The Wallflower Wager
Girl Meets Duke
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4.3 • 793 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
New York Times and USA Today Bestseller
They call him the Duke of Ruin.
To an undaunted wallflower, he's just the beast next door.
Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society—and now he wants to get even.
Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart.
When her imposing—and attractive—new neighbor demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes.
Done, Gabriel says. How hard can it be to find homes for a few kittens?
And a two-legged dog.
And a foul-mouthed parrot.
And a goat, an otter, a hedgehog . . .
Easier said than done, for a cold-blooded bastard who wouldn’t know a loving home from a workhouse. Soon he’s covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. Now she’s set her mind and heart on saving him.
Not if he ruins her first.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dare outdoes herself with the scintillating third Girl Meets Duke Regency romance (after The Governess Game). Lady Penelope Campion would rather be at home with her rescued animals than out in society, but her Aunt Caroline instructs her to give up her pets and be a proper lady or move in with her brother in Cumberland, a fate Penny dreads. Then Penny meets her neighbor, wealthy commoner Gabriel Duke, while retrieving her escaped parrot. Gabe wants to sell his residence for a profit and believes that having a lady reside next door to him will increase his property value, so he agrees to help find homes for her animals so she can stay in London. As Gabe and Penny spend more time together, she sees the kindness hidden below his drive for success and riches. The attraction between Penny and Gabe is magnetic even as their class difference threatens to destroy their relationship. Authentic characters, witticisms, profound emotion, and echoes of trauma are primary elements in this expertly crafted novel. This riveting romance may be Dare's best yet.
Customer Reviews
The Wallflower Wager
The Wallflower Wager is the third book in the Girl Meets Duke series, and while it’s a stand alone story it is in my opinion better read after the first two books. The character from the first two books reappear frequently, which is delightful.
Lady Penny is a quirky animal lover who takes in every abandoned creature she comes across - for good reason, as we find out later. Gabriel Duke (Mr. Duke, not His Grace), is a merciless business man who has just moved in next door to Penny. In a slightly too convenient plot twist, the two meet, and sparks fly. Between the animals, Penny’s friends, both of their backgrounds, a complicated relationship ensues.
The story is entertaining, funny at times, dramatic at others, and is very much worth reading. It does have a trigger, hinted at fairly early on, and described in more detail at around 75%. More detail would be a spoiler, but something to keep in mind if you have triggers.
While I did very much enjoy the book, I had to give it four stars rather than five for its historical inaccuracies and very modern thinking. It didn’t ruin the story, but it did make it a little harder to become engrossed in. I would still recommend the book, and the entire series.
I was provided with an eARC of this book in return for my honest review.
The Wallflower Wager
Another good book loved the story the characters the series of these wallflowers is great
Buy it now
Another amazing work by Tessa Dare!!!! Do not pass this up!! Funny, touching, loving, and thought provoking, this book has it all