This RITA® Reader Challenge 2015 review was written by Zeee. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Short Historical category.
The summary:
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.
Here is Zeee's review:
Tessa Dare has done it again! Romancing the Duke, the first book in her Castles Ever After series is an awesome read! I have been reading Tessa Dare’s backlist and I must say she has become an auto-click author for me!
Romancing the Duke is about Isolde Goodnight, a daughter of a well known children’s author who has been gifted a castle by her godfather. She has been left destitute by her father and had nowhere to go until she got word about her inheritance. She immediately embarks on a journey to claim her castle without knowing that said castle came with a duke. Ransom, the duke of Rothbury, has been in seclusion for the better part of the year due to an incident that has left him blind. He doesn’t know that HIS castle was sold by his solicitors until Izzy arrives at his doorstep. What happens next is a story that had me giggling all throughout the book!
The story is unique in a sense that it brings a new flavor to the Beauty and the Beast story. I love seeing the sparks between Ransom and Izzy. I love Izzy so much because she reminds me of ME! So yes, I am a little bit biased. I love how Izzy still lived up to her father’s memory by playing the “sweet little Izzy” from her father’s stories and acknowledging and even playing along with her father’s fans/devoted readers. It was so fun reading about the cosplay during the Regency period. In fact, this was the first historical romance book that I have read mentioning an author fan base like today. So fun!
As fun as this book was, I was a little disappointed in the end. I could not imagine how Ransom’s solicitors, who were fleecing him and trying to have him committed to an asylum, got off without so much as a slap on the wrist when their duplicity was discovered. I could not understand how the person handling the case (I forgot what he was called) just threatened the solicitors and telling them that the Prime Minister’s (or head judge or whatever) son was a fan of the Goodnight tales. I mean, it felt really frivolous to me and I was expecting it to be a serious matter.
All in all, I really recommend reading this book. It was fun and enjoyable and I feel like there were no boring parts.
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