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My Review:Title: The Wallflower Wager
Author: Tessa Dare
Series: Girl Meets Duke #3
Published by: HarperAudio
Release Date: August 13, 2019
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Mary Jane Wells
Genres: Historical Romance
Potential Triggers: View Spoiler »
Source: Libby
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2020 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2020 Monthly Motif Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ IndieBound ✩ iTunes
My rating:
Blurb: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 neighbour 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...Soon, cold-hearted Gabriel, who wouldn't know a loving home from a workhouse, is covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable animals, 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.
4.5 stars — Wow, it’s so hard to decide, but I think this was my favourite of the 3 so far!
Still absolutely adored Mary Jane Wells as the narrator. She’s so consistent with her voices, with distinguishing between thoughts and dialogue, and she NAILS both the humour and the emotion of our characters.
Penny was just so absolutely easy to love, and my heart broke for both of them. I loved that we had 2 emotionally scarred individuals who went opposite ways when trying to adapt to the hurt…and somehow they found one another.
I kind of loved how Penny figured out how to be strong on her own, that it had nothing to do with Gabriel, that she grew to be that person just because…probably because of friends and stuff. That’s immensely admirable, and she is definitely a heroine to look up to. There were some very modern concepts in this book, and since I don’t read a lot of historical, I was initially thrown off. But while it may not have been the norm, I don’t see why some intrepid independent women couldn’t find value in those things even back then. I loved that there were lessons for today. I loved that Gabriel was so respectful of Penny — he really is a swoony hero, amplifying her voice and giving her agency.
I was worried I wouldn’t love Gabriel, b/c he’s so gruff and blunt and forthright…but you really end up understanding why he is the way he is. And it made it that much more delightful to see Penny break through his walls and get to his heart.
Obviously I loved them together. They had a lot of chemistry, but they also made me laugh a lot when they were together.
I was surprised with the heartbreak parts of the story…I won’t go into them, b/c spoilers, but I wasn’t expecting it and it killed me at times.
I adored all the antics with the animals — I’m an animal lover at heart, so I totally vibed with Penny on that aspect.
I laughed and laughed and laughed at the antics with Chase and Ash. I loved seeing our circle of strong women again, and cannot wait for Nicola’s story!
Loved the background story with Mrs. Burns. That was such an unexpected delight, and a side bit of humour, and I really appreciated that.
So yeah. I kinda forgot I hadn’t finished up this review, so it’s a bit more disjointed — but needless to say there were so many parts that I absolutely adored, and put together they made for a favourite read.
I still have to try this author. It makes me hopeful that each books seems to get better.