Guilty Pleasures
4/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
One of Daphne Wade's guilty pleasures is to watch the Duke of Tremore as he works, shirtless, on the excavation site of his ducal estate. Anthony Courtland is by far the most exciting and handsome man she has ever known, and she dreams of one day being able to speak with him without getting tongue tied.
Anthony, meanwhile, only sees Daphne as a hard worker on his excavation team. He considers her a plain young lady and says so in a careless remark to a friend, unaware that Daphne is outside the library door, her heart shattering to pieces. So Daphne decides she will not be so silly any longer. She begins to be tutored in the social graces, forcing Anthony to see the beauty who has been right in front of his eyes.
Laura Lee Guhrke
Laura Lee Guhrke spent seven years in advertising, had a successful catering business, and managed a construction company before she decided writing novels was more fun. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Laura has penned over twenty-five historical romances. Her books have received many award nominations, and she is a two-time recipient of romance fiction’s highest honor: the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. She lives in the Northwest with her husband and two diva cats. Laura loves hearing from readers, and you can contact her via her website: www.lauraleeguhrke.com.
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Reviews for Guilty Pleasures
184 ratings13 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Definitely liked this. Plucky, plain bluestocking heroine who has had her heart broken by the hero. Apparently I love that foil - hero insults or rejects the heroine, calling her unattractive, which she overhears. He is forced to reevaluate, falls for her and must atone for his behavior. This was a good one. (4 stars)
ETA: Don't have the original read date anymore, but re-read in July 2017 and still loved it! (Dammit, I hate that the GR update erased the original dates books were added to shelves! I am glad to be able to add multiple read dates, but now I've lost all of my original ones from when I added the book the first time! Grrrr...) - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a slow-burn romance that is just lovely. Daphne Wade is an antiquarian expert hired for the Roman dig on Anthony's (the Duke of Tremore) estate. She's loved him quietly though he ignores her for the most part. When she overhears a conversation where he states his real opinion of her, she's shattered and decides to leave her job and explore the pleasures of society instead. Anthony doesn't want to lose her expertise and decides to offer her different incentives to remain in his employ.I love how once Anthony realizes Daphne's worth, he needs to rebuild her feeling for him, destroyed by his careless remarks. It's the difference between infatuation and love which many romance books seem to bypass. They really are a perfect match.As other reviewers have noted, this is not an ugly duckling to swan story. Daphne fundamentally doesn't change herself, but the ending of her infatuation allows her to reveal her true self to Anthony which was hidden by shyness earlier. Anthony is more of a trope, the stern Duke molded by his father's death to disdain love, but he's still a lovely character, bewildered by his feelings towards Daphne.Definitely, this is a good historical romance.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ah, this was so lovely! I do love plain Jane storylines, and Guilty Pleasures was a really wonderful fulfilment of this plot type. It really pulled at my heartstrings. Definitely one of my new favourites.
Daphne was wonderfully fiery after overhearing the terrible things Anthony said about her, and it was so gratifying to read. The rapport between them was also satisfyingly realistic, which I believe is absolutely critical in a romance. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5its wonderful one of my favs!!!!!!!!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairly standard historical romance, flawlessly executed.
Nothing new about the stock alpha-male lead character, but the chrysalis-to-butterfly Cinderella character is an archeological expert working on the excavation of Roman ruins on the Duke's estate -- a nice twist.
Plenty of the usual suppressed traumas, verbal sparring, magnetic attractions, etc., but all plotted and written with consummate ease, making for a delightful and enjoyable read. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another solid read from Guhrke--it's not quite as polished as her later works (Abandoned at the Altar series especially), but it was definitely an entertaining story. There aren't a lot of surprises in this book, but the characters are so much fun that one doesn't even mind.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this story of plain Jane archeological assistant, Daphne Wade, who works for the handsome Duke of Tremore - and is secretly in love with him. Alas, he doesn't notice her at all. After overhearing some disparaging remarks he makes about her, she resigns and gives him a month's notice so she can pursue a season in London with his sister who wants to take her under her wing as a protege. The duke, not used to not getting his way doesn't want to lose her for she is the best in her field. After she tells him off, he begins to see her differently and so the courtship begins! He is determined to prevent or at least delay her leaving and she develops a spirit to live and come into her own. I simply loved this book and it made me feel good all over by the end! Hurrah!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A very enjoyable story. I really liked Anthony and Daphne. I teared up at the ending (always a very good thing). Looking forward to the next in the series.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is the story of an orphan woman, Daphne Wade, who presents herself to the Duke of Tremore in place of her father to catalog and repair ancient artifacts that are being unearthed on his estate. Daphne falls in love at first sight but the Duke doesn't even register that he is a woman. The story is a typical romance and proceeds as the reader would expect. Nothing to write home about but entertaining in the normal romance genre way.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the story of an ugly duckling, Daphne Wade, who has, appropriately enough, a "guilty pleasure." She is head over heels in love with her employer, Anthony, the Duke of Tremore, who is excavating a dig on his estate for a museum he plans to open in a few months. She helps with the restoration and cataloging of the artifacts, and he doesn't know she exists. After I got over some initial difficulty actually getting into the story (it seemed so derivative at first, and I really didn't like the duke's matchmaking sister, but thankfully she soon bows out of the story,) this romance hit all the right notes with me. Even if it isn't that original, I loved watching Daphne and Anthony spar and fall in love, and it was great to see Daphne transform from a self-effacing, shy, infatuated girl into a woman who is honest with herself and knows what she wants. Though her transformation is rather abrupt - it literally happens over night - it was still believable, given the catalyst for her awakening. I liked that Anthony wasn't a typical rake - he's serious and responsible, but so sexy and fun at the same time. The only problem with Daphne is that she isn't *really* an ugly duckling at all. She just hides her beauty and true self with the magical uglifying power of spectacles and a "functional bun." Such a stereotype. So sigh worthy. Other than that, everything about this romance rang true for me, and I enjoyed every word of it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nerdy girl gets the hunky duke with a twist: he hurts her before he realizes that she exists so she doesn't want him. I like this author. She is quicly becoming one of my favorite romance writers.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5very strong female. enjoyed its quiet deep sensual passion.