Never Met a Duke Like Me by Amalie Howard
Taming of the Dukes series #2. Historical romance. Mental health partial topic.
Lady Vesper Lyndhurst is a member of the ton. She fills her days with friends and matchmaking. She’s sworn off love herself. She won’t admit it’s because no one can compare to her former friend Aspen.
The Duke of Greydon returns to London hoping to revive his family’s estate and stop his mother’s spending and underhanded manipulation. Getting locked into seldom used rooms with his former friend turn enemy, Aspen and Vesper are forced to acknowledge their attraction is stronger than ever.

An epic romance that twists through the ton, matchmaking, friends, politics, and a cat that mixes things up. There are also underlying manipulations and pressure from the matriarch of the family that everyone will to slap down.
Vesper and Aspen are hot and steamy together. Their feelings haven’t gone away and clearing up a misunderstanding makes them closer but they still have society and their own issues to deal with.
Oh, when Aspen declares himself! So heartbreaking because ….well, I don’t want to spoil the story.
I loved Aspen and loved their resolution against his evil mother.
The authors note is worth reading and a reading guide is included at the end.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I also purchased copies to keep and share.

This was an enemy-to-lovers story with lots of witty banter thrown in. Aspen, the Duke of Greydon, has returned from America after a lengthy absence from London before his mother can declare him deceased. Aspen and his mother have a very contentious relationship all because of her abhorrent behavior in committing his father to an insane asylum so she could control the ducal purse strings. Aspen had another reason to stay away from England in the form of the delectable Lady Vesper Lyndhurst, who was his childhood friend. Children grow up, and Vesper has become a beautiful and proper young lady. Now that he's in her company again, Aspen must use all his willpower not to fall under her spell again. He has vowed not to marry when his mother pushes her ward at him. He will not give in and marry a woman he doesn't love just to satisfy his mother's machinations.

Lady Vesper has been in love with Aspen since they were children, but when she makes her debut he ignores her, and that hurts her deeply, especially since his actions were witnessed by so many. She has vowed never to be the subject of gossip again. When Aspen finally returns to London, sparks fly between them as they fling barbs at each other.

I admit that I was a little bored with this story about the 40% mark on my kindle and almost DNF, but I was glad that I continued to read the book. I loved the role the fluffy white kitten played in the love story. It was adorable. The banter between these two was great fun, and their chemistry was off the charts. Even though they fought their attraction to each other tooth and nail, the ending was delightful. I loved the scheme to expose Aspen's mother for the awful person she was. It was good to see her get her comeuppance.

This book was sweet but nothing can beat the first book for me. I loved the love story between Vesper and Aspen, but the side plot was not my favorite. I also wish the the main villain got more comeuppance.

Things to look forward to:
-a cat named Cat
-a romance between a matchmaker and a paleontologist
-the fountain scene
-a great circle of friends
-steamy outdoor sex scenes
-hilarious nicknames

Pub date: Out Now!

This eARC was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Lady Vesper has sworn off love for herself but is an eager matchmaker for those around her. The Duke of Greydon isn’t your typical Duke and has just returned to England to take control of his family’s estate. He too has sworn off love, not believing in its existence. When the two find themselves stuck in an attic alone together, the two childhood frenemies find their perspectives on love being challenged.

Abuse, mental health and parental neglect are all explored but not deep enough to do them any justice. The book was setting up an evil villain nicely only to have the big moment when they were confronted kind of fall flat. I feel like the villain has failed. She deserved her moment of comeuppance and I feel like what we got happened so quickly yet it was a huge part of shaping Greydon but also for the two characters not to be together.

The relationship between Vesper and Greydon definitely delivered the spice but I wasn’t overly compelled by either one’s personality. They both had really strong independent personalities but we never really got to see either in their element. Vesper’s desire to help the underprivileged was only ever talked about and never shown. It would have been nice to have Greydon confronted with an a-ha moment where he realized the girl he always crushed on was something more. Instead he just hears about it and eventually decides to take it at face value. The second half of their book is when their relationship starts to find their rhythm and it was then that I became more engrossed in the story.

There were also a lot of modern phrases and it kind of ruined the reading experience. I cannot be convinced that someone was uttering “tomayto, tomahto” in this era.

Thank you to Forever for providing an early review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖 (The first half especially I struggled. It was just too much bickering and enemies vibe for me)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 (plus a partial and a short epilogue scene I didn’t count)
Humor: Yes – especially if you like sarcastic banter
Perspective: Third person from the hero and heroine
When mains are first on page together:
Cliffhanger: No, this ends on a happily ever after.
Epilogue: Yes, a few months later
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy through NetGalley

Should I read in order?
It’s not necessary but there is some cross over of characters.

Basic plot:
Vesper hasn’t seen Greydon in years, but when they are locked inside an attic together, they kind of pick up right where they left off – trying to take each other down a notch.

Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian (I didn’t see a year, but it’s after Darwin was publishing work and I have book 1 in the series marked as 1865)
- London setting
- Clueless retelling
- childhood friends
- billiards lessons
- enemies to lovers
- neurodiverse heroine – Vesper has ADHD
- prodigal hero returns
- lots of social action – garden parties, balls, masquerades...
- bespectacled hero
- pets – the heroine gets a cat
- very light touch of hero nurses heroine back to health
- paleontologist hero
- low to mid steam – I have 2 full scenes, a very hot partial, and a short epilogue scene

Ages:
- Heroine is 23, hero is around 25

My thoughts:
I am really sad I struggled with this one! I think part of it may be I really love the movie Clueless and just rewatched it before starting this book. So I probably had some of my favorite scenes/ideas and when it didn’t go that way I was a bit disappointed.

