Tessa Dare's Say Yes to the Marquess
I've been trying to space out my historical romance reading to avoid burnout on the genre, but sometimes you don't have a choice about when library e-books become available! Anyway, in this one--second in Dare's latest series (which involves a guy leaving his many goddaughters each a castle when he dies), after Romancing the Duke--a young woman who's been engaged to a prominent young diplomat for EIGHT YEARS is fed up with waiting for him (and with all the jokes and gossip) and decides to call the marriage off (since she has a castle now, she doesn't need him). Too bad his younger brother is sick of being all responsible (he's much more interested in bare-knuckle boxing) and wants them to get married so his brother can come home and take over estate stuff. Which leads to an inevitable attraction between him and his brother's fiance as he tries to convince her to go ahead with things. Meanwhile, there's a younger sister of the brainiac variety--she's similar to other smart sisters of historical romance, but it feels like she's on the autism spectrum--and another (married) younger sister who is basically a Lydia. It's all very amusing. Plus, we learn pretty quickly that part of the reason the girl wants to cancel her wedding is so she can use her dowry to START A BREWERY. That is so awesome. This book also contains the line "Had someone attached a thread to one corner of his mouth, then secured the other end to her nipple, the effect of that smile could not have been more direct" which is both absolutely hilarious and evocative. (Tessa Dare can write a sexy scene, for sure.) There is also a charming elderly bulldog, so high marks all around. A-.
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