Peter, a Duke, needs a respectable wife so that he can gain custody of his half siblings. Lady Selina is happy to help him find one quick, even though they share an attraction. Selina has a secret that keeps her from putting herself up as a candidate.

This is similar to other stories with the same tropes but I enjoyed the twist of the feminist library and the supporting characters.

HEA marriage of convenience with no third act breakup or pregnancy epilogue

What a fun book! I loved a good Regency romance. Throw in forced proximity and some spice and it’s the perfect read! I have never read this author before, but will be from now on! Loved Ne’er Do Well Duke!

Thanks SMP and NetGalley for the ARC.

ALEXANDRA VASTI YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS!!!!!

Wow.... adore doesn't cut it! I loved this book!

I was SO amped to read this - I read Vasti's Halifax Hellions series & so thoroughly enjoyed them all. Ne'er Duke Well (her first full-length novel) more than delivered!

I absolutely adored the FMC, Selina. Peter, the MMC, is a capital M-A-N man. Ugh, what a wonderful couple and sweet family. I may or may not have teared up during the last 10% (I'll never tell).

HUUUUGE thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for this UTTER delight of an ARC!

This is a sweet, light-hearted historical rom-com with a sunshine hero and a pragmatic heroine. It’s refreshing to not have the current standard grumpy/sunshine dynamic. The heroine, Selina, has all the characteristics of Emma (or Cher).

The story is heartwarming with some laugh-out-loud lines, and it extols the virtues of family. There is no third-act breakup, for those who fear them, and that is a twist in itself. While it’s a nice change of pace, there is limited angst, and angst is my preference.

Guys… I was invited again! I’m so excited that someone thought I’d love this book and provided me with the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Selina is a well-to-do woman of the ton who has not yet wed. She has good friends, a supportive family, and a secret job. No reason to rush. Peter Kent has very recently inherited a Dukedom and also found out he has two orphaned half-siblings who he badly wants to gain guardianship of. However, he must impress Lord Eldon, which is no easy feat.

What follows is hilarious and steamy as Selina tries to set Peter up with her friends. However, they ultimately fall for each other.

Read this if you love a strong female lead, friends to lovers, a Regency romance, and forced proximity.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC 💙

this was a beautiful story! The Bridgeton vibes are there. The angst of the scandal. This well beautifully written. i would have liked to see their wedding take place though. although i love how they came together and how they both knew from the beginning they just wanted each other even if it took them awhile to admit it. i feel the couple fits perfectly together and this was the perfect fast paced love story. These two characters compliment each other so well! The ending was perfect. i’m a sucker for a good happy ending and seeing everything come together. i love how the characters stuck by each other through the whole book. There was no breakup or argument in the middle of their story which is a major plus in my books. The family aspect in this book is perfect. and i just say Lu is my favorite character of all

I absolutely adored this book! Peter and Selina have my heart. Alexandra Vasti is such a refreshing voice in the historical fiction genre, and has such a gift for writing tender and funny romances, and her debut novel is no exception. I devoured as quick as I could, and absolutely recommend!

4.5 stars

God, this was fun. This is a fantastic, clever historical romance with so much heart.
Peter is a troublemaking, New Orleans-born duke looking to gain custody of his younger half-siblings. Selina is a debutante with a secret of her own – that she runs an erotic circulating library for women, aimed at educating proper women. Selina hatches a plan to have Peter marry… anyone but her.
Naturally, they fall in love. Naturally, hijinks ensue. It’s a familiar premise.
But what sets this book apart is the character-building Vasti has done here. Each contained depth, and she’s built what will likely become a fantastic series. I also love her dedication to building a diverse setting to match the then-radical beliefs held by her main characters – Selina’s aunt lives with her long-term partner and there are multiple characters of color, which is so rare to see in HRs set in London.
And the ending with the kids was absolute perfection.
I’m excited to delve into Vasti’s backlist!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Other: 💕📖👨‍👩‍👧‍👦😂
Genre: Regency Romance
POV: Dual

Born and raised in Louisiana, Peter Kent is the new "American" Duke of Stanhope. When he comes to England and discovers he also has two half-siblings, he'll stop at nothing to gain guardianship of his young brother and sister. With the help of Lady Selina, they plot to make him more respectable to the courts by partnering him with a Duchess beyond reproach. Because Lady Selina secretly manages a circulating library of scandalous and erotic literature, she is not the scandal free wife Peter needs... but she is the one he wants.

I'm not sure where to start because I simply adored this book. Right from the very beginning it jumped out at me. I felt like this was a world I had been in before and I was right where I should be. Every. Single. Character in this novel is fantastic from Peter and Selina to the children and 👏 Lydia and Georgiana 👏 (I'm anxiously hoping these ladies get their own novels soon). The courtship was delightful & funny and the HEA was so heartwarming I felt disappointed that it was over.

