I hate to do this because I’m a fan of Alexandra Vasti’s novellas and the woman herself, but it’s a DNF at 21% (on my second attempt).

I just wasn’t getting much tension and lost interest. It was clear from the get-go that Selina and Peter were perfect for each other, the other “candidates” for his wife were completely unsuitable, and the erotic library Selina runs wasn’t enough of a presence to feel like a true obstacle to their being together. I don’t know how Vasti would have spun out the remaining 80% and there are too many books on my TBR for me to want to stick it out.

It’s well written but the stakes were too low for me.

Heart heart heart, this book has so much heart that I was misting up in my eyes for basically the entire second half. Selina is a self-thought scandal of a woman, except her scandal is secret and also pretty hardcore. Peter Kent has recently learned that he has two much younger siblings that his father sired after he abandoned Peter, and now that the father is dead, Peter wants to become their official guardian. But Peter is a mess of a sweetheart who has muddled up enough scandal that the higher-ups in the legal system might deny him that chance. Selina embarks on a task to get him married to a respectable lady to make him look like a sympathetic and good father figure. But lol, Selina realizes she's kinda got the hots for him. Oops!

The characters in this book are so much fun and so well fleshed out. At first I was like, these are a lot of names to remember, but by like, halfway through, I wanted a full book dedicated to each character. To put that much goodness into just 300 pages is impressive. I can't wait for more from Vasti!

Thanks to Netgalley and Forver Publishing for the e-ARC!

Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti is a regency romance about a young woman determined to help a newly inherited duke gain custody of his half-siblings by finding him a wife. Lady Selina Ravenscroft is a cunning, well-respected woman of the ton. Raised by her elder brother when their parents passed, Selina knows all to well what it feels like to be a parentless child. When Peter Kent requests advice on how to secure his siblings under his guardianship, Selina is determined to make it happen. With only a few weeks until he goes before the courts, he needs help cleaning up his reputation and what better way to show he’s matured than through marriage.

I really enjoyed this story. Selina is smart and hiding secrets of her own, namely owning a library that circulates books for women to educate them about sexual matters. This played a larger role in the book that I first believed it would. When Selina hatches the marriage plan to help Peter, she makes a list of women she believes he’d get along with well and would elevate his reputation. She, of course, leaves herself off because if news of the library being hers comes to light it could create an even bigger scandal.

While I liked Selina, I loved Peter. He is down-to-earth, what you see is what you get kind of guy. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind, and his abolitionist ideas are new, pushing the boundaries. I like that even though he didn’t know he had siblings until he inherited the dukedom that he loves them already. Not only loves them, but he wants them. He wants to raise them and give them everything they need and want. How can you not love that?

The plot was really two-fold following Selina’s harebrained marriage plan, her library, and the budding romance between the two Selina and Peter. Peter liked Selina before her idea, and I believe would have asked her to marry him when he was ready. Selina respected Peter because of his love for his siblings, but put herself out of the running to be his because of her scandalous library. I like how the author built their friendship as a foundation for the romance.

Overall, I really enjoyed Ne’er Duke Well. It was easy to root for Selina and Peter. I also loved Peter’s siblings and other side characters who were all fleshed out fully. While I didn’t mention that in my review, it really helped to build the world and added depth to Selina and Peter. If you are a fan of regency romance, I highly recommend it.

Review withheld due to the St. Martin's Press Boycott.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the arc in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed this story. Peter is a very unconventional duke which I really liked. His passion for abolition and his determination to win guardianship of and take care of his half-siblings made me like him instantly. His bumbling charm and tendency to act without thinking helped cement him as a favorite.

Selena is cooler and a little harder to get to know. She is whipsmart and basically spends the novel ordering Peter about and then getting annoyed when he haplessly ruins her plans. It took a little longer for me to really get behind her, but she did eventually win me over.

I loved Georgianna. Talk about pulling the wool over the eyes of the ton! Lydia and Iris were also excellent characters and I hope we get spinoff novels for each of them because they would definitely be entertaining.

The children were adorable and definitely added to the story. I'm glad they were there, and would actually have preferred them to be more present in the middle section of the book instead of just the beginning and end.

The plot strains credulity at times but in a fun way. If you can suspend disbelief and let it take you for a ride then you'll enjoy it.

