I wanted to love this. Too much of the book was the hero into someone else and Lydia is a pill. The second in the series is great though!

I really liked the two leads and that made the book good for me, even though the storyline was a little draggy

The heroine of this book, Lady Stella Corsham, is charming, like kitten in her pocket sweet. I really enjoyed her, and I felt her pain when the hero, Silvester Parnell, Duke of Huntington, says something cruel about her. I liked the heroine and the side characters more than I did the hero. I don't really feel like he deserves her. There is a lot of the hero not telling her what he feels and making her feel miserable. Overall, the writing is good, but the plot of this romance left me frustrated.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

Not That Duke was a delightful yet problematic read that focuses on a wallflower who is forced to not only endure insults of her looks from the ton but also from someone she admires. The hero, in love with someone else, decides to pursue the heroine after the love of his life chooses his bestie. What happens next is a vague comedy of errors building a romance filled with doubt and insecurity. Yet, the heroine, her friends, and her aunt made the story for me. The heroine doesn't need saving or a makeover. She is secure in herself and enjoys her life. While I did dnjoy this one, I wish the hero hadn't been such a putz.

Silvester, the duke of Huntington, is handsome, charming, and funny. He's also in love with someone else. Stella knows herself to be a bit of a bluestocking and couldn't care less. Her goal: spinsterhood. Unfortunately, when the duke proposes, Stella, an orphan, is left little choice but to accept. Can these two, who have completely different plans and outlooks, make a marriage of convenience work? And will Silvester ever be able to convince his bride that his former infatuation is just that--former?

Not That Duke is the third in the Would-Be-Wallflowers series. I have to admit that this has not been my favorite series of James's, and this book was on par for the rest of the series. Though there are some memorable female characters, Eloisa James's males have become fairy cookie-cutter copies of one another. It does manage to be funny--she's always funny--but I would definitely recommend the Desperate Duchesses over this series.

So I love me a good historical romance, and getting the chance to read one of Eloisa James’s ARCs was truly amazing. Big shout out to NetGalley for making this happen.


If you need a good friends to lovers this one really hit the marker for me. Our main character is a short, red head, with freckles and glasses - and a lowered self esteem no thanks to the debutants around her. But does that stop our duke from befriending our quirky lead absolutely not, he gets a kick from her very blunt words to her silly antics. But alas his heart belongs to another, the bell of the ball but will he choose the regal tall beauty or the short voluptuous woman that he friended.

As always I love Mrs. James characters and simply could not put this book down.

Rated 4.5/5 Stars

James is one of my top three romance authors. "Not that Duke" keeps her winning streak going. The characters are well developed. The plotting is tight. A wonderful romance overall.

Having read TRC previously, I really feel like I would have gotten more out of this one reading them back to back. It's definitely not necessary, but the overlap in time between books made me curious.

I loved Stella. She's smart, stands up for herself, and knows what she wants out of life. Silvester is (as Stella calls him) part duke and part pirate. They have an instant friendship that turns into serious chemistry, but I wasn't completely sold on the love part. And the dowager duchess stole every scene she was in.

Plot wise, it was mostly good. They do talk a lot (which is fantastic), yet there were always things that could have been clarified to avoid the many many many miscommunications about Silvester and Yasmin. Granted, in hindsight, Silvester probably didn't know his own feelings, so there's that.

Overall, these two had banter for days and I was here for it. I would have liked more adoration for Stella because she deserved it, but the epilogue was satisfying.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

Stella and her Duke are delicious and it was lovely to see Sylvester get his happily every after. Eloisa James has a knack for writing plucky heroines and adoring heroes.

This is probably not my favorite Eloisa James book, but man you can’t help but like Stella. Red hair, short, spectacles, and forthright. This is a story of learning to love yourself even when you’ve been told all your life that you are not lovable. Stella also had to learn that she was lovable enough for Sylvester who was perfect in all ways. 4 stars.

I reviewed this title for Fresh Fiction. For my full review please visit: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=83153

Eloisa James is one of my favorite authors and I collect all of her books. I was so excited to receive Not THat Duke as an ARC. As usual it was everything I wanted from James and more. Lady Stella Corsham is freckled red-head with a mind of her own, and a strong personality to match it. The Duke of Huntington, Silvester Parnell, has fallen for her and when their unexpected marriage happens he has to find a way to make her realize he has fallen in love.
This was such a fun adventure to read. With strong personalities and chemistry between the characters you will be hooked from the start. With a perfect mix of humor and sexual tension the story flows and can’t help but want to join in the fun. Eloisa James always writes with attention to detail in her characters and settings, the perfect historical romance combination. In this series of Would Be Wallflowers James shows that even characters with flaws can be perfect for the right match.
I loved this adventure and I can’t wait to buy it to add to my collection. I know you are going to love it and not wanna put it down. Enjoy.

