The Wallflower Wager

Girl Meets Duke

By: Tessa Dare

Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells

Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

They call him the Duke of Ruin.

To an undaunted wallflower, he's just the beast next door.

Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society - and now he wants to get even.

Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart.

When her imposing - and attractive - new neighbor demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes.

Done, Gabriel says. How hard can it be to find homes for a few kittens?

And a two-legged dog.

And a foul-mouthed parrot.

And a goat, an otter, a hedgehog....

Easier said than done, for a cold-blooded bastard who wouldn’t know a loving home from a workhouse. Soon, he’s covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. Now she’s set her mind and heart on saving him.

Not if he ruins her first.

©2019 Tessa Dare (P)2019 HarperAudio

***WARNING--- DO NOT LISTEN WHILE DRIVING***

I KNEW this was going to be a great installation in the series. It did not disappoint. A little word of advice... don't listen (especially chapter 8) while driving. The tears of laughter made it impossible to see. I literally had to pull over to compose myself. The combination of the parrot and sham sandwiches were too much! I absolutely adored this series, and I thought this book was the best of them all. I hope there will be a fourth in the series. Perfect narrator.. perfect author... and charming story.

Sexy, Funny, Awesome Banter and a baby goat

I received an ARC of this book through Edelweiss+ to read in exchange for a fair review and I liked it so much I bought the audio book. The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare is the third book in her Girl Meets Duke Series. It can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend the first two books and the characters from those books are in this book too. Gabriel Duke is the boy next door, man next door actually who has raised him self from a childhood in the workhouse to become a wealthy entrepreneur who buys up debt and gains the lands and houses of members of the ton hence his nickname The Duke of Ruin. Lady Penelope Campion (Penny) had a disastrous debut at Almack’s that involved a hedgehog and she has retreated from society and spends her time with a menagerie of pets and her good friends (characters from the first two books). From the moment they meet when she sneaks into his house chasing her wayward parrot sparks fly. Delightful banter and adventures that involve a runaway otter, a pregnant goat, a two legged dog who frequently needs rescuing, the aforementioned parrot who has a quite salty vocabulary as well as a plethora of kittens make this one of my favourite books that I’ve read this year. Medium Steam. Publishing Date August 13, 2019 #EdelweissPlus #AvonBooks #TheWallflowerWager #TessaDare #AvonRomance #HarperCollinsCanada #HistoricalRomance #Bookstagram

Best one yet!

Hands down my favorite Tessa Dare book yet! This beauty and the beast trope is magnificently executed and HILARIOUS in all the best possible ways. Two thumbs up and a double squee cannon salute. I was grinning like an idiot the whole book. Fantastic in audio.

GREAT DIALOGUE! Romance at a Glance podcast!

***I will add a Trigger Warning for anyone not wanting to hear about Molestation or Sexual Trauma. (This book addresses it) SPOILERS

I LMFAO reading this book. It’s not a book you want to read while multitasking. From the hilarious banter, to the well written sex scenes this book was a delight. Penny’s menagerie of rejected and wounded pets adds to the hilarity of the story as they are constantly causing a ruckus…. And let’s not forget Penny’s horrid vegetarian food.
Gabriel Duke is a remarkable practical and an I love the way he tries to maneuver around Penny. The scene in which he hires bad actors to pretend to be farmers was especially hilarious. I highly Recommend.
Vanilla Sex: The steaminess level is about a 3 outta 5 Peaches/Eggplants

We will be reviewing this book on Romance at a Glance Podcast! www.RomanceAtAGlance.com

The Best Yet!

Without giving anything away....this book made me burst out laughing in many places which is always a welcomed thing. We get to know Penny's backstory and the ending ....oh, the ending was just the best! The sham and tuna-ish are still around too. Mary Jane Wells always does an excellent job. I'll be listening to this one several more times...like I did with the first two books.

EDIT: I've listened to this book several times now. I love how the author gives even minor characters some development...ie: the house keeper and the architect. It is another reason I enjoyed this book so much. I sure do hope that there will be a fourth book...one last friend to go. There were hints at the end of this book. Don't leave us hanging!

Laughed so much!

This is my first by Tessa Dare and it will definitely bit be my last! Such clever, snappy dialogue coupled with romance and passion. Really enjoyed this one. I even learned a new phrase to teach my parrot...

Tessa Dare fun

Funny, great dialogue, stellar narration, could have done with shorter sex scenes in my opinion, otherwise, very enjoyable.

Such a fun series!

I just love all these characters --- and the animal additions were perfect. A well-plotted tale, with laugh-out loud funny dialogue, told with great care by a wonderful narrator.

great comedy

I really enjoyed the lady reading performance. she made it exciting and quiet surprisingly comical

Easygoing listen

Like most historical romance books, this one was sweet and easy. I usually only prefer the Scottish romances but the reviews had me curious about this book. Although funny it wasn’t laugh out loud funny for me. I typically like darker romances but occasionally listen to lighter books as a break. This one was enjoyable but didn’t meet my expectations.