This was a pretty good read by one of my favorite authors. Ms James writes a fun and entertaining story of mismatch pair who find love. The characters were fully developed with thoughts and feelings of their own. I really enjoyed the quirky red headed Stella who was not your dainty type of woman. Her attributes were more lush than the typical girl which made her the butt of jokes from others. Even wearing her glasses was not the norm. But Stella had money which made fortune hunters try to convince her to marry them. She's not fooled by any of them, but one man who has known her it seems like forever. He is the handsome Duke of Huntington, Silvester Parnell and calls Lady Stella a nickname "specs" which she hates. Let the games begin which makes a delightful dash of spunky lady to a lustful Duke.
When Silvester marries Stella, she thinks he's still hooked on another woman. It seems that the happy ever after is doomed by her way of thinking. But Silvester has the real problem, he loves his wife. How can he convince her that she's the only one for him?
I appreciate Net Galley for this ARC title in which I gave an honest review.

"Not That Duke" is a good way to pass a sunny, quiet summer afternoon or two. The story mirrors the events of "The Reluctant Countess" but told from Stella and Silvester's point of view. I am not a fan of the trope, but it worked very well here. Stella has several insecurities, and they lead her to almost sabotage the best thing that has ever happened to her. Sylvester is thick as a brick at times, but finally understands his wife's point of view at the end.

Lady Stella Corsham has the largest dowery on offer this Season and, you would think, as a result a great number of suitors. Sadly, that is not the case. Stella had some body image problems: she has red hair, freckles, wears glasses, is short and overly endowed. Her only suitors are in love with Lady Yasmin and everyone knows it. She believes she would suit well with the Earl on Lilford, but he is stoically pursuing Yasmin. She wouldn't want him anyway; his sister is a horrid person, and he is very dour. The man who makes her pulse race is Sylvester Parnell, Duke of Huntington, but he is hopelessly besotted with Yasmin too. Although he does like to jest with her and dance with her and he is coming to call to play chess an awful lot. But Stella knows that the handsome, wealthy Duke would never consider her marriage material. But a girl can dream.

Sylvester has a major problem on his hands. After paying court to Yasmin during the season, she has chosen Giles, the Earl of Lilford to wed. Sylvester doesn't like to lose, at anything. After examining what happened, he comes to the conclusion that Yasmin would not have been suitable for him. It didn't matter that his mother told him that from the beginning. She also told him that Stella would make him the prefect Dutchess. Gad, he just hates that his mother is right. Now all he has to do is convince Stella.

My thanks to the Publisher and the Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

I loved the premise of this book, and I genuinely enjoyed book 2 of the series, The Reluctant Countess. But this one relied far too much on the events of book 2 (which I haven't read recently and had trouble remembering) and, on a personal note, I think Silvester needed to grovel way WAY more. I just did not believe that he was in love with Stella. And that made the romance hard to buy.

Thank you to netgalley, the author, and Avon for the eARC in exchange for my review.

This is the first Eloisa James book I’ve read and there were a lot of things I liked, and some I didn’t, about it.

What I liked:
The heroine, Lady Stella Corsham. Smart, unique, not afraid to state her opinion
The Dowager Duchess of Huntington.
Stella’s aunt.

I wasn’t too thrilled with the Duke of Huntington for several reasons, but the main one was how fickle he was. I didn’t see any growth arc from when he was courting Lady Yasmin and then when he went after Stella. If it was in the text it was pretty quick.

Also, this is a book that takes place during the regency era. I’m not sure, but I really don’t think the phrase PEED was used in the vernacular back then.

Overall it was a good story with some stuff that just annoyed me. 3 stars

Eloisa James can be so good. But this book is not the best example of her talents. The first half of "Not That Duke" runs concurrently with the events of the previous book in the series, "A Reluctant Countess". I liked "A Reluctant Countess", including the depiction of this book's MMC Silvester in that story. But. I have no desire to read a romance in which the MMC is essentially in love with someone who is not the FMC for at least half of the story. We of course see interactions with FMC Stella and there is little doubt Silvester finds Stella physically attractive. But he makes it quite clear that she is his second choice.

And Stella deserves so much better. Stella is a true wallflower, but is also smart, funny, and caring. She spends the first half of the book crushing on Silvester while fully aware of his feelings for Yasmin. The second half still finds her not fully secure in their relationship, and not in spite of any contrary conduct by Silvester. He goes from running off with Yasmin to coming back to tell Stella that he has essentially decided that they will marry. His consideration of her feelings seems slim to none, and I was just not a fan.

