Grief seized like a savage, crippling pain.

I love how Ms Dare tempers the lighter moments with moments that are so heart-rending… “I’ll have great fun with you on the wedding night.” She unleashed her broadest country accent as she tipped her head to admire the curve of his tight, aristocratic arse. The book is rich in humour and the sparkling dialogue provides so many memorable laugh-out-loud moments… There are so many things I love about this book, it’s difficult to know where to start but I’ll try. A ginormous feat considering how much I love Colin and Minerva! ANY DUCHESS WILL DO has edged A WEEK TO BE WICKED into second place as my choice for the best book in this series.

There are just not enough superlatives to describe this book. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess-can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart? Keeping Pauline by his side won’t be easy. She’s a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure-a woman who ignites Griff’s desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother’s “duchess training”… and fail miserably.īut in London, Pauline isn’t a miserable failure. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week’s employment. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn’t dream about dukes. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. 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 insists he select a bride from the ladies in residence.

Beauty and the Blacksmith by Tessa Dare