Book Review: One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare

Title: One Dance with a Duke
Author: Tessa Dare
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books(May 13th 2010)
Genre: Historical Romance
Read: Paperback (Rouge Collection)
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon | Flipkart
Summary: (Amazon)
A handsome and reclusive horse breeder, Spencer Dumarque, the fourth Duke of Morland, is a member of the exclusive Stud Club, an organization so select it has only ten members—yet membership is attainable to anyone with luck. And Spencer has plenty of it, along with an obsession with a prize horse, a dark secret, and, now, a reputation as the dashing “Duke of Midnight.” Each evening he selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the women catch his interest, and nobody ever bests the duke—until Lady Amelia d’Orsay tries her luck.

In a moment of desperation, the unconventional beauty claims the duke’s dance and unwittingly steals his heart. When Amelia demands that Spencer forgive her scapegrace brother’s debts, she never imagines that her game of wits and words will lead to breathless passion and a steamy proposal. Still, Spencer is a man of mystery, perhaps connected to the shocking murder of the Stud Club’s founder. Will Amelia lose her heart in this reckless wager or win everlasting love?

My Review:

After 32 ebooks I read One Dance with a Duke on paper :D

One Dance with a Duke is the first part of the Stud Club Trilogy by Tessa Dare. It’s a historical romance but with a modern touch. The language a lot of times feels modern rather than historic and there’s just an over all feel of being in the modern world while still being in the Victorian era. And that’s not a bad thing because I quite enjoyed reading it.

The book is filled with a good amount of the erotic and I usually don’t like that but in this case I enjoyed reading those steamy scenes too. Be prepared for a lot of locations and positions :P

The characters are lovable. Spencer the Duke is not only tall, dark and handsome but also has his own failings that make him more human. Amelia is an older woman at 26 and her thought processes make for enjoyable reading. She has a lot of spunk and stands up for people. This makes for some skirmishes to look forward too.

The story revolves around a horse Osiris and a gentlemen’s club – The Stud Club. I like that name! Leo the founder of the club gets killed and there’s a mystery to the event. However this mystery isn’t resolved in the book. I’m hoping it’ll get solved over the next two books.

I just can’t seem to find the cover I read, so here it is. Like I said with Lady Sophia’s Rescue; I just can’t understand why authors agree to cut off the head of the heroine on the cover. It just looks weird!

This may not be an exceptional book but definitely makes for an enjoyable read. I’m going to look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy when I can get my hands on them.

Buy On: Amazon | Flipkart