Giveaway and Review: "How to Marry a Duke"

As part of the "How to Marry a Duke" blog tour, I have my review and a giveaway of 3 copies of the book, sponsored by Hachette!

"How to Marry a Duke"
 by Vicky Dreiling

Publisher: Forever
Release Date: Jan 1, 2011

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
 

Summary from Goodreads.com:

Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne is a man with a mission: find a wife he can tolerate as long as they both shall live. Love is not necessary--nor desired. But how to choose among a dizzying array of wealthy-yet-witless candidates? Hire London's infamously prim and proper matchmaker. Then pretend she's not the most captivating woman he's ever met...

Helping a devilish Duke create a contest to pick his perfect mate is the kind of challenge Tessa Mansfield relishes. Her methods may be scandalous, but she's determined to find the notorious bachelor more than a wife--she'll bring him true love. Yet when Tessa watches the women vie for the Duke's affections, she longs to win his heart herself. And after a stolen kiss confirms Tristan's desire, Tessa knows she has broken a matchmaker's number one rule: never fall in love with the groom.

My Review:

At first, I thought this book was going to be just a cutesy regency era twist on "The Bachelor" TV show. But as I kept reading, I found myself completely drawn in by the story and totally falling in love with the characters!

Tristan was a handsome, charming duke with the confidence you expect from royalty, but also with this unexpected awkward quality that made him just so much more endearing and real. He didn't make much effort to hide his feelings for Tessa, but at the same time, he did feel a sense of duty to the girls in the 'competition.' Coming to terms with balancing his duty and his feelings was great to see play out.

I loved that the author really showed why Tristan and Tessa fell for each other. There was a great line about how Tessa was Tristan's first 'lady friend,' truly meaning she was his friend. Their romance was really based on friendship, understanding, and attraction, not just love at first sight or lust.

The secondary characters were just as fun and lovable as the leads without overshadowing Tristan and Tessa. Tristan's mother was a great addition to the story, as well as Amy and Georgette, two of the girls in the competition for Tristan's heart. It couldn't have been easy to essentially write rivals for Tessa and have them turn out so likable. Tristan's best friend, Hawk, was an adorable rascal, and I can't wait to read his romance with Julianne in the next book.

Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 5/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 5/5


Bottom Line:This story was truly about romance and love between the leads. The author has a way of making her heart melt without being sappy or unrealistic. Books like this remind of why I love the historical romance genre so much!

GIVEAWAY RULES:
Hachette books has generously provided three copies of this historical romance for readers of my blog!


All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this review with your email address!
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Rules:

• US and Canada only
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• Books will be mailed out by Hachette
• Ends Friday Feb 4

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