Audiobook Review: One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare

Author: Tessa Dare

Narrator: Justine Eyre

Title: One Dance with a Duke

Series: Stud Club #1

Genre: Historical Romance

Format: Audiobook 

Published: May 25, 2010

Where I Got It: Audible

Summary: 

A handsome and reclusive horse breeder, Spencer Dumarque, the fourth Duke of Morland, is a member of the exclusive Stud Club, an organization so select it has only ten members--yet membership is attainable to anyone with luck. And Spencer has plenty of it, along with an obsession with a prize horse, a dark secret, and, now, a reputation as the dashing "Duke of Midnight." Each evening he selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the women catch his interest, and nobody ever bests the duke--until Lady Amelia d'Orsay tries her luck.

In a moment of desperation, the unconventional beauty claims the duke's dance and unwittingly steals his heart. When Amelia demands that Spencer forgive her scapegrace brother's debts, she never imagines that her game of wits and words will lead to breathless passion and a steamy proposal. Still, Spencer is a man of mystery, perhaps connected to the shocking murder of the Stud Club's founder. Will Amelia lose her heart in this reckless wager or win everlasting love?

Review:

Weeeee Dare!

Here we have Spencer and Amelia. Spencer is a reclusive horse breeder. He never wanted to be Duke, but here we are. He just wants to be left alone with his horses and finally get the prize horse of his dreams but there are a lot of members of the Stud Club he will have to beat in order to get sole position of that horse. In order to keep appearance, he selects on lady for a midnight dance and then he leaves. This has labeled him the "Duke of Midnight". One evening, Lady Amelia catches his interest so he chooses her. Amelia claims the dance with fervor because this will give her the chance to beg him to forgive her brother's debts. Pulling him to the side, alone, she will find herself embroiled in a murder mystery of who killed the founder of the Stud Club. 

Let's do our divide and conquer method for this review (I am lazy today).

The Good

- Loved our characters. They were so perfect for each other. They needed each other to help bring out the best in each other. 

- They were soooo complex! 

- Lots of talking needed to be done. I loved their banter. 

- The resolution between our couple was nice. The resolution between Amelia and her one brother was done so well.

- Awesome side characters! I can't wait to read more!

- The narrator was great as per normal. 

The Bad and the Ugly

- Claudia and her last minute twist at the end. Mmmm. Not a fan. Plus....what does she decide to do? Hopefully we see that in the next book. 

- I wish we got to see more of the murder mystery aspect. 

- What happened to one of the horses!!!!!!! WHY??? WHY WAS THAT NEEDED FOR THE STORY!?!?!?!?!?! *cries*

Overall

I enjoyed this one overall. Loved the characters. They were written with a lot of depth even our side characters! I loved the majority of the resolutions at the ending. They were done nicely! However, I struggled with a few points as seen above. I'll stamp this with 3 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Amelia and Spencer

Least Favorite Character(s): Claudia

 Challenge(s):

- Audiobook #36