Wallflower Wager - By Tessa Dare ( Paperback )

4.75* Review originally published at Romancing Romances. I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you. Reading a book by Tessa Dare is always a pleasure. There are always funny, romantic moments with her books. Penny is one of the most adorable characters ever. She’s an animal lover, and a vegetarian – in the 1800’s! She takes care of animals that were hurt, or that no one wanted. She’s one of the most lovable people, she’s caring, and sweet, and a great friend. She’s someone we would all love to have in our lives. Gabe (Gabriel Duke) is fantastic. He’s ruthless, but, to be honest, it’s one of the things I like about him. Let’s face it, people take advantage of other people, and he just collects what they thought they could always owe. And the ton doesn’t like it. Too bad, if you ask me. Not his problem. Don’t like what he does? Then don’t give him the chance to do so, by not having debts everywhere! Anyway. Penny lives next door to this handsome Duke of Ruin. And their first meeting is hilarious! Penny has a parrot, the parrot flies away to Gabe’s house, and she follows, and his… pretty much naked. And what a scene! Tessa Dare is one of the best writers for sexy scenes – mind, not necessarily s*x scenes, but everything before, after and the s*x scene itself. It makes us readers feel as good as the characters. They strike an unusual friendship with attraction at first sight – not love, attraction. Loves comes later. Penny has the best of friends, but lately they have their own families, and their free time is limited. And Gabriel decides to help her with her new predicament. Penny’s brother wanted her to leave London, and go back to her family’s estate in Cumberland, and Gabriel doesn’t want her to go, because her presence as a neighbour would help him sell his new house. And Penny doesn’t want to leave her house, and she has a past that she doesn’t want to re-live, which might have happened if she left for Cumberland. Gabe helps Penny, and he’s ambitious, relentless, and he gets things done. Penny is so assertive about what she wants, she doesn’t leave things to chance. And when she wants Gabriel, and he wants her, things heat up! And wow! They have such sweet, romantic, sexy moments. Like I mentioned before, there’s something in Penny’s past that could have made her a scared, sad person, but no. She’s such a happy, tender, devoted person. It’s handled beautifully, with the hero feeling angry about what she had to go through, but I really liked that the women got together, and Penny handled it on her own – she’s fierce! So, read this book! You won’t regret it.