I think another part of what I didn’t love is the non stop bickering and fighting Vesper and Aspen do in this story. Maybe if my children haven’t been fighting non stop it wouldn’t have been so noticeable. But this is why I struggle so hard with enemies to lovers. And I know our relationship dynamic with Cher in the movie was like this but I felt like theirs was a bit more playful and fun. They still did stuff together and seemed to enjoy each other's company - In the beginning this one really feels like hatred.

We’re told that Vesper behaves perfect socially – she controls herself and her emotions rigidly due to her ADHD and she’s worried she will make a misstep. I felt like I never really saw this side of Vesper though – and part of it is that Greyson throws her off but she seemed to always be acting a bit angry and filled with outbursts with him in social situations and it seems like that was the opposite of what I was told about her. Losing her temper with him, basically making scenes, I couldn’t reconcile what I was getting on page with what I was supposed to think of her character as and it did bother me a bit.

I LOVED the matchmaking aspect. I adore when we have a matchmaker in the story, so I really appreciated this aspect of Vesper’s personality. I also really, really loved the steam in this one. I think it really worked to connect the characters and propel their relationship forward. Most of the scenes were decently long and detailed too and I really loved that. I think the latter half of the book I connected with way more than the first half.

I was glad the villain activity didn’t take over the book like I was worried it would when I saw blackmail mentioned. I don’t like the ending result of the whole villain thing – I am pretty blood thirsty when it comes to punishment and was definitely disappointed in this. I feel like this is one of those things that is a problem waiting to come back and affect them in later years and it just niggles at me and I don’t feel as strong of a HEA for the couple…

But, overall this book had some things I really loved and I appreciated the Clueless nods throughout the story.

In the latest addition to the TAMING OF THE DUKES series, the heroine is a self-proclaimed matchmaker who isn't looking for love, but in this book, she finds it with the hero. The hero is looking to revive his family's fortunes while also realizing that a lot has stayed the same even after his return to England, including the heroine. Then a fateful accident entraps the hero and heroine together, which changed the relationship they had towards something more.

This is a nice addition to this Amalie Howard series. I did find the story an enjoyable read, but it does need more details and better resolution in the book. Like any character, the main couple each have their strong and weak points, and as such there were certain actions of the main couple that I didn't find pleasing at all. The book also could have a better resolution for a certain secondary character, their actions being intolerable considering the sensitive subject being explored in this story. Overall, it's not a bad book to this particular Amalie Howard series and I still want to read more books from the author in the future.


** Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own. **

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever Publishing, and Ms. Howard for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I don’t think this was as strong a book as it’s predecessor. Emma is not my favorite of the Austen heroines (although I do love Clueless). Lady Vesper - is this a common name now? I kept picturing Vesper Lynd from the James Bond movie - is kind of a mashup of Emma AND Cher, which was a bit jarring. Aspen started off as a real a-hole. I didn’t really buy the reasons he cut Vesper out of his life. Then there was Cat - why on earth would you give a person who (a) dislikes pets and (b) is allergic to cats and (c) has repeatedly said NO, a live animal?! No reputable so-called “rescuer” (or real friend) would do that. And THEN there was the dowager duchess, Aspen’s mother. I was really disappointed in how her situation was resolved.

This was cute, and a fun read, but I preferred the first in the series. Overall I like Ms Howard’s writing style so I’d definitely be on board to read another one. This one just wasn’t my absolute fav.

Another amazing addition to the Taming of the Dukes series by Amalie Howard. This is a second chance, frenemies to lovers regency romance.

Vesper tries to never think about her first love that led to her first heart break with her best friend, Aspen. Rather than focusing on her own endeavors on the marriage mart, she directs her attention to matchmaking her friends. Now that Aspen has returned to London, he needs Vespers legendary skills to secure his ward a marriage proposal. Vesper and Aspen must navigate the rocky road of repressed feelings and decide what or who their dreams truly are.

I loved the tension between Aspen and Vesper and the verbal sparring! *AMAZING* I also enjoyed that Aspen and Vesper’s love and relationship was built upon their friendship as young kids that has naturally progressed into more. The cast of supporting characters are amazing, and I am crossing my fingers that we get to see Effie and Briar’s stories in the near future!

This book gals, if you want a fun read with a lot of snarky comments, a lot of sexual tension and a lot of innuendos, run out and get this book. It was such a fun story. Witty banter is so exhilarating and this story is one electrifying read. Aspen and Vesper (aka Lord A** and Viper) were such great characters. This story is the epitome of enemies (sort of) to lovers. Amalie’s writing is superb and easy to read (you just cannot stop).

So far, this series has been a breath of fresh air. I love historical romance, but reading it with all the tropes and styles that are prevalent in contemporary romance is just so much fun. Our hero and heroine, for example, don’t meet at a country house party or ball, they have an actual “meet cute” moment. One that I don’t think I have ever read before. At times their antics felt a tad hokey, but in the best way. Sure, it’s a romance full of misgivings and misunderstandings, but the modern virtues