I enjoyed the audiobook narration for the most part, except Peter's dialogue, especially in the beginning, was delivered in an agonizingly slow exaggerated drawl. I know he's supposed to be from Louisiana, but still. Luckily the narrator did speed up and lighten up on the drawl in the second half of the book.

I definitely recommend this if you like your historical romance with a good dose of humor and a significant amount of social commentary and critique.

*Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Dreamscape Media for providing an early copy for review.

This was okay. The writing was fine, the story was routine, it just wasn’t a book that hooked me. The main characters were enjoyable and likable but not memorable.

Title:  Ne'er Duke Well
Author:  Alexandra Vasti       
Genre: Romance       
Rating: 4 out of 5

Peter Kent―newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana―must become respectable. Between his radical politics and the time he interrupted a minor royal wedding with a flock of sheep―not his fault!―he’s developed a scandalous reputation at odds with his goal of becoming guardian to his half siblings. For help, he turns to the cleverest and most managing woman of his acquaintance, Lady Selina Ravenscroft.

Selina is society’s most proper debutante, save one tiny secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. When Peter asks for her help, she suggests courtship and marriage to a lady of unimpeachable reputation. (Which is to say, definitely not herself.)

But matchmaking doesn’t go according to plan. Peter’s siblings run rampant on Bond Street. Selina ends up in the Serpentine. And worst of all, the scorching chemistry between Peter and Selina proves impossible to resist. For the disreputable duke and his unpredictable matchmaker, falling in love just might be the ultimate scandal.

I do like this author’s style and characters, and I enjoyed this read quite a bit. The voices of both Peter and Selina were funny and well-developed, and their antics made me laugh—unlike the society they live in. Boring. This is a spicy read with a lot of sweetness, perfect for a summer weekend.

Alexandra Vasti lives in New Orleans. Ne’er Duke Well is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Heat Factor: It’s pretty steamy

Character Chemistry: Ugh, ultimate power couple vibe here

Plot: Peter is an American Duke who’s desperately trying to gain custody of his two young half-siblings, and Selina is an extremely capable secret business owner and purveyor of illicit reading materials for women who desperately wants to help him succeed

Overall: This book gave me the biggest, swooniest heart eyes. I looked like an absolute idiot reading it in public.

I’ll be honest, I’m pretty sure I picked this one because the title was a big happy pun and I felt like it deserved some extra attention for creativity. I’m pretty sure Holly would say “absolutely not”, but she’s never appreciated my puns. And anyway, I was absolutely right—the book was fantastic.

In this book, Selina is living a double life. After watching a close friend end up ruined and alone because she didn’t understand basic sex ed, Selina was determined to prevent other women from falling prey to ignorance and convinced her twin brother to buy a lending library. Then, Selina created a special sexual education collection for women only, and bound all the books in a similar cover so that women could read the books with anonymity.

When she runs into Peter Kent and his two half-siblings, Peter decides that Selina is exactly the person he needs to help him gain custody of his half siblings. The entire book is basically Peter being utterly smitten with everything Selina is, and supporting her with his entire being, and worshiping her very existence, and Selina loving everyone selflessly and caring about the well-being of others and generally being incredibly brave and big-hearted.

I bet you’re wondering what the black moment is, and this was a refreshing change of pace—no one does anything stupid or rash in this book, because it would be utterly out of character. Peter’s too loyal and too steady to do anything stupid, and Selina is too capable and caring. So the tension and the plot is external to the relationship, and thus the relationship and the romance becomes a release valve to the situational suspense. Every time things start to get too perilous Peter and Selina get caught up in a hallway or Selina brings up something racy she read about in one of her books and Peter’s all like, “marrying you was the smartest thing I’ve ever done” and then you’re left muttering under your breath about how their love is just too pure. It’s a whole thing.

And if their “us against the world” relationship wasn’t enough to melt your heart, their commitment to Peter’s siblings will wreck you. Lu and Freddie provide a series of hilarious quips and one-liners and their relationships with Peter and Selina provide a lot of context and deeper meaning for the rest of the plot.

So, does this mean we should all be looking for romance novels with puns in the title? I think that yes, it does. Right, Holly?

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

My review is being withheld in support of the St Martins Press boycott. I will review the book once the boycott has been lifted. Please encourage the leadership at St Martins Press to acknowledge the harm they have done and make reparations so that we can resume reviews of books they are publishing.

