The Worse Duke in London is the third book in the Taming of the Dukes series.

It’s no secret that Taming of the Shrew/90s film Ten Things I Hate About You is one of my all-time favorites. I was slightly skeptical going in though after having high expectations for it. However, it was for naught because I absolutely loved it. It’s probably one of my favorite reads of the year now. I couldn’t put it down and enjoyed mentally going through the movie and comparing different parts to the book.

I liked that the heroine had a love for animals and caring for them. Showing early on that she had a caring heart and also how it played a significant role throughout. The author’s note at the end about the history of animal welfare was interesting too. There is also a twist on the movie on what leads to the hero and heroine spending time together in London and thought it worked well and liked that how it played out.

There wasn’t anything I didn’t like and it all exceeded my expectations and left me giddy and happy to the very last page.

There are six encounters ranging from self pleasure with toys to a tryst at a bacchanal to a carriage scene to against the wall. Overall, very sex positive and I found this to be high steam.

This can be read as a standalone.

I received an advance ecopy from the publisher via Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

Solid 3.75 stars!

I enjoyed the themes. Animal rescue is near and dear to my heart and I enjoyed that aspect of the story. I loved the two MC's, Effie and Gale together. The banter was top tier and so smart. I was constantly using my Kindle to look up words for me. I love that! When I requested this book, I didn't realize it was a part of a series. I loved that it was completely readable as a stand alone. I could glean information from who the other two books were about, but not once was I confused about what was happening.

What I didn't love and took off a full star for, is the immediately and then constant lusty inner thoughts. I want a build up of lust. In the first pages of meeting she's immediately wet down below looking at him. No. That's not realistic and it kept happening, but only in Effie's POV (It could have been in Vale's as well, but I didn't notice it then). It reminds me of when young adults write FanFiction and their all drooling over the MC's hotness. It's overdone and honestly unrealistic. There are better ways to show appreciation for how a man looks and it doesn't need to be instant wetness and awkward lusty thoughts.

Another .25 taken off and I hesitated on this. I love that the author is trying to bring modern problems into it. Giving women a voice, allowing them to be unapologetically women, men who Stan outspoken women. It just felt... unauthentic when everyone in the rather large circle was like that. It's giving wanting to be contemporary in a historical romance. I WANT women to have a voice and not be sex shamed, but I also want to be realistic to the themes of historical romances?

I liked all the content of this--Howard is great at what she does, and the twists to the tropes really worked here--though at times the pacing of big moments felt a little quick.

3 stars

Lady Evangeline much prefers her rescue animals than spending time with humans. She's known in the ton as being a bit too brash and outspoken. Her sister, Viola, is her opposite and can't wait to settle down with the most eligible bachelor, Huntington. Viola is told that she can't go to London for the season, unless her soon to be spinster sister will agree to go with her. Gage Croft is the new Duke of Vale. He would rather stay put in his Scottish estate but he needs to find a way to pay off the debt his brother left him with. The majority of the debt is being held by Huntington. He persuades Gage to engage Evangeline for six weeks in London so that he can secure Viola's hand during that time. If Gage holds up his end of the bargain then Huntington will forgive the debt. Things go awry when feelings become involved and Evangeline becomes the pursuer.

The Worst Duke in London is the third book in Amalie Howard's Taming of the Duke's series. This series has been hit or miss for me. I enjoyed the second book by far the best. This book is a loose Ten Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew) retelling. I was expecting Evangeline to be more of a shrew. Her sister and the Doctor was such a background storyline that I didn't feel like it completely connected to the Ten Things retelling. It seemed like kind of an afterthought. The story was fine but it took me absolutely forever to finish. I was bored and considered dnf-ing around 70% in. There were some funny moments but it felt a bit preachy at times. I'll probably continue on with the next book in the series because I'm a completist.

Read this if you like: virgin hero/heroine, retellings, animal sidekicks, Scottish hero, wallflower, spinster, found family, lessons

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #NetGalley #TheWorstDukeinLondon #foreverGrandCentralPublishing

Warning this is a very spicy, open door historical romance.

Evangeline and Gage, the Duke of Vale, instantly butt heads and the chemistry is instantly in this historical romance. Their banter is witty, their sexual encounters are fast and flaming hot (4 out of 5 on the spice scale 🔥) and it very much had a Bridgerton vibe. I enjoyed the pace of this novel and the "conflict" that the main characters had to work through, it felt very relevant to the time period and believable.

