolutely!
So watch out, ladies! The God of Wine is lookin’ for love. And he has absolutely no clue what he’s doing.Bonus Novella: ACCIDENTALLY…CIMIL?
DO A POWERFUL KING AND A CRAZY GODDESS STAND A CHANCE?
Meet Cimil. Yeah, she’s the Goddess of the Underworld, harbinger of all things evil and deadly, yadda yadda . . . but she’s also crazy fun! While minding her own business in Giza, Egypt, around 3000 BC (give or take a few centuries), she spots the hottest mortal her immortal eyes have ever seen. And he’s not just any guy–he’s the strong, powerful pharaoh. But when he kills her pet unicorn, Cimil vows revenge, even if takes thousands of years to get even.Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
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I have said it before and I will say it again: I find amnesia plotlines like this – where the amnesiac is falsely told s/he was in a relationship with the hero/heroine – to be super disturbing and violative of consent. I haven’t read the book described above, but I’m even more bothered by the hero telling the heroine that she is his mistress, given the lack of social protection/standing for mistresses. I honestly do not know how you build a relationship with someone who lied to you when you were in that state of vulnerability…
The hero in the Kleypas is pretty unforgivable.
@ cbackson – you are absolutely right about everything.
That Kleypas book was reviewed here before… and the same complaints were made then as well. Gotta agree with both of you: the premise was problematic and he was horrible. Not her best work.
Oh, dear, Someone to Watch Over Me. The poor heroine really needed someone to watch over her, because the hero’s sole intent for a good chunk of the book was to have sex with her out of malice; he wanted revenge for some stupid slight or embarrassment and she was stuck being dependent on him, due to the whole amnesia thing and women’s lack of social support. He was pretty contemptuous of her. I wouldn’t recommend it.
Romancing the Duke is one of my favorites by Tessa Dare. I adore Izzy. The duke is not bad either 😉
Re the amnesia plot: I just finished Kylie Scott’s REPEAT—and, while I had some issues with it, I really liked how the amnesiac heroine’s ex was trying so hard to be honest about their previous relationship even though they had had a bad breakup (which, of course, the heroine doesn’t remember). If you like contemporaries, this may be an antidote for the Kleypas.
Also, Mary Stewart’s AIRS ABOVE THE GROUND is only 99-cents in the kindle store. I saw that several other books by Stewart (an excellent mid-century writer of suspense novels that feature intelligent, thoughtful heroines) were in the 1.99 to 3.99 range.
Tessa Dare’s Romancing the Duke was memorable for its charm. My Calibre Library Notes were: Fantastic, Witty, Funny. I remember reading some of the hilarious parts to my husband and it was solidly on my 2014 Favourite Reads List. Highly Recommend.
Airs Above the Ground is one of my favorite Mary Stewarts
Thanks for the heads up about the Mary Stewart books, @DiscoDollyDeb. I own nearly all of her books in paperback except The Moon-Spinners, so I may pick that up since it’s $1.99 for Kindle. And because I still haven’t read Airs Above Ground, I may buy that for 99 cents so I can avoid reading the small mass market print. All of my Mary Stewarts are mass market – except Thornyhold and The Ivy Tree – so they’re more difficult to read as I age. Owning the ones I haven’t read yet on Kindle might be nice.
So glad I passed on Someone to Watch Over Me and bought Romancing the Duke earlier this month.
And, again, thanks to all who recommended BookBub and Ereaderiq. The daily emails are wonderful and helpful.
Seconding/thirding the complaints about Someone to Watch Over Me. (I was just texting my friends about it the other day to complain.) I hadn’t realized it was from 1999 and it really doesn’t hold up. The lying and slut shaming are waaaay over the top as is the revenge sex angle.
Also, could someone let me know what the rule is for spoilers in comments here? There’s a plot point in the book that I would like to mention, but it’s spoiler-y.
Romancing the Duke holds a very special place for me as the novel that took me down the romance reading rabbit hole a few years back.
Sarah recommended it on the Romance Edition episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour (in 2015, I think) as her pick for a romance for someone who’s never read romance. I picked it up and found my way to The Bitchery because of that podcast. I really needed the positivity and feminist viewpoint of the romance community at that time and I’ll always be grateful.
Kleypas just never works for me, turns out, but Someone to Watch Over Me still manages to stand out in my memory as really, really, deeply not working for me.
@FashionablyEvil — I think I know which plot point you mean, and damn do I have feelings about it.
@Anonymous—I think I’m going to call the plot device “deus ex hymen.”
I accidentally read “Pamfiloff” as “Panloaf.” Now I want to bake banana bread.
@Emily C: Aw, that is so very lovely to hear. Thank you! I’m so pleased you found your way here, and that you found yourself some lovely romance to read.
@FashionablyEvil: Yesssss! That is absolutely perfect.
Courtney Milan’s Brothers Sinister series box set is on sale for $2.99 and that’s quite the deal!
(Available internationally, too.)
POLARIS RISING by Jessie Mihalik is $1.99!
^ Forgot to say, in Canada.