Review: Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare

Title: Romancing the Duke

Author: Tessa Dare

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: January 28th, 2014

Castles Ever After series Bk I

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.

          Romancing the Duke is the first historical I have read in a long time, (by long time I mean a month), and I’m so glad this is the one I picked to read.  Tessa Dare is truly inspiring to read, and I just love that she picked a version of Beauty and the Beast to base the first book in her new series off of.

       Ransom William Dacre Vane, the eleventh Duke of Rothbury was once a devilish Duke like all the others.  At once gentlemanly and at other times a scoundrel to the core.  That is, until his bride ran off with a lowly farmer right before the nuptials, and then he became a scarred, embittered Duke hiding out in a decaying castle with his trusted dog and valet as his only companions.

         Isolde Ophelia Goodnight (Izzy Goodnight to her fans) is a celebrity of sorts who is cast out of her only home (when her father dies suddenly) with just the clothes on her back and a letter stating that she inherited a castle.  Hoping to start a new life for herself without the stigma of being a character in a fairy tale, Izzy trudges the endless miles to her new home only to find it already inhabited by a long lost pier of the realm.

(WARNING): Romancing the Duke is very strong on the fairy tale element (at most times over the top).

         Tessa Dare is one name in historical romance that is on my historical buy list, and I’m never disappointed!  Ransom’s and Izzy’s romance is kind of cheesy at times and the story climax isn’t that climatic but I would totally recommend the first book in the Castles Ever After series for anyone that still believes in fairy tales and happily ever afters( which you should if your reading this right now).