4 1/2 Stars and Top Pick!, Romantic Times
“With a daring debut, the first in a back-to-back trilogy, Dare is on the path to stardom. From the hilarious opening to the poignant climax, Dare uses wit and wisdom, humor and sensuality to relate a tale of tangled love that reveals her ability to touch hearts with her appealing characters.”

Starred Review, Publisher’s Weekly
“Dare seems to have fit all the best of romance into one novel, from sensuous interludes and crafty humor to endearing multidimensional characters.”

Starred Review, Library Journal
“This is an exceptional debut novel, from the first hilarious “practice” session to the gradual melting of Jem’s outward reserve and Lucy’s maturing realization of whom she really loves. A beautifully crafted tale that captivates with sassy wit, a lush, sweetly intense sensuality, and an abundance of beautifully articulated, appealing characters.”

ChicagoTribune.com
“Dare’s dazzling debut is an irresistible combination of Austenesque wit and sexy romance.”

The Romance Reader
“It’s been a long while since I’ve enjoyed a debut novel as much as Goddess of the Hunt. With a cast of refreshingly realistic characters, a spicy love story, an irreverent sense of humor, and some truly funny dialogue, this is a book certain to cheer up jaded readers of historical romance.” … Read More »

Autumn, 1817

A knock on the door in the dead of night could only mean disaster.

Jeremy pulled a pair of worn breeches on under his nightshirt and stumbled toward the bedchamber door. A fire? He didn’t smell smoke. Perhaps a Waltham family emergency? An urgent message from his steward, maybe—unrest at Corbinsdale would not come as a surprise.

A memory assailed him, unbidden. Unnerving. His heart thudded wildly in his chest. He paused, clutching the door handle, cursing his body for recalling so quickly what he’d worked long years to forget.

Logic caught up to his racing pulse, reining it in. The dim glow of banked coals cast ominous shadows, but Jeremy forced the room into focus. This was not that night. He was in his usual bedchamber at Waltham Manor, not wandering Corbinsdale Woods. More than twenty years had passed, and he was no longer a boy. Whatever surprise awaited him on the other side of the door, he was fully equipped to face it.

When he slid back the rusted bolt and wrenched open the door, Jeremy was prepared for the worst.

“Hold still,” came the whispered command.

He had an instant to register a feminine silhouette, a tangle of dark curls, and two hands grasping his shoulders. Then Lucy Waltham, the younger sister of his oldest friend, popped up on her toes and pressed her lips to his with such force, he stumbled against the doorjamb.

Good Lord. The girl was kissing him.

Well, he thought … Read More »

4-1/2 Stars and Top Pick!, RT Book Reviews magazine
“..Wry wit, endearing characters, laugh-out-loud moments, sensual interludes and poignancy. This is stellar storytelling!”

All About Romance
“Tessa Dare has a delightful style and voice and I simply loved her characters. I will be looking forward to anything she writes in the future.”

The Romance Reader
“The happy-go-lucky Toby and the deeply serious Isabel seem an unlikely pair. But by the end of the story, I was convinced that each brought out the best in the other. Dare has a wonderful ability to show how love can lead to personal growth and real happiness.”

Night Owl Romance
“Tessa Dare’s stories just get better and better. I’ve been following her since Goddess of the Hunt and I think A Lady of Persuasion just might be her best work to date … The story was funny by turns and carefully nuanced throughout.”… Read More »

Note: Normally, I would post the first scene of the book as an excerpt. But in the case of this book, the first scene is just filled with spoilers for the first two books. So, in the interests of posting a nice long excerpt that won’t completely spoil Goddess or Siren for those who haven’t read them, I’ve skipped ahead just a bit. Enjoy!

With a laugh, Toby swept his temptress and her yards of green silk straight out into the night. Now there was a story the ton would remember, when the names Sir Toby Aldridge and Sir Benedict Grayson bumped against one another in conversation. Grayson might have eloped with Toby’s intended bride, but now Toby had stolen an admirer straight from Grayson’s own arms. He could not call it complete revenge, but he could call it a solid beginning.

And now, he could turn his attention to the gorgeous creature he held in his arms. Could it possibly have been just minutes he’d been yearning for this embrace? It felt like years. A lifetime. Or here, in this Greek-styled colonnade, he could imagine it an eternity. It was as though an enchantment had been cast around them, binding them together with some primeval, pagan magic.

“Remarkable,” he whispered.

She froze in his arms, though she made no attempt to pull away. The rush of cool night air surrounding them only emphasized the heat building between their bodies.

“What, precisely, is remarkable?” Her voice was melodic, and flavored … Read More »

A “well-written, fast-paced story. Characters of great emotional depth, courage and passion combine to support an outstanding love story between people of different backgrounds.” Top Pick!

~RT Book Reviews magazine

“THREE NIGHTS WITH A SCOUNDREL ties together the intrigue of solving Leo’s murder, the power of unspoken desires, a deft and gentle handling of class warfare, secrets, and physical handicaps with a rich and satisfying happy ending. In a lovely addition to my keeper shelf, Tessa Dare has shown herself to be an author to watch.”

~Fresh Fiction

“I loved every page… There are fantastic twists that I didn’t see coming, and yet made perfect sense. I stayed up much later than I ought until I finished Three Nights With a Scoundrel.”

~All About Romance, Desert Isle Keeper review!… Read More »

Chapter One

Lily awoke to a rough shake on her arm. A searing ball of light hovered before her face.

She winced, and the light quickly receded. With caution, she opened her eyes. Blinking furiously, Lily strained to make out the lamp-bearer’s identity. It was Holling, the housekeeper.

Good Lord. She bolted upright in bed. Something dreadful had occurred. The servants would never shake her awake unless it was a matter of extreme urgency.

She pressed a hand to her throat. “What is it?”

Yellow lamplight illuminated an apologetic face. “Downstairs, my lady. You’re needed downstairs at once. Begging your pardon.”

With a nod of assent, Lily rose from bed. She shoved her toes into night-chilled slippers and accepted assistance in donning a violet silk wrap.

Her sense of dread only mounted as she descended the stairs. And the feeling was all too familiar.

Nearly five months had passed since the last time she’d been summoned downstairs in the dark. No one had needed to wake her then; she’d been unable to sleep for an insistent sense of foreboding. Her fears were confirmed when she opened the door to find gentlemen crowding her doorstep—three men with nothing in common save their membership in the Stud Club, an exclusive horse-breeding society her brother Leo had founded. They were the reclusive Duke of Morland, scarred war hero Rhys St. Maur, and Julian Bellamy—the London ton’s favorite hell-raiser and Leo’s closest friend.

One look at their grave faces that night, and there’d … Read More »

“Dare has written an extremely moving story, replete with deep-seated passions, adventure and characters that are not easily forgotten… This is a great book that deserves a place on your keeper shelf.” Top Pick!

~RT Book Reviews

“Tessa Dare has expertly crafted an intriguing and suspenseful novel with unexpected plot twists.”

~Fresh Fiction… Read More »

Rhys St. Maur, newly Lord Ashworth, was a broken man.

Literally.

By the age of twenty, he’d fractured his left arm twice—once in a schoolboy brawl at Eton, and then again during an army training drill. Cracked ribs…he’d lost count of those. Fists driving through barroom haze to connect with his face had snapped the cartilage in his nose a few times, leaving him with a craggy profile—one that was not improved by his myriad scars. Since sometime around his thirtieth birthday, the little finger on his right hand just plain refused to bend. And in damp weather like this, his left knee throbbed with memories of marching through the Pyrenees and surviving the Battle of Nivelle unscathed, only to catch a Basque farmer’s hoe to the knee the next morning, when he left camp for a predawn piss.

That left knee was on fire tonight, sizzling with pain as Rhys trudged through the granite heart of Devonshire, leading his horse down the darkened road. The moisture in the air kept dithering between fog and rain, and the night was thick with its indecision. He couldn’t see but a few feet in front of him, which was why he’d decided to dismount and lead his horse on foot. Between the poor visibility and the surrounding terrain littered with chunks of stone and boot-sucking bogs, the risk of fatal injury was too great.

For the horse, that was. Rhys wasn’t in the least concerned for himself. In fact, if he thought … Read More »

Mr. and Mrs. Bartholomew Cade
request the pleasure of your company
at a ball in celebration of their daughter Margaret
and her engagement to Sir Roland Farnsworth.
Cade House, Grosvenor Square
On the twenty-sixth evening of April, 1810

“Isn’t it romantic?” Georgie asked. “He and Margaret make such a fine couple.”

“I suppose,” Eliza said, trying to be diplomatic.

She angled herself for a better look. By peeking through a gap in the double doors, she just could manage a glimpse of the dancers.

Sir Roland Farnsworth wasn’t exactly Eliza’s picture of romance. He wasn’t even her picture of a desirable brother-in-law. He was more staid and cautious than men his age should be. He didn’t whisper sweet words to Margaret as he turned her about the room. In Eliza’s observation, he didn’t engage Margaret—or any female—in much conversation at all.

But all this, she could forgive—if he weren’t so dreadfully slow.

“He certainly took his time proposing,” she said. “Snails mate faster than Farnsworths.”

Georgie gave her a chastening look. “Eliza.”

“Well, it’s true. I’ve watched.”

“You’ve spied on Sir Roland?”

“No, I’ve spied on snails.”

Her sister just shook her head in that way that said, Honestly, Eliza.

She pressed her brow to the slender gap between the doors again, peering hard at the colorful whirl of gentlemen and ladies. On nights like tonight, it seemed this was the closest she would ever come to dancing among them. She was eighteen years old and still sneaking glimpses through … Read More »

“…A perfect compliment of dialogue, sexual and emotional tension, characters who are flawed and real, and a happy ending that is believable and so welcome. I rooted for the protagonists, I was very curious about the story, and I was disappointed by the fact that it was over.” (Read the full review.)

~SB Sarah, Smart Bitches Trashy Books

“One of the better novellas I’ve read in a long time… It’s easy to get lost in the world of Tessa Dare’s writing.” (Read the full review.)

~Jane, Dear Author

“Ms. Dare’s novel has a nice Gothic feel to it, but at the same time, it’s rather satiric. Like a modernized Northanger Abbey. The tone is lighthearted and engaging, but there’s just enough character angst to give some meat to the story…I recommend this story to anyone looking for something new, and especially to those who enjoy historical romances. Ms. Dare has an excellent writing style, and it’s something you should experience.” (Read the full review.)

~Limecello, The Good, The Bad, and The Unread

… Read More »