Name: The Duchess Deal (Girl meets Duke, Book 1)
Rating: 4.016064257028113 (249 reviews)
ISBN: 9780008280390

Tessa Dare

Praise for Tessa Dare: ‘Love her writing.’ Jodi Picoult on The Governess Game ‘I absolutely loved it; her style is so warm and funny.’ Nicola Cornick Perfect for fans of Georgette Heyer

The Duchess Deal (Girl meets Duke, Book 1)

An iBooks Best Romance of August Pick! One of Publishers Weekly's Buzz Books of Romance 2017! An Amazon Best Romance of August Pick! When girl meets Duke, their marriage breaks all the rules… Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury’s to-do list has been short and anything but sweet: brooding, glowering, menacing London ne’er-do-wells by night. Now there’s a new item on the list. He needs an heir—which means he needs a wife. When Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she’ll do. His terms are simple: - They will be husband and wife by night only. - No lights, no kissing. - No questions about his battle scars. - Last, and most importantly… Once she’s pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again. But Emma is no pushover. She has a few rules of her own: - They will have dinner together every evening. - With conversation. - And unlimited teasing. - Last, and most importantly… Once she’s seen the man beneath the scars, he can’t stop her from falling in love…

Girl Meets Duke

The Duchess Deal

"this is what falling in love feels like" by marina lin

the way i was slowly reading this book because i did not want it to end!! I LOVE THIS AND ASHEMMA SO VERY MUCH!!! this is one of my favorite marriage of conveniences!

the dialogue was hilarious, i actually laughed out loud! i immensely enjoyed this book because of how lively the storytelling is! also, the couple's relationship development and mutual pining for each other felt perfect! the gentle and fierce way that ashemma love each other like how can you not love them!

i loved all the side characters too!! trevor he's such a menace lol and ahhhhh the way the house staff were literally the #1 shippers for ashemma

"enchanted" by taylor swift is ashemma's song 

"Her name kept running through his mind. The song with only one word: Emma Emma Emma Emma Emma." // "Your mind fixes on a person, and it’s as though you float through the days, singing a song that only has one word, thinking of nothing but the next time you’ll see them again.” (we love a mutual parallel)

"He stroked a callus on the tip of her second finger. It made him angry. A gentleman’s daughter should have soft hands, but life had hardened her in these small ways. He had disturbing fancies of lifting her hand to his lips and kissing all that hurt away."

"He wanted her to read the whole cursed book while he watched. He wanted the book to have a thousand pages."

“You don’t like being cold. Therefore, I despise you being cold. I would go about murdering raindrops and setting fire to the clouds”

"this is what falling in love feels like" by marina lin
"slow hands" by niall horan

the way i was slowly reading this book because i did not want it to end!! I LOVE THIS AND ASHEMMA SO VERY MUCH!!! this is one of my favorite marriage of conveniences!

the dialogue was hilarious, i actually laughed out loud! i immensely enjoyed this book because of how lively the storytelling is! also, the couple's relationship development and mutual pining for each other felt perfect! the gentle and fierce way that ashemma love each other like how can you not love them!

i loved all the side characters too!! trevor he's such a menace lol and ahhhhh the way the house staff were literally the #1 shippers for ashemma

"enchanted" by taylor swift is ashemma's song !!!! my thoughts will echo your name until I see you again ~
"Her name kept running through his mind. The song with only one word: Emma Emma Emma Emma Emma." // "Your mind fixes on a person, and it’s as though you float through the days, singing a song that only has one word, thinking of nothing but the next time you’ll see them again.” (we love a mutual parallel)

"He stroked a callus on the tip of her second finger. It made him angry. A gentleman’s daughter should have soft hands, but life had hardened her in these small ways. He had disturbing fancies of lifting her hand to his lips and kissing all that hurt away."

"He wanted her to read the whole cursed book while he watched. He wanted the book to have a thousand pages."

“You don’t like being cold. Therefore, I despise you being cold. I would go about murdering raindrops and setting fire to the clouds”

Alexa M

this was everything i wanted in a regency romance <3 i laughed out loud a few times

When girl meets Duke, their marriage breaks all the rules… Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury’s to-do list has been short and anything but sweet: brooding, glowering, menacing London ne’er-do-wells by night. Now there’s a new item on the list. He needs an heir—which means he needs a wife. When Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she’ll do. His terms are simple: - They will be husband and wife by night only. - No lights, no kissing. - No questions about his battle scars. - Last, and most importantly… Once she’s pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again. But Emma is no pushover. She has a few rules of her own: - They will have dinner together every evening. - With conversation. - And unlimited teasing. - Last, and most importantly… Once she’s seen the man beneath the scars, he can’t stop her from falling in love…

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

I was fairly surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, and what a hilariously wicked romance this turned out to be. Now at first I was a little scared, because I didn't get into the story right away, and since I have struggled with the past couple of her books, I wasn't sure how I would take The Duchess Deal but I can say, with a relieved sigh, that this book totally worked for me in many ways.

Our story takes off with our heroine, storming into Duke of Ashbury's home, wearing his ex-intended wedding gown, that she slaved away sewing and then never received her payment, and since she needs to make sure she isn't living on the street, she demands payment from the Duke of Ashbury. What she doesn't expect is to meet a man that throws her a curveball with an offer....to marry him instead. Emma Gladstone may have been raised among the gentry, but due to certain circumstances, she was forced to work as a seamstress to support herself. At first, Emma doesn't think that Ash is serious with his offer...the most eligible bachelor in all of the Ton and he wants to marry someone as low as she is...yeah she doesn't believe him at first. But then she starts to realize how serious he really is, and against her better judgment, she changes her mind and agrees to marry this mysterious man that only intrigues her, challenges her and makes her want more than just a marriage of convenience.

I have to say within the first chapter, Tessa Dare had me laughing out loud in PUBLIC!! Yeppers...this author had me bursting out in laughter and I wasn't even ashamed because I was having way too much fun with this book. So let's talk about our characters first. We have our hero, a scarred Duke, who suffered very painfully in the war and came back not the same. All he needs is an heir and has no interest in passion or love. He puts a shield on himself, he is brooding and grumpy and totally not ready for Emma to battle him with wit and desire. Our hero struggles with some self esteem issues, due to his battle scars. He lives more away from society, everyone from his life previously, has abandoned him. He only has his servants, who have remained devoted to serving him and helping him when he lets them.
 Let's set someting straight, the two of us. You seem to be plotting a campaign of kindness. No doubt with the aim of soothing my tortured soul. It would be a waste of time. My temperament was not created byinjury; it will not be magically healed by sweetness or pet names. Am I making myself clear? Do not harbor any illusions that my scars transformed me into a jaded, ill-tempered wretch. 
Our heroine, Emma, hasn't had it easy. She is a talented seamstress, she grew up as a vicar's daughter. But when she was a teenager, she thought she was in love, and the man turned out to be a cad, and her father kicked her out of home and his life, and she had to learn to survive on her own. Emma despite her circumstances hasn't let them drag her down. She is intelligent, has a great sense of humor and her character was very appealing. She fights for what she wants, and I liked that she didn't just give into Ash's demands on their marriage...she wants rules of her own.
 Charming princes weren't always what they seemed. Shining armor went out of fashion with the Crusades. And if fairy godmothers existed, hers was running several years late. 
Their romance is quite simply superb. It does begin as a simple marriage of convenience with a few twists. Our hero lays out the rules, but then Emma counteracts him with a few rules of her own....eating dinner together with conversation for example. Emma takes pleasure in teasing Ash, and Ash only returns the favor back to her. It was quite interesting to see how this story plays out. At first, they tease each other, and their comebacks were pretty funny to read. Then passion starts to enter into the marriage, and this is where the "simple" arrangement gets complicated. Ash soon starts to realize that Emma is different from any other, and he is becoming more and more intrigued by her. I did like seeing the way that these two got along with each other. With their engaging and highly entertaining bantering, playing badminton (not sure how historically accurate that is, but a fun twist to their relationship. And oh boy the servants.....they were so funny. All the ways they were trying to get Ash and Emma together so they can fall in "love" and their Duke can be happy again. Seeing how much they cared about him pulled me in right away. And then we have the group of very unconventional ladies that Emma becomes friends with....I am so curious about them and hope to see more of them in the future.

The Duchess Deal  is a story that will make you laugh and smile from beginning to end....an enchanting and endearing romance to curl your toes!! A SEXY ROMANCE TO CURL YOUR TOES!!

Annabella

Note: not every Annabelle (or Annabella) is intentionally cruel like the one in this book

Arianna M

it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t dare’s best

Connor 

Honestly I spent about 80% of this book laughing out loud if not more? Bless Tessa Dare for this lively, lighthearted read that was exactly what I needed today tbh

sophia n

deducting a point bc i hate pregnancy and kids (i have no soul 🤷🏻‍♀️) and honestly probably my own fault and will always happen to me with cishet histroms, but. anyway who doesn’t love a good bodice ripper, this was so fun. just no thoughts head empty a great time. and compulsively readable?? i totally get why tessa dare is so beloved, her writing is like the book equivalent of comfort food. also the slight beauty and the beast vibes here were lovely. i'm so glad i picked this up!

Anna

Wonderful comfort read. It had romance, humour and fair amount of spice evenly distributed.

lindsey

oh god i think this is the start of an obsession

Clari

Missy Zuber 

First historical romance I've read in a while. Glad that I read it.

Olivia

this one was kind of meh for me and I’m upset I don’t like it as much as I thought I would. It started out strong but for me there wasn’t enough emotional payoff. Ash was a deeply scarred man and his emotional arc didn’t feel as strong as I wanted it to be. there’s all this talk throughout the book of how he won’t trust, fall in love, or entertain the idea of love with emma and yet it seems like it happens over night. there’s also all this talk about how he’s angry, mean, and a grump but really he didn’t seem all that grumpy. I don’t know. I think this one was just an ok read for me because I was promised things I didn’t get. this is the perfect book though for those looking for a light read with lots of wonderful banter! if you’re looking for/expecting something angsty like I was, this one might disappoint.

courtney garrison

** spoiler alert **
           I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this book. I read it in 3 hours it was that good. I had sat down to do chapter reads to find my next book, luckily I picked up this one first and just could not put it down.

This book was such a beautiful book. Honestly my review won’t do it a bit justice.

The writing and overall story were just so beautiful. Your two MCs Emma and Ash have made a deal that she will give him a baby (heir) and in return she will want for nothing. They make rules, he will come to her room at night unless she is sick until she is pregnant with an heir. Once she is pregnant she will have a house in the country to raise the child and won’t have to worry about money.

This story is amazing, you see Emma over time break down his walls. You see how words and looks can tear a person down so far that they isolate themselves and think they are unworthy of love. It kind of gave off beauty and the beast type vibes.

Ash was hit with a rocket in Waterloo and has scarring from his temple down to his hip on the side of his body. His now ex-fiancé (who even I would like to slap) made comments that tore him down and made him afraid to ever let another woman look at him naked, until Emma comes along.

I do wanna say while it was sad at times to see ash think so little of himself he was also down right hilarious. Page 76 with the cat scene had me cracking up so bad I was crying. Ash was absolutely hilarious.

Emma was so sweet and caring. She felt herself falling for him and looked past what everyone else said. She loved him for who he was scars and all. She challenged Ash and wouldn’t take any of his crap. I think that’s something he desperately needed in his life.

This book was really steamy, it does have explicit scenes so if that’s something you don’t want to read about that I would highly recommend skipping.

Overall I’ve never read a historical romance before but Tessa dare has made me fall in love with the genre. I want to read all her books now. I highly recommend this one to anyone that loves historical romance or books with steamy scenes.

The Duchess Deal (Girl meets Duke, Book 1)

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