Tessa Dare: When a Scot ties the knot

Tessa Daren historiallisessa rakkausromaanissa puitteina on skotlantilainen linna, jonka perijätär saa yllätyksekseen tietää että hänen keksimänsä sulhanen, sodassa kaatunut upseeri, onkin oikeasti olemassa ja vieläpä elossa: When a Scot ties the knot (HarperCollins, 2015; ISBN 978-0-06-234903-3).



Teoksen juoni on siinä määrin uskomaton että mietityttää olisiko tätä jo aiemmin hömppäromaaneissa käytetty, mutta kaiketi se on mahdollista. Kohtalaisen kudelman Dare näistä aineksista saa aikaiseksi, vaikka pintaa syvemmälle tässä ei mennäkään.

Madeline Gracechurch is shocked when the suitor she invented at sixteen and wrote passionate letters to turns out to be a real person, Captain Logan MacKenzie, who comes to her Scottish castle home to insist that she marry him.

Tessa Dare: Say yes to the marquess

Tessa Dare tarjoaa kevyesti hömppäisen historiallisen rakkausromaanin, jossa naimakauppoja sekä perutaan että viritellään: Say yes to the marquess (HarperCollins, 2014; ISBN 978-0-06-224018-7).



Juonta on maustettu skotlantilaisella linnallakin, mikä ei kuitenkaan peitä tarinan pinnallisuutta. No, dialogissa on paikka paikoin terävyyttäkin.

After eight years of waiting for Piers Brandon, the wandering Marquess of Granville, to set a wedding date, Clio Whitmore has had enough. She's inherited a castle, scraped together some pride, and made plans to break her engagement. Not if Rafe Brandon can help it. A ruthless prizefighter and notorious rake, Rafe is determined that Clio will marry his brother - even if he has to plan the dratted wedding himself.

Tessa Dare: The scandalous, dissolute, no-good Mr. Wright

Tessa Dare tarjoaa täysin hömpällä kyllästetyn historiallisen rakkausromaanin, jossa parasta lienee teoksen nimen sanaleikki, eikä se kummoinen ole: The scandalous, dissolute, no-good Mr. Wright (Avon Impulse, 2011; ISBN 978-0-06-227137-2).



No, kieltämättä päähenkilöiden keskinäisessä kamppailussa on humoristista reipashenkisyyttä joka antaa ymmärtää että teos on kirjoitettu kevyehköllä otteella. Mutta mitään sen kummempaa muistikuvaa tästä ei mieleen jäänyt.

Because of a foolish mistake in her youth, she's not allowed "out" in Society until her three older sisters are wed. But while she's trying to be good, she keeps bumping elbows—and, more distressingly, lips—with notorious rake Harry Wright. Every moment she spends with him, she risks complete ruin.

Tessa Dare: The duchess deal

Tessa Daren historiallisessa rakkausromaanissa sodan murjoma mies ja ompelijattarena itseään elättävä nainen tekevät naimakauppoja: The duchess deal (Mills & Boon, 2018; ISBN 978-0-008-26822-0).



Usein tulee mieleen, ovatko kirjojen kansikuvia tehtailevat ihmiset ikinä katsoneet edes kirjan kuvaustekstiä? Tämän kirjan kansikuva ja teoksen sisältö eivät voisi enempää toisistaan poiketa.

Kyseessä on kaunotar ja hirviö -tarina uusissa kuosissa, mutta yllättävää oli se raikkaus millä hömppämäistä kerrontaa oli höystetty miehen ja naisen tasa-arvon teemalla. Ja saattaa olla niinkin että hirviön hirviömäisestä ulkonäöstäkin on apua kun asioita kuntoon laitetaan.

'I am a Duke. I'm not asking you to marry me. I am offering to marry you. It's a different thing entirely.'

When the Duke of Ashbury returns from war scarred, he realises he needs an heir - which means he needs a wife! When Emma Gladstone, a vicar's daughter turned seamstress visits wearing a wedding dress, 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 secrets and some rules of her own:

- They will have dinner together every evening.
- With conversation.
- And teasing.
- Last, and most importantly...

