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.

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