To Dare a Duke

Girls Who Dare, Book One

By: Emma V. Leech

Narrated by: Philip Battley

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Girls Who Dare - The exciting new series from Emma V Leech, the multi-award-winning, Amazon Top 10 romance writer behind the Rogues & Gentlemen series.

Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen.

Ten girls - Ten dares in a hat. Who will dare to risk it all?

To Dare a Duke

Dreams of true love and happy ever afters.

Dreams of love are all well and good, but all Prunella Chuffington-Smythe wants is to publish her novel. Marriage at the price of her independence is something she will not consider. Having tasted success writing under a false name in The Lady’s Weekly Review, her alter ego is attaining notoriety and fame and Prue rather likes it.

A Duty that must be endured.

Robert Adolphus, The Duke of Bedwin, is in no hurry to marry, he’s done it once and repeating that disaster is the last thing he desires. Yet, an heir is a necessary evil for a duke and one he cannot shirk. A dark reputation precedes him though, his first wife may have died young, but the scandals the beautiful, vivacious, and spiteful creature supplied the ton have not. A wife must be found. A wife who is neither beautiful or vivacious but sweet and dull, and certain to stay out of trouble.

Dared to do something drastic.

The sudden interest of a certain dastardly duke is as bewildering as it is unwelcome. She’ll not throw her ambitions aside to marry a scoundrel just as her plans for self-sufficiency and freedom are coming to fruition. Surely showing the man she’s not actually the meek little wallflower he is looking for should be enough to put paid to his intentions? When Prue is dared by her friends to do something drastic, it seems the perfect opportunity to kill two birds.

However, Prue cannot help being intrigued by the rogue who has inspired so many of her romances. Ordinarily, he plays the part of handsome rake, set on destroying her plucky heroine. But is he really the villain of the piece this time, or could he be the hero?

Finding out will be dangerous, but it just might inspire her greatest story yet.

Happy listening!

Warning: This audiobook contains a careful selection of quiet determination, resolute tight-lipped-ness and (almost) insurmountable levels of tension. Although coupled with the presence of occasionally descriptive sexual encounters, we are very pleased to highlight that this audiobook - and series - is in no way verging on erotica.

©2019 Emma V Leech (P)2019 Emma V Leech

To Dare a Duke - Emma Leech

I absolutely loved this book and have started the second one. Ms. Leech is a great writer and having Philip Battley read the books, well, it can't get much better than that.

Engaging characters

The smart one, the shy one, the bold one, the angry one, the one who's been hurt, and more women, are compelled to take on dares that bring out their inner selves. This story belongs to Pru and how she learns to see beyond the surface and into hearts, especially Robert's.

Love it

Love the storyline! Ready to hear the rest of the girls stories. Love the man fell in love first.

Dare a duke

Fun story. The narrator was good to listen to. I enjoyed the story. She’s one tough women to stand up for herself.

Wonderfully story.

I loved that Pru was a writer & for the time as independent as she could be. All the characters were well written. The story was romantic, with some anguish, entertaining, & left me curious about the other characters. I was surprised that Mr. Battley was the narrator at first, however he did such a great job of portraying the characters & giving them a voice of their own. It was a joy to listen too.

Worthy of love

I loved this story with two characters who both in their own ways don’t feel worthy of happiness. The hero is a strong misunderstood Duke wanting and not knowing he wants someone to see and know the true him. While the heroine is a woman with a troubled childhood who thinks love is only in stories and will be an independent woman only. This story was very much a cat and mouse story with the hero starting out wanting only one thing but finding he truly wanted something else and wanted the heroine. While the heroine was a woman not willing to believe love could be true or that she deserved it. This is a slow burn book (only one sex scene). Reading and listening to this story makes me want to read the rest of the series and know what dates the other women of the book club get. Pure and Robert do get their HEA but not how you expect it and as you read you wonder if it would even happen. The narrator has such a smooth and engaging voice that kept me wanting to listen. He had a distinction in his voice between the male and female characters. He made me laugh smile and feel what these characters were thinking and feeling throughout the book. I recommend that you read this series in order as this appears to be one where they build on each other. I highly recommend book.

Hero or Villain - A Great Couple

I have read this entire series & loved it. I had the opportunity to win a copy of the audible & I loved Phillip Battley's narration - he put so much into all the characters & made the story so enjoyable.

Ten wallflowers find a group friendship & form a book club - these girls come to be wallflower from man situations; new money (trade business), scandals, bluestockings etc. but everyone of them vows to change the way their life is now & have their dreams come true.. They each write "dares", place them in a hat and each of the 10 will draw a dare - will they succeed, anything will and does happen.

Prunella Chuffington-Smythe has only one goal her mind and that is to become a published author that would give her money and freedom to get away from her aunt and to rent a cottage of her own in the country. After growing up with a father who beat her mother, she wants nothing to do with marriage and becoming property owned by her husband. She has already had some success writing under a false name in The Lady’s Weekly Review.

Robert Adolphus, The Duke of Bedwin, really doesn't want to marry but knows his responsibility of providing s heir to the dukedom. He had already been in a disastrous marriage that ended up in the death of his beautiful, scandalous, loose harlot wife and the dark reputation and scandal that followed her death has not been forgotten by the ton. Robert needs to find a sensible, sweet, dull wife who will not bring any scandal or trouble to the marriage.

This takes us to Robert and Prue finding common ground. Robert goes to his uncle for advise on finding a wife with the qualities he needs as his duchess. His uncle has just the lady - Prue (he and Prue live in the same small town in the country) - the only problem, as he explains to Robert, she has an aversion to marriage. Prue does not understand the sudden interest from the dark, brooding, evil duke and has to find a way to be rid of him. Then the dare - Prue draws from the hat "dance in the garden at midnight". Let the fun begin.

GREAT NARRATOR!! TERRIBLE STORY!!

I had very mixed feelings about To Dare a Duke.

Prunella Chuffington-Smythe is living a secret life as an author Miss Terry. She is writing a story each week and the name resembles a real person. Robert Adolphus Duke of Bedwin. Her Duke in her story is the Duke of Bedsin. Prue has heard lies about Bedwin from gossiping ton memebers. She decides to bring an innocent man down using lies. She had never meet the Duke of Bedwin. Nor does she know the truth of what he endure at the hands of a cruel wife.

Robert's deceased wife was a cheat and really a whor!! Robert loved her but she betrayed him in everyway. On the morning of a hunt at his home he catches his wife having sex with a childhood best friend. In the Bed chamber ajoining his. She goes on the hunt and breaks her neck making a jump. Some believe he killed her.

I just couldn't forgive Prue. She made this man's life hell and she had never met him or knew anything about him. She became his judge and jury for a crime he didn't even commit against an evil women.

The story might have been better if Robert and Prue had more romance and less of Prue's attacks everytime he meets with her. She was downright rude and this would have never happen in any era for a lowly nobody to set down a Duke. The author has a good bases for a storyline Girls Who Dare but she really Miss The Mark on this one. I wish authors would remember Dukes were extemely powerful beings and write them as such. Robert was to whimpy running after Prue. He even forgives her for what she has done to his reputation. I think he should have dumped her and married her cousin Minerva!!