Thank you Forever and Netgalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars for the third entry in the Taming of the Dukes series!

I have to admit that I'm always a little confused about retellings of retellings. For example, this book is a retelling of 10 Things I Hate About You, famously a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. I feel like maybe it could just have been a Regency romance based on Shrew? To be fair, I am probably not the right audience, since I only saw the romcom once when I was a teenager, so if there were subtle callbacks to the film I missed every single one.

BUT! This has been my favorite of the series so far, probably because the FMC, Evangeline, really is shrewish and controlling. I especially liked that after the (now obligatory) "good girl" she ripostes with "not a girl, and definitely not good." I wish the character motivations had been consistent with their actions, and not simply consistent with furthering the spice in the book. (For example, after waltzing with the duke, Evangeline thinks, "I'd better stay away from him or I'll be tempted to do something bad!" In the very next scene, she shows up uninvited and unannounced at his estate for a private chat. OK, maybe she decided that she didn't mind being tempted? But I'd really like to read that on page and not try to guess at what happened overnight to change her mind.)

To sum it up, though: the spice is spicy, the Scottish MMC is brawny, and the FMC is just unlikable enough to make you love her.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Amalie Howard’s The Worst Duke in London is a fun, humorous, heartfelt book that wonderfully leans into its source material from the rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You. I loved the main characters, Evangeline and Gage, and the supporting cast of side characters (except for Effie’s sister). Although part of a series, with visits from prior character pairings, readers can absolutely read and enjoy this as a standalone. Effie is a strong, intelligent heroine with a loyal heart for people and animals. Gage is an unconventional, unlikely Duke just hoping to do his best by his tenants. Howard includes many favorite historical romance tropes and I throughly enjoyed it! I’m already looking forward to the next couple that she seems to be setting up.

“The Worst Duke in London” by Amelie Howard is book three in her Taming the Dukes series. This time the story follows Effie, an opinionated, outspoken, older sister, who has no desire to find a husband. Her sister, Viola, begs her to go to London for the season, but Effie only convinced when a Duke who seems different from the rest convinces her. Duke Vale, however, only asked her to settle a debt… at first. Is he falling for her?

Loveeee 10 Things I Hate About You, so this not so subtle nod to the main premise was so so good! Effie seems like a stick in the mud and no fun to her younger sister, but it comes from a place of protectiveness and Effie’s own unpleasant experiences.

From there, this book dissolved into a lot of spice. More than I anticipated, honestly. Which was kind of sad because the banter between Effie and Gage was so good and so fun. I wanted a little more slow-burn for their story and it wasn’t that.

Also, I kind of struggled with Effie. I love a strong female main character, BUT some of the language choice was too much for me. It’s one thing to be bold for your time period, it’s another one to throw around certain swear words for their shock value.

In the end, if you’re looking for a romance book that is filled with spicy scenes, this book is definitely for you. For me, I wanted a little more plot, so I gave it 3 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and Forever Books for the ARC! This book publishes on September 24th!

Amalie Howard strikes again! I loved this book, I love 10 Things I Hate About You so I knew I would love this book as well. I loved Effie and Gage together, they were so fun to read about and the tension between them was 🤩 this book was fun to read and never dragged, it’s a fun historical romance with spice and great characters!

Lady Evangeline Raine prefers animals to people and has no interest in marriage...but her father will only let sister Viola go to London if Effie goes, too. Gage Croft, the new Duke of Vale, is saddled with debt but offered a chance to pay off one of his vowels if he’ll charm prickly Effie so that Viola
may be courted.

This is the third book in the Taming of the Dukes series, based on movie reimaginings. This story takes inspiration from the film 10 Things I Hate About You (which is based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew).

Howard's books feature historical romance through a modern lens. If you don't get caught up on small details and language, this is a really fun and sexy story! Gage inherits the Dukedom after his brother died under reckless, and perhaps suspicious, circumstances. He's broke and along comes the weaselly Lord Huntington, offering him a quid-pro-quo opportunity to pay off one of his brother's debts. I like that Gage was attracted to Evangeline pretty much from the start and she wasn't just a paycheck. The book deviates from the movie-inspiration by having Evangeline approach Gage about sex. I really liked this aspect of the storyline as it not only brought the steam but put the characters together in intimate and vulnerable ways. I also thought the story dealt with the "secret" reveal well as there was not only an apology but a gesture that really showed Gage cared.

