BOOK REVIEW ⎜The Wallflower’s Wager by Tessa Dare

RATING

This was such a real treat to read, delightful in every respect.
The Wallflower’s Wager was incredibly hilarious, charming and hot, SO, so hot! I’m talking positively scalding steam here!
If you’re looking for a pick-me-up, call off the search, this is the book you’ve been looking for! YES, YES, OOH! YES!

Book Infos

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.

Author : Tessa Dare
Title : The Wallflower’s Wager
Series : Girl Meets Duke #3

Number of pages : 
Publisher : Avon
Release Date :  August 13h, 2019
Genre : Historical Romance

My Review

I’m now looking at craiglist for possible parrots rescues, lol! *must come from a worehouse or not interested*

GAH! I couldn’t love this book more!
This was such a real treat to read, delightful in every respect.
The Wallflower’s Wager was incredibly hilarious, charming and hot, SO, so hot! I’m talking positively scalding steam here!
If you’re looking for a pick-me-up, call off the search, this is the book you’ve been looking for! YES, YES, OOH! YES!

A neighbors to lovers/ pauper and the princess trope / beast and the wallflower…

-‘No one pays much attention to me.’
The injustice in that statement confounded him. How could no one be paying attention to her? Over the past few days, he’d been unable to concentrate on anyone or anything but her.”

I just can’t get enough of Tessa Dare’s sassy and quirky heroines entangling themselves with prickly, roguish men!
Lady Penelope Campion —or— Penny, had me howling with laughter all throughout! “Pretty Girl!”
She might be my favorite heroine from this series thus far! (I know I could have said “so far” but after reading a historical romance, one is compelled to employ words like “thus”, “atop”, “drawers” or “column of arousal”… you know, the usual. LOL!)

From the previous books we knew Penny would be fun and eccentric, but I hadn’t expected all the layers from her character. She’s such a lovable heroine, she’s got the sass, the brain, the biggest heart and doesn’t shy from her feelings… even if it means poking at the beastly man next door!

“She was a fool. A naive, trusting, sheltered fool. And Gabe wanted to corrupt her so damned badly, his bones ached.

This book has got to have the most entertaining and perfect meet-cute ever! Not even 5% in and I was already full-on guffawing all the while worshipping at the altar that was the potent chemistry between Gabriel and Penny on their first encounter.

Gabriel Duke knows better than reaching for what isn’t for him, or so he’s been taught over and over again during his upbringing. One look at Lady Penelope Campion is enough to confirm she’s not for the likes of him. Self-made man, ruthless business man, definetly not a gentleman. He didn’t earn his Duke of Ruin’s title for nothing. I flat out fell in lust/love—and everything that follows, with Gabriel Duke. I felt seen and understood after reading that simply put but oh so effective first description of him by Penelope:

“Lord but he was a big, beautiful beast of a man. There was just so much of him. Tall, broad, powerfully muscled. And utterly bare, save for that thin bit of toweling and his thick, dark hair. My, he had a great deal of hair. Not only plastered in damp curls on his head but defining the hard line of his jaw. And lightly furring his chest.”

Yes, I’m shallow like that. But you know what? He’s proven himself to be more than just that perfect body, a man with integrity and intense sense of care and loyalty, definitely a hero to swoon over.

On the pretense to protect his business interests selling the house he’s just renovated next door to Penny, he’s agreed to save Penny’s whole animal rescue/menagerie. Both she and Gabriel are on a mission to find them good homes so Penny’s reputation as a lady can be restored in the eyes of her own brother.

They’re so different from each other, yet their differences made them so perfect together.

“—You are so maddedning. You have a way of provoking me, unlike anyone I’ve ever known. It’s as though I become a different person when I’m around you, and I’m not certain I like her.
—He pulled her to him. ‘Ilike her’.”

The instant attraction between Penny and Gabe and the resulting tension without a doubt commanded my full attention. Something that clearly stood out for me reading The Wallflower’s Wager, was the focus on the positive sex scenes between Penny and Gabe. Ravishing roguish man yes, but consent on the pages. Wallflower of a woman, yes, but taking her pleasure and not shying away from exploring her desire. The power exchange and respect interspersed during those scenes made the romance even more special in this historical context.

“— If I were to lose my virtue, some would deem me worthless.
— You could never be worthless.
— Gabriel Duke. You are priceless.”

I don’t believe I’ve laughed this hard before reading a historical, Penny fighting tooth and nails to protect her animals’ well-being, the whole crew from the previous books defending Penny from the big bad Duke of Ruin, Gabriel efforts to reason Penny… Everything was brilliantly orchestrated to deliver the perfect heartfelt romance story.

I’ve been well and truly ruined by Gabriel Duke! Penny decidedly got herself the best Duke of them all! “Fancy a fuck, love?”

Author Bio & Links

Tessa Dare is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty historical romances.

Mixing wit, sensuality, and emotion, Tessa writes Regency-set romance novels that feel relatable to modern readers. With her bestselling “Spindle Cove”, “Castles Ever After”, and “Girl Meets Duke” series, she has had great fun creating heroines who defy the conventions of their time—engaging in “unladylike” pursuits that range from paleontology to beer-making—and dreaming up the strong-willed, sexy heroes who find their hearts ensnared by them.

A librarian by training and a booklover at heart, Tessa makes her home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband, their two children, and a trio of cosmic kitties.

In the same series

Castle Ever After series

Spindle Cove series

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