Customer Reviews

One Dance with a Duke

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

***SPOILERS IN REVIEW***

***SPOILERS IN REVIEW***

***SPOILERS IN REVIEW***

***SPOILERS IN REVIEW***

This book started off well, but by the time I finished it I was pissed! If I could have reached through the pages of the book and throat punched the heroine, Amelia, I would have.

Spencer and Amelia have really great chemistry in the beginning. I really liked them both. Watching Amelia push beyond her wallflower image to claim that dance...it was great. I loved that he was so flummoxed by her. His little love affair with her embroidery was cute.

Spencer was a great character. All the mystique created by the ton meant nothing to him. I loved how the author turned the mysterious male trope on its head. He didn't mean to cause gossip, he was just trying to do his duty and escape. He was so amused when he found out what they were saying about him. I loved that he was a secret romantic. I liked that when we found out why he wanted the horse it was a simple reason. There's was no terribly complicated plot for him. It was a nice change.

I liked getting to know Bellamy and Ashworth. I thought they were really interesting. Bellamy is so steeped in roles that I wonder if he even remembers who he is anymore. I felt so bad for him when he kept insisting everyone but him marry Lily. He thought she deserved better than him. Ashworth seems a little less complex, but still intriguing. I wonder why he thinks his life would be better if he ended it. I think the men from the Stud Club made the book for me.

Speaking of the Stud Club, thank God Amelia and Lily didn't accept the club name with a straight face. I'm glad someone mocked it. With them poking fun at the name it made me feel the author was inviting us to share the joke with her. It was nice.

Well, now we're down to what ruined the book for me...Amelia. I had such high hopes for her. I really liked her in the beginning! I loved that she married Spencer for practical reasons. Watching her weigh the pros and cons really made me respect her. She seemed very mature and levelheaded. Unfortunately, she didn't stay that way.

All of a sudden they're married and she wants to have a chaste marriage until he convinces her he didn't kill anyone. If you really thought he killed someone, you idiot, why did you go through with the marriage? You made a deal when you married him. Why should he have to go through with his end of the bargain when you clearly won't go through with yours? While denying him sex she still finds time to gloat to herself about the new households she has. That takes a lot of brass right there. You haven't even consummated the marriage, it can still be annulled if you don't stop acting like a twit.

So, Amelia decides she's only denying him sex because she's really afraid to fall in love with him. May I take a second to stop and point out how irritating I find this belief? Sex and love don't always go hand in hand. Why do these women persist in believing (and practicing) that? Irritating! Moving on... So, she decides she'll finally give it up. I felt we were going to get back to the Amelia I enjoyed. The one that had a clue. She goes to tell him, but the when he becomes the aggressor, because she won't spit it out, she freaks and literally runs from him. What is wrong with you???

That's not my only problem with her though! Spencer says this to her:

"Amelia," he whispered, "at this moment, I don't think you'd recognize the truth if it pinched you on the bottom."

That really summarizes my opinion of her. I don't know what reality she was in, but it sure wasn't the one I was reading. Spencer tries to buy her family home that she loves to help her brother cover his debts. He won't give him the money freely, but he'll help him out and give Amelia something she'll love. She decides he's "stripping" her family's pride. Later she's okay with someone else buying it and bulldozing it. Why was it not okay for him to buy it?

Amelia's worst flaw is that she puts her brother ahead of everyone else. She coddles him while he bankrupts the family and lashes out at anyone who doesn't want to enable him. A situation develops at the end that was all her fault. Even when she admitted she was to blame she still didn't see the reality of her brother. It was aggravating!

The biggest thing that pissed me off was the end. Amelia was the one in the wrong, but Spencer was the one who had to come to her and prove his worth. What??? She left him, not the other way around. She chose her brother over him. Why did he have to make the effort to get her back? Arghhh!!!!

Even though I really disliked this book I think I'll read the next one. I liked the author's writing, and I liked the story she was telling, I just hated Amelia. Let's hope the next book won't have another of her ilk.

I fell in love with this novel. The romance was glorious and the conflict was hilarious at times and sad at others. There were actually several conflicts that made the book a whole. I truly enjoy Tessa Dare's writing. It also seems to me like she revved it up for this new trilogy from The Goddess Trilogy. A little extra Oomph! The Duke of Morland, known as the Duke of Midnight has such a cute mystery behind his whole reasoning for being the mysterious Duke of Midnight and when it is revealed, I laughed and blushed because of how cute it was. Just darling! A few of the characters, I know we will see in the next book and the last book in the trilogy which I can't wait to read. I read this book in two days, it totally devoured my time. Amelia was an adorable heroine and I loved the witty comments and sensual demeanor of the hero. Tessa Dare, you rock!

I wanted to like One Dance with a Duke far more than I did. The initial set up for the characters was engaging and interesting. The perspective shift was wonderful, offering an alternate way of viewing events depending on which character was considering them, but ultimately this book fell short for me. At certain points, I felt strongly that I had read it before. During a scene involving notifying someone of a death, I had to check the title twice to make sure this was a new book. I wish I could recall the book I was confusing it with, but the deja vu feeling was strong enough to repeatedly pull me out of the story. There is a lot going on in One Dance with a Duke. (I wouldn't say too much, because it's the first part of a trilogy and therefore not everything is resolved.) The problem was more with the pacing. If you enjoy a lot of descriptive sex in your romance you may find it more enjoyable than I did. To me, as soon as the story would start to gain my interest everything would be placed back on hold so the characters could have a few more pages of sex. The author did try to develop the emotional connections between the hero and heroine during these scenes, but it just didn't work for me.

I also had some issues with his inability to communicate and a resolution of a core issue for him though a specifically timed death. The heroine was interesting but not likeable, with her need to please keeping her from coming to terms with reality. Sometimes she was downright irrational. As a not very spoiler example - there is an object her family has owned for generations. Selling that object is unpleasant but possible as long as that object (which she loves) is sold to anyone other than her husband (whom she loves) - even if it means destroying the object. I spent a lot of time mentally asking her what her problem was, exactly. The hero kept me company on that one but neither of us got a straight answer. I wouldn't say I regret this read or would dissuade someone from buying it but it's smack in the middle of the road for me. I don't know if I will read book two of this series or not.

I am beginning to think it is literally impossible to read One Dance With A Duke by Tessa Dare without a silly grin. Now, this book was my first foray into romance, a genre which I sort of had this tendancy to ridicule. I know, I know, not nice to make fun of heaving bosoms and what not. However, I guess that's what happens when I read one Danielle Steele book and judge a whole genre based off of it. Guys, I would never do that to the YA category -- read one book and judge all YA based off that book. So, romance, I am sorry.

One Dance With A Duke is a historical fiction set in the 18th Century, right around Waterloo. Amelia D'Orsay is a spinster with a ne'er do well brother who gambles away her pin money. Spencer, on the other hand, is this megarich duke of Morland. He hangs around balls at midnight and dances with just one woman. OF COURSE Spencer and Amelia's paths cross. I know from the summary, you can guess the ending, because it is romance, and we all know how these books end. However, I'm just going to put this out there and you can agree with me or disagree, but I don't think people read romance primarily to be surprised by the ending. I think people read it for A) The steams and B) That goofy happy feeling. This sounds creepy, but these books give someone the chance to vicariously experience love. I already have love in my life, but friends, an 18th century duke my boyfriend is not.

It's vastly entertaining to watch the sparks fly between Spencer and Amelia. They have this love hate relationship, and I really do enjoy their conversations, especially when they talk about books. Hello, there was a reference to Mary Wollenstonecraft. Total awesomesauce. It's interesting that reference, because the book places the two as a couple on equal footing. It shows that love does not allow for one person to dominate the other. I really enjoyed seeing this take on relationships as a partnership. I also really liked the kissing scenes. There's one part which I wish I could find in my book to quote for you which describes making out as a conversation. Yes, please sign me up for that talk. I mean, can you imagine instead of saying "we need to talk' you just kiss it out.

Let me just say, when you have a super heavy, emotionally draining book like The Passage, I absolutely recommend you break it up with a romance novel. Trust me, you'll feel more mentally sound after repeated emoto-beat-downs. Don't read this expecting a book surpassing all your wildest dreams, because that's not going to happen, but if you want something smile inducing, this is totally the right book to check out.

STORY BRIEF:

Amelia has been a wallflower at the balls and believes she will be a spinster. Her parents are dead. She and her brothers are surviving but don't have a lot of money. Her brother Jack is addicted to gambling and frequently comes to Amelia for money. During a ball, Jack tells her he had to rent the family's summer cottage to Spenser to cover gambling debts. She is furious and walks up to Spenser. He had just raised his hand to ask someone to dance, and Amelia takes his hand and starts dancing with him. They go outside where two of Spenser's friends inform him their mutual friend Leo was killed. Amelia goes with the three men to inform Leo's sister of the death. To Amelia's shock Spenser asks her to marry him the next morning.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:

There was no meat to this story. They marry quickly. They learn some things about each other. The mystery of who killed Leo gives them something to talk about. There are suspicions and investigations. But that mystery is not solved in this book. Maybe in the sequel? Amelia withheld sex after they were married for a stupid reason. To herself she is afraid she might fall in love with him and be hurt later. But she tells him that she is afraid he is a murderer, and she will not have sex with him until his innocence is proved.

Amelia became angry with Spenser for reasons which annoyed me. Her brother Jack was addicted to gambling. Amelia repeatedly wanted to give money to Jack and let him stay with her. She was enabling Jack. Spenser tried to get her to see the folly of this. She had blinders on. She refused to show tough love. She fought with Spenser more than once over this. It wasn't interesting. After one of these arguments, she refused to have sex with Spenser for weeks, then all of a sudden she's happy, and they have a good sex life again. The prior argument was never mentioned. She just seemed to forget about it. The effect was uninteresting conflicts. The sex scenes were probably ok, but I'm having trouble remembering them.

Character wise: Amelia is described as "she'd never been a great beauty ... she would always be a little too plump." Her main desires were to please, nurture and take care of others, and to manage a home and play hostess. She also liked to read books. Spenser loved breeding and caring for horses. He disliked crowds. He read a lot of books. He was guardian for his 15 year old cousin Claudia, but Spenser did not show her as much affection as she desired. He falls in love with Amelia almost immediately - I don't know why.

The only thing good about the story was the way Spenser loved her and did all kinds of things to make her happy. IMO he deserved someone better.

CAUTION SPOILER:

Amelia's favorite thing in the world is her family's summer cottage. Ownership of the cottage was never clear to me. It was probably owned by one of her brothers or maybe all the siblings together. Jack is in heavy debt. Spencer does the paperwork to buy the cottage. The money is going to Jack's creditor. What does Amelia do? She is angry and says that ownership of the cottage should remain with "her" family not with Spenser's family (of which she is the wife). She destroys the paperwork and instead arranges to sell the cottage to someone else who will raze it and build something else. This was illogical and stupid. I couldn't take it. Then she chooses Jack over Spenser and leaves Spenser. She loved Spenser, but she had this warped view that she had to take care of Jack - above all else.

DATA:

Story length: 384 pages. Swearing language: mild, including religious swear words. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 7. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 26. Setting: 1817 London and other areas in England. Copyright: 2010. Genre: regency romance.

I have read all the books published by Tessa Dare, as she was recommended by another author who is my favorite. This book "One dance with a duke" is my favorite book by her so far. I think Spencer is one of my favorite heroes. He is the "Duke of midnight" a scandalized figure in society, with people being in awe of him and disliking him at the same time. He appeared arrogant and distant in the beginning, but the reasons for his behavior become more clear as the story unfolds. Amelia is also a sweet and perky heroine and her extreme devotion to her wastrel brother was occasionally irritating. She can also be irrational at times, but then again characters can't be flawless as human beings are not so. Also, when it comes to her own family, she should be allowed to be blinded by loyalty until her eyes are truly opened. The way Spencer and Amelia came to marry is a common enough plot in historical/regency romances, but from then on the story line was refreshingly interesting to me. The love scenes were somewhat more prevalent and erotic than in her previous books, but well done in my opinion. Recently I have been skipping over the love scenes in most romance novels I read because most of them seemed very repetitive , unimaginative or trying too hard to be erotic. But I liked reading every page of this book. I liked the secondary characters in the story as well. I am so glad that I don't have to wait a Whole year to read the next book in the series and will be able to read the next 2 books this summer itself. Hope they'll prove to be good as well :-)

Let me start off by saying that I am an avid romance reader. I was lurking on the "Smart Bitches, Trashy Books" blog and saw that this was what they were reading and that it was highly recommended so I bought it. Yep, I bought it. Yep, I'll probably never read it again. It wasn't so much that it was a bad romance, but there are three things that turned me off about it: 1. Amelia's "love" for her family, especially that of her reprobate brother Jack, was kind of annoying. Amelia has a great husband but chooses to believe her brother over him, even though anyone with the sense Amelia supposedly possesses would have seen through his BS. Jack's a loser, Amelia, get over it. 2. Amelia gets pregnant awfully quick (I'm not really giving anything away. If you read romance novels you know that there's about a 90% chance the heroine is pregnant by the end of the book). 3. TOO MUCH HORSE TALK! Frankly, the duke's obsession with horses is a little worrisome. Basically, I skipped the horse talk and didn't miss anything concerning the story. In the end, this book is worth checking out from the library, but not worthy buying new. I think $2 is a good limit for the worth of this book at a used book store.