Review: Romancing the Duke (Castles Ever After #1) by Tessa Dare
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Series: Castles Ever After #1
Author: Tessa Dare
Published January 28th 2014 by Avon
Goodreads Synopsis
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.
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.
Goodreads
Review
I just love Tessa Dare's books, and decided to order her Castles Ever After series during lock down. Romancing the Duke sees penniless and orphaned Isolde Ophelia Goodnight inherit a castle in Northumberland from her late godfather, and her luck seems to be changing. Growing up, her father always told her stories about bravery and romance, but she knew that would never be for her. Now, she can live her life in comfort, not having to rely on the fans of her father's work, the Moranglians, who still think of her as little Izzy Goodnight. However, it seems that the castle isn't as uninhabited as she first thought, and the occupant is more than angry to have his peace broken. Ransom Vane, Duke of Rothbury, returned home from war an angry man, and after a disastrous duel, he's left a scarred man, blind and even angrier. He's eschewed all of society, except for his loyal valet, and having a woman disrupt that peace, and claim to now own the castle, makes him more than a bit annoyed. Ransom and Izzy must learn to co-exist in Gostley Castle, and discover just how the castle came to be sold, before the Dukedom is taken from him.
Izzy and Ransom were amazing characters, and their story just blew me away. Now I did read this book back in 2019 when my library had it on their ebook system, but I hadn't really discovered my love for historical romances just then. When I re-read it during lock down, I realised that my first read through wasn't enough, and picked up on so much more this time! The idea of having inherited a castle was such an original idea, and I loved how Izzy took to it all. Her and Ransom have such a chemistry that it is impossible to put the book down, and I couldn't help but ship them together. Ransom needed someone like Izzy to break through his defences, and she needed Ransom to help her understand her own worth and value. The subplot with the Moranglians coming to save the day was the nice bit of light humour that we needed, and this has definitely cemented Tessa as one of my favourite authors!
Dates Read:
June 18-19, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
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