Alexandra Vasti is just phenomenal and after I devour the several novellas I see she has published in the last few years, I'm putting her directly onto my auto buy list. I hope this book gets all the recognition it deserves because this is one of the best historical romance debuts I've ever read.

This was a charming romance with some excellent, if not timely messaging regarding censorship and sex education. Selina secretly runs an erotic circulating library, which she started after her first season as a debutante when she realized the women around her knew little about the Ways Of Men, sex stuff, and pregnancy. Now the library is extremely popular, but it's a liability when someone starts digging around about its owner.

Meanwhile, Peter is a good-natured, slightly-messy duke, an expat from Louisiana who's just trying his best to wrangle his two boisterous siblings. He's a smart guy, but mostly just bumbles from one disaster to another, culminating in trying to find someone he can marry to shore up respectability because the Lord High Chancellor in charge of granting custody isn't a fan of his politics, but may be a romantic because he kidnapped his wife and eloped with her back in the day. Obviously, Peter's attempts to court other women are catastrophic, to say the least.

Peter very attracted to Selina's competence, among her other charms (but the competence kink is real!), to the point where he's inconveniently imagining her naked while courting other women, and finds himself in locked rooms with her— twice! Ultimately, they do marry as both the custody battle is heating up, as is the possibility of Selina being outed as the library owner. Peter's siblings Lu (age 12) and Freddie (age 10) play a larger role in the second half— they have routinely been displaced and it is difficult for Lu especially to warm up to Peter despite him having their best interests at heart.

There is some politics in this book: Peter is a radical and an abolitionist (at this point Britain had abolished the slave trade, though not slavery itself), as is Selina's brother, but it's mostly in he background and serves to set up the conflict Peter has with the Lord High Chancellor, who might be less inclined to grant Peter custody due to differing poliics. The politics at the forefront mostly concerns Selina's efforts to educate women about sex, pregnancy, and female pleasure in an era where men would rather women remain ignorant.

I appreciate Alexandra Vasti's nods to diversity— Selina's aunt Judith lives with her long-term partner Thomasin. There are also two characters of South Asian descent— Peter's barrister Mohan Tagore (who I'm told was inspired by Gnanendramohan Tagore, the first Indian person to be called to the bar in England), and Selina's friend Faiza Khan. I am hoping to see more of Mohan and Faiza because the few scenes we got were intriguing, especially considering how little we see characters of color in HR.

The sex:

I enjoyed the sex scenes in this one— they were definitely on the sweeter end, but very thorough. I loved the wedding night scene in particular, which started with some edging and ended with Peter accidentally punching a hole through a family portrait (presumably because it was That Good).

Speaking of competence kink, that comes full circle when Peter is watching Selina work, and there is a very hot mutual masturbation moment.

I did think it was a missed opportunity to not include sex scenes where Selina and Peter directly use a book from Selina's erotic library as inspiration. There was a point where Selina mentions a titjob, something she learnt from one such book, but there's no follow-through.

Overall:

This was a lovely debut from Alexandra Vasti— it was sweet and light-hearted, but still got across some very important messages, and I'd recommend it to any historical romance reader.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Rating: 4/5
Heat Level: 3.5/5

I have enjoyed all of Alexandra Vasti's novellas - the Halifax Hellions series so I was pretty excited to read this full length novel.

Lovely cover art - reminds me a bit of the covers of the Courtney McCaskill books (the Astley Chronicles). This may, however, be where some of my very slight disappointment in this book comes from. The Astley Chronicle books are effervescent and extremely funny in places, and I think I went in to this book expecting something similar, when in reality the cover art is similar but the books are quite different in tone.

Ne'er Duke Well has a very promising hero in Peter Kent - he's a new Duke, who never expected to inherit and needed to travel from America to take up his title. He's cool. He's got messy curly hair, he is laid back and he's very sweet. His achilles heel is his two half siblings, Lu and Freddie - who were 'natural children' of his father and who he is trying to gain custody of.

At some point in the past he met Lady Selina Ravenscroft (I think there might be a novella or short scene kicking around on the newsletter about this, but I haven't found it yet) and during the custody proceedings he asks for her advice on how to strengthen his case (the various reasons why a Duke can't just swoop in and take custody of these two children are explained in the book though - I dunno - I doubt they would have faced that much opposition in those days).

One suggestion is that he marries - and Selina comes up with a list of potential wives. She discounts herself, as she is the manager and brain behind a library which includes a 'Venus List' of books available only to women - of enlightening books - on topics that would broaden the mind but cause a huge scandal should it ever get out that she's behind it.

Needless to say she's on Peter's list!

It's a generally sweet, thoughtfully written book, and I enjoyed it. I think I could have just done with a little bit more sparkle. For quite sparkling characters, some of the plotting and the dialogue seemed to weigh them down somehow, and weigh me down with it.

There are some intriguing secondary characters who I'd be interested in reading about in the future!

Uber Uber cute romance like awww ☺️ the boldness so well formed and Selina’s character was fantastic. Thanks for the arc

I’m rating this around 4.5/4.75 just because of some minor details that didn’t really take away my enjoyment of the book. I had a really good time reading this story, and loved the characters (both protagonists and their charismatic family members and friends) and the easy humor of the absurd situations described by the author.

The political topics felt shallow at times, but the author handled the main conflict decently (despite the utopic conclusions) and shed some light on a few things on her author’s note. And considering this is a historical romance, I wasn’t really expecting lengthy discussions about slavery and women’s right to education.

Honestly, this book is charming and wildly entertaining. There’s yearning, scandal, ponies, banter and a variety of great relationships. I’m certainly looking forward to the next installment of the series.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was influenced by an adorable and pretty cover. The story bored me. I wanted to love it but I just didn't follow it with interest. Perhaps another by the author will be more to my liking. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Historical romance perfection! Alexandra Vasti has quickly become one of my favorite historical romance authors, and this debut absolutely sparkles. Peter is so very gone over Selina, and Selina is a force. There are so many well-drawn secondary characters that I found myself hoping will get their own books. And the spice! 12/10, no notes. 😅

This was a fun quick read, that reminded me of Bridgerton with a little more comedy. Peter has just inherited the tile of Duke and is quite prone to scandal. He is also trying to gain guardianship of his half-siblings and needs to improve his reputation to do so. Selina has the bright idea of him getting married, and begins to find him a wife. However, the two of them are perfect for each other, but Selina is hesitant because of a big secret.
I enjoyed all of the characters in this book, including the side characters. It was very refreshing to see radical thinking characters for the time period. I would definitely be interested in seeing more stories of the other characters because they were all so interesting.
There were a few things that made this book fall a little flat for me. The biggest being that there was a lot of telling and not showing when it came to information about the characrters and the setting. For example I would have love to see at least one of the humorus excapades that Peter got himself into, instead of just being told about them after they happened.

I adore Alexandra Vasti's writing. She writes such sweet, emotional, and supportive heroes and brave, smart, and unique heroines. The true historical events in her novels also appeal to me. I loved her full length debut, and I will read absolutely anything she writes. This is like a big smile in book form. It is so happy and warm. I also love the cover!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had high expectations for Ne'er Duke Well, based on my love for the Halifax Hellion novellas, and it did not disappoint. It's a highly enjoyable romp with clever repartee, and also lots of steamy sex scenes. I kept having to remind myself it was a debut novel, since the world is so well built - there were references to other love stories that I wanted to go read immediately - the enemies-to-lovers Clermont and Faiza romance, the below-stairs Emmie and Humphrey (what's long and bony Humphrey's history?? how did he end up as Peter's 'valet'?), Thomasin and Judith, Georgina's future romance (I know it would be so good!), etc.

Five stars, love it. Although I've got an ARC, I immediately pre-ordered the book, and I've added Alexandra Vasti to my auto-buy list.

You might like Ne'er Duke Well if you like funny, witty, steamy, hetero histroms like Never Fall for Your Fiancée the Merriwell Sisters series by Virgina Heath, ‎The Second Lady Silverwood by Emma Oliver, Forever Your Rogue by Erin Langston, The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller.

I was really excited by the premise for this - the description really drew me in, but the actual book didn't really deliver on the blurb in my opinion.

For a romance, it felt like the relationship of the main characters took a backseat to the other plotlines that were going on. I didn't feel like there were enough meaningful scenes between Peter and Selina for any chemistry or tension to develop. Instead, most scenes with the two of them interacting felt like they were simply there to advance the surrounding plot, and didn't provide opportunities to further their relationship with one another.

Overall, the premise is really fun, and I loved that Selina's character was so independent, but I would have loved to see more relationship building between all characters, including Selina's friends.

I picked this up at the end of a really hard week, and it was *exactly* what I needed to bring me some joy over the weekend. I read the book in basically one sitting and enjoyed every moment. Selina and Peter are absolute perfection. I love how smart they are about people--they figure out what others are hiding (positive) and see through to the core of a person. AND they see how much they want each other but have very real reasons not to be together--until they are together. I love the way Selina learns that she doesn't have to do anything on her own. Watching how hard Peter fights for those he loves was beautiful. Plus, they were hot and sexy and fun and wonderful together.

Two things I think Vasti is doing REALLY well here are: 1) building out a universe of believable characters and 2) scoping the story appropriately. For one - I wanted to know more about EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER. They feel so lived in and real. It's clear that Vasti has put a lot of work into understanding the background of her characters. For two - Vasti really understands how to balance plot, character development, and moments of living in a world. This is very true in her novellas, and I was thrilled to see it echo over into her debut novel.

I truly loved this novel, and I cannot recommend it highly enough!!