{"id":12230,"date":"2019-11-12T19:05:49","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T00:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=12230"},"modified":"2022-10-30T20:46:58","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T00:46:58","slug":"the-wallflower-wager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12230","title":{"rendered":"The Wallflower Wager"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wallflower Wager<\/a><\/em> (2019) Tessa Dare<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Lady Penelope Campion is all but a recluse, hiding in her family home and collecting abandoned animals.<\/p>\n

As a person who wanted to like everyone, it hurt to know that not everyone liked her in return.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her new neighbor is Gabriel Duke, the so-called Duke of Ruin, who has clawed his was from the gutters to wealth, by taking advantage of the foolishness of and ignorance of the titled and wealthy. He also has no time for foolishness–he just wants to make a profit on the house he bought, repaired, and is selling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the sandwiches are so revolting, why are you eating more of them?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I\u2019m hungry, and I don\u2019t waste food. Unlike you and your friends, I never had the luxury of being choosy.\u201d <\/p>\n

He tore off half the sandwich with a resentful bite. As a boy on the streets, he would have begged for the scraps she threw her dog. In the workhouse, on the two days a week they were given meat, he\u2019d sucked the gristle and marrow from every last bone. <\/p>\n

This woman\u2014 no, this lady\u2014 could fill her dinner table until it creaked beneath the weight of roasts, joints of mutton, game fowl, lobster. Instead, she ate this. On purpose. <\/p>\n

The thought made him viscerally, irrationally angry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you read the previous two books, you are familiar with Penny’s sandwiches. Her vegetarian options to meat.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you asking my honest opinion?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBut of course.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re revolting.\u201d He swallowed with reluctance. \u201cAll of them.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI like them. My friends like them.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, they don\u2019t. Your friends find your sandwiches revolting, too. They just don\u2019t want to tell you so, because they\u2019re afraid of hurting your feelings.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How did I feel about this story? It’s complicated. There is sexual assault of a child in this story. There are discussions of abject poverty of the time and how that affected children. Both are a hard things to deal with, so it feels as if to offset the horribleness of that, the rest of the book is at times over-the-top silly and ridiculous.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe housekeeper? Don\u2019t start in on that nonsense again.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI tell you, she\u2019s unnatural. I don\u2019t know if she\u2019s a ghost, a witch, a demon, or something worse. But that woman is of the Devil.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAhem<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n

Startled, both Gabe and Hammond wheeled around. There stood Mrs. Burns. Even Gabe had to admit, these sudden appearances were growing unsettling. <\/p>\n

Hammond raised his fingers in the shape of a cross. \u201cI rebuke thee.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s not that humor is bad in a story, but following something serious and deep with a light-hearted quip feels as if it weakens the importance of the serious parts. <\/p>\n

I also had minor issues with the Big Misunderstanding and its resolution. The Big Misunderstanding felt just tacked on, as if there had to be some blow-up, when there really didn’t need to be–there was more than enough drama with The Revelations and then the arrival of her brother. Everything is Up and Down and Up and Down–it felt as if both characters needed more time to process their problems and everything that had happened. <\/p>\n

All-in-all, it was a fun and enjoyable story, but I’m also glad I borrowed it from the library rather than paying for it, because I didn’t love it.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Avon
\nRating: 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wallflower Wager (2019) Tessa Dare Lady Penelope Campion is all but a recluse, hiding in her family home and collecting abandoned animals. As a person who wanted to like everyone, it hurt to know that not everyone liked her in return. Her new neighbor is Gabriel Duke, the so-called Duke of Ruin, who has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[203,30,33,26,56],"tags":[50,548,183],"class_list":["post-12230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bad","category-british","category-historical","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-boinking","tag-regency","tag-tessa-dare"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3bg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11006,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11006","url_meta":{"origin":12230,"position":0},"title":"The Duchess Deal: Girl Meets Duke","author":"Michelle","date":"August 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Duchess Deal: Girl Meets Duke (2017) Tessa Dare Set in England in the early 1800s The Duke of Ashbury is in need of an heir. \u201cIf I died tomorrow, everything would go to my cousin. He is an irredeemable prat. I didn\u2019t go to the Continent, fight to preserve\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Girl-Meets-Duke.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5053,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5053","url_meta":{"origin":12230,"position":1},"title":"How to Catch a Wild Viscount","author":"Michelle","date":"January 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"How to Catch a Wild Viscount (2009) Tessa Dare This story is currently free, and for that price it wasn't a bad story. But I can't say it was my thing, either. Cecily Hale has been in love with Luke for years, but after Luke came back from war, he's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"How-to-Catch-a-Wild-Viscount","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/How-to-Catch-a-Wild-Viscount.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3006,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3006","url_meta":{"origin":12230,"position":2},"title":"Clockwork Angel","author":"Michelle","date":"June 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Clockwork Angel (2010) Cassandra Clare Tessa Gray has come to London from New York after her aunt dies and her brother sends her a ticket to join him. Unfortunately, there are some unpleasant surprises for Tessa, starting with the fact that the world is not as she knows it, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"Clockwork Angel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/clockwork-angel.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11355,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11355","url_meta":{"origin":12230,"position":3},"title":"The Governess Game","author":"Michelle","date":"January 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Governess Game (2018) Tessa Dare Set in England in the early 1800s Alexandra Mountbatten has been struggling to make a living tending clocks, but a mishap sees her taking a position as governess to the wards of Chase Reynaud, one of the most notorious rakes in London. 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His cousin is trying to reform him, but it's not working particularly well, and in a few months, Colin will have access to his own\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/A-Week-to-Be-Wicked.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11348,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11348","url_meta":{"origin":12230,"position":5},"title":"Wicked and the Wallflower","author":"Michelle","date":"January 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Wicked and the Wallflower (2018) Sarah MacLean Set in London in 1837. Felicity Faircloth is on the shelf. She's been abandoned by those she thought were her friends, and despite a minor scandal, her family is pushing her towards marriage. 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