Well I finished "Not That Duke" and maybe it was just me but I found the heroine a bit hard to like with all of her whining about the other woman and an appalling lack of self-esteem. I did not find the story that interesting because of it. While the writing itself was exceptional the whole story was one of envy and self-doubt. I wanted to give it 4 Stars but since if you remove the pages of "he does not love me" , "I am not pretty enough" and excessive (IMHO) sex you don't even have a good novella. 3 Stars

The Would-be Wallflowers series continues to delight with a friends-to-lovers story that highlights kindness and understanding as an important part of the romance.
Lady Stella Corsham is smart and witty, but her red hair and freckles keep all but the fortune hunters from courting her. She's accepted that she'll probably have a loveless marriage to the nice Earl of Lilford or be a spinster. So while everyone in the Ton knows the Duke of Huntington is in love with lovely, slender Yasmin Régnier, Stella starts a friendship that shows she doesn't care about his title or is looking for anything more than conversations and kindness. Huntington, meanwhile, actually likes that she's smart and enjoys spending time with her, even though he'd rather keep his distance and avoid his mother's matchmaking.
It's a complicated plot that leads to Stella and Sylvester's HEA, with a lot of hidden feelings, denial, and the dreaded lack of communication leading to misunderstandings. But if there's something that James excels at it's breathing life into her characters and weaving a complex and enjoyable plot one chapter at a time.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the wonderfully romantic read!

I haven’t read any books by this author and apparently this book is part of a series, but I didn’t feel like I was missing anything by starting with this one!

Stella has plenty of suitors, but only because of her large dowry. With her curvy body, red hair, smarts and glasses, she isn’t the “beauty” that most men seem to want and because of that she never feels good enough.

Silvester Parnell, the Duke of Huntington, is the most sought after bachelor and he has his sights set firmly on Yasmin. It takes a while for him to realize it (because Yasmin chooses another) but eventually he realizes that Stella is the one that he wants.

I will admit that a large part of this book was tough to read. Poor Stella just wanted to be chosen first, and honestly it was tough for me to come to terms with her getting with Silvester. That being said, I really felt like the second half of the book was much better than the first and turned the story around a bit for me!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Stella wears spectacles, has red hair and freckles, is plump, and outspoken. Nothing like the current standard for beauty. She crushes after Silvester, but he is in love with Yasmin. This book runs concurrently with book 2 (Yasmin's story). You don't have to necessarily have read book 2 (do yourself a favor and skip it). Sylvester is unethical, unscrupulously implementing a little insider trading regarding England's gold standard, making himself another fortune. He's willing to do whatever it takes if it's an advantage for him while only showing a cheerful, likeable side to the people in society. It was odd that the hero was in love with another woman for half the book. Even going with her to the country for a month. Yet he says he never even kissed her. When Yasmin finally marries his friend (again, book 2), Silvester decides to marry Stella. Against her wishes, knowing she was enraged at him, he tells her aunt he ruined her, thereby forcing her into marriage. Stella considers this his "pirate" side. Blech. The second half of the book is their marriage. Stella's character was deeply emotional. She's trying to keep some self esteem while everyone she knows tells her nothing about her is good enough. Even her husband wants another woman. Silvester redeems himself somewhat but too little too late in my opinion! Oh right, the vile Lydia is back causing trouble too. A little nitpick about the cover. I wish the model was wearing glasses. Stella's spectacles were a major plot point of the book. She always had to wear them or she couldn't function. Even misjudging distances when she was wearing them. Not having them on the cover only enforces the idea that a woman in glasses isn't beautiful.

Heat Factor: It’s zingly-tingly

Character Chemistry: They’re friends and they have that undercurrent of ka-pow, so I’d say they’ve got it covered.

Plot: Stella is a freckled, bespectacled, short, round little orphan who has been second-choice or overlooked her entire life. Silvester is a Duke and the son of two very eccentric people, who curated a polished, well-liked exterior in order to fit in socially. Stella has the hots really badly for Silvester, but Silvester is mooning desperately over a very beautiful French noblewoman. It’s painful.

Overall: This book MIGHT end up being my favorite of the entire year. It’s so good I cried twice and had to stop reading once.

Where to start.

This book is incredible.

Stella is everything that is not “the thing”—she’s short, plump, is absolutely covered in freckles, and has to wear glasses because she absolutely cannot see. Unlike ye books of old, she’s not secretly an Amazonian bombshell who just needs the right dress—she is who she is. She’s also incredibly smart, well-read, and highly intellectual, and she doesn’t hide it. Needless to say, she’s sort of pitied in society, and she’s just doing the best she can to survive.

Silvester is a duke, and is the offspring of two very eccentric people. His mother invented a chimney for trains, and his parents were so focused on their relationship and their work together that Silvester ended up raising his two sisters and shoring up the estate into a booming, wealthy success. But in order to do that, he had to create a carefully curated facade so as to be accepted by society, and it worked. Everyone likes him. He’s easygoing, affable, and blends in as much as a handsome duke can.

The book opens with Stella clearly pining for Silvester and Silvester clearly pining for the gorgeous and poised Lady Yasmine. For a time, Stella and Silvester bump along fine as friends (they play chess, walz, and Stella invariably makes Silvester laugh in a way that’s a little too boisterous to be quite the thing), until Stella’s suitor Giles ends up chasing after Yasmine as well. Now Yasmine has two very eligible suitors bending over backwards for her and Stella’s are very clearly only in it for her dowry.

At the same time, Silvester’s mother, the Dowager, is convinced Stella is the one for him. She throws them together subtly in order to urge him along, but it isn’t until Yasmine and Silvester announce their engagement and Giles chases after Yasmine, resulting in THEIR engagement, that Silvester returns and starts pursuing Stella.

Stella being second choice is one of the biggest and most heartbreaking themes of the book. She wasn’t what her mother wanted, what her aunt wanted, and she certainly isn’t what society wants. She just wants to be seen and chosen for who she is. She wants someone to love her unreservedly. It’s so heartbreaking, and it’s even harder to watch unfold when Silvester realizes that he can’t undo what he did—he DID choose Yasmine first. Everyone knew he did. He did force Stella’s hand in a way where Stella doesn’t get the chance to see if anyone out there COULD want her first. It’s incredibly sad.

And Silvester is, in a lot of ways, kind of insecure? He’s determined to win every competition and acquire as much wealth as possible. He looks outwardly like he doesn’t really care what society thinks (he’s a duke after all) but at the same time he pays close attention to it and is always ready with the solution that will make people view him positively. For example, when he marries Stella, he’s very aware that people will think he’s marrying her because she’s pregnant or because he’s lost a lot of money and needs her dowry—so he throws velvet bags of money to the townspeople when they leave the church and they depart on a white, decorated, giant horse. (Because why would he throw that much money if he’s broke, and pregnant women can’t ride on giant horses.)

So anyway, their romance, Stella’s unfolding, and Silvester’s heart opening made for an incredible story. And honestly, the wedding night scene was MEMORABLE. I won’t spoil it, but if you’re sick to death of the guy demonstrating barely contained sex power and the gal being timid and then instantly a rodeo queen, you’ll appreciate how the author handles it. In fact, I bet you’ll LOVE it.

Would that this had been published prior to our upcoming Put Up Your Dukes bracket, because I think it would be a strong contender for the title…

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report

I was so disappointed in this book! I love Eloisa James and have read her books for years, and wow this isn't up to her standards. It feels like 2 different books mashed together. I can't comment on the ending because I stopped reading it 75% of the way through, the first time I couldn't finish a book in years. Eloisa James's characters can be feisty, bold, vulnerable, and shy, sometimes all at once, but Stella is a mess.

She starts off knowing she doesn't fit the ton's beauty standards but seems pretty accepting of herself. But once she marries Silvester she does a 180 and turns into an insecure mess. She pitches an overwrought, tearful fit at a party and that was my stopping point because I was just as confused about what was happening as Silvester.

Plus the wedding night scene was incredibly bizarre for a Regency novel. I've read spicy historical romance and not so spicy, but I've never read anything as WTF as that.

It was just very difficult to feel invested in any of the characters. Except for Blanche! Blanche showed more personal growth in one chapter than anyone else in the whole book! Team Blanche, she needs her own book.

Lady Stella has hoards of suitors, but they’re only after her massive dowry, certainly not her freckles, red hair, or plump figure. Silvester Parnell, the Duke of Huntington, is certainly not included among their number given his status as London’s most sought-after bachelor.

Unfortunately, Stella finds herself maneuvered into marrying the duke for all the wrong reasons. Though she’s long harbored deep feelings for him, this is the worst position she can imagine being in, knowing his feelings for someone else. Now Silvester is left to convince Stella that he truly has fallen in love with the unique woman he married.

This was a fun read and I definitely found myself relating to Stella’s quirks and difficulty fitting in. I loved seeing her come into her own and learn to stand up for herself, though I could’ve done with less of the duke’s attention given to Yasmin. It took him a bit long to turn his eyes to Stella for me, though I did appreciate watching their friendship develop into something more once Silvester finally woke up and listened to his own feelings. His cluelessness did make sense given how much his mother had clearly loved his late father despite being apparently unaware of the emotion. Silvester’s infatuation with Yasmin in the previous book definitely made me nervous going into this one, but it did quickly become clear that the feelings he had for Stella were much deeper than the superficial ones he might have had for Yasmin. I really enjoyed seeing Stella and Silvester gradually peel back one another’s layers and learn how to communicate.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF at 53%. I just could not continue on with so much of the character's own self-loathing and internal monologue about how ugly she was when she clearly was not. Furthermore, our love interest was not doing enough, fast enough, for her to drop that idea. There was too much pining over another woman while letting our own protagonists feelings get crushed. At over 50%, I expected the plot to swing toward the direction of our main character then still barely heading that direction. I did love the Duchess Dowager and would happily read a book about her her son was irritating and so was the main character and I had to put it down. I will still read from Eloisa James in the future but this was not to my taste.