An engaging, emotional historical romance. Betsy and Jeremy enjoy bantering, but don’t really like each other. Or do they? While he’s recovering at her family home from a horrific war experience, they agree to a scandalous game of billiards. But Betsy, trying desperately to suppress her wild side, is determined to marry the charming, unobjectionable duke who’s courting her.

Each of the Wilde books is a little different in tone, which I appreciate, because the siblings have distinct personalities and wouldn’t all fit well in the same style of book. This one is more serious (no madcap ladies with pet skunks), but there are moments of genuine, hilarious humor.

Eloisa James delivers again! Great historical romance novel that keeps me wanting to read more. Betsy is going through her first season with proposals coming from right and left, but she doesn’t want any of them. What happens when a family friend catches her eye?

I loved this charming story of a woman who takes charge of her destiny only to be faced with unexpected love. It was beautiful, heartfelt and had a connection to today's warriors issues.
One of my favorite books to date.

The fourth book of the Wilde family saga may be the best one yet. As always, Eloisa James delivers a quirky romance with lots of humor and intuition; this time around, however, she gives us deeply flawed characters. Lady Boadicea--Betsy for short--is the daughter of a duke and the wife who ran away with her lover. Though Betsy and her sisters have never been treated differently by their family, the better part of society considers them tainted goods, which has led Betsy to carry on a charade of perfection and untouchability that is covering her own fears about what she may have inherited from her mother. Jeremy Roden, a friend of her brothers', suffers from his own feelings of inadequacies after returning from the war in America. He is depressed and probably struggling with PTSD. He drinks and is generally rude, but he is witty and forthright--and, though Betsy has spent her formative years telling herself that she wants a stable, upstanding man for a husband (if she must, indeed, take a husband), it is bold and naughty Jeremy who stimulates her. Can either of them trust themselves enough to trust another with their future?

James's lately installment in the Wilde family saga is a charming story of a former soldier (Jeremy) battling PTSD and a headstrong young woman (Betsy Wilde) carrying the heavy baggage of her unfaithful mother's legacy. It's lovely to see their romantic feelings grow through real conversation and honest observation of one another -- when the book opens, Jeremy has been living with Wildes for several months, giving Betsy and him a chance to simply get to know one another.
As with all of James's book, the writing is clear and engaging. It's easy to get sucked into the slightly whimsical world of the Wildes. Aunt Knowe played a large role in this story -- I have my fingers crossed she's going to get her own (queer) story someday!

This Betsy and Jeremy’s story. Jeremy has ptsd from my the war. Betsy has proved she could collect marriage proposals even from a future Duke. Betsy and Jeremy are attracted to each other. Add a relative of Jeremy who wants the title for himself. He is willing to kill to get it.

Eloisa James has created a fabulous story. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

A completely delightful romance. It was funny and sweet and very romantic. I enjoyed every moment and now I'm ready to go read it again.

I love how she weaves Shakespeare into Regency and Georgian novels. I always learn something while reading these! #SayNoToTheDuke did not disappoint! A solid ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ for me! It still did not beat the North and Diana story in this series, but was still wonderful and full of all the great things you find in a Eloisa James novel: humor, sexy heroes, and intelligent heroines.

What a lovely story of Lady Betsy and Lord Jeremy! Lady Betsy is the most sought after lady, refusing all who ask for her hand and while a Duke proposes, she finds herself in love with a darker, funnier and all more real Marquess; Lord Jeremy. It was incredibly easy to read, and I found myself lost in the story several times. The characters were well written and made me laugh, often out-loud. I felt like Thaddeus, the Duke could have had more character development, but its possible that he was just overshadowed by his exuberant pink wearing mother. "She had the air of a lady who had grown old without noticing and doesn't see the point of bothering about it now."
Aunt Knowe had several of the best lines; "Don't ever believe the word 'no' unless you say it yourself, dear. It makes life much more agreeable." and played the part of stand in mother to Lady Betsy to perfection.
I thoroughly enjoyed the friendship between Thaddeus and Jeremy, it didn't feel like they were pitted against each other. Thaddeus took the refusal well, and I hope he gets his own happily ever after soon. Preferably to someone that pushes his boundaries and makes him come out of his stuffy shell.

The minute I finished it (at work no less), I had to tell my Romance Reader facebook group to pre-order! This is a lovely Eloisa James with a fun heroine, an interesting hero, and a duke (and his mother) who deserve their own story. My only quibble is with the sub-plot which seemed a tad shoe-horned-in at the end. But I would say this is a great read and worth the time and effort. And I will now go and pre-order a print copy so I can add it to my collection.

These are hands down Eloisa's best characters yet! There were some serious LOL moments and it was a trip!

