Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare (Spindle Cove #4)
May 28, 2013
Historical Romance
Avon

Reviewed by May

Another girl’s prince had arrived.

That was Pauline’s first thought, when she stumbled in and spied the finely dressed man silhouetted in the door.

She watched it happen every few months in this village. These young ladies sought refuge in Spindle Cove for the oddest of reasons. Their harp-playing lacked grace, perhaps, or the color of their eyes was unfashionable at Court this season. And then – to the utter astonishment of everyone except Pauline – some handsome earl or viscount or officer came along and married them.

I’m a fan of Tessa Dare’s Spindle Cove series, and I am sorry to say this is the final book in the series. That said, it’s one heck of a story and to best explain, I’m going to turn it over to Griff and Pauline for a bit…

Once upon a time, a sad Duke named Griff found himself in a carriage, heading towards a seaside town known as Spindle Cove with his very determined mother.

“The fact is, most ladies of the ton have given you up as a marriage prospect. A village of desperate spinsters is precisely what we need. You must admit, this worked nicely for that scampish friend of yours, Lord Payne”

Oh sure, it worked out great for Colin back in one of the earlier Spindle Cove books. But how could Griff find a bride in Spindle Cove? Quite easily, in fact.

“My mother has grown impatient with my unmarried state. She enjoined me to take my choice of any woman in this room, with the promise that she could make that woman into a duchess. I’ve chosen you.”

“Me?”

“You. You’re perfect.”

Perhaps a serving girl named Pauline Simms, a girl with dreams of opening her own book shop and supporting both herself and her sister and escaping her abusive father is just what he needs. He knows she will fail, his mother will have to give up, and he’ll be free to wallow in misery once again.

“Words like cor… bollocks…damn… devil… blast… bloody hell…” She pronounced the words with relish, warming to her task. “They don’t cross a duchess’s lips?”

Right away Pauline takes pleasure in provoking Griff’s mom, in acting up the country serving girl part.

“Not even when an impertinent farm girl provokes a duchess to a simmering rage,” she replied evenly. “A duchess might contemplate all manners of cutting remarks and frustrated oaths. But even in the face of such extreme annoyance, she stifles any such ejaculations.”

“My,” Miss Simms said, wide eyed. “I do hope dukes aren’t held to the same standard. Can’t be healthy for a man, always stifling his ejaculations.”

Oh yes, this girl can stand up to his mother and for the $1000 pounds that he is offering her to fail lessons for one simple week in London, Pauline knows this is the key to her happiness. The problem (of course) is that Griff is beginning to like Pauline, and she’s falling for him in return.

Tessa Dare delivers with every page, every scene, every exchange of dialogue between these characters. She shows us repeatedly why they are going to be great for one another, why they respect each other so much, and why each is exactly what the other needs. The relationships with their families come into play, and I felt that it was really well done building up the characters and their relationship. I really liked how each had vulnerabilities and imperfections, and how these characters really grew stronger together. How they each found their own way, and made their own new life path neither ever thought quite possible in reality.

The Duke and the common girl isn’t a new trope, neither is a rich man paying a poor woman for her time (not sex) and help and them ending up falling in love. Yet Dare makes this book entirely her own, breathes fresh life into her characters, and truly brings a story to remember. There are not many authors who construct such memorable moments and scenes in their novels, let alone lines and scenes in every single chapter that I recall. Truly, Dare is at the top of her game.

I’ve said this before, and I hope that Dare will continue to write books that allow me to keep saying it, but she has an amazingly perfect blend of romance, comedy, heartfelt moments, sexy time, and she has a remarkable gift for story telling. Yes she brings the humor…

If he could ogle her, why couldn’t she look right back?

“Cor.” She unleashed her broadest country accent as she tipped her head to admire the lower curve of his tight, aristocratic arse. “I’ll have great fun with you on the wedding night.”

And the sexy…

“I’m the Duke of Halford,” he said, plunging deep.

She shut her eyes, trying not to cry. It was all too much – the emotion, the pleasure. The hopelessness.

“I’m the Marquess of Westmore.”

Thrust.

“I’m also the Earl of Ridingham. Viscount Newthorpe. Lord Hartford-on-Trent.”

Thrust. Thrust. Thrust.

“And I am your slave, Pauline.”

And honestly? I think the quotes I share do the book justice better than any words I could add. I had quotes in every chapter, often more than one that I highlighted and I’ve re-read this book already. It just absolutely nailed everything that can be amazing about a good love story.

I don’t want to leave Spindle Cove, but I will follow where she leads because yes, every novel in this series is an A read for me. That doesn’t happen often – especially in historical series- but she delivers here and I loved every page.

Grade: A

Recent Reviews:
Book Binge – 4.25/5
All About Romance – B-
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