One Dance with a Duke (The Stud Club Trilogy) [Kindle Edition]

Tessa Dare (Author)

Book Description

In One Dance with a Duke—the first novel in Tessa Dare’s delightful new trilogy—secrets and scandals tempt the irresistible rogues of the Stud Club to gamble everything for love.
 
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?


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. This standout Regency romance, the first in Dare's Stud Club trilogy, matches an unlikely heroine with an arrogant, secretive duke. Plump, plain, and poor, spinster Amelia d'Orsay is astonished when Spencer Dumarque, duke of Morland and a famously handsome and wealthy bachelor, literally sweeps her off her feet and out the door at a London ball. The news of a friend's unexpected death leads them on a significant detour, and Amelia returns home at dawn. Deciding others will believe Amelia compromised after a night in his company, Spencer asks for her hand, leading to a hasty, often conflicted, and deeply passionate marriage. Amelia's imperfections endear her to both the reader and her husband, while Spencer's complexity of character sets him well beyond the typical aristocrat and a little bit of a murder mystery adds the perfect finishing touch. (June)
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Review

"An engaging love story with strong, believable characters. I can't wait to read the sequels!" Mary Balogh, New York Times bestselling author "This standout Regency romance matches an unlikely heroine with an arrogant, secretive duke... ...and a little bit of a murder mystery adds the perfect finishing touch Starred Review" Publishers Weekly "A sharp-witted and sharp-tongued heroine matches wits and romantic wiles with a sinfully sexy hero" Chicago Tribune

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 537 KB
• Print Length: 404 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0345518853
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 25, 2010)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0036S4C8Y
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,302 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Prepare to be ridiculously delighted! May 30, 2010

By Karen

Format:Mass Market Paperback

It's hard to pin down what makes a romance novel a keeper--different people like different things, and even if you can name all the things you like, you couldn't just patch them all together in one book and be guaranteed a novel you'll love. A keeper has an intangible quality, a certain something that makes the characters and the emotions feel real, even when you know intellectually that you are reading what amounts to, in terms of realism, a fairy tale.

This novel is definitely in my top 5, and I'm pretty picky. First of all, Tessa Dare's writing style is fantastic; it never veers into purple prose, the pacing is excellent, the dialogue clever. And she's a huge Jane Austen fan, apparently, since Amelia states early in the book she's "never seen a house so happily situated."

Amelia--she's one of the heroine greats. Not a perfect beauty, not a push over, not a "bluestocking," not insultingly vapid. She is flawed and quirky, without being annoying. Spencer is emotionally distant. What I liked about him was that he clearly loved her from the beginning, and their interests and personalities are compatible. There's a scene where he's reading and she's working her needlepoint, and they're sparring, and it feels like you're a fly on the wall--it's just so cozy and appealing. I did not find it frustrating that he was emotionally distant, I found it realistic and believable. He brings to mind Mr. Darcy, and Amelia, a la Elizabeth Bennet, draws him out. Of course, Austen would have written things differently without all the hot sex scenes. ;)

That brings me to another thing I liked about this Regency. The problems and external conflicts are not ridiculous, and they are fairly realistic to the time period. There are no gambling hells or kidnappings, no silly mysteries to solve. Wait! you say. Isn't this trilogy, at least in part, about a murder and a "stud club"? Well, yes, it is, and I was afraid Ms. Dare's second trilogy would devolve into some sort of mystery-driven Stephanie Laurens type mess, but it doesn't. It stays focused on the romance, and the murder with which the book begins provides just enough plot to bring certain characters together, drive others apart, and create a believable conflict.

Romance, character, and emotional realism are at the center of this romance. This is one to savor, because you won't read another one so good for awhile (until June 22, perhaps?). A great piece of escapist fiction that I never wanted to skim. I never rolled my eyes. I just enjoyed the whole blasted thing thoroughly.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars One Dance With a Duke by Tessa Dare May 25, 2010

By A. Schreiner TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The ladies of the ton are in a titter over Spencer, the Duke of Morland. Rich, handsome and single, Spencer has started making it a habit of showing up at precisely midnight to each ball, selecting one dance partner and then leaving. The gossipers have fondly nicknamed him, The Duke of Midnight. Each mother has high hopes that one night he will pick their daughter and declare it a love match. Amelia d'Orsay could care less about this Duke of Midnight, that is until she discovers her brother Jack lost four hundred pounds to him in a card game. Four hundred pounds poorer, which means they will not be able to afford to go to their beloved cottage this summer.

Determined to rectify this situation, Amelia forces her way through the crowd and demands a dance with Spencer. Once dancing, Amelia finds the courage to demand Spencer forgive the debt - but he will hear nothing of it. He knows Jack is a wastrel and forgiving the debt will further enable him to keep gambling. Plus, Spencer has something much bigger on his mind - The Stud Club.

The Stud Club was created by his friend Leopold, each member earning a brass token allowing that token holder to be able to breed with the famed horse, Osiris. Spencer doesn't want to breed with Osiris, he wants Osiris for himself for very personal reasons which he refuses to share with anyone. With ten total tokens out there, Spencer is determined to collect them all. This token can neither be bought nor sold, only won through a game of cards. When Leo turns up dead, and his token gone, Spencer, along with fellow members Rhys St. Maur and Julian Bellamy start investigating who was involved in the murder. When the three men must deliver the news of Leopold's passing to his sister Lily, Amelia demands to help, knowing these men don't have the softest of emotions. Amelia soon finds herself in the company of Spencer, and the Duke of Midnight grabs her attention.

Tessa Dare's books are always so rich and full in the romance department that as a romance reader, you feel like you won the lottery. She also can write foreplay like no other. She spends and entire page on just the act of Spencer removing his gloves so he can kiss Amelia properly. And then - the kiss. This may be one of my favorite kisses ever. One Dance With a Duke is the first in her Stud Club trilogy and a really great one at that.

She gives us a hero and heroine who are both very intense and passionate. Spencer is all haughty Duke, with evil stares and cold demeanor. Amelia comes on the scene very sure of herself, and very put off by the attention Spencer appears to be reveling in as the Duke of Midnight. But when she is forced to spend a night with him - out and about informing Lily of her brother's death, she sees a glimpse of a different man and she finds a new side to herself.

Spencer is oddly enamored with Amelia. He notices she embroiders a handkerchief for no one else's amusement but her own. She makes him "chatty" as she likes to tease him and he is baffled by why he enjoys her company so much. He needs an heir, he needs an adult female in his life to help guide his young ward Claudia, so he makes that step, very early in the book to make Amelia his bride. While I thought Amelia's acceptance made sense, the next day, her sudden fear of him being Leopold's murderer seemed a bit silly. She wasn't forced in any way into marrying Spencer, even having her brother very wary of the arrangement. I felt her mistrust of him a bit misplaced. However, their relationship takes on a very slow, and sensual journey until they really get to know each other - and it is fantastic.

Truly a lovely story and the next two books in this trilogy, Twice Tempted by a Rogue featuring Rhys St. Maur and Three Nights With a Scoundrel with Julian Bellamy come out back to back. One Dance With a Duke gives you a rich, romantic story that I definitely recommend.

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Very very disappointing, totally TSTL Heroine. August 2, 2010

By E. Burns

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Instead of growing to like Amelia more during the course of the book, I grew less and less tolerant, and by the last page I loathed her. All I felt was deep pity for the Duke who is stuck with her because deserved better..... a woman who loves him. Which the author drills home repeatedly that Amelia won't trust herself to the Duke. At first to protect her heart, but by the end of the book, because she's putting herself first. Wow...not.

Other objections,
First off, it's not 'hot' it's moderately warm. There are two lamely toasty sex scenes and yes folks, and two more very tepid ones and that....is...it. Amanda Quick has more and better in her books written 15 years ago and I've never thought of them as hot. When sex doesn't happen because of various contrivances or big misunderstandings (this book is FULL of them), this isn't sexual tension.. it's a fake and silly reason to 'build' to a few weak sex scenes...that are so not worth the wait. Again, the sex is NOT hot!

Secondly, Amelia is not exactly TSTL, she's more too self-absorbed to listen, too silly to like. She's supposed to be so wrapped up in caring for others that she doesn't put herself first. So when she finally decides to put herself first, she basically screws over the one person in the book who has been trying to help her see her
worth. A man who has trouble with words and panic attacks, yet he's repeatedly made out to be some clumsy oaf, yet he's from the beginning, more giving and caring than Amelia ever is towards him. Their relationship never completes. After half starts and almost happens, by the last page, it's even LESS a believable 'love' than it was on page 20.

I get the feeling the message in this book is supposed to be "love yourself before you can love others" but what comes out instead is "you can't put anyone before yourself or your a rotten example for the modern woman who reads and reviews these books and wants it to always be about her."

Thirdly, I really HATE contrived reasons to keep the couple apart. The STUD Club is lunacy and filler to give a reason for conflict and keeping their marriage from completion. That and it drags and drags. The 'romance' between the couple is weirdly one sided.....again, Spencer comes off as deeper and wiser while Amelia never becomes a wife. Even after the sex, even after she realizes she's 'completed her side of the bargain'.... she never ever EVER treats Spencer like a beloved husband.

She insists on staying a sister, always putting Spencer second. So her 'love' vacillates with Amelia's moods and family ties. Did mention it's all about her when it's not about everyone else? Her love has a big condition attached--- her family name and her family come first. It's a bizarre fixation almost to the last page and it ruins the book.

The last two chapters turned me off the book and off the author. Totally!! I will probably not be reading another Tessa Dare.... the other characters I could not care less about so their stories will go unread. Amelia chooses family over her husband, herself over her marriage.... the usual clap trap for no reason other than she's dumb as a box of rusty hammers in a well. So you get an ending that literally has you feeling so sorry for the Duke being stuck with someone who will probably choose a stray dog over him two weeks from now, and an ailing Great-Uncle next month. You get the picture. Her constantly letting her husband down is the consistent theme until the last page and it destroys an otherwise promising book.

More About the Author

Tessa Dare is a part-time librarian, full-time mommy and swing-shift author of historical romance. She makes her home in Southern California, where she shares a cozy, cluttered bungalow with her husband, their two children and a big brown dog.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Historical Romance

#1 in Books > Romance > Historical

#34 in Books > Romance

#34 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance

#76 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Historical Romance

#1 in Books > Romance > Historical

#34 in Books > Romance

#34 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance

#76 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction