"Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, has no desire to wed this season--or any season--but his diabolical mother abducts him to 'Spinster Cove' and insist he select a bride from the ladies in residence. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. He chooses the serving girl.
"Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn't dream about dukes. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week's employment. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother's 'duchess training'...and fail miserably.
"But in London, Pauline isn't a miserable failure. She's a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure--a woman who ignites Griff's desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Keeping Pauline by his side won't be easy. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess--can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart?"
Whoops! I read this book out of order (which is something I HATE to do), but it was quite on accident. I follow (wonderful) romance author Teresa Medeiros on Facebook and she sometimes advertises Amazon sales for her fellow writers' books. This book happened to pop up and I was already in need of some new reading material (I'm currently enjoying some time off from work for once). I purchased it and began reading right away. I was immediately enthralled--even though I quickly realized that this was not the first book in the series. Paulina and Griff were rich, deep characters with so many interesting facets. Their backstories were extremely well-developed and it was impossible not to fall in love with both of them.
The beginning of the story was amusing--if a little bit out there--and I am sure I would have only appreciated it more had I read the books in order and previously been exposed to Griff. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter and dynamics between Griff and his mother. They certainly provided for some interesting reading. Paulina was really enjoyable as well. She was chipped and scuffed, but she really did shine brightly amongst the pantheon of some of my favorite female characters. The plot managed to be whimsical, yet remain mostly believable, which is really nice. It was filled with amusing moments and had the right amount of seriousness and depth that makes for a wonderful "for-fun" read. It was the perfect book to read on vacation. I'm definitely going to see if I can find more of Tessa Dare's books to read on my phone/iPad. The idea of a "Spinster Cove" was charming. I was definitely drawn into the plot and really cannot wait to get my hands on the first book in the series to see where this all began. Tessa Dare really impressed me with the beauty and eloquence of her writing. I highly recommend this book and I'm optimistically stating that the rest of the books should be along this same quality. I'll be sure to let you know!
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