Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review. If you are a fan of Bridgerton, you will enjoy this read! Selina is a strong, smart, independent woman. She owns her own secret collection in a library where women can educate themselves regarding female and male anatomy and erotica. Peter, named the new Duke of Stanhope is clever and charismatic around town. Peter however has a dilemma where he needs to get married in order to have his siblings be under his care. The two work together originally to help him find a wife among the ton, but end up falling for eachother!

I usually don't gravitate towards historical romances anymore, but Ne'er Duke Well was picked for my virtual book club. This was a little bit harder for me to get into and I'm not sure why. I really liked the author's voice, but I don't think the story quite worked for me. And the pacing felt a bit disconnected. I'd definitely read from this author again though despite this one not quite working for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

In this book we are following Selina and Peter. Peter is the new Duke of Stanhope and is trying to get custody of his half brother and sister that he didn't know about until he came to England for his inheritance. Selina is the sister of another duke and Selina decides to help Peter by making a list of women who could be a wife and has good social standing since the man who decides custody doesn't like Peter. Selina brings three girls to him and he tries to court them and then admits to Selina that he likes her and wants to marry her. Selina tells him no because she runs a publication in secret that's erotica and has educational books for the women of the ton so that they are not as in the dark as she was during her first season. Then during a dinner at Selina's family home they get stuck in the library and give in to passion and are caught and Selina announces they are getting married. Then after they are married Peter's siblings so up because their present guardian had died. Selina and Peter make them feel at home and they go out to get furniture. Then someone finds out Selina's association to her scandalous publication so she and Peter out the news before others can and use information about who uses the publication to their advantage in order to secure guardianship. The judge gives guardianship to the Duke and Duchess of Stanhope after Fred and Lu tell the judge that they want to live with their brother and his wife. This book is so cute and I will be purchasing a physical copy of this book .

✨ Publication date: July 33, 2024✨

Ne’er Duke Well is a spicy Regency rom-com by Alexandra Vasti. This is the authors first nov but there is ton of potential in her writing style and I’m eagerly awaiting her next book!

Lady Selina Ravenscroft is the sister of a Duke and quite well known in the “ton” for her cleverness and matchmaking ability’s so when the newest Duke of Kent Peter Stanhope shows up at her door seeking guidance, she can’t help but get involved.

The newly anointed Duke is petitioning the courts for guardianship of his younger sister and brother whom he never knew existed until the Dukedom fell in his lap. After meeting them and seeing their lacklustre upbringing with an elderly distant relative he can’t help but to raise them himself.

Peter definitely has the means to support and raise them but unfortunately after a series of mishaps when he first landed in England’s high society, he doesn’t have the greatest reputation. He needs to figure out how to prove he is capable of giving his siblings the life they deserve.

Lady Selina is bound and determined to help Peter find an appropriate wife that will help prove his worthiness as a guardian. The only problem is, everyone she tries to set him up with is completely wrong for him. Soon it’s obvious that Selina is quite likely the best choice and her and Peter have off the charts chemistry. Selina has a secret that may just ruin it for both of them.

This was a great read! Loved the chemistry between the main characters and really enjoyed the writing. This is a 4 star read for me!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #alexandravasti #ne’erdukewell

Thank you to Netgalley, SMP Romance, and Dremscape for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

i would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f historical romance
-friends to lovers
-single parent vibes
-marraige of convenience
-matchmaking
-a custody battle
-denial
-an erotic library

I had a lot of fun listening to this audio. Alexandra is an incredible historical romance author, effortless transporting you in time with these characters. I really appreciated Peter's struggle as he tried to get custody of his siblings, the importance of family and how varied it can look. His chemistry with Selina, both of them in denail and trying to fight their attraction. Add in an erotic bookstore, I had the best time and can't wait to read whatever Alexandra writes next.

This was a very sweet, and STEAMY, historical romance with a cinnamon roll hero and a strong, smart, heroine.

Selena is such a likable heroine with her naughty library that seeks to empower women. I loved her kindness and bravery. And Peter is such a sweet and sexy hero. His relationship with his half siblings is a great part of the story.

These characters had great chemistry, steamy scenes, and a wonderful HEA.

At times NE'ER DUKE WELL felt really slowed down by unnecessary details and events in the story. I think the pace really lagged at parts. But otherwise it was a really good book I happily recommend.

SPICE LEVEL: Rated R / 2-4 descriptive sex scenes, may have harsh language.
CONTENT WARNING: past death of parent, past death of sibling
FEELS: 2/5 - A bit of drama, but still a pretty light read.

I'm new to Alexendra Vasti's writing, but after reading this, am definitely a fan. I have her Hallifax Hellions novellas, but hadn't gotten to them yet and now need to push them up my TBR.

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny and spicy. Just an overall fun read. I thought it was going in one direction and went another. I just really loved how everything played out. I can’t wait for Lydia’s book next.