Tropes: Wallflower, Spinster, Enemies to Lovers, Virgin Hero, Lessons

Steam: 5

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

One of my favorite romcoms is 10 Things I Hate About You so when I learned that Amalie Howard's next book was going to be a 10 Things I Hate About You meets regency era book, I was immediately sold! This book was the perfect combination of being original while also having not so subtle connections to the popular romcom. I loved both the FMC and MMC and the groveling at the end was *chefs kiss*!

Bad guy wants girl. Girl can’t enjoy the London season without her sister. Bad guy says he’ll forgive “good” guy’s debts if he gets the sister to London. Good guy meets Sister and sparks fly.

Dont you just love this set up? Regency “10 things I hate about you” which is an adaptation of Shakespeare “Taming of the Shrew”.

This book was fun. “I was all a bet” is one of my favorite tropes. You know the two characters are genuinely falling for one another but the thread of what originally brought them together looms.

I liked Evangeline. Her heart and love or rescue animals. I liked her forthright in wanting what she wants and not caring about the rules. I liked how Gage was putty in her hands.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC.

10 Things I Hate About You was MY movie as a teenager; Patrick Verona was it for me (and let's be honest, still is, in a way). So when I saw that Howard, in her ongoing Victorian adaptions of 90s rom-coms, had written a Taming of the Shrew/10 Things adaptation, I did not walk, I RAN to grab my copy.

And overall, I am very satisfied with it! Howard's effervescent writing style, heaped with sexual tension and authentic characters, absolutely sparkles here; The banter in the first two-thirds of the book is unparalleled in any of my recent romance reads and the sexual scenes were top-notch. My only complaint, is about 60% of the way through, it lost a lot of momentum and there were a few chapters where it felt like an unfortunate slog. I'm not sure what changed in those chapters or why, but there was a definitely lull in the book. Still, looking for Taming of the Shrew/10 Things references kept me going until the very satisfying end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series. The second book I struggled to finish. So I was curious where this book would fall, and sadly, it’s with the second book. I struggled to find the spark between Effie and Vale, and also found Effie to be a bit insufferable (which I know is how Kat is in 10 Things, but still).

This is a fun, with laugh out loud moments, steamy romance.
Evangaline is a woman who knows what she wants, goes for it and is a huge animal lover. When she meets Gage sparks fly.
There are a lot of interesting secondary characters and a very fun, steamy story with a very satisfying ending.

4.25/5 Stars

Thank you to Forever for providing me with an arc.

The taming of the dukes series by Amalie Howard is one I have arc read since the very first book and it is one that I will always pick up whenever I can get the next one. This one is inspired by 10 things I hate about you and it is my favorite of the three that I have read. I loved the characters in this one and the spice was hot as hell and everything I have come to love of Amalie’s writing. Amalie is my favorite historical romance author and I will always pick up her books.

Lady Evangeline, Effie, prefers animals to people and never wants to get married much to the confusion and dismay of her younger sister. Because their father has one rule, Viola may only be courted if Evangeline also has a suitor. Saddled with his father and brother’s debt, Gage, duke of vale, is determined to rebuild his estates. When the owner of one of his brother’s debts offers to clear the debt if Gage can charm Evangeline to go to London for the season so he can court Viola, it is a no brainer to try. But when Gage starts to romance Evangeline he quickly learns there is so much more to her than a cold hearted lady. Effie agrees to go to London if in exchange Gage will be her lover. But their fake courtship quickly grows real feelings but will it all end at the end of the season or will it continue to grow into something real?

Effie was amazing as a female main character in a historical romance, she knows what she wants and doesn’t care about purity culture. She wants to find her own pleasure and wants to explore with someone else and Gage is the perfect man to do that. One who doesn’t care to marry either and has great passion with her. I loved Effie and Gage together and their passion and feelings were fantastic. I couldn’t put this one down and it was everything I wanted from it. It was spicy but still had a lot of heart in it. I can’t wait for briar’s book which I am really hoping is next because we got some very interesting info on briar in this book.

I absolutely recommend this series and this one is my favorite so far. This one was a really good historical romance that said fuck the patriarchy. Effie was a really powerful fmc and couldn’t really care less about what others thought of her. She knew what she wanted and got it. I adored Gage and I liked him as an MMC. Please pick this series up if you haven’t already.

