Romancing the Duke

Castles Ever After

By: Tessa Dare

Narrated by: Carmen Rose

RITA Award Winner, Historical Romance, Short, 2015

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 26-year-old woman who's never even been kissed?

This one.

©2014 Eve Ortega (P)2014 HarperCollinsPublishers

Can't stop the blushes!

It took me a bit to get into the reader's style. She reads the heroine very wispy and it made the story take itself far more seriously than I think it does. It is a fun romance with some nice tongue in cheek moments, some gothic horror stirred in, and a comic con crowd for the regency era. The chemistry between the characters is delicious and blush inducing. I enjoyed the book and found it to be a great time passer.

A perfectly charming, funny and excellent story

Perhaps one of the best romantic stories I have ever read. Wounded people to be sure, woven around a story of a writer of children’s books and an old dilapidated castle.

The banter is exceptionally witty and humorous. The characters delightful and funny. This is one not to be missed.

You've Heard This One Already

Typical plot for an "historical" romance; scarred aristocrat (literally and figuratively) and plucky heroine save each other and have highly descriptive (and crudely written) sex along the way. Although this is rather cute and kept me entertained, it is neither original or even all that memorable.

The best part of Tessa Dare's writing is her dialogue, which is fast paced and fresh. Where she falters is in the historical setting. Just because there are petticoats and candles doesn't make it truly historical. This same plot could easily be retold in 2021 with only a few minor changes...make the Duke a tech billionaire and the heroine a blog writer, and it would not be significantly different.

In addition, although the narration was fine, there seemed to be production issues, where every hour or so, the audio became extremely fuzzy sounding. None of my other recent listens have had this problem. Also, Audible, please bring back paragraphs to the review format.

very funny and original story, very well told

hilarious dialogue, great characters, anothr great book by tessa dare told by a great narrator.

love it

love it . a good listen funny and heartwarming. i never listen to a historical story enjoyable.

started off great and ended with too much whimsy

I loved the beginning and the hero. he was rough and damaged but still strong and masculine. towards the end all her whimsical characteristics softened him but too the point I lost interest the last eighth of the book.

Slow start, but ultimately enjoyable

Narrator was terrific and that kept me going through the early chapters when I wasn’t otherwise sure whether I was going to keep going.
I’m glad I did. It was charming, the heroine grew on me and she definitely came into her own. And the splash of the ridiculous was also a nice touch. All in all a nice read.
I have no immediate plans to dive into the rest of the series, though I did put the second book on my wish list as it will probably be a perfect fit as a nice read at some point

Full circle story with branches

Absolutely loved the twist and changes and plot in this book! I didn’t find myself sick of any repeat issues with characters. Found it all quite enjoyable!

Favorite of all time.

This is my favorite book of all time. I read it at least once a year or when I need a happy fill good book. I love the audiobook. I’m having a rough year my oldest son is dying so I’ve read this one several times. I love all your books and want more pleasing.

Well written and narrated!

This was a very sweet story with just enough spice. The characters and storyline were engaging and the narrator was spot on. Very well done!