If you're branching into historical romance, this would be a great start.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

This was a great full length debut. I love the authors voice, but the custody battle was too much and the angst wasn’t from the romance which didn’t work for me in this case. I’d still recommend and have read her newer work

I'm so puzzled by this book. It's incredibly charming and I loved the idea of the Venus catalog, but it was also so easy to set aside!

The characters were a lot of fun; I especially appreciated having such a strong female lead. I also enjoyed Selina's collection development work on creating a library for women. But the plot may have been a little too silly and without depth to live up to the characters.

I was slow to read the first half and tried twice after that to finish the book and just didn't have enough interest. It felt like the overwhelming plot conflict was resolved too soon and there wasn't a believable risk for the rest of the issues to be resolved.

Vasti seems like a fun writer, this one just didn't hold me.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Too beautiful for words. Alexandra Vasti has a way with words, her style is compelling and engaging. I loved all the characters and their development. Can't wait for the next book in the series, Earl Crush, that I already requested.

Great book!

I learned of Alexandra Vasti through her FLAWLESS Halifax series and was excited for her new full length novel. This is a beautifully written book with her spin on so many historical romance classic tropes - plucky orphans, compromising positions and secrets that can get our characters kicked out of polite society. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC! This review contains my honest opinion where the words are mine and mine alone!

This was a cute, fluffy summer read! I am not a big fan of historical romances so colour me surprised when this went well! I had fun as much as the kiddos in the book as well loll they were the cutest and even cuter was the chemistry between our MCs!!! Thank you Vasti for this surprisingly delightful experience!

If you're a fan of Vasti's novellas you're obviously going to love this one. If you're a fan of historical romance I THINK you're going to love this one. If you loathe miscommunication or secret keeping or "setting my partner free by leaving him" tropes in romance, I think you'll appreciate that this book pointedly avoids those traps. I did.

I will say that the writing is a bit confusing - we jump into this world like we're supposed to know every side character's back story and the main characters already know each other so we don't really get a meet cute type exchange and then the falling in love part was rather fast. I think it could have benefitted from a better editor.

All that being said, this book was refreshingly enjoyable and entertaining to me. The chemistry and dialogue was great, the characters were great, the plot is decent, the spice is great. I was having a great time.

Funny, spicy, historical rom-com with a matchmaking twist. Loved the secret erotica library for women. Very witty and humorous!

This was a pleasant surprise. This is such a well done historical romance. And for a debut romance it's a chef's kiss!
I really recommend picking this one up you will not regret it.

I really wanted this to work for me but I was starting to skim (which in audio meant that I was getting up to 2.5x speed) and then roll my eyes from time to time so I had to call it and DNFed at 60%.

I think this book is good but boring? I found that I wasn't worried for a moment that everything would work out find and I just didn't really care to find out how.

I almost pushed through partly because it was an ARC but also because I was genuinely intrigued by how Lydia's story will work out and I wanted to see what role she plays in this book. But I know that when I start feeling ambivalent, it's a sign to stop reading.

What I liked:
• The main and secondary characters were charming and interesting
• The connection and tension between the two main characters
• Everything about the Belvoir library

I do think the writing was solid and I remain intrigued by Lydia so I will give Earl Crush a try. And the narration was well done. Also I still keep meaning to go back to the Halifax novellas because those seem to be universally loved.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Alexandra Vasti for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I’m a big fan of this author and was super excited for this one, but sadly I couldn’t really get into it… I’m not sure why and it may just be because I’m not really in a historical romance mood lately. I still recommend picking it up though because she’s a great author!

I ADORED THIS BOOK!!!

I was so lucky to have this author recommended to me last year when I read her three novellas back-to-back. I requested her full-length novel as soon as I heard about it, the premise was so cute.

This book was impossibly endearing from start to finish, but of course, the characters were the best part. Vasti writes such vibrant, fun characters that are all so complex and full of their own stories. Her heroines are strong and stubborn and witty, and her heroes are obsessed with them (plus all their great characteristics yadda yadda). Even the children (not really my cup of tea) were such a sweet addition to this story.

I've also loved about newer historical romances, that authors are having more fun with them. They do what they want with characters and plots without worrying as much about historical accuracy. I love knowing that I will get a book full of queer characters and people of color and some scandal that's out of the box!! And this is from someone who loves histroms in general and has fun with even the most basic, repeated plotlines.

I cannot WAIT for the nest book in the series, and I hope that one of the characters from this book has a more complete storyline moving forward in the series!

I would recommend this to those who love Cat Sebastian books or other historical romances.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

I found a new favorite author!

This book was so much fun to read! The author has a delightfully whimsical writing style, yet goes beyond the delicious banter to give us fully developed characters with strong emotional depth. Peter and Selina are so perfectly matched, yet they have to get out of their own way in order to find their future together.

I adored the dog rescue scene, and laughed out loud at the cognac story. I loved how the young siblings were portrayed as authentic children, and I cheered for Selina as she managed her very private bookstore.

This book has everything a reader could want in a Regency romance, and I highly recommend it. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a book. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

4 1/2 Stars! I really liked this book. I like my historical romance with a little spice and this book was perfect! Cute story about Peter and Selina who end up being perfect together.