I really loved the premise of this book and wanted so badly to love it but I just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t feel the spark between the main characters and the story line was dragging for me. I wanted more build up to the romance. Once it was around 50% I found myself skimming.

Found this to be a fun and uplifting book with a good dose of humor, mystery. and romance Cute read!

Alexandra Vasti immediately become an ista-love author after I had the chance to read her first novella. For he first full length novel, she once again serves us a fantastically written story, chock full of humor, and making you question your initial book-boyfriend list of her characters. She has a way with making you wonder how two perfectly matched characters can ever possibly NOT make it through the chaos? And that's Selina and Peter. They can't possibly end up together! There's too much at stake! And yet they do! Somehow, we arrive at a wonderfully dramatic court scene where Peter proves his worth to Selina in the most 90's rom-com way, that leaves you swooning and wondering if he'll usurp Henry, Christian, or Spencer.

This was delightful. I'm always slightly hesitant to read historical romance novels because women were basically treated like property back then, but for the most part the relationships and viewpoints of the characters align with modern thoughts, which is good (and certainly the case here). It's kind of a shame that there just aren't more historical romance novels to read, because they can be quite enjoyable. This one I found to be lovely. It was not only a fun, amusing romp, but the main characters were wonderful, and it was nicely steamy. Surprisingly I found it somewhat timely, what with all the book banning going on (although that's more for kids, while the books in this book were "banned" for women). I think my only real "issue" with this book, if you can call it that, was that our main female character was too afraid to ask for help from those that would have been more than happy to give it. But that's honestly such a small nit-pick. I'm thrilled to know that the author has some backlist self-published novellas that have been picked up by this same publisher; I will certainly be buying and reading those when they come out. My only other real hope is that Vasti will continue to write historical/regency romance and that we'll get more books like this one. I would be extra happy to learn that they were companion books to this one, because I kind of need to know what happens to the best friend, and I would also love to see one about the twin brother. I would also not be opposed to one that takes place a few decades later about the Duke's sister, because I bet that one would be a hoot and a half. Basically anything else this author wants to write I will read. I've already stuck this on a bridgerton endcap at work, and I'm hoping it sells so I can order a few more in a write a shelf-talker for it. A+ would recommend. I'll certainly be buying a physical copy to add to my library, and I'll be picking up the ebook when it goes on sale as well.

What happens when a ‘fixer’ meets a man who’s been told so often he can’t do anything right he’s quit trying? Sparks will fly. Of course! Selina and Peter’s story shows imperfect people can defeat just about any issue if they do it together. Peter is the new Duke of Stanhope and Selina has always been the most proper sister of a Duke but she has a secret that makes her most scandalous. Peter wants custody of his two half siblings but has crossed the very person that will make the decision so of course Selina has a plan. Plans go awry and love ensues. This story was fun and had all the feels! Peter was a perfect blend of insecurity and brashness and you want to turn off Selina’s self-talk. Great ending that will you will cheer for this charming couple..

Peter is in quite a situation: he has been forced to move back to England from New Orleans taking on the role of Duke as well as finding out he has two siblings in need of guardianship. New in town, in a new role as a Duke and fighting for guardianship of his siblings would be hard enough on his own. But, when he enlists the help of Selina to help him find a wife to help his case for guardianship, it's even harder to fight his feelings for her.

He's not the only one fighting feelings. Selina also fights her feelings for Peter as she is hiding a secret that would only cause scandal. Scandal and shame from the ton that Peter's case for guardianship can't afford. Her secret means the world to her and the only person who knows is her twin brother who ran off in his own state of grief. Selina juggles her grief of lost family members, maintaining a facade in front of the ton, managing a business in secret and now this task of helping Peter. She does not have time for distraction. She does not believe she has what Peter needs. But she does have these pesky feelings.

Can they find a way to work together to give Peter guardianship of his siblings? Can they save themselves from scandal? This is a story about found family, losing family and how it does not do well to fight fate.

While this book had promise, it lost me a bit in the minute details, the insecurity as well as the sap being extremely heavy towards the end. An example of minute details is there is mention of Selina's twin brother but the only appearance he makes in the book is via correspondence once. For a book focused on family, I found this to be a missed opportunity. Especially since he does not even make an appearance in the epilogue. Another example is how it is mentioned that Selina and Peter had met once several years before the book begins, but there is not much mentioned about the meeting. I am not sure if this is a dangling carrot for the reader, setting up for a novella to come out after the rest of the series comes out, but it seems unnecessary in this book. The insecurity was at times redundant where Selina believes so strongly that she is going to bring scandal and shame and ruin the opportunities for Peter and his siblings. Her solution then is to run away before they can know she is gone, then she backtracks, then goes back to the idea, then backtracks again before confessing to Peter her concerns. It seems to counter the personality we are told of Selina in the beginning where she is strong and seems to be able to find solutions for all of her friend's problems. It felt more like she was being "a silly woman in love who worries over everything" rather than a strong feminine nature. This insecurity also shows up when the idea of her being with Peter is so outlandish that she instead tries to set him up with her female friends instead. Lastly, the sap at the end where Peter is constantly fawning over Selina is a little much for me at times. It felt more like it was stagnating the plot from where it was moving along very quickly in the beginning.

All of this aside, I did appreciate the dialogue, banter, and charm of the characters. The ending was especially touching. I enjoyed that the goal of the characters is to work together to gain guardianship of the siblings. The siblings were also fun characters adding a touch of chaos and mischief yet unity. I also appreciated the character of Lydia and I hope to see her in the next book in the series.

This review was given freely and all opinions are my own. An electronic Advanced Reader Copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher via Netgalley. Thank you!

As a fan of Alexandra Vasti's previous 3 novellas, I was very excited for her debut full length novel!

I really enjoyed reading this novel and adore both of the lead characters. They were both well fleshed out and have great chemistry. I also liked the side characters, which is promising for future novels in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alexandra Vasti's debut novel, Ne'er Duke Well, exceeded all my expectations! Lady Selina Ravenscroft and Peter Kent, the Duke of Stanhope, are a match made in literary heaven. Selina, the epitome of society’s propriety, hides a tantalizing secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. We love a queen who is all about educating women about themselves! Peter, with his scandalous past and desire for respectability to earn guardianship over his half-siblings, is both endearing and irresistibly intriguing.

The chemistry between Selina and Peter is electric, and their romance is steamy in the best way. Their relationship evolves so naturally over the story as Selina goes from finding Peter a suitable wife to becoming that wife.

The plot is well-paced, with just the right amount of intrigue and humor to keep you hooked. Selina’s role in helping Peter find a suitable wife takes unexpected turns, leading to amusing and heartwarming moments. The blend of historical detail and modern sensibility adds depth to the story, making it stand out in the Regency genre.

Overall, this book is a must-read for fans of steamy historical romance. If you love a good Regency romp with memorable characters and a love story that will make your heart race, this one’s for you!

I have enjoyed Alexandra Vasti's novellas and I knew her full length book would be a riot. Spoiler alert, I was right! This was such a fun romp and I really enjoyed our leads and the found family-ness of the plot. The kids were not too annoying and I enjoyed their integration into the story.
I would have liked to have read some of the events that were referred to in the book but these are minor quibbles.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I don't read much romance, much less specialize in regency romance. However, I was intrigued by this author's funny social media posts (also I loved the title of this book). Ne'er Duke Well is charming, humorous and a highly enjoyable, quick read whether or not you are a huge romance fan or not. Highly recommend!

I love the title and the fun cover and the premise that she’s being a matchmaker for the new Duke of Stanhope so that he can be guardian to his much younger siblings.
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Selina is a feminist and loves to insert justice in her own way. Scandal follows behind her lurking in the shadows waiting to be let out. So when she hastily marries the Duke of Stanhope to avoid scandal - the cards are stacked against them.
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I liked how the book ended but the beginning was rough where I picked it up and stopped a lot. It seemed disjointed. And most chapters are Selina’s POV and then there’d be a random POV of Peter but there’s nothing to alert the reader of the change of view. So that would throw me for a loop too. I think the book was too long or at least cut a lot of the beginning quarter. 🤷🏻‍♀️
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The book has quite a few open door scenes and mentions of sexual education, abuse and women’s rights. A lot to cover in a debut book so props to the author for some ingenuity but needed more editing I think.
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Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the e-arc. This book released last month and is available everywhere.