I've been sitting on this list for nearly a year at this point because I keep meaning to make a video series on it for TikTok and just...haven't. So while I continue to procrastinate that, here's an organized written version for all of you of a ranking of the 10 Tessa Dare historical romance books I've read. (I had read 10 at the time of making this list. I have now read 11, but 10 is just such a nice round number so we're sticking with that.)

From 10 to 1, here's my ranking of Tessa Dare books including what series they're in, what they're about, and what I rated/thought of them. NOTE: as with many historical romance series', these books can be read in pretty much any order. The first one I ever read was a series crossover of sorts that was the fourth in one series and the fifth in another. There are references to previous couples in the series but plot-wise they typically stand alone fairly well (with the possible exception that the first book in the Spindle Cove series really sets the stage for the setting and circumstances, but contextually you can figure things out I'm sure, if you decided to jump around).

Now, on to the list:

#10: A Night To Surrender - 2.75 stars - Spindle Cove #1

about the book:** **Susanna lives in Spindle Cove, a sort of vacation getaway for the unconventional lady. Shy girls, girls in poor health, neglected young wives, girls infatuated with men they shouldn’t be. The nearby towns refer to it as Spinster Cove, but the women here are quite happy. Enter Colonel Bramwell, who ends up at Spindle Cove with orders to set up and train a local militia and brings along men who are very upset to find nary a tavern in town.

my thoughts:** **This book goes in the #10 spot as the only Tessa Dare book I’ve not liked. I think I gave this about a 2.5/2.75. Frankly the whole book seems to boil down to AREA MAN DISCOVERS SAFE HAVEN COMMUNITY OF UNMARRIED WOMEN AND DECIDES IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED WITH THE POWER OF TOXIC MASCULINITY. Everyone in this book, the women especially, are - in my humble opinion - worse off at the end than they were at the beginning before these very masculinely manly men invaded their home. I also have a lot of issues with the consent in this book - something I’d rarely ever had an issue with in Dare’s books before - but I'd heard nothing but rave reviews for the second book so I did continue this series and it did get much better, but we’ll get to that.

#9: The Wallflower Wager - 3.5 stars - Girl Meets Duke #3

about the book: Penelope has a penchant for pets. Not just dogs and cats, but goats and parrots and hedgehogs. When her neighbor - a man named Gabriel Duke who’s clawed his way from the bottom of the slums to high society - demands she get rid of them, she agrees…if he’s able to find them appropriate and loving homes.

my thoughts:** **I’m not gonna lie, this goes in the #9 spot simply because I do not remember nearly anything about it. It was neither bad enough nor good enough to stick in my brain in any kind of way. I honestly think I remember Penny as a character more from her appearances in the other books in this series than I do her own. Make of that what you will. Even my review on goodreads just says “3.5 I think? *thinking emoji*”

**#8: Romancing the Duke **- 3.5 stars - Castles Ever After #1

about the book: Isolde - Izzy - 26 years old and never so much as kissed and with no prospects for her future since her father’s wealth was all passed to a male cousin who doesn’t like her, is the daughter of a famed author who’s given up on her own fairytale life and at this point would settle for a roof over her head. Which is exactly what she gets when she finds out she’s inherited a somewhat crumbling castle. Problem is, a man is already living there who swears up and down he never sold it. Ransom Vane, an injured and taciturn man, tries everything to convince her to leave and scare her off, but nothing works. And on it goes…

my thoughts: I believe I gave this book 3.5 stars. I did like it, but it didn’t grab me in any particular way so it falls somewhat lower in the pack. A solid start to the Castles Ever After series - a series in which the heroines all come by crumbling old castles through inheritance, gambling, purchasing, or various other means - and there’s enough humor and sweetness that I enjoyed my time with it, it just didn’t quite stick with me all that much.

#7: When a Scot Ties the Knot - 4 stars - Castles Ever After #3

about the book:** **Just before her London season, shy Maddie invents a romantic pen pal. A fake Scottish military officer she calls Captain Mackenzie and writes devastatingly romantic letters to. The connection gets her through MANY seasons without the expectation of marrying, and when her use of him is no longer needed as she’s inherited a home for herself she kills off the character she created. Problem is, there is a very real Captain Mackenzie who’s been receiving the letters she’s written and he’s pissed when he gets killed off. He shows up at her doorstep with her letters - demanding to marry her as promised to her fake lover - along with his men he’s determined to find a home for.

my thoughts: The premise of this book is hilarious and as I remember it delivers on that promise very well. The banter is great, I loved Maddie as a main character with social anxiety, the slow build from anger to friendship to love is great, and I love the side characters in this one.

#6: A Week to be Wicked - 4 stars - Spindle Cove #2

about the book:** **Minerva Highwood desperately needs to get to Scotland for a geology symposium and she needs to get the unfeeling rake Colin Sandhurst away from her sister. Her plan is simple. Fake an elopement with Colin and convince her family they’ve run off together. In reality, he’ll go with her for travel protection and in return she’ll give him the cash prize when she inevitably presents the best paper at the symposium. Road trip time!

my thoughts: This is your classic hot jock falls for the nerdy girl who doesn’t believe she’s beautiful archetype. It’s a road trip, it’s got a bit of the sex lessons trope, the unfeeling rake of course has a tragic backstory, there’s banter, it’s steamy, this is classic Tessa Dare but it’s firmly middle of the pack for me. LOTS of people talk about this being their favorite Dare book and specifically the best in this series, but there’s another in this one that far surpasses it for me. We’ll get to that later.

#5: The Governess Game - 4 stars - Girl Meets Duke #2

about the book:** **Alexandra Moutnbatten needs a job and Chase Reynaud needs a governess for his unruly nieces. Alex is not a governess, but when her primary occupation is no longer doable she has to take what she can get. Chase is also a notorious rake determined to avoid all attachments and responsibilities, because of course he is.

my thoughts:** **You know what sells this book for me? I’m not a kid person. I don’t typically enjoy reading about kids, I don’t want children of my own, I’m just not big on kids. Not generally my thing. But the nieces in this story? Hilarious. Delightfully weird. The whole subplot of one of the girls’ dolls who keeps “dying” of stranger and stranger illnesses throughout the book? Hilarious. I had so much fun with this book. As always, the banter between the couple was a ton of fun. Alex is a really great character as a self-employed woman, the daughter of a spanish woman from the philippines and an american sailor, she was raised on her father’s boats after the death of her mother, until he died as well and she’s left an orphan with a deathly fear of water. The family aspect is very well explored here, the characters are great, the emotional bits were appropriately emotional, I had a lot of fun with this one.

#4: Say Yes to the Marquess - 4 stars - Castles Ever After #2

about the book: Clio has been in a very long and drawn out engagement to one Piers Brandon and when she inherits a castle she makes plans to break it, determined not to marry a man who clearly wants nothing to do with her. She hasn’t even seen him in years. Piers’ brother Rafe isn’t having it. Clio is going to marry his brother if he has to plan the damn wedding himself. Rafe, unfortunately, has been lusting after his brother’s fiancee for quite some time. Despite that, he’s determined to get her down the aisle with Piers. He attempts to wow her with flowers and cakes and dresses…everything women love about weddings, right?

my thoughts: Despite the humorously ridiculous plot, I remember this book feeling so realistic and natural for the characters involved. It was as sweet and funny as I’d come to love of Tessa Dare and the emotional journey for the two of them was really great. Clio is realizing there might be an option that isn’t spinster or wife to someone who doesn’t care for her, and Rafe is realizing that his brother has never done right by a girl he himself is coming to love. Ugh I love these two.

**#3: Do You Want to Start a Scandal **- 4 stars - Castles Ever After #4/Spindle Cove #5

about the book:** **The night of a party finds Charlotte and Piers (yes, the same Piers from Say Yes to the Marquess) hiding in a library while a couple has a very loud tryst that our protagonists are trying very hard not to get caught interrupting. Only, when the couple leaves and Charlotte and Piers are the two left in the room, others assume they were the ones getting it on and Charlotte’s reputation is ruined. Unless she can figure out and unmask who it really was, she’ll be forced to marry Piers

my thoughts:** **Despite it being the 4th in one series and the 5th in another (a crossover of sorts), this was my first Tessa Dare book - my very first historical romance book at that, thank you very much Emily - and I’ve never forgotten it. It’s so much fun! A delightfully ridiculous mystery, a gruff and cold hero who’s ~sworn off love~, a highly outspoken heroine. This book is such a good time.

#2: A Lady by Midnight - 4.5 stars - Spindle Cove #3

about the book: A woman who grew up an orphan, a ward of a boarding school with no memory of her earliest years or the parents she might have had, is approached by an aristocratic family claiming that they believe her to be a long lost cousin. The very gruff and intimidating corporal of the local militia she believes hates her makes a snap decision in telling them they’re engaged because he doesn’t trust their intentions, and he seems to know something about her past…

my thoughts:** **This is grumpy/sunshine DONE RIGHT I loved this book so much. A fake engagement, an identity mystery, Touch Her And I’ll kill You energy, a PUPPY, both characters are incredibly sweet to each other and I just loved this the whole time I was reading it.

**#1: The Duchess Deal **- 5 stars - Girl Meets Duke #1

about the book:** **A seamstress shows up to a Duke’s home wearing the wedding dress she made for the wedding he was supposed to have - which had just been called off - demanding she be paid for her work. The Duke needs an heir and makes her an offer of marriage on the condition that they’re only man and wife by night, she never asks about his oh so terrible war scars, and once she’s pregnant they need never share a bed again. She counters with some conditions of her own - namely that they eat dinner together every night and actually speak to each other - and it goes exactly as you know it does

my thoughts: The cream of the crop of Tessa Dare. This is my favorite Dare book for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest things I remember about it is how _outrageously _funny it is! I love the humor in her writing, and the ridiculous side plot of this book had me cackling, I loved it so much. It’s sweet, and tender, and funny, and everything I’ve come to love about Tessa Dare done to the absolute best. I adore this book so much.

And there you have it, my personal ranking of the ten Tessa Dare books I've read! If you've read her work before tell me your favorites and if you haven't but have been interested in trying out her work or Historical Romance as a genre, let me know if this tipped the scales toward you picking one of these up!

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