RITA Reader Challenge Review

RITA Reader Challenge Review: Twice Tempted by a Rogue by Tessa Dare

B

Title: Twice Tempted by a Rogue
Author: Tessa Dare
Publication Info: Ballantine 2010
ISBN: 9780345518873
Genre: Historical: European

RITA®, and the RITA statuette are service marks of Romance Writers of America, Inc.SusiB reviewed this book for the RITA® Reader Challenge. This novel was nominated for best Regency historical romance.

Twice Tempted by a RoguePlot summary: The daring members of the Stud Club are reckless gamblers and no strangers to risk—until love raises the stakes in Twice Tempted by a Rogue.

Luck is a double-edged sword for brooding war hero Rhys St. Maur. His death wish went unanswered on the battlefield, while fate allowed the murder of his good friend in the elite gentlemen’s society known as the Stud Club. Out of options, Rhys returns to his ancestral home on the moors of Devonshire, expecting anything but a chance at redemption in the arms of a beautiful innkeeper who dares him to take on the demons of his past—and the sweet temptation of a woman’s love.

Meredith Maddox believes in hard work, not fate, and romance isn’t part of her plan. But when Rhys returns, battle-scarred, world-weary, and more dangerously attractive than ever, the lovely widow is torn between determination and desire. As a deep mystery and dangerous smugglers threaten much more than their passionate reckoning, Meredith discovers that she must trust everything to a wager her heart placed long ago.

And here is SusiB’s review:

I enjoyed this book a lot, even though it has one plot element that I absolutely despise and some implausibilities that I would like to rant about if it wasn’t for the word limit on this review.

The despicable plot element is the spontaneous marriage, although this time it is a spontaneous wish to get married. This is something that happens a lot in American romance novels, and I just don’t get it. A spontaneous marriage isn’t romantic. It’s stupid. Why would you want to spend the rest of your life with someone you hardly know or, in this case, haven’t seen in years? Rhys tells Merry that they’re going to get married on page 45. At this point, he still thinks that she finds his body repulsive, and he really doesn’t have any reason for wanting to get married. There’s no “I need an heir”, no “I need your money” and not even a “I need to save your reputation”. He just wants to support Merry, her inn and their village. I really don’t see why he couldn’t do that without getting married.

Despite this, the book is quite entertaining and enjoyable. Merry is the best kind of heroine. She has loved Rhys since she was a teenage girl, but even when he’s around, she never loses her common sense. Most of the time, she’s sensible and smart. She also knows how to go after the things she wants. I like Rhys as well. He’s not so smart and not very sensible, but he’s an interesting character. He can be incredibly sweet, but sometimes he’s violent and even brutal. In many ways, Merry is the alpha personality in their relationship, which I like. Last but not least, these characters actually discuss their problems. There’s a very refreshing absence of Big Misunderstandings in this book.


This book is available from Amazon | Kindle | BN & nook | Book Depository | WORD Brooklyn’s eBookstore

Comments are Closed

  1. Emily says:

    @SB Sarah so many Rita challenge reviews this week. When are the Ritas?

  2. Donna says:

    I like this whole series, but I have to say Rhys was my favorite. The whole building house thing? Loved that.

  3. kkw says:

    She’s one of my new favorite romance authors which is unsurprising given that I care about style above all things.  So it’s not her characters, although I generally like them and I really enjoyed Rhys and Merry’s dynamic.  It’s not the plots (I could absolutely have done without the villain).  For me it’s all about the style.  Her books are well-written, like she cares about the actual writing of it.  Her words are perfectly chosen and the sentences beautifully crafted (but not obtrusively so, yeah I’m looking at you Iowa).  So many of my favorite romances are great stories, and well told stories, but alas still not well-written ones, if that makes sense.
    And I agree, I totally did not understand why Rhys wanted to get married instantly, that’s one of the book’s weaker aspects, but at least it was a refreshing change from all the heros on the run from matchmaking mamas.

  4. The RITA awards are given out at a fancy event at the RWA National convention. This year the night of the awards will be July 1, from 8-10. If you want to know who wins, I’ve no doubt Twitter will be abuzz. Also, last year Jane at DA kept very up-to-the-minute posts on her blog as the various categories were announced.

    Given65—- oh, many more than that, I assure you.  😉

  5. Susan says:

    Stud Club…*smirk.*  Yes, I know I need to get my mind out of the gutter.  I’ve been trying for 40 years, to no avail.

  6. Thanks for introducing me to a new writer! I got about halfway through this book, and decided I had to read the first in the trilogy. I read the entire three books over the weekend, and enjoyed them very much. The only thing that bothered me about Dare’s prose was that it sounded too contemporary, and the three-novel mystery arc sets us up for an ending that does not satisfy, but what the hell. I loved the snappy conversations, the excellent romance/erotica scenes and the always-feisty heroines. Wonderful escapist reading, the perfect bonbon for the beach. Again, thanks for this review, which led me to a writer I was not aware of.

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