luna ❥
Written on Apr 6, 2021
not rlly my cup of tea but it was ok
'Prepare to Fall in Love'Julia Quinn, author of Bridgerton'Love her writing.' Jodi Picoult on The Governess Game
'I absolutely loved it; her style is so warm and funny.' Nicola Cornick
'I am a Duke. I'm not asking you to marry me. I am offering to marry you. It's a different thing entirely.'When the Duke of Ashbury returns from war scarred, he realises he needs an heir - which means he needs a wife! When Emma Gladstone, a vicar's daughter turned seamstress visits wearing a wedding dress, he decides on the spot that she'll do.
His terms are simple:
- They will be husband and wife by night only.
- No lights, no kissing.
- No questions about his battle scars.
- Last, and most importantly... Once she's pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again.But Emma is no pushover. She has secrets and some rules of her own:
Praise for The Duchess Deal
- They will have dinner together every evening.
- With conversation.
- And teasing.
- Last, and most importantly... Once she's seen the man beneath the scars, he can't stop her from falling in love...'The irresistibly provocative, classy love scenes set the bar high for other historical romance novels.'
Publishers Weekly'This book is funny, it's charming, and the romance works so beautifully.'
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books'A rollicking and passionate romp that is just what... fans will relish.'
Library Journal'Wickedly funny and soul-satisfyingly romantic novel...' Booklist
- ISBN13 9780008280390
- Publish Date 22 February 2018 (first published 22 August 2017)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
- Format eBook
- Pages 384
- Language English
- URL https://millsandboon.co.uk
Reviews
mrs_mander_reads
Written on Feb 28, 2020
Caitiebelle
Written on Dec 11, 2019
[...]From his expression, one would think she’d suggested nightly abdominal surgery. Performed with a knitting needle and a spoon.
Tessa Dare. The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) (Kindle Locations 767-768). Harpercollins. Kindle Edition.
One of my absolute favourite historical regency authors of all time. Her books are always so full of comedy - she comes up with the most humorous things, like when our dear Duke of Ashbury here, only blasphemes with swear words from Shakespeare!
[..]You. You crusty botch of nature. You poisonous bunch-backed toad.[...]
Tessa Dare. The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) (Kindle Locations 2826-2827). Harpercollins. Kindle Edition.
I was laughing so hard at times I had to wipe my eyes!*g*
This book is about conquering your fears, overcoming life's obstacles and to learn to trust again - after you have been so severely hurt, in our Duke's case he was severely injured at Waterloo faulty rocket hit him and the burns he suffered were terrible. and when he came home and after over a year of recovering - he was treated most appalling by his then-fiancé. :'(
We meet dear Emma, the daughter of a Vickar, turned seamstress. Their very first encounter had me in stitches and sold from the beginning - I mean what is more romantic than your hard work being called unicorn vomit? *g*
“I can’t even take the whole thing in. It looks like unicorn vomit. Or the pelt of some snow beast rumoured to menace the Himalayas.”
Tessa Dare. The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) (Kindle Locations 116-117). Harpercollins. Kindle Edition.
The whole book is full of fantastic interactions between our couple. A deal is struck - but can they keep to it?
The Duke of Ashbury is by far a very interesting character - he's got a lot of what I would call "gallows humour" and he's also a bit full of himself in the start, haha.
But to quote him: He's a Duke. *g*
A book series I highly recommend. It's light, humoristic, it's def. saucy and has GREAT steamy sheet scenes - sometimes not even making it to the bed ;)
Emma gets some great friends, though def. peculiar for the time period, but strong women none the less - and we follow them later in the series, her friend Alexandra, for example, is in our main female hero in book 2: [b:The Governess Game|36111620|The Governess Game (Girl Meets Duke, #2)|Tessa Dare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594593376l/36111620._SY75_.jpg|57700166]
If I could give this book 10 stars I would - but alas I have to give it "only" 5.
A must-read!
Angie
Written on Nov 11, 2018
🦄
“You asked a question. I replied. With words and everything.”
EBookObsessed
Written on Oct 15, 2018
I found this on sale several months ago (and it is still currently only $1.99 at most retailers so don't delay) and I was intrigued enough to check it out. I saw several glowing reviews so I invested my $1.99 and finally took the time to read it. It is everything everyone declared and more than worth the price.
Emma Gladstone was spunky and undeterred and the Duke of Ashbury is dark-witted and self-deprecating. He also fits into my favorite hero group of wounded heroes, in this case an actual war hero disfigured and scarred resulting from a rocket explosion.
Emma is a seamstress and arrives on the door of the Duke of Ashbury looking to be paid. She arrives wearing the wedding dress that she worked so hard on for his betrothed who backed out of the wedding since she was so disgusted by his scarring which covers the left side of his face and going down the left-side of his body. Emma asks for only the 2 pounds 3 shillings she is due for her work since she needs to pay her rent. Ashford needs a heir so his family estate doesn't go to some dumbass cousin. He decides that he kind of likes the pretty, spitfire and if he needs a marriage of convenience, the poor seamstress will do quite well so he makes the fiery Emma an offer to become a Duchess. Emma was tossed out of her house at 16 because she fell for B.S. of a Squire's son who used her and wouldn't marry her, so Emma gives him the "not falling for that again," takes her money and leaves.
But Ash has made up his mind and he wants Emma so he chases her down to the dress shop to convince Emma that his plan is sound. She only has to have sex with him until she becomes pregnant and then she can go live a life of comfort in his country estate and raise his son and heir. She won't have to deal with Ash again. While she feels for Ash, what sways her is a young girl, much like herself who is used by a man, but this poor girl gets pregnant. If Emma can take her to the country with her, the girl can give birth quietly, give the baby to a couple to raise and return to her family with no one the wiser. So Emma agrees to marry Ash and give him a child and stick to his rules.
Emma quickly gets over Ash's scars to see the man behind them, the one who fears rejection more than anything. His bride to be and all his friends have all abandoned the scarred monster who returned from the war. But that really isn't the only reason Emma agrees, as a seamstress Emma knows bodies and even the mostly inexperienced Emma knows that Ash is a gorgeous man, and having him in her bed isn't going to be the hardship he thinks it is.
They outlined the rules at the beginning of the marriage, which Ash defined so that Emma would at least have sex with him long enough to produce an heir, and so that he didn't get too attached to her because, of course, he could never mean anything to her. Everything goes wrong with that as great sex and mutual respect turns into love. There are of course misunderstandings since both are feeling more than they are supposed to in this marriage of convenience but they are quickly worked through and don't drag down the story.
Emma and Ash are wonderful characters and play well off each other's humor. He is frustrated when he can't get Emma to fear his wrath and leave him be the sulking monster that he is convinced she sees. Part of this, which made it hard to write a review since he didn't have a name, is that when asked what Emma should call her new husband, he said "Duke" or "Ashbury," which she refuses and his given name of George is also her father's name so she refuses that as well. So to Ash's consternation, she spends the story trying out different pet names for him from daring to pumpkin to lambkins to dumpling. He tries to get her to call him my stallion, but Emma turns to her friends for suggestions of names for her "new cat" when she runs out of names to try.
Emma fears acceptance of a former seamstress by the ton but gets invited to tea by the Lady across the way and finds friendship with three other young women who don't fit the norm of London Society. The next book in the series, The Governess Game, just came out featuring one of the friends and the others will be featured in future stories. I didn't debate long and I have picked up and started the second book.
This was very entertaining and a quick, light story if you are looking for something fun.
nitzan_schwarz
Written on Aug 22, 2018
"What could possibly deter any woman from accepting?”
“What, indeed. Perhaps a disinclination to feeling like a broodmare.” They stepped off the pavement and crossed the street.
“A broodmare. Hm. I’m not certain I mind that comparison. If you’re a broodmare, that would make me the stud.”
“And there,” she said, “is the injustice of the world in a nutshell.”
This was such a delightful read!!
Emma was a perfect main character - she was sweet, kind and loving, but also extremely passionate, honest with herself and her feelings and strong-willed. Ash doesn't stand a moment against this lady but it sure is fun watching him try!
Speaking of Ash, I loved the guy. He is so dry. I live for it. It's interesting because Dare doesn't waste time on making him appear like a jerk and then showing us what's underneath. From the first page, we know this guy truly thinks himself unlovable, and that's the root to all his (intentional) jerkery. And even still I never found him a jerk (probably because every true jerk moment is told through his eyes, so you SEE he is kicking himself in the arse and cursing himself seven ways to hell)
And what's even better? The entire book is just them falling in love. And they KNOW it. They're all like "oh, dear, we need to talk about this. There are EMOTIONS floating around and this was not the arrangement and how did it happen we had RUleS". It's glorious.
I honestly haven't had this much fun with a historical in a while, and I highly recommend this one!
littleread1
Written on Feb 2, 2018
Cocktails and Books
Written on Jan 2, 2018
I loved the banter between this couple. It was witty, sometimes sarcastic but it eventually led to this unlikely couple finding their perfect match.
Berls
Written on Oct 5, 2017
Oh and the narration was great too!!
stacey_is_sassy
Written on Sep 4, 2017
I can confidently say that everyone has scars. Not all scars are the same and some are invisible to the eye. It’s easy to stare at a scar and see the damage. Some people wear their scars with honour and some hide them in shame. Can a person learn to love their scars and grow from their survival? For me, the answer is a definite YES. I have scars and I wear them with honour. Who wouldn’t be proud or learnt from a mistake, when they’ve survived car accidents, childbirth and running when told to walk. You cannot control what other peoples reactions are to your scars but you can choose to be around people who can look beyond them and love you for them.
The Duchess Deal was a remarkably refreshing tale about dealing with scars. Two lonely people making the best of their situations. One is a hard-working seamstress trying to get paid her due. She is not afraid to work hard and tries to make the best of her situation. The other is a scarred Duke who acts and feels like a monster. The remarkable part…these two are the funniest characters I’ve met in a long time.
I heard rumours that The Duchess Deal was funny but to be honest, my first thought was – how many laughs could there really be with a scarred Duke and a poor Seamstress? Well, it’s bloody funny. The humour in this is definitely my kind of humour…dry, sarcastic and very tongue in cheek. How refreshing that we’re not left with a dark and dreary alcoholic recluse who hides behind a mask? Oh sure, Ash (the Duke) has his moments of feeling sorry for himself but I never felt pity for him. It cracked me up that he forced his butler to play badminton with him. It made me look to him with pride that he used his monster status and looks to do good…ish deeds. He may be scarred and was a little bit broken but he was a survivor.
To match the monster, you need a sweet and kind beauty who will sooth the beast, don’t you? Well, Emma is pretty and she is thoughtful and sweet, but she’s probably not what you would call soothing. This chick was fabulous. She’s demanding, bossy and funny with a secret she can’t deny…Emma is passionate. I loved Emma’s handling of Ash. She showed concern towards him when he had discomfort but never made him feel less. Emma was curious about Ash’s scars but never disgusted or sickened by them. She gave as good as he and then called him out for hiding behind the barbs. Emma is a strong woman who became strong because she lived through her own scars.
I absolutely LOVED this story. I was laughing and smirking from start to finish. We are treated to the kind of love story that leaves you feeling mushy gushy and truly believing that there’s love out there for everyone. Sparks fly between this couple and we are treated to steamy scenes that show a connection that is hard to deny. Even though the storyline is built around a serious subject, it never felt bogged down or depressing. I absolutely loved the way they dealt with each other's scars and made them feel whole and loved despite them. These two are a perfect match and I loved their journey to happiness.
The Duchess Deal was fantastic and I highly recommend it. I can’t wait for more in this series and I hope that we may have met a few of the heroines for the rest of the series. Penny, Alex and Nicola were fascinating and I want to know more about them.