by Tessa Dare
Story rating - 5
Isolde Ophelia Goodnight. What a name, huh? Just one more thing for our heroine to put up with. From her reprobate father to her abusive cousin, spinster "Izzy" is left orphaned after her father dies. And penniless. The only thing she has going for her is the legacy of the "Goodnight Tales," which make strangers think they know all about the little girl from her father's famous stories. But Izzy is tired of being held up for public inspection, and when she receives a letter from a lawyer telling her she's been bequeathed an inheritance, she travels to the far side of the country to claim it. On her last pence. What she finds is a crumbling castle and a threatening man accompanied by a wolf. There must be some mistake. Right?
Ransom, Duke of Rothbury, has come out on the wrong side of a duel and is now licking his wounds at the old family keep, even though it is crumbling around him. The last thing he needs is some flighty spinster thinking the castle is hers.
For Izzy, she has nothing more to lose. Even a crumbling castle is more than she had before her journey, and she has nothing to go back to and no money to get there. So she stiffens her upper lip and stands toe to toe with the duke until they are able to sort out the issue of legal ownership. She braves bats and even her fear of the dark to stand her ground, relieved to meet someone who has never heard of the Goodnight Tales and has no preconceived notions of who she ought to be. She's a strong heroine, hardened by her circumstances and unwilling to be abused or offended any longer. In Ransom, she finds a cause, a broken man looking for salvation. Together they overcome their fears and knock down their walls, and with the help of a band of "Goodnight Tales" fanatics, the Duke is saved from unscrupulous lawyers determined to smear his good name.
I absolutely loved this story from start to finish. I loved Izzy's pluck - a spinster determined not to let the rest of her life pass her by or be victimized any longer. I loved her hidden secret (which a discerning reader will be able to figure out by the time you discover she has one) and the wounded duke was delicious. Everything I'd want in a good book - right here in Ms. Dare's first in this series of "Castles Ever After." I'm a fan.
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