This was a fun historical romance that uses the blueprint of 10 Things I Hate About You. It follows Evangeline who is an independent woman who spends her time rescuing animals and having no interest in the ton and Gage who is a duke who is financially flailing and excepts a deal with Lord Huntington to get Evangeline and her sister to London for the season. I liked their banter and the tension was crazy. This is definitely a more feminist historical because Evangeline asks for what she wants and has no interest in marriage. As a lover of the 90’s movie I liked the little shoutouts to that as well. Overall a fun historical with some modern sensibilities.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC

Lady Evangeline Raine is a bluestocking through and through, she has no patience for those don’t agree with her and she chafes against the patriarchy, leading her to distain both society and marriage and focus her passion on saving animals. But when her younger sister wants to be courted by her beau, their father decides that if Viola wants to be courted then Evangeline must also be courted. Evangeline has no desire to be courted or married, but she is interested in what she might be missing in the boudoir. So, when Gage Croft, Duke of Vale shows interest in her, she offers him proposition, he may court her if he agrees to show her the delights of the marriage bed sans marriage.

Gage Croft, Duke of Vale inherited a rundown, debt-ridden estate thanks to his father and older brother, he tries to turn the estates finances around, but the debt is enormous. So when the holder of the majority of his debts offers to reduce the debt in exchange for a favor, Gage agrees. The favor is for Gage to court Lady Evangeline so Lady Viola will be able to be courted. Simple enough, that is until he meets her and finds himself embroiled in yet another deal. Everything would be fine, if he hadn’t fallen for her and if she hadn’t learned about his previous arrangement. Now he has to convince her that his love is true and worth the risk.

Sigh, this had the potential to be a great story and the author’s writing style is very good, but sadly instead of romance, this book is more like women’s fiction with sex, corsets, and no electricity or indoor plumbing. These days, a bit of anachronism and creative license are to be expected in historical romance, to make characters more relatable to contemporary readers, but this was over the top – it was a contemporary story in period dress. I have read other books by this author and felt the same way but have given her several chances to prove that she can in fact write historical romance – and have been disappointed time and time again. If I wanted to read about feminism and 21st century ideals and morals, I would read a contemporary romance. I am sure there will be plenty of readers who will read and love this book, but it just doesn’t work for me. This is the third book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title without any issues.

2, maybe 2.5 stars

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Marketed as Bridgerton (meh) meets 10 Things I Hate About You (omg yes!), it is that but so much more! 

This was a fun, very horny book with plenty of historically accurate modernisms and I loved it all (be sure to read the author's note!). 

Evangeline has had her eyes opened by the shitty behaviour of the fellow ton and now goes after exactly what she wants, like running an animal rescue and a liaison with Gage, the Duke of Vale. Gage, a giant gorgeous Scot, blushes and loses his wits and then gives Evangeline exactly what she wants, again and again, and in all manner of scandalous places. It was supposed to be a liason for the duration of the season, but oops they both fall in love. Of course this is exactly when secrets are spilled and hearts are hurt. Can Gage convince Evangeline he's trustworthy? Of course he can, this is a Romance! And he does so in a wonderfully caring fashion (if slightly less melodic than Patrick Verona does on screen).

There is so much sex positivity, and women-CAN in this book. Evangeline does not need (or want) a husband, but when Gage comes along and gives her all the O's she demands, well maybe having a man about isn't so bad? And you know, her dog likes him and he looks darn good working up a sweat while doing The Sports.

I have not yet read the first two in the series, but with no overarching plot you can read this series out of order.

Thank you to Forever publishing for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

You just gotta love a crotch grabbing meet-cute with kittens!

Synopsis:
A classic 90s romcom collides with dazzling regency love story when a Duke with financial troubles meets a London wallflower, and the two of them enter a scandalous agreement amidst her sister's debut season.

Amalie Howard's books just get better and better! The banter, the chemistry, the innuendos... EVERYTHING. Gage and Evangeline had my giggling and kicking my feet the whole time. I love how sex positive this book was; Evangeline is brazen and knows what she wants in the bedroom. And Gage is UNDONE. The man is fighting for his life throughout the whole book trying to keep up with her. He is truly obsessed and would do anything for his queen.

More random thoughts:
- "Let's just get this out of our symptoms" *snort*
- VIRGINS!!!!
- he calls her a fairy queen
- societal outcasts
- very demure. very respectful... NOT
- Highlander Duke!! THAT KILT!!!
- "Good girl" AHHHHHHH
- he falls first and H.A.R.D
- A "spicy" party
- sworn off marriage