The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke, #1)

by Tessa Dare

'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:
- 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...

Praise for The Duchess Deal

'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

[lizarodz]

Quite the Novel Idea https://quitethenovelidea.com https://quitethenovelidea.com/liza-reviews-duchess-deal-tessa-dare/Oh, Tessa Dare, how I love thee.  Your books are absolute magic and I adore them.  The Duchess Deal has a Beauty & the Beast vibe and as you might know, that's my favorite fairytale and I'm a sucker for retellings.

What's makes the story is the characters.  First, lets meet Emma. She's a vicar's daughter that made a youthful mistake and was cast aside my a cruel and unloving father.  Emma had to make a living and a life for herself, so she's bold, self reliant, prudent, good to the core and strong.  What she's not, is crazy and thus, she cannot refuse a duke's marriage proposal.  Even if a former seamstress makes for an unusual duchess.

"He leaned forward in his chair. "I can't even take the whole thing in. It looks like the unicorn vomit. Or the pelt of some snow beast rumored to menace the Himalayas." 
Now, on to Ash *be still my heart*  Ash is very difficult.  He suffered a lot of burns due to a weapon that backfired during the war and his former fiancee dumped him.  He's in search of a wife so he can have a heir for the dukedom and into his library walks the unsuspecting Emma, wearing an atrocious wedding gown.  He makes an outrageous marriage offer on the spot.

Ash is strong, realistic, he has a deep love for his father's legacy and an ingrained sense of duty to the people that depend on him.  He's often unreasonable, but wants to do what's right at the end.  His beastly behavior is all bark and no bite. LOVED Ash!

Emma and Ash's relationship is slow to grow and very steamy and hot, but nothing that they both agree to.  Ash is very protective of Emma, and would like nothing more that to cater to her every whim.  His insecurities threaten to end the relationship, but at the end their love was stronger.

"She gave him a chastening yet affectionate look. A wifely look. "No, you aren't. You are very much a man."

His heart kicked and trashed like an unbroken colt in a stable.

A man, she said. Not a title. Not a fortune. Not a twisted monster formed of scars. She couldn't know how those two simple words affected him."
I liked the secondary characters, which are mostly Emma's unusual group of friends, Ash's servants and his unlikely sidekick.

The writing is priceless.  The dialogue between Emma and Ash is lovely, funny, snarky and sometimes very hot.  I love that there are no secrets between this couple and that they learn to love each other's flaws, enhance their virtues, and compromise with each other.

Overall
The Duchess Deal is easily one of the best historical romances I've ever read.  Although, I have to say that I have yet read a book by Dare that I didn't like.  She's a genius and she manages to make each of her historical romances unique and her characters made of amazing stuff.  A new favorite.This review was originally posted on Quite the Novel Idea

[Rowena]

The Duchess Deal is the first book in Tessa Dare’s Girl Meets Duke series and I adored this book. It’s got Dare’s classic humor and seriously, her writing style never fails to wrap me up in feels.

This book follows the Duke of Ashbury as he marries Emma Gladstone, a young woman down on her luck but determined to brave things out. Ash thinks it’s fate that brought them together since he had literally just written down that he needed a wife and a woman comes into his office dressed as a bride. How can they not be together, right? Sure, the dress is hideous but with his scarred face from the war, beggars can’t be choosers.

From beginning to end, I was locked up in feels. This is probably one of the more swooniest Tessa Dare books that I’ve ever read and I just thought the writing style, the pacing, and just everything was spot on. Aside from the feels, this book was funny. Both the hero and the heroine have such great dialogue together. I loved seeing them bicker back and forth until feelings emerged between them and I really enjoyed their story as a whole.

Ash was such a surly hero and I thought that I would not like him because he was such a bulldozer. He went out of his way to be mean and sarcastic and even though there were times when I wanted to kick him, I still loved the hell out of him. There’s a balance to his character that really worked for me and Dare could have easily crossed the line with his character but doesn’t. For me, he was the right amount of mean and swoon-worthy that I was able to see past his shortcomings.

Emma was a fantastic heroine that I completely connected with. Her fierce determination to make it in a world that isn’t easy for women to succeed in was admirable. I loved seeing her figure things out, make the best of her situation, fight for what she thought was right and I really loved seeing her go toe to toe with Ash. She stood her ground when it was needed but she wasn’t hard.

I thought the romance between Ash and Emma was a lot steamier than what I’m used from Tessa Dare. I loved it. I loved seeing them grow to love each other and I really enjoyed seeing them work toward their happy ending. It wasn’t easy but man was it worth it.

This is another winner for me. Tessa Dare really know what she’s doing with writing these historical romances. She writes all around fantastic romances with characters that are strong and memorable. I’m eager for the next book in this series. I totally recommend this book.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

[Amanda]

I received a copy for from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I thought it was impossible to love Tessa Dare's books more. Then she managed to perfectly fit "Nevertheless, she persisted" into The Duchess Deal, and I fell even harder.

A caring heroine with a backbone, a damaged hero desperately in need of love, and a fantastic set of secondary characters make this book. Emma sees the ache inside Ash; Ash protects Emma in all the ways no one has before. They worked together, and the inevitable fall was glorious to watch. The Duchess Deal is a read-in-one-sitting kind of book.

A fabulous start to a new series---I can't wait to see what Tessa Dare writes next.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Coffee dates with The Duchess Deal

• First Date: I sat down after dinner with my coffee, which by the way grew cold as I slipped into this tale. The Duke is home after healing from a war injury that has left him badly scarred. His estate is in disarray, and he realizes he is need of an heir. He's at his desk when a young female arrives at his door wearing a gaudy wedding dress.... and thus our tale begins. Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress comes to demand payment for the dress his ex-fiance ordered and straight away I loved her. The Duke of Ashbury decides she will do and offers her marriage or the money she is owed. She thinks him mad. I am hooked. Completely hooked.



• Second Date: Their chemistry is electric, which made all the deals and negotiations and lackluster ceremony all the more delightful. Humor, staff meddling, and an obnoxious cat provided entertainment. I loved this beauty and the beast courtship. The arrangement trope is one of my favorites and Dare breathed new life into it. When Emma tried to come up with a term of endearment to call the Duke, I laughed until my eyes filled with tears. His reactions were priceless. I confess I have tried them all out on my husband. I am afraid he fears he has done something wrong and I giggle at his baffled expressions. I loved the way that the awkward moments between them gave way to heat and slowly something more.



• Third Date: The ex, miscommunication and a stubborn Duke caused some issues, but even as I wanted to thrash him, I couldn't help but fall for this sweet, damaged, idiot of a man. Thankfully his butler did the job for me. Emma was adventurous, and it gave way to some hilarious moments. Dare delivered plenty of side threads that aided in our understanding of both characters and added both humor and adventure. I adored the ladies across the way and wanted all of their stories. I think this is the steamiest novel for Dare yet and it was absolutely scrumptious. She mixed boldness, surprise, humor and sensual moments into a passionate tale. I loved how she developed their relationship from an arrangement to more. I ended my dates with Ash and Emma with a smile and a fantastic book high.

Copy provided by the publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer