#The Duchess Deal

[maddiesflame]

The Duchess Deal headers

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[jessread-s]

✩🪡🐈Review:

This historical romance is absolute perfection!

Since his return from the war, the Duke of Ashbury is in need wife. Enter Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress. When she conveniently appears in his library wearing his former fiancé’s wedding gown demanding payment, he decides she’ll do. 

I loved watching Emma and Ash’s marriage of convenience slowly turn into something real! In the beginning, Ash was determined to keep them apart by creating rules so that they wouldn’t fall in love. I knew from their first interaction, however, that his plans would fall apart because their chemistry is undeniable! Emma is stubborn and sees right through the walls that Ash puts up. Their intelligent, humorous personalities spark a connection between them that only strengthens as they help each other embrace their insecurities. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how comedic this book is! Emma and Ash’s banter was incredibly entertaining and made me laugh out loud at times. If you’re looking for a historical romance that is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast with both steam and humor, then this is your book! I was hooked from the first page and am convinced it was written for me! 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[viscountessevie]

Clueless Debs Fight: Daphne Bridgerton about Sex vs Davina Palmer about Contraception

[bettslovesromance]

Tessa Dare books you’d recommend for beginners?

Hi, I recomend starting with The Duchess Deal! It's a beautiful book and the start of the super fun Girl Meets Duke Series!

[overflowingshelf]

Review: The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

The Duchess Deal Tessa Dare Publisher: Avon Books Publication Date: August 22, 2017 Series or Standalone:Girl Meets Duke #1 Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph Rating: MY REVIEW CW: Body shaming; injury/injury detail; religious biogtry; abandoment; sexism; emotional abuse; pregnancy; war; death of a parent; vomit When I read this book when it first came out in 2017, I…

[blueysbookshelf]

2024: Book 28 - The Duchess Deal

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare My rating: 5 of 5 stars I just really don't know what more anyone needs in a hero. * Wounded and scarred? ✔️ * Vigilante by night? ✔️ * Proper gentleman until he's not? ✔️ * Refuses to swear in front of a lady so he uses Shakespearean insults? ✔️✔️✔️ * Beast in the sheets? ✔️✔️✔️✔️ * Sweet marshmallow grumpy grump for his wife? ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️ Show me a more perfect man…I'll wait. But no, seriously. This book was so cute and charming, while also dealing with some pretty gnarly topics for the time period. Emma and Ash were a match made in heaven, almost from the beginning and I enjoyed every second of my time with them. It's not quite Kleypas…but it's absolutely worth a read and a reread and another reread. I use the CAWPILE Review method for my reviews (see explanation here), just to keep me honest and help me understand what exactly I liked/didn't like. My ratings are below. Characters: 8/10 Atmosphere/Setting: 9/10 Writing: 10/10 Plot: 9/10 Intrigue: 9/10 Logic/Relationships: 9/10 Enjoyment: 10/10 Total rating 64/70 divided by 7 = 9.1 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 🌶️ 🌶️ View all my reviews

[nenoname]

stan twins the canon cptsd brothers i will always think about all your unaddressed issues that would make perfect plot fuel for your spinoff

and also the whole 'stan getting that poem by bill via a website which contrasts with bill getting one from the axolotl via a website' foreshadowing thing

like idk i would love something like su future but like more optimistic, aka not an accumulated breakdown that has to be mostly resolved off screen at the end :/// but something thats being kinda addressed throughout? (although would love to see one of them turn into a monster thats always fun lol)

stan having severe issues from his dad and those years of being homeless that we keep on getting more info on but never really getting confronted on (the drifter catalogue and tijuana incident...), him being completely alone for like twenty years when running the shack before soos comes along to the point that 1998 is noted as his low point, and him not really learning about bill+what he did to ford until ages after he killed him if he ever did get the full context

while i think amnesia and everyone seeing him as a hero actually helped with stan's 'i'm a worse version of my brother' thing its still a lingering issue too and we now got him being insecure over his own hands

ford being immediately thrown from 'being tortured by bill' to 'being stuck in the multiverse and being chased by bounty hunters constantly', him fully expecting himself to die when destroying bill, and him only now being safe for the first time in 30 years ....relatively safe, he's still in constant danger because of course he is

idk in the end the series wants them to be happy and they deserve it, its why i wasn't too worried about the book being like 'ooh bill is back!! and the book is haunting ford' thing cos i knew they'll be ok

[zvmz]

something I really love about ever after high is that every character that’s even slightly portrayed as a villain or antagonist actually has a reason for being that way besides “that’s just how they are”. Actually fleshed out, 3 dimensional antagonists arent something you see a lot of in kids shows.

for example, Kitty and Faybelle are mean and chaotic, not just because they want to be, but because they idolize their mothers. They want to live up to their mothers legacies and expectations more than anything else.

Lizzie has been trained her whole life to become a queen know for being bold, angry, and ruthless; making it difficult to express any emotion outside of those qualities. She’s also currently stranded in a confusing world that constantly misunderstands her.

Duchess is cursed with a terrible ending to her story, and will do anything to get her own happy ending, even if it means sacrificing friendships.

Ramona only appears to be a mean girl on the outside, she uses that appearance and rivalry with cerise to protect herself and her family.

Blondie is just very hard-working. She is very set on her goals and will do anything to achieve them. She won’t let anyone get in her way.

Apple has been groomed from birth to believe she must hold tradition above all else. She’s been told many lies by those she has always put her trust in, and she believes those lies wholeheartedly. She tries her hardest to be a good person, but is too set in her ways to see any perspective other than her own.

[enbeemagical]

I really love The Magic Thief because Conn is such an enticing protagonist (all sassy and snarky but 90% of it is his internal narration, not spoken aloud, he observes so much, and he's clever!) and also because Nevery, despite his seeming aloofness and the *gestures* crotchety old wizard vibes of him, he's JUST as chaotic as Conn

[wonder-worker]

J.L. Laynesmith taking the 'Buckingham Did It™' route for the murder of the Princes in the Tower AND the rumors of Edward IV's bastardy ... I have to laugh

[ashenwinds]

The Festival of the Damned had never caught their interest -- although the use of a spooky atmosphere that came around this time does wonders to amp up the terrifying factor they hold. A method they liberally use, considering it assists in striking fear even if for just fun.

Chi lets out a low growling laugh, the echo in their voice becoming far more dissonant with the sound. Only that as the fires spread from within the crystals to crawling across the ground around them. Flames that threaten to burn all that it gets near -- including the one that stands close by.

@nautikids encountered the Warden during the spooky season!

[meghansbest]

The Duke & Duchess of Sussex being the absolute cutest couple ever during the trailer for the second half of their Netflix documentary ''Harry and Meghan - A Global Event'', released December 15th, 2022.

[xproblematiquexx]

I’m still alive to my own surprise. And still an addict with no surprise at all. I’ve just made an incredible deal with my French guy and by getting home, I’ve found my 5g from my German guy.

A couple weeks ago I went to the doctor and guess what he told me? (Nah he didn’t say “girl you better try to have fun don’t matter what you do!” Ps Sinéad O'Connor we still miss you babe). He said I must quit this stuff and get clean. Duh!!! 🙄 He refilled my prescription so now I’m drowning in pills, but how can I get clean? I mean you have to want it first, right? And I’m not in that state of mind, not at the moment…I’m sorry…

[overflowingshelf]

June 2024 Reading Recap

How is June over? It felt like it went by in the blink of an eye. I also swore I read more books than I did this month, but I guess I did not. This month, I only read 4 books, which is way less than I thought, but it is what it is. As we’re officially past the year’s mid-point, let’s also check in on my overall reading goals.  For 2024, I set a goal of reading 100 books. I had a rough start to…

[fellthemarvelous]

Satine Kryze Defense Squad

Ugh.

I don't know why Satine hate needed to show up on my dash, but why do these weirdos insist on referring to her as a dictator and accusing her of committing genocide? Gross.

Immediate block!

I don't have time for that negativity. Or the asinine ignorance that comes with this anti-Satine discourse.

Duchess Satine is one badass lady who turned Mandalore from a bloodthirsty warrior society into a peaceful planet.

She was right about the Clone Wars from the very beginning.

She was targeted for assassination by Death Watch, the Separatists, AND the Republic because she refused to get involved with the war.

But yeah, she's the dictator for trying to protect her people from more violence and unnecessary death because she saw the Clone War for the game it was from the very beginning. Got it. 🙄

[toastess-with-the-mostess]

For the ship questions post, I have two ships. Firstly, 4 and 6 for pre-relationship, 2 for general, and 10 for love, for Panya, because *obviously*

And the second one is just 1, 4, and 5 for general for the crack ship Larmina and Zora (I just picked randomly which drule twin to use lol)

you fell into my trap and now you are stuck listening to my panya rambling YOU FOOL This got super long lol, stuff is under the cut Here's the post we're referencing

Yellow for Panya, Purple for Larmina/Zora

Pre-Relationship

4. Who felt romantic feelings first? Anya did! It was two years after they reconnected on Arus and right before the team got split up because of Wade. She never said anything because she was scarred she'd lose the special closeness they had, and because Pidge was crushing on Lance at the time lol

His crush ends after The Incident, since Pidge dedicated himself to getting back black lion, and Anya's crush takes a back burner while she makes sure Allura doesn't turn into a vegetable because of her depression. Around three years later, though, Pidge starts crushing on her in turn because she had come to visit them on Earth instead of Allura (she got dragged into royal business) during the holidays. Something about Anya laughing with the streetlights reflecting off her eyes and the snow that reminded him of home really got to him. Likewise, seeing Pidge still have so much life in him and his general excitement to have her near again brought that crush back into focus for Anya. Neither of them would act on it until like another 3 years though

6. If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think? Pidge would brush it off, he doesn't believe in destiny or ghosts or anything mystical that's part of a greater force. Anya already believes they're soulmates, but not in the romantic sense. Soulmates to her are just people who are meant to keep crossing each other's path, and that has happened at least 3 times with Pidge

General

2. Did they have an official first date? If so, what was it like? No official first date, as in they went out somewhere, but what they consider their first date is when they both spent a bunch of time together in the Royal Archives. Only Arusian royalty and their advisors are allowed in, so Coran gave Anya a key for the door, and Pidge has snuck in there a lot before because he's not going to be kept from information period. It'd had been a long day for them both and the two wanted to spend some alone time together, so they agreed to meet in the archive, where almost nobody else was allowed in. Inside the archive was a nook hidden by the ceiling tall bookcases, it had a small couch with a lamp and coffee table. Neither of them knows who set it up, but they brought over some blankets and electric kettle and mugs just to sit and cuddle with each other. And that was how they liked it, a moment of peace together doing whatever they wanted in each other's presence

1. Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go? It was probably Zora tbh LMAOO Larmina holds grudges for a LOOONG time, and she wasn't over their joyride in the city, especially because as royalty they should know better. Eventually they do play nice and Zora has liked Larmina's spark from the start, so she just bluntly asks her out. Larmina takes it as a challenge almost, she doesn't see it as a fun time, but they end up getting along great and agree to keep seeing each other.

The Twins aren't actually evil in my eyes, I like to think they're spies who work with Lotor and feed the info back to the rest of the Drule Empire, which had kicked out the 9th kingdom (Lotor's kingdom) after dotu.

4. Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)? Larmina's first relationship, but not Zora's anything. I see them both as minors, so I'm not going much farther than that, but Larmina now fully understands why her aunt is so attached to the idea of someone really loving her in their relationship

5. What’s their height difference? Age difference? In the comics they look to be the same height, but I've always hc'd that the ladies of the team to be taller than their respective group (except Anya she got the short end of the stick, literally) Larmina is taller than Zora but actually younger than her. In dotu I know they gave the Drule's ages that go into the centuries, but I can't see that without some serious physical changes, so the twins are about as young as the cadets (Zora 19-20, Larmina 18)

Love

10. Do they prefer verbal or physical affection? This is actually kind of tough, at least for Pidge Anya prefers physical affection, she wasn't given a lot of verbal affection before either, but something about feeling the touch and warmth of another person makes her feel so happy For Pidge I guess he's the same, he's probably used to getting told how smart he is and things related to that because of his genius. When he gets physical affection though, it surprises him, it's really only Hunk Lance and Allura that are physically affectionate with him, so now that Anya is getting a lot more touchy as his partner it's like he can't get enough. Even if they're in the same room doing separate things, one of their limbs has to touch somehow or else he'll get dramatic. Truthfully, it's because of his last relationship that ended abruptly and horribly, her touch reminds him that she isn't going anywhere, especially after he let himself romantically care for and get into a relationship with someone again.