Gaele Hi
At twenty-six, Lady Penelope (Penny) has hopes of being firmly ‘on the shelf’, and left to her own devices: rescuing injured and mistreated animals of all types, and finding homes for the kittens she seems to collect by the dozen. She’s never been particularly gregarious, and with the exception of a few very close friends, she’s also not all that interested in the goings-on of the tonne. From a childhood scarred by trauma and a disastrous debut at Almac’s involving a hedgehog and a reluctant dance partner, she’s also never been interested in marriage – thinking herself not quite good enough. Gabriel Duke was born in the slums of London, never knowing his father, being sold by his mother to pay for her gin habit: he’s scrapped and clawed his way to riches, bringing many of the tonne low due to their profligacy and debts. Known as the Duke of Ruin, he’s got no real title, but money and a ruthless need to do what must be done to win, he’s doing a “fixer-upper” of a house he’d claimed in lieu of debts from another member of the peer. Knowing that the biggest draw for the house beyond its size and grandeur is the proximity (as in next door) to a “real” Lady, he’s planned to market the house to upstarts and social climbers, using the connection to Penny to fuel the sale. If you can believe it – I was a long-time reader of Dare’s contemporary titles, never making the connection to her historicals. But now, I’m totally hooked: smart, sassy, laugh-out-loud funny situations with characters that are, from the first pages, destined to “be”, this books was no exception. Penny is a lovely and sweet character, a bit naïve and introverted, but curious, kind and determined to make life better for those in her proximity. She’s collected the aforementioned hedgehog, a steer, a goat, a two-legged terrier who does “doggie things’ with the aid of a cart, endless kittens, an otter and, most recently, a parrot that previously lived in a brothel (with all of the inappropriate utterances one might expect). But a deadline from her aunt and brother have her struggling to find a solution to her ‘single’ status Enter Gabriel (or – the parrot leading Penny into Gabriel’s bedchamber) and the hijinks begin. His return on the investment on the house will be severely diminished should Penny be sent to the family home, yet he can’t seem to understand her need to collect all the animals, or her refusal to part with them. On and on they clash, with Penny’s essential goodness taming and calming the anger that rages through Gabe – much to his distress and distraction. From first to last – you’ll laugh at Penny’s rather naïve view of the world and the situations she encounters, as well as Gabe’s inability to quench the building attraction – or Penny’s growing affections. With visits from the other women (and men) we’ve met in the series, and Penny’s biggest challenges to date – you will breeze through the story, ready to go back to page one as soon as you finished. Grab this series, each book has been “more” as the series continues: more sexy, more heartfelt, even funnier as these characters will place this series firmly on your keeper shelf. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
23 people found this review helpful
Casey Massengill
I laughed so much reading this book!! all characters, both human and animal, were a delight!! I'd recommend this book a thousand times over! my favorite out of this series!
