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A review by justinkhchen
Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare
4.0
4 stars
Classic Tessa Dare, at this point, I've read the entire Castles Ever After series, which is a personal milestone as my very first completed historical romance series. While Say Yes to the Marquess might ranks last among the 4 novels, it is still a solid, fun read featuring all of the expected trademarks (witty dialog, colorful characters, and steam).
There are notable moments where I'm not completely sold on the logic of Say Yes to the Marquess's romance (such as the prolonged shenanigan of the hero intentionally pushing the heroine towards an unwanted marriage... just irks me as slightly self-serving and inconsiderate), even though the novel does eventually provide adequate reasons, the revelation feels misplaced, as I find myself constantly disengaging from the narrative, not comprehending (or caring) why such nonsensical events are happening. In addition, by having the engaged brother showing up only for an extremely limited time, it feels like a missed opportunity to not explore the potential romantic tension between the heroine and the two love interests further.
With certain elements feel tossed-in and underdeveloped (such as the heroine's little sister who's seemingly on the spectrum), Say Yes to the Marquess's overflowing ideas doesn't quite come together as one cohesive package, but I can't deny it is still charming, adorably silly (the dog!) and memorable (the cake fight, heroine's business venture). With my last Tessa Dare read being almost 2 years ago, this is a pleasant reminder just how uniquely hers this historical rom-com style is—hopefully her new book will eventually see the light of day.
***Summer of Tessa Dare Readalong | July 2023***
Classic Tessa Dare, at this point, I've read the entire Castles Ever After series, which is a personal milestone as my very first completed historical romance series. While Say Yes to the Marquess might ranks last among the 4 novels, it is still a solid, fun read featuring all of the expected trademarks (witty dialog, colorful characters, and steam).
There are notable moments where I'm not completely sold on the logic of Say Yes to the Marquess's romance (such as the prolonged shenanigan of the hero intentionally pushing the heroine towards an unwanted marriage... just irks me as slightly self-serving and inconsiderate), even though the novel does eventually provide adequate reasons, the revelation feels misplaced, as I find myself constantly disengaging from the narrative, not comprehending (or caring) why such nonsensical events are happening. In addition, by having the engaged brother showing up only for an extremely limited time, it feels like a missed opportunity to not explore the potential romantic tension between the heroine and the two love interests further.
With certain elements feel tossed-in and underdeveloped (such as the heroine's little sister who's seemingly on the spectrum), Say Yes to the Marquess's overflowing ideas doesn't quite come together as one cohesive package, but I can't deny it is still charming, adorably silly (the dog!) and memorable (the cake fight, heroine's business venture). With my last Tessa Dare read being almost 2 years ago, this is a pleasant reminder just how uniquely hers this historical rom-com style is—hopefully her new book will eventually see the light of day.
***Summer of Tessa Dare Readalong | July 2023***