When Ash, the Duke of Ashbury, writes "I need a wife", he doesn't expect that a woman in a wedding dress will arrive immediately afterward. Emma Gladstone is a seamstress who made the wedding gown for the Duke's ex-fiancee and she hopes he will pay the bill. But Ash isn't kidding about the wife thing and he finds Emma eminently suitable. He was horribly disfigured during the war, burnt by an exploding Congreve rocket and most women find him distasteful, yet Emma doesn't flinch. 
 I'm always excited when a book I preordered shows up on my e-reader, especially when I love the story. I read this one as soon as I found it there. I'm a sucker for Beauty and the Beast type books and this is a wonderful example of that sub-genre, very much in the tradition of Simply Love by Mary Balogh, one of my favorites. 
 Ash and Emma are a lovely couple, witty and great with banter. The servants scheme to help the couple fall in love (though neither of these lonely people needs much of a push). The writing is poignant in places and laugh-out-loud funny in others. I'm not always a huge fan of Tessa Dare's books, but this one is definitely one of my favorites. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.