My review for The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo will post later today. I loved this book so hard. No one does dark, broody, damaged heroes like Kerrigan Byrne.

What I read this week:

The Governess Game by Tessa Dare
Girl Meets Duke #2
Historical Romance
August 28, 2018 by Avon

Favorite Quote:

She would never be tempted by him again.
Not his smile.
Not his eyes.
Most certainly not his bare chest.
Nor his voice, forearms, wit, charm, or large feet.
And not his warm, delicious-smelling coat either.
Oh Alex. You are doomed.

I waited as long as I could to read this because I knew it would be another whole year until the next Tessa Dare release. Then when I couldn’t wait any longer, and the release date was just a week away I picked it up on my day off  and read it straight through in a couple of hours. And it was delicious.

I’ve seen this set up before… a woman who is not a governess being mistaken for one and offered a job looking after several wayward wards of a roguish nobleman. I haven’t seen it done this well or with this much charm.

“There’s been a mistake. I came to offer my services as a timekeeper. I’m not a governess. I’ve no training, no experience. And governesses are gently bred women, aren’t they? I don’t meet that qualification, either.”

“I don’t care if you’re gently bred, roughly bred, or a loaf of brown bread with butter. You’re educated, you understand propriety, and you’re … breathing.”

The first time Alex and Chase meet is in a bookstore in the first book in the series, The Duchess Deal. She is carrying a armful of books, they run into each other and she thoroughly embarrasses herself. The second time Alex and Chase meet Alex shows up at his house thinking she’s meeting the housekeeper for an interview as the new household clock setter. Instead she encounters Chase in his soon to be den of sin and he immediately decides she is the woman he needs to hire to take over the care of his two wards. She turns his offer down, but is right back on his doorstep accepting the position after an accident leaves her without the tools of her trade.

You guys, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this couple. The banter, the sexy times, the well…. everything. Alex is a typical Tessa Dare heroine. She is intelligent, and interesting, and independent. She also doesn’t take any crap off of the hero. She engages him and gives as good as she gets. He’s charming, and she is definitely charmed, but that doesn’t stop her from telling him exactly what she thinks. Chase revels in his role as seducer and never for a minute pretends to be anything other than he is. I loved him so much. He about made me swoon a hundred times over the course of this book.

It must be said that the other fabulous thing about his book was Chase’s wards. Rosamund and Daisy were precocious and funny and so cunning in their defiance. They made me laugh so many times. I saw weird tweets about this book having more deaths than all of Ms. Dare’s previous books combined and they were all one character and couldn’t quite grasp what that might mean. Now all I can say is poor Millicent and laugh a little.

This was another lovely, charming read by Ms. Dare. She absolutely knows how to bring the happy sighs and swoon worthy moments. I loved this couple and can’t wait to get back to this world and see which of Alex’s friends find her HEA. I think it will be Penny and I’m just a tad bit excited about that.

Final Grade-B+

Series List

GR * AMZ * BN

Stripped by Zoey Castille
Happy Endings #1
Contemporary Romance
August 28, 2018 by Kensington

Favorite Quote:

I want to hate her.
I want to leave and say, “Fuck this.” Fuck you. Fuck you and your stuck-up bullshit. Fuck this ridiculous feeling inside of me that shouldn’t logically be here. Fuck these butterflies. Fuck your, beautiful, unforgiving mouth. I don’t need you.
But when she gets up all in my space, her hair wet, wild, and eyes as dark as midnight– I want to grab her harder and throw her onto the couch and break it in half with the force of our weight.
I realize, I need her.

This was a sweet, sexy, wonderful #ownvoices contemporary romance featuring a Latinx heroine who is a 5th grade teacher in the middle of a quarter life crisis. Robyn is a little frazzled and her life feels a bit disheveled and out of tune. Like she can’t catch a breath, can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep and is constantly running late for everything. She meets her neighbor when their laundry gets mixed up and she suddenly has a bag full of sweatpants and weird, sparkly speedos versus her regular dresses and underwear.

Fallon is a stripper and has never been embarrassed by his profession. Until he meets Robyn and maybe feels like he isn’t good enough for her. But each of them are a little broken and it’s not until they meet and fall in love that they become a little less broken together. They fall in lust and love and their relationship is super sexy. This is a great contemporary romance.

Final grade- B

GR * AMZ * BN

My TBR and what’s up next:

How to Dance an Undead Waltz by Hailey Edwards– I read this one last week and OMG I LOVED. Review will post next Monday.

Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews– I read this as soon as it hit my Kindle. I couldn’t help myself. My thoughts on the last book in the Kate Daniels series will be in my post next Monday.

Hazard by Devon Monk– First book in a new series and from what I hear there are shifters and wizards and they play hockey and it’s all kinds of awesome. Excited.

Hot Heir by Pippa Grant– I first read this author because of a twitter rec. I don’t even remember who recc’d it, but I have read every single book she has released since. Like on release day. This is my KU read for the week.