4.5 rounded up

Ne'er Duke Well is a *delight*

There's so much love in this story--romantic, familial, friends. I loved the use of dual POV, and both had unique voices so it was easy to distinguish between the two. The humor and banter were also great. There are charming characters, sex education for the ladies, human and cat Peter, a dog rescue, heart and spice. A great addition to regency romances! Alexandra Vasti had quickly become an insta-read for me

If you’re a regular reader of historical romance, you already know broadly what you’re getting into. But did you know you ALSO get custody hearings and a sex library with this one?

The first half of the book is an absolute delight that regularly had me laughing out loud. The version of the ton Vasti created is made up of some wonderful young ladies, including Lydia (whose response to social pressures is vomiting in planters), Georgiana (who declares salad to be her first passion), and of course Selina, the secret proprietress of the aforementioned sex library.

We also have (human) Peter, who never expected to be Duke, and (cat) Peter, who did not get nearly enough screen (page?) time. Both are understandably attached to the duke’s newfound half-siblings, Freddie and Lu.

(Lu is not as salacious as Vasti’s Halifax Hellions but is nonetheless a hellion in the more traditional sense, especially when given a rapier unsupervised.)

The second half, while spicier, did have some issues with pacing and didn’t quite manage to maintain the humour of the first, but remained an enjoyable read nonetheless.

📖 𝙉𝙚'𝙚𝙧 𝘿𝙪𝙠𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙑𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞

“𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦-𝘰𝘩, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦, 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺.“

Lady Selina Ravenscroft is a well respected member of the ton. As the sister to a Duke, she grew up protected. When she realizes there were so many things about sexual relations and society not taught to woman, she takes it upon herself to create a circulating library to help educate women. When the newly appointed Duke of Stanhope, Peter Kent, asks for her help, she quickly agrees.

Known as the “American Duke”, Peter is unfamiliar with the new high society he is thrown into. His one goal is to make a better life for his half siblings and makeup for the failings of their father. Unfortunately, in order to get custody of them, he must become an upstanding Duke. He enlists the help of Selina. She believes if he gets married he’ll get custody. As she tries to find him the perfect bride, she slowly starts to realize it might just be her.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! Peter and Selina were perfect for each other from the very beginning. Selina is a serious badass FMC. Her reasonings for creating the Venus Catalog were so pure. She single handily educated the woman of the ton. She was selfless and caring, and just the perfect lead. Peter was a walking heart and I loved him so much. His past trauma and his vulnerabilities just added to the depth of his character. I really appreciated the lack of a 3rd act breakup. Just when I thought it was going to happen, Peter refused to let it. The side characters in this story were so well done, and added so much to the story. I can’t wait for more books set in this world!

Overall Rating: 4.5⭐️

Tropes:
🫖 Regency Romp
🔥 Spicy Historical Fiction
💞 Dual POV
🫠 He’s Completely Mad for Her
🌻 No 3rd Act Breakup
🥵 Spicy Romance (2🌶️)

I HIGHLY recommend this story to all lovers of a great steamy regency romp! 𝙉𝙚'𝙚𝙧 𝘿𝙪𝙠𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡 will be available on July 23rd. Thank you to NetGalley for my early copy of this book so that I could share this honest review! 💛

I’ve devoured every one of Alexandra Vasti’s Halifax novellas, so it’s not surprising that I did the same for her debut, NE’ER DUKE WELL (out 7/23)! Like everything she does, this book is filled with brilliant banter, hysterical hijinks, and tension and spice that will have you fanning yourself! Selina and Peter have joined the ranks of the best romance couples of all time!

Peter, an American who expectedly stumbles into his role as a duke, asks for Selina’s help in winning guardianship of his brother and sister. Since the children, born out of wedlock, were never recognized by his father, Peter has an uphill battle. Selina contrives a plan to find him the perfect British wife to prove he could provide them with a loving, stable home.

Through all the set ups, Peter and Selina keep being drawn back together. While society darling Selina seems a perfect choice, her secret life running a lending library—including an erotic catalog for women—is the exact sort of scandal Peter can’t afford. But sometimes matchmaking doesn’t go according to plan, and some temptations are too hard to resist.

I love them. So much. You can see right from the start how perfect suited they are. The way they move through the story, laughing and challenging and encouraging each other, was stunning. And hot. So, so hot 🥵 Peter was incredibly lovable with his golden retriever energy, and I’m obsessed with Selina, who was equal parts brilliant, tough, and achingly soft with the people she loves.

I was obsessed with all of the characters. Their families? The different women Selina tries to set him up with? I’d read a book about every single one of them. They were all unique and interesting, which is so hard to accomplish with big cast without overwhelming the reader. Alexandra balanced it perfectly, and I’m dying for the next book!