Lady Boadicea Wilde, who prefers to be called Betsy, has dedicated her life to proving that she is not a wanton woman like her notorious runaway mother. In her first year after her debut, she received a record fourteen marriage proposals, culminating in one from a duke's heir. She considers marrying him, especially since Betsy adores his mother.

Lord Jeremy Roden returned from a harrowing time in the army in very bad shape and suffering from PTSD. At Betsy's brother's invitation, he has spent the last several months staying at the Wilde's castle, hiding in the billiard room pretending to drink himself into a stupor. He thinks Betsy is making a terrible mistake in marrying her future duke--especially since Jeremy wants her for himself. Betsy in turns is very attracted to Jeremy--which horrifies and frightens her.

Excellent characterizations and a believable and very sexy romance.

I have read few works of Eloisa James in the past.
Therefore, I was happy to learn that she has published another book!
I read it fast, and yes, although the plot may be simple and predictable, that did not affect my opinion about the book how wonderful it was and how great it was to read it.
A lot of romantic scenes, a good pace of plot and of course ending that many of us romance readers would or like to have (psst... I am not telling!)
Solid 4/5 rating here!

This is a painful review to write because I generally really love Eloisa James books. The characters are smart and witty, the storylines are fun, and all of those things are true of 'Say No to the Duke.' Lady Betsy (Boadicea) and Lord Jeremy are fun, the titular Duke isn't a bad guy, and the cast of family members (some new, some old) make for an enjoyable read.

I adored this book until about the last 20-30 pages.

Lord Jeremy's PTSD plotline was enough. His mildly evil cousin Gregorie (of course he's half French) was enough. Lady Betsy's PTSD from the emotional and social consequences of her mother's absconding with "The Prussian" was enough.

The last pages and the resolution of a villain's storyline in this book were so completely over the top and unnecessary to this book. He went from being a character that added a little drama to the story to a mass murderer within paragraphs. I was fine with him being blamed with evil deeds A and C, but without giving too much away- by the time they finally established his final evil deed it was outrageous to the point of almost ruining the book. Let's face it, if someone was that evil you wouldn't want to just banish him to the continent, you would want to know where he was at all times.

The majority of this book is a 5 star book, the denouement makes it a 3 star book.

You can always count on James to add a strong female in to the mix of dominant males. I loved "Betsy." She is a young woman who knows what she doesn't want, but is unsure at first, who she wants.
James provides the reader with vividly detailed episodes of how men returned from war were treated and delt with a range of heartach.
Another winner. I loved it and wait with baited breath for the next.

Eloisa James' recent books have been speaking to me. Her dialogue in the Wilde series is positively sparkling, and her ability to draw out the relationships between characters and individual tones for each character through it is just flooring.

I picked up this book because I knew James could provide a fun diversion from a horrible week, and I could spend some time somewhere else with someone else's problems that would, of course, be resolved by the end of the book. It's a comforting, warm book, that nonetheless doesn't shy away from PTSD while still imagining a happy future for a soldier who suffered horrific losses.

Having missed one of these books, I now need to circle back around and catch up. I'm sure it will be just as wonderful.

Lady Boadicea Wilde is just as wild at heart as her siblings, but she's afraid to let it show. Her mother left their family for another man, and society is quick to paint the daughter with the same brush as her mother. Unfortunately, Lady Boadicea - or Betsy - learns this the hard way when she first attends boarding school. Determined to prove everyone wrong, Betsy snares the attention of every eligible bachelor by presenting a face of proper, feminine restraint to the world.

Lord Jeremy is back from the war, suffering the effects of what we'd now refer to as PTSD. The Wildes have welcomed him into their home to provide him with a safe place to convalesce.

Lord Jeremy happens to like Lady Betsy for who she is behind the facade.

I thought this book was well-crafted - as most of Eloisa James' works are - with likable characters and an interesting plot. It was interesting to see Betsy deal with the influence of her mother's actions, and this novel provided a surprising take on Lord Jeremy's experiences in the war.

Lady Boadicea, aka Lady Betsy, is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Lindow. She has perfected her mask of gentility to make herself beyond reproach in her first season. Her mother, the Duke’s second duchess, abandoned her marriage and children and ran away with her Prussian lover when Betsy was young. She is determined not to allow passion to dictate her decisions. She has proved the gossips wrong by collecting a number of marriage proposals with the culminating one from Lord Greywick, the future Duke of Eversly, a paragon of propriety.

Enter Lord Jeremy Roden. He has taken to hiding out in the castle’s billiard room. He is suffering from PTSD and was given refuge by Betsy’s brother North. As circumstance throw together these three characters and with a little help from Aunt Knowe, Betsy must decide whether she continues her public pretense of perfection. Or does she allow her true self to come to light all the while helping Jeremy come out of his darkness.

If you have read the other books in this series, you will enjoy coming back and reading more about the Wildes. Eloisa James always delivers.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC