Romancing the Duke: An Enemies To Lovers Regency Historical Romance Novel (Castles Ever After Book 1) Kindle Edition

I have been a fan of Tessa Dare since her debut novel, Goddess of the Hunt, blew me away five years ago. Since then, I have had the great pleasure of watching her grow as a writer and have just been extremely impressed with almost everything that she has put out. So I was very excited to read Romancing the Duke, the first book in her new Castles Ever After series. And what a treat this book was! I loved almost everything about it from the characters to the romance to the setting.The heroine of this book is Miss Isolde (Izzy) Goodnight, the daughter of a famous fiction writer, who has been left destitute by his untimely death. She has very little money and, due to her age (26) and unconventional looks, virtually no marriage prospects. Thankfully, her luck seems to change when she is told that she has inherited a castle from a mysterious godfather. That is until she arrives at the castle and realizes that it is inhabited by a surly duke who has no desire to leave his home.I absolutely adored everything about Izzy Goodnight. She is a intelligent, but plain woman who understands how bleak her prospects are yet still has the audacity to dream of love and happiness. Her loving, but realistic feelings towards her famous father were a breath of fresh air in a genre where parents are viewed as the epitome of evil or as saints. I loved Izzy's confidence and determination to keep her hold on Gostley Castle by any means necessary. It was also fun to read about her reputation among her father's fans (as sweet, innocent little Izzy Goodnight) and how it clashed against the passionate woman she really is.The aforementioned duke of the story is Ransom Vane, a scarred and partially blind man who was injured in a duel almost a year earlier. Ransom was used to the life of a wealthy, careless rake until he was injured and has slunk off to Gostley Castle to live a life of solitude. He is exactly the type of hero that I love reading about in historical romances: grumpy, stubborn, and unwilling to go along with any of Izzy's ideas about learning the truth about who really owns the castle. But, despite his flaws, Ransom also is an honorable man who hasn't had great luck with love (romantic and familial) so he reacts much like an injured animal. Seeing him so flustered by Izzy's backbone was wonderful to read about and made for some of my favorite scenes.Ransom and Izzy are a couple that was obviously made for each other. Their first meeting shows off the splendid chemistry that they have with the constant arguing and attempts to throw the other off their pedestal. Besides the banter, these two also have a ton of sexual tension. Both are passionate people and their arguing just heightens their physical attraction to each other. Things get pretty dirty between these two though there are, of course, plenty of scenes that will grab at the doe-eyed romantic in us all.While Ransom and Izzy steal the show, there were other aspects of Romancing the Duke that made it stand out from all the other historical romances that I read. The setting (Gostley Castle) is the quintessential haunted castle with its secret passages, rooms full of bats, and weird noises at all hours of the night. Tessa Dare does an amazing job of making the reader feel like they are in the moment with Ransom and Izzy.There are also some amazing side characters that provide a nice balance with the romance. My personal favorites were the West Yorkshire's Riding Knights of Morganglia and Cresside's Handmaidens which were an obvious, and respectful, homage to the fan groups that pepper pop culture nowadays. I also loved Ransom's loyal valet (Duncan) and Miss Pelham (the vicar's daughter) who is a huge fan of "The Goodnight Tales" and became a good friend of Izzy's rather than the rival that I thought she might become. And, of course, I have to mention Izzy's pet ermine, Snowdrop, who plays an important role later in the book.All in all, I found Romancing the Duke to be a delightful romp that provided a nice twist to the typical fairy tale retelling format. Tessa Dare does a wonderful job balancing the darker themes with light, humorous moments so that the reader is always on their toes. I can't wait to learn more about the mysterious inheritance of castles that seem to be the overarching theme of the series and to see what Ms. Dare thinks of next.

Depending on the mood one is in, this winning and light romance could be the perfect antidote for a dark day. It's not exciting or adventurous or suspenseful, but it does carry a cast of interesting characters and a fairly decent plot line. If tortured, scarred heroes are your thing - you are in just the right place.This is the fairy tale about Ransom, a duke stashed away into a crumbling castle after an accident has left him broken, and Izzy, the fanciful daughter of a famous writer who has lived her whole life with her head in the clouds. These two are forced together when Izzy, orphaned and completely destitute, "inherits" the duke's castle. Seeing as how she has nowhere else to go, Izzy has no issue moving right into her new home. The duke suspects the sale of his castle was a scam, but seems unable to get rid of Izzy without legal recourse. The two strike an uneasy truce and agree to share the home until they can uncover the root of the home's ownership.Izzy, despite her fanciful and romantic nature, is no ninny. She's a refreshing heroine to read about as she maintains a dignity and strength about her that is lovely. If anything, her romantic nature gives her the courage to persevere in the presence of the duke's glowering expressions and grumpiness. Izzy is not silly or vapid or annoying or a Mary Sue - she's quite charming. I laughed out loud several times at her words and antics. She was especially appealing when having conversation with the duke. It seems obvious that he is completely exasperated with her but she nonchalantly continues her course. I also loved her direct nature and it saved the novel from any annoying Big Misunderstandings.The duke was quite crush-worthy. I found Ransom to be a delightful stick in the mud - he is angry, frustrated and vulnerable. He doesn't quite know what to do with Izzy. From his perspective, she is totally invasive. Her chatty and cheerful nature is like a ray of sunshine that one wants to avoid because they have a headache. As much as he is drawn to Izzy, he is also repelled. It's obviously much easier to give in to gloom and doom than to fight to live once depression such as his has set in.. and it's with some reluctance that he gives his heart to Izzy. But when he does.. wow. Amazing. Sheesh.The chemistry between these two is sizzling hot. And I really enjoyed their love scenes. I found the book to be just about hilarious for the most part - I literally laughed and winced and even got a little choked up. It was definitely a good read and a page turner. I also liked that the author resisted the temptation (if there was any) to give in to to the perfect happy ending. Without giving away spoilers, I will just say that the ugly duckling doesn't turn into a swan and the beast doesn't turn into a DKNY model. These two people were especially enchanting because they love each other as they are - and they stay that way. No magical and unrealistic transformations here.This one lost one star because the ending was just a little hokey or something. It felt a little silly or forced.. something was off there. But it was such a small part and the epilogue was very satisfying.

I usually write about the steaminess in my romance reviews and Romancing the Duke has plenty. But the story and characters are so unique in their own right I was pure smiles by the end. A nod to Beauty and the Beast is just that, a nod. Izzy is a strong resourceful woman and as is often the case with Tessa Dare’s heroines is as much the rescuer as the rescued. A lovely, large set of supporting characters add a bit of whimsy, lunacy and a commitment to the cause. Doubt not that you will enjoy Romancing the Duke.