Tessa Dare: A week to be wicked, A lady by midnight ja Any duchess will do

Nimimerkki Tessa Dare sopii historiallisten rakkausromaanien kirjoittajalle, mutta ilmeisesti kirjailija käyttää ihan omaa nimeään. Kirjat muodostavat teossarjoja, joissa esiintyy osittain samoja hahmoja, ja juonet polveilevat moneen suuntaan siinä määrin että langat tuntuvat välillä putoavan käsistä.

A week to be wicked (Avon, 2012; ISBN 978-0-06-204987-2)

When a devilish lord and a bluestocking set off on the road to ruin ... time is not on their side. Minerva Highwood, one of Spindle Cove's confirmed spinsters, needs to be in Scotland. Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, a rake of the first order, needs to be ... anywhere but Spindle Cove.

These unlikely partners have one week:

to fake an elopement
to convince family and friends they're "in love"
to outrun armed robbers
to survive their worst nightmares
to travel four hundred miles without killing each other

All while sharing a very small carriage by day and an even smaller bed by night.

What they don't have time for is their growing attraction. Much less wild passion. And heaven forbid they spend precious hours baring their hearts and souls.

Suddenly one week seems like exactly enough time to find a world of trouble. And maybe ... just maybe ... everlasting love.

A lady by midnight (Avon, 2012; ISBN 978-0-06-204989-6)

After years of fending for herself, Kate Taylor found friendship and acceptance in Spindle Cove—but she never stopped yearning for love. The very last place she'd look for it is in the arms of Corporal Thorne. The militia commander is as stone cold as he is brutally handsome. But when mysterious strangers come searching for Kate, Thorne steps forward as her fiancé. He claims to have only Kate's safety in mind. So why is there smoldering passion in his kiss?

Long ago, Samuel Thorne devoted his life to guarding Kate's happiness. He wants what's best for her, and he knows it's not marriage to a man like him. To outlast their temporary engagement, he must keep his hands off her tempting body and lock her warm smiles out of his withered heart. It's the toughest battle of this hardened warrior's life . . . and the first he seems destined to lose.

Any duchess will do (Avon, 2013; ISBN 978-0-06-224012-5)

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. 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?

Tessa Dare: A night to surrender ja Romancing the duke

Tessa Dare on melkein liiankin osuva nimimerkki historiallisten viihderomaanien kirjoittajalle. Teokset ovat tusinatavaraa, mutta teksti ei kuitenkaan pahemmin takkua, ja jokunen omaperäinen ajatuskin kirjoihin on saattanut pujahtaa.

A night to surrender (Avon, 2011; ISBN 978-0-06-204983-4).

Welcome to Spindle Cove, where ladies with delicate constitutions come for the sea air, and men in their prime are . . . nowhere to be found.

Or are they?

Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: the painfully shy, young wives disenchanted with matrimony, and young girls too enchanted with the wrong men; it is a haven for those who live there.

Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn't belong here. So far as he can tell, there's nothing in this place but spinsters ... and sheep. But he has no choice, he has orders togather a militia. It's a simple mission, made complicated by the spirited, exquisite Susanna Finch--a woman who is determined to save her personal utopia from the invasion of Bram's makeshift army.

Susanna has no use for aggravating men; Bram has sworn off interfering women. The scene is set for an epic battle; but who can be named the winner when both have so much to lose?

Romancing the duke (HarperCollins, 2014; ISBN 9780062240163).

As the daughter of a famed author, Isolde Ophelia Goodnight grew up on tales of brave knights and fair maidens. She never doubted romance would be in her future, too. The storybooks offered endless possibilities. And as she grew older, Izzy crossed them off. One by one by one. Now Izzy's given up yearning for romance. She'll settle for a roof over her head. What fairy tales are left over for an impoverished twenty-six year-old woman who's never even been kissed?