A Night to Surrender

By: Tessa Dare

Narrated by: Carolyn Morris

“An engaging love story with strong, believable characters. I can’t wait to read the sequels!”
—Mary Balogh

“Prepare to fall in love.”
—Julia Quinn

Presenting the winner of the Avon FanLit contest, the immensely talented Tessa Dare! Tessa’s first Avon historical romance, A Night to Surrender, is a love story to remember—kicking off her wonderfully inventive Spindle Cove series, set in England’s Regency Era in a small seaside resort town that caters specifically to ladies “of good breeding and delicate constitution.” Fans of Lisa Kleypas, Christina Dodd, and Liz Carlyle will delight in the passionate chaos that ensues when a dashing British officer, under orders, “invades” this community of strong-willed “spinsters,” only to discover he’s met his match in Miss Susannah Finch!

Clever writing, great narration

What a superbly clever written book. It had some great lines that truly made me laugh out loud. The storyline was also well thought of and characters well developed. As much as I try not to read books in a series I’ll have to make an exception in this case. If the next two books are as filled with clever one-liners, then I can’t wait. Can’t believe I got this book on sale for $4.99 but once the sale is gone, it will still be worth the credit for those who are looking for not just a good story, but light humor.

Great fun read with great narration!

Loved the start of this new story - keep writing Tessa!
Love the mix of humor, romance and characters
Thanks

Funny and sensual!

The story was fun, had me laughing out loud and sharing with my husband. There were a few scenes I thought far fetch, but was still enjoyable. I have just started reading Tessa's books, but I'm becoming a fan! :)

The narration made the story droop I think.

The story was nice, but I'm more interested I think in the world Dare has created in Spindle Cove than these two particular characters; and I don't know if that's writing or narration or perhaps both. The narration, though adequate, was too austere for my taste--it took the sparkle out of the dialogue. Once I got used to it I could enjoy the story better, but overall this one was a bit lackluster for me.

I'd hoped to like it more

Read from January 30 to February 12, 2014

Story: 3 stars
Narrator: 4 stars

The reason Tessa Dare's books are on my To Sample list is because I've read tons of favorable reviews of her books and, most compellingly, a few of the reviews I've read compare her to Julia Quinn, who happens to be my favorite historical romance author.

So maybe I went into this book with expectations that were too high. I was expecting a solid plot; fun, witty, and charming characters; and fantastic relationship development.

What I found in the book was a serviceable plot, stock characters (though the main characters had their moments of individuality), and Insta-Lust in the place of genuine relationship development.

It was that third part that had me the most disappointed in this book. Instead of building genuine rapport and romantic tension between Susanna and Bram, it was hard-this and pulsating-that from the moment they met. I'm surprised Bram was able to remain standing for as often as he had physiological reactions to just seeing her across a room. And for an inexperienced woman who's (supposed) primary concern was for the reputation of Spindle Cove as a place young women could come and recuperate from illnesses or just be themselves when they couldn't in Society, she sure did "surrender" to the Insta-Lust early---and OFTEN.

And when I say often . . . once they consummate the first time (on the town green!!!!) they're going at it like rabbits whenever and wherever they can. One morning, in the hour it takes me to get ready to go to work, as I was listening to the audio, there were two (explicit) sex scenes and it seemed like a third one was starting. In just an hour of narration (the entire audiobook is around 11.5 hours long). I lost count of the times they'd "coupled" before we got to the end of the book and their epiphanies/declarations of love for each other.

As far as the plot goes, if Dare had made the storyline and the (expansive) cast of minor characters more of the focus of the book, it might have fared better. Instead, because of the way things resolved, it all seemed pointless and unnecessary. There were a few bright moments: Minerva and her reticule full of rocks; Miss Taylor cutting off her hair so she could fill in as drummer boy for the review; the poignancy of Bram's reaction to Finn's (or was it Rufus's?) accident. But other incidents (and viewpoints in the story) were too obvious a setup for the next book, and did nothing to serve the plot/main characters of this story, so came across as distractions.

Now, I will say that I didn't hate this book. Dare has a fun, breezy writing style that I enjoy. And while I'm not champing at the bit to read another one of her books right now, I'm not taking them off my list either. I was intrigued by several of the minor characters and I hope that some of them get their own stories.