All of that said, James' writing here is, as always, witty and entertaining. I would still not hesitate to pick up another book by her. Though I would love to see Lydia really get hers in a future writing.

2.5 stars, rounded to 3. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

Stella is under no assumption that any gentlemen of the Ton will truly fall in love with her. After all she wears spectacles, has freckles and a stout figure. Silvester the Duke of Huntington can’t help but be intrigued by Stella and her sharp mind even though he plans to marry lady Yasmin. When Silvester kisses her at an event Stella doesn’t know what to think even though she can’t deny their attraction. After Yasmin elopes with his best friend Silvester corners Stella into marriage. But will they be able to work through their issues to establish a happy marriage?

I did enjoy this book, there were a lot of delightful scenes and supporting characters. I did feel Stella’s conflict about feeling second best and not truly chosen by the duke should have come to a conclusion a lot sooner and not strung out the entire book.

There were many poignant issues addressed that I appreciated such as self confidence, a woman choosing her own happiness and not bowing to societal norms. I very much appreciated all of these!

I enjoyed this book with it’s dynamic characters, steamy romance and extravagant events of the Ton!

Not That Duke is a perfect summer read! A fun historical romance from Eloisa James that starts off at a great pace with the plot already in motion. I really enjoyed this from the get go with a fast pace but I did find that it slowed down in places. There is all the fun and humor you expect from James. There are characters from previous books, like My American Duchess, but it works fine as a stand alone.

Much of this book is centered around the marriage mart. For my taste I thought the who would marry who was a little too central. What I did love was Silvester's (Duke of Huntington) relationship with her mother. Loved the inclusion of the Duchess and her invention that aided steam trains! I LOVED Lady Stella. Thank you so much for a curvy heroine who wants a happy marriage and independence too.

Thank you to Netgalley for the early read. All opinions are my own.
#NotThatDuke #NetGalley

I was slightly befuddled when I started this book until I realized it runs concurrently with the previous book, The Reluctant Countess, which I now plan to reread. Unfortunately that means once again encountering Lydia, one of the least appealing characters in romance land.
Stella however has become one of my favorite characters. With bright red hair, spectacles, and freckles, she is curious, clumsy and very intelligent. Raised by her very proper aunt, she is not doing well on the Marriage Mart even with a large dowry. Silvester , the titular Duke, has always liked her and always dances with her, and visits her to play chess.
However, he and Giles, an Earl are both courting Yasmine. They are the characters from the previous book, hence my confusion.
There are many great characters in this book, as well as some very hot sex scenes, as Silvester is quite in last with Stella while courting ethereal Yasmine, who he doesn't even think of kissing. He is quite confused. Also there is an absolutely adorable kitten.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my EARC. I highly recommend this book.

Lady Stella has had a crush on Silvester Parnell, Duke of Huntington, for ages but he likes Yasmine, the diamond of the season. Stella and Silvester are friends but nothing more. Yasmine eventually picks Giles over Silvester and he decides to wed Stella. Once Married Stella still isn’t sure of her place in Silvester’s heart and he must prove his love.

I really really did not enjoy the previous book in this series so I was hoping we had left a lot of the characters from that book behind, but alas, the first have of this one runs simultaneous to the previous book and is essentially the events from different perspectives. Once the character of Giles and Lydia were reintroduced in this book, the story came to a grinding halt for me and it took all my effort to force myself to finish the book. I really liked Stella and was very happy to finally have an actual wall flower in a series about wall flowers. I did not care for Silvester. He was the embodiment of the phrase too little too late. I wanted so much more for Stella. I really hope this is the last book in this series because a new set of characters is desperately needed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Not that Duke by Eloisa James is the third novel in the series, The Would-Be Wallflowers. It is a Regency Romance that works well as a standalone.

Lady Stella Corsham is not a typical heroine. She is short, stout, freckled, bespectacled, and worst of all, intelligent. Orphaned when young, she has been raised by her aunt and uncle, who despair of marrying her off. She has breeding and a good dowry, and a good number of suitors, but they are fortune hunters and third sons and Stella is not interested. She fantasizes about the Duke of Huntington, Sylvester, a man she considers something of a friend. But he is the most eligible bachelor in the ton and he is very obviously besotted with the beautiful, delicate, and somewhat scandalous Yasmin Regnier.

Sylvester is not the only man chasing after Yasmin. And Sylvester is very competitive. He does not like to lose. He’s fond enough of Stella. He knows his mother would prefer Stella for a daughter-in-law. But he is determined to court (and win) Yasmin. His problem is that Yasmin seems to prefer another man, one of Sylvester’s best friends. This man is stodgy and intellectual. A much better match for Stella. Or so everyone assumes.

But as the Season progresses, and Sylvester and Stella spend more time together, he starts to appreciate her lusty charms. A lot. He just needs to convince her that it is more than lust that he feels for her. For that, first he has to convince himself.

This is a fun frolic of a Regency Romance with a high steam level. Fans of Eloisa James will not be disappointed.

I’m a big fan of golden boy members of the ton falling for wallflowers so it was with great eagerness that I dove into Not That Duke. I really liked Silvester in Eloisa James’s previous Would-Be Wallflowers novel, The Reluctant Countess, so I was excited to see him fall in love.

And he did. With someone other than the heroine. I admit I’m not the biggest fan of a hero or heroine thinking they’re in love with another so spending the first half of the book watching Silvester chasing Yasmin (of The Reluctant Countess) wasn’t my favorite thing. Silvester, who was so charming in that book, was charming because he adored the heroine. When it came to Stella, he was lustful but didn’t impress me much. If it weren’t for her inconvenient attraction to him, I don’t think Stella would have been overly impressed with the duke either. Short, bespeckled, freckled, and unfashionable, Stella isn’t a dazzling diamond of the first water. However, she is a heroine I really liked. She’s funny, smart, and kind and I wanted to see her get a happily ever after where she was someone’s first choice. Stella isn’t Silvester’s first choice but she is the right choice and about halfway through Not That Duke picks up. Stella and Silvester have chemistry, but the duke has a lot to learn if he’s going to be the hero Stella deserves.

Because of Silvester I wasn’t wowed by the romance, but there are a host of secondary characters who did make this book enjoyable. Silvester’s mother, an original in her own right, is charming and eccentric. She appreciates Stella’s brain and personality from the start and the two of them made a fun duo. There are also appearances by Merry (of My American Duchess) and a surprising turn of a mean girl who evolves into someone I’d actually like to read a book about. And it would be remiss of me to not talk about Specs, Stella’s adorable kitten who is a scene-stealer.

Not That Duke is the third book in James’s Would-Be Wallflower series and unless you really don’t mind spoilers I would recommend reading The Reluctant Countess first. The first half of this book runs concurrent to the other and I don’t think it benefits from it. If you (like me) hated all the page time given to the villainous Lydia, well then brace yourselves because she’s back and as irritating as ever.

I had mixed feelings about Not That Duke but James’s writing was entertaining and Stella and Silvester had good chemistry (when the latter managed to pull his head out of his you-know-what). The supporting characters were engaging and I liked where everything ended up. I’m a longtime fan of Eloisa James so even with the aforementioned mixed feelings I’m still very much looking forward to her next book.

This was a book I definitely had mixed feelings about. On the one hand, I loved Stella and felt for her throughout the entire book. Stella is short, plump, red-haired, freckled, wears glasses, doesn't hide that she's smart, and doesn't play the games the superficial women of Society play. She's no one's first choice and her aunt is always harping on about what she needs to do differently if she wants to get a man to propose to her. She has no friends, and is miserable all the time. Kind of like what I imagine I'd be like if I were dropped into a Regency ballroom. But she also doesn't let any of that affect how she treats other people. She's kind instead of cruel or bitter, even though privately Stella watches the beautiful people like Lady Yasmin and her ardent suitor the Duke of Huntington and wishes she was like them. Or that the Duke would look at her the way he looks at Yasmin.

The Duke, Silvester, was harder to get my mind around and I'm still not actually sure if I liked him. He spends the first half of the book chasing Yasmin and when she marries Silvester's best friend, Silvester decides to marry Stella instead. Why? Maybe he realizes he never really had more than superficial feelings for Yasmin and at least is in serious lust for Stella. He does like the conversations they have when they play chess and that she actually challenges him and sees him as a person and not as a way to be a duchess. Are these reasons to basically blackmail her into marriage? No. Why doesn't he court her the way he did Yasmin? Show Stella that he actually cares for her? No idea. Since we see things mostly from Stella's point of view Silvester seems to go from tolerating her while he pursues Yasmin, to saying cruel things about her to make Yasmin laugh, to apologizing and treating her as if they are siblings, to kissing her, to running off with Yasmin, to coming back and proposing to her. Then he doesn't even have the decency to listen to her when she says no and work on courting her- he goes to her aunt, tells the aunt they've kissed and now must marry, running over Stella's feelings on the subject. Once and a while he seems to panic at the idea that he might be in love with Stella, though we never find out why, and he shoves the idea away and decides it must be lust instead.

So there were lots of questions here and I felt like Stella kind of deserved more. But I was proud of her- she stands up to Silvester and tells him she deserves to be first for someone. That she won't settle for less than anyone else, no matter what she looks like. I also loved that it wasn't just Silvester and his rather obvious appreciation for Stella's body that made her feel more confident in herself but her friend Merry and Silvester's mother and their positive and obvious love for Stella as she is that helped her begin to feel confident in herself.

On their own, there were pacing issues and Silvester issues that made this not my favorite of James' books. But in the end, it is Eloisa James' sparkling, witty writing that won the day and charmed me with this book.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Not That Duke is the third book in A Would-be Wallflowers series.

Let me start with that horrid awful Lydia is in this book, and though it pains me to have to read her vitriol, she doesn't destroy the book. But I would've liked to see her get kicked in the face by a horse.

Stella is a cross between the ugly duckling and Penelope from Brigerton. Stella is slightly plump "curvy", red-haired, bespeckled, short and covered in freckles, all of which are not the "must haves" in the ladies on the ton. She's already dealing with her aunt, whose overbearing and anxiety ridden, but add mean girls to the mix, and you can understand why she wants to live the life of a spinster. Stella has insecurities and rightly so, but as she finally starts to realize she is beautiful all along, she's still forced to contend that
the one she wants didn't want her first.

Silvester, Duke of Huntington, is on a mission to find a wife, and he's set his sights on Jasmin. Spoiler, if you haven't read the second book in the series, that doesn't work out for him. But despite his inability to articulate, he does get his Duchess. I'll be honest the chemistry between them was palatable. Yet I still wanted to wring his neck more than once for his careless treatment of Stella. But hey, no one's perfect, and he gets it right... eventually.

The book claims it could be read as a stand-alone, but honestly, that is absurd. Part one is concurrently running with almost the entirety of book two in the series. Yasmin and Giles are integral characters, and you really need to know how they pan out, or you will drop kick the book at some point.

Not That Duke is the 3rd book in the Would Be Wallflowers series by Eloisa James and I'll admit, I haven't read the first two books and that may have impacted my enjoyment of this one. Especially as I have gone back to read the summary of book 2 and realized the main characters in that book are actually tied to the entire first half of this book (Yasmin and Giles).

With that said, I thought this was a good story and the characters individually were interesting. At the point that Silvester leaves and heads off into the country with Yasmin and her family, I was slightly confused as to how he turned the corner while gone and comes back in love with Stella.

Overall, this was a solid book. I think I will go back to check out the other books to see if that helps to align on the rest of the characters and stories. Consider picking this one up if you enjoyed the other books in this series.

I read Regebcy romance for the purpose of making me happy. I want my regency filled with balls, will they or won’t the energy, and I personally like a heroine who isn’t the jewel of the season.

Not that Duke gave me what I wanted and I so enjoyed it!

I haven’t read the first in the wallflower series and I do think you would benefit from some of that background as the time periods overlap. BUT having said that, I read this book voraciously and sped through it in a day.

Sometimes I just want a happy regency. There were times when I just wanted both of our MCs to get it together and admit their feelings but, this is a trope in Regency that I eat up.

Also, I loved Specs. I loved Specs so much. The addition of a cute kitten is always a 10/10.

Ultimately, I loved this book and recommend to anyone who loves Regency romance. This is a story where the main obstacles between our main characters happiness is themselves, BUT, it’s a fun journey! 🤓🤓

Thank you so much to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was more than a romance novel. It was the success story of a girl who felt like she had never fit in. Orphaned at a young age, Stella had been raised by her aunt. Her uncle, due to a time-consuming hobby, had essentially abandoned the both of them. Although well-intentioned, her aunt always made Stella feel inferior due to her red hair and freckles. To make matters worse, the nearsighted girl was also short and less than svelte. In contrast, Silvester, the object of her desire, was gorgeous. He also happened to be the Duke of Huntington. The duke was in love with the beautiful and perfect Yasmin. Further complicating the love tangle was Silvester's best friend Giles, the Earl of Lilford. While unenthusiastically spending time with Stella, Giles kept an eye on Silvester and Yasmin. Everything sorted itself out eventually, but it wasn't easy getting there. Stella had to overcome her insecurities and Silvester had to deal with some unexpected issues of his own.
This book was exactly what I've come to expect from this author. There were some very funny moments and plenty of steam. I loved how Stella's eccentric uncle's gourds were frequently mentioned. "Specs" the kitten, the Dowager Duchess and the mean girls were also lots of fun.
On a serious note, the author admitted to drawing from her own past to write this story and that love isn't about reality but about perception. She is therefore grateful that she is able to see things through the eyes of her loving husband. I was dry-eyed the entire time I was reading but then I teared up when I saw that the book is dedicated to him!
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Eloisa James is my favorite historical romance writer and the one who really got me into the genre. I always find her books charming and funny, and Not That Duke is no exception.

What's most charming about this book is the heroine, Lady Stella. She's not the prettiest or the thinnest or the most eligible debutante of the season, but she is the quirkiest and the most individual. She wears spectacles because she cares more about being able to see than about being fashionable. She's rather fond of Silvester Parnell, the handsome and desirable Duke of Huntington, but she knows he'll never be interested in a wallflower like her, especially because he's enamored of the lovely Lady Yasmin Regnier. A more appropriate potential groom is the Earl of Lilford, who doesn't mind her spectacles, but Stella finds him rather cold.

Stella and Silvester become friends, and to both of their surprise, that friendship turns into something more. It's definitely a slow burn since he's pursuing another woman for the first half of the book.

Stella is a great heroine. She's funny and a little odd, and she refuses to engage with gossip or other meanness (her ability to sort of shrug off the ton's mean girls is great). She adopts a kitten and brings it everywhere hidden in her pocket. She's unapologetically odd, and it's very appealing (particularly to Silvester, no matter how much he protests).

Eloisa James does banter and humor really well, and there's a lot of that in this book. Stella and Silvester's growing relationship has a lot of gentle verbal sparring and I absolutely loved it.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book 3 in the would be wall flower series. I have to say I was not a super fan of Silverstein in this. He was kind of a jerk. Other than that the story was pretty good.

Special thanks to NetGalley and to Avon for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts. I squealed with delight when I got the email that I was approved for this book. I was not disappointed in the least. I loved the banter in this book. It was Eloisa james. This book has the HEA that I look for in her books. 5 out of 5 stars!

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Historical Romance fans know what we’re getting with a good historical writer. Eloisa James is my go to writer for these books and this book managed to scratch the itch perfectly and surprise me in a few ways! Not That Duke may not be groundbreaking but for fans of the genre I highly recommend it.

The story follows Stella, a well endowed (because they certainly talk about it a lot) bespeckled, red headed woman. She’s being raised by her aunt who clearly needs some therapy of sorts and is as all ladies are, looking for a proposal. Silvester is a duke, and one she finds incredibly attractive but assumes he’s fated to merely be a friend as he’s courting another young woman quite openly. Stella and Silvester develop a lovely friendship that does suffer some turbulence as the Mean Girls of the ton meddle in their affairs. Eventually of course the two overcome this and romance follows.

I really enjoyed a few things about this. The first is the kitten. Stella finds a small kitten and takes to carrying her around in her pocket. Specs, as she names her, begins to sing as well as Stella becomes known for her lovely singing voice. The kitten will warble from her pocket, making those scenes absolutely precious. There was also an interesting time jump in this one, several months pass without the characters interacting, a time jump that is more important to the second book in this series, but I was still engaged and I don’t feel it broke the narrative in any jarring way.

The looks and featuring of fashion and the Duke’s mother were also shining moments. Overall this was a delightful read. A great break between epic fantasies and I can’t wait to read more from Mrs. James. She’s always a comfort read for me, and this was no exception. For fans of Historical Romance I would whole heartedly recommend.