Adult historical romance with marriage of convenience and found family tropes. I enjoyed this book! It was emotional, steamy, and hilarious! I loved the main characters chemistry and their progressive ideologies. Then, Lu and Freddie were so funny and lovable! The support and found family in this book was so heartwarming. I definitely recommend checking this one out!



⚠️⚠️⚠️
Trigger/content warnings: childhood illness, death of loved ones, mention of slavery, domestic violence, and one slur.

Vasti’s novel was the perfect combination of traditional regency era romance and the strong feminist lead that we need in historical romances. I loved the interaction between Selina and Peter; it was delightfully charming and modern!

In a nutshell, an exceptionally-written nice guys wins tale! I loved it!

Peter becomes a duke after living in New Orleans his whole life. He’s not used to the pampered peer lifestyle, so he’s labeled as reckless since he doesn’t follow society’s strict guidelines. But there is not a whiff of him being anything less than a wonderful and caring man. He loves his half siblings and fights to care for them. He knows the woman he loves, and he fights to win her, even though he tries to honor her wishes and suggestions. He was just utterly endearing. HR novels tend to have heroes who are hard or edgy and become soft for their ladies, but rarely do you see an all around kind man who is engaging and fun.

Selina was a great FMC as well. She was independent, capable, caring, and not stuffy or stupid. She and Peter were perfect for one another.

The whole book was a delight. There were laugh out loud moments with children, touching moments with family, and 🔥 moments between Selina and Peter. There was angst, but it wasn’t overdone and it felt natural. I so appreciated how the main characters tried to do extreme things out of desperation, but their desire to stay together was stronger and led to honesty and communication with one another. It was beautiful!!

Bravo, Ms. Vasti and Thank you!! Please give us more!

I read an arc and this is an honest review.

I love the author’s wit and talent for crafting really charming scenes, making the story interesting and engaging throughout. I did find the custody premise a bit ill- conceived. It didn’t seem plausible for the time period and in that way kind of lowered the stakes a bit.

But overall it was a fun story with engaging characters and I look forward to more from the author.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for making this ARC available. I was elated to receive it in exchange for an honest review.

This historical romance was a pure DELIGHT to read! Alexandra Vasti shines in her debut full length novel. This love story was fresh and fun and had all my favorites: a witty heroine, a dashing and supportive hero, mischievous children, endearing friends and family, a blend of tender and sexy, a secret library and even a kitten! Truly, be still my heart. Lady Selina and the Duke of Stanhope have sizzling chemistry and I loved their banter as well as the character growth they experienced over the course of the novel. Brimming with heart, swoon and steam- you don't want to miss out on this novel! Thank you SMP and Netgalley for my copy.

Hello Book friends!

Today I’m reviewing Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti. In this regency romance we a newly minted Duke, Duke of Stanhope aka Peter Kent, who is desperate to adopt his siblings and Lady Selina Ravenscroft who is willing to help him.

And Regency readers you will want to get your hands on this one.

Now, let’s chat about the book itself.

Vasti has created a story about two people who selfishly want something that will make them incredibly happy, which is to say the Duke wants his siblings safely living with him, government reforms, and Selina Ravenscroft. Though Selina Ravenscroft isn’t aware of the latter, she is equally determined to help Kent to get what he wants. And through a series of unfortunate events… I should stop there so you can find out what happens.

What I absolutely loved about this one was the real time nail biting selfless tunnel vision of Selina Ravenscroft. She would go on a warpath in order to help someone, big or small. And towards the end, as she’s trying to map out her way out of a predicament of her own making, you as the reader will experience a multitude of feelings. One is desperate hope that she will listen to reason.

Oh, and the side characters!!!! 👩‍🍳😘👨‍🍳

And Vasti has confirmed that there will be at least three more books! Which is why I am so excited to see where Vasti takes these characters next.

Be ready to get swept up in the characters, the story, and the romance. It’s all deliciously wrapped together like a perfect dessert with a delectable bow.

Pre-order this one.

