Lord Dashwood Missed Out by Tessa DareLord Dashwood Missed Out by Tessa Dare
Series: Spindle Cove #4.5
Published by Avon, Impulse on December 8, 2015
Genres: Regency Romance
Pages: 144
Format: eBook
Source: Advance Reader Copy
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five-stars

A snowstorm hath no fury like a spinster scorned!

Miss Elinora Browning grew up yearning for the handsome, intelligent lord-next-door…but he left England without a word of farewell. One night, inspired by a bit too much sherry, Nora poured out her heartbreak on paper. Lord Dashwood Missed Out was a love letter to every young lady who’d been overlooked by gentlemen—and an instant bestseller. Now she’s on her way to speak in Spindle Cove when snowy weather delays her coach. She’s forced to wait out the storm with the worst possible companion: Lord Dashwood himself.

And he finally seems to have noticed her.

George Travers, Lord Dashwood, has traveled the globe as a cartographer. He returned to England with the goal of marrying and creating an heir--only to find his reputation shredded by an audacious, vexingly attractive bluestocking and her poison pen. Lord Dashwood Missed Out, his arse. Since Nora Browning seems to believe he overlooked the passion of a lifetime, Dash challenges her to prove it.

She has one night.

What a fun novella! I was so happy to go back to Spindle Cove in this one!

Nora is on her way to speak at a library in Spindle Cove, when her carriage leaves without her. The only carriage available already has an occupant. Luckily he doesn’t mind her joining him, but what she instantly notices is that he’s Lord Dashwood, the man who once held her heart. Praying he won’t notice her, she slides in and keeps her head turned. But of course he knows who she is.

When the man she loved walked out on her, she did what every girl does; had some sherry. She had too much to drink, and she wrote about what Lord Dashwood missed out on by leaving her. Changing his name a teensy bit to Lord Ashwood, you know, just in case he ever heard about her essay. Her essay which is totally not about him, at all. Well, her little essay became a bit famous, so she turned it into a pamphlet, and next thing she knew, every young lady read about it.

Lord Dashwood, for his part, has become a cartographer and has been mapping the world. And when he came home, he heard about a little pamphlet written by none other than the woman he left behind. And boy does he come off looking bad.

When their carriage gets stuck in the snow, they find shelter to wait out the blizzard, and he tells her that she’s been besmirching his good name. He gives her one night, this night, to prove to him that she isn’t lying, and he really did miss out. But he wants to know, what exactly did he miss out on?

Meanwhile, we get to see some old friends from Spindle Cove, and it’s so much fun. The menfolk have to go out into the blizzard to find this poor woman who is supposed to speak at the library. But they find trouble, instead. Collin always has the best lines, and the scarves crack me up (you’ll have to read to find out!).

Just as we think Nora and Dash will have their happy ending, the guys from Spindle Cove finally find them. Let’s just say it doesn’t go the way one would think. This was fun, and such a reminder of everything I love about Tessa Dare.

***ARC courtesy of Avon

 

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five-stars