Title: Romancing the Duke Series: Castles Ever After #1
Author: Tessa Dare
Published: January 28, 2014
Genre(s): Romance: Historical
Page Count: 370
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads: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.
Izzy Goodnight has been left penniless after her exploitive father died, but when she finds out her godfather has left her a bequest, she rushes off to a ruined castle in Northumberland to receive her inheritance. Except. The ruined castle is her inheritance. And the duke who rightfully owns it is in residence. And he’s not letting the castle go without a fight.
This, I think, is certainly one of Tessa Dare’s better novels (not that I’ve read all of them). Her books tend to be on the lighter side of the romance spectrum, and have been known to be somewhat anachronistic. Romancing the Duke, thankfully, doesn’t suffer too much from these problems, and presents a story that’s not too far outside the realm of possibility, though it’s of course not a terribly serious romance.
Honestly, less than 12 hours finishing, as I sit to write the review, I can remember almost nothing about Romancing the Duke, which is definitely not good. There was nothing particularly memorable or affecting about this story.
Izzy and Ransom were a nice pairing, I think, and believed in their romance, but it didn’t seem to have enough depth or weight to make much an impression. The most interesting aspect of the book is probably Ransom’s disability and disfigurement (blinded in a swordfight), which I thought Dare handled quite well, with respect and realism. Ransom was never victimized or caricaturized on account of his blindness, and I thought that entire aspect was very well-done. On the other hand, the situation is kind of typical. Virginal spinster encounters man with mucho sexual experience, there are sexytimes, they fall in love, there’s a grand gesture, and then The End. Romancing the Duke follows familiar territory and doesn’t throw any surprises. And I understand that’s hard in such a saturated market as genre romance, but still.
So, altogether, this is a pretty good book, and another success for Tessa Dare. I don’t find that her books move me in the way I’d like them to, but they’re undoubtedly entertaining and enjoyable. Romancing the Duke was worth the read, though probably not worth a re-read.