Happy Reading ~ Cece

Lovely historical romance featuring a strong heroine, sweet hero and heart warming family dynamic. Selina is a problem solver who wants the best for those she loves. Peter is an outspoken American with an unexpected title who is earnest and endearing. It's no surprise that these two lovers of freedom and choice are a perfect match for each other.
Vasti is skilled at incorporating modern topics into the historical setting and emphasizing points about the liberation of marginalized people and each of our duty to one another. Peter and Selina are both interesting characters on their own but their chemistry completes the book. The side characters are also quite compelling and set up anticipation for future stories. I also loved the reference the the Halifax novellas, who were quite charming characters in their own right. I will note, Peter is not really a rake in need of reform as is often the case in historical romance though I don't think that took away from his character.
I think there could have been a bit more romance and anticipation of romance to sweeten the payoff of Selina and Peter being together. I feel like it was a bit abrupt. But in all I very much enjoyed the story, the characters and the romance. I am excited for future books and would recommend to anyone who enjoys an airy, light and loving historical romance.

Overall, this was a well written story with humor and developed characters. The one area that I found unrealistic was the premise that the hero (a Duke) would actually face any opposition to obtaining guardianship of his two illegitimate 1/2 siblings. He is a wealthy duke! They were 2 orphans and it there wasn’t even anyone else fighting for guardianship? Maybe if there had been another evil but powerful relative fighting for them the conflict would have been more believable. The author tries to somewhat address this unbelievable premise by saying the hero had made an enemy of a powerful member of the court, but it still fell short of believable. I wouldn’t have minded any of this had it not been such a huge part of the conflict and premise of the story. The entire story was built around this issue and it just seemed unrealistic. I also felt at times like this was a book in a series as surrounding characters backgrounds are mentioned almost as if we know them and their backstory. However, I have read this authors other stories and they do not appear. It was a bit strange. That all being said-I don’t expect historical perfection out of my escapism. Just a warning to those that do-this may not be the book for you. Now for the good. The steam was high. The hero was a dream-passionate and supportive of the heroine. He was extremely modern in his treatment and respect of her (kind of a Mary Sue of a hero if that is a thing!) He never wavered in his support of her and he is the kind of hero every girl would want to marry. The author writes with humor and has a lot of potential. I would say she is in the league of Tessa Dare (a historical romance powerhouse.) This author has so much potential. I did enjoy this novel for that alone. I am looking forward to seeing if she plans to develop this book into a series and hopefully the next storyline will be a little more solid.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and or the author for giving me the chance to read and review Ne'er Duke Well.

It was interesting especially since it isn't my cup of tea.

The characters were unique.

4.2 🌟

A clever and swoon-worthy romance with the sweetest duo, Peter and Selina. The unwavering care and support they gave to one another before their getting together and after was so compelling. I could feel their love for each other through the pages.

— Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a fun book! I immediately loved Peter and Selina, and Lu and Freddie were absolutely charming. If you’re looking for a sweet regency romance, with the best side characters, look no further! I enjoyed this story so much! Five stars!

This was my first read of a time piece romance and I enjoyed every second of it. I enjoyed the characters interactions with each other and their family member. This read has definitely sparked an interest in these types of books and to read books by their author more.

Listen, I pre-ordered this book before the cover image was even uploaded to the website because I love every word I’ve ever read written by Alexandra Vasti. Hence, I IMMEDIATELY signed up for NetGalley when I saw that anyone could request it for a brief time.
This book absolutely did not disappoint. You get a perfect cinnamon roll in the hero, and a heroine who so strongly supports women’s education and pleasure that she CREATED A WHOLE DANG LIBRARY DEVOTED TO SEX ED AND SMUT. You get a circle of incredibly supportive family, and a bunch of women supporting other women using one of the most powerful tools at their disposal, their social networks.
There’s no third act break up, which is honestly one of my favorite things to not happen in any romance novel.
Like every other Vasti piece I’ve read, the spice is superb. Give me Peter unable to form full sentences and only able to utter curse words and abbreviated praise for 200 more pages, please.
Fantastic. No notes.

(Okay, one note: I want books for Lydia, Iris, and Georgiana stat please!)

Having read The Halifax Hellions novella series, it really pains me to say this: I was so bored with this book.

I think one of the issues I had right away is that this book started out as if it, too, were a short story. There isn't much of an intro to Peter, his siblings, or Selina, they're all smooshed together in the very first chapter and away we go on a long, tension-free romance, where there's too much inane chatter and the (many) sex scenes are by far the best written sections.

This one didn't work for me.

I fell in love with Peter and Selina! I love a good Regency Era novel, and this book is a masterpiece. It will have you laughing out loud one minute, smitten by the love stories (both romantic love and platonic), and fanning yourself over the spicier scenes. I’m so glad I was able to read this ARC and I can’t wait for everyone else to have the chance to read it. I’ll definitely be recommending it to alllll of my bookish friends! I am not a fan of the title but that’s so inconsequential.

Even though the plot of the story was great, I struggled with reading this book. I felt like so much information was thrown at me in the first few chapters all at once that I could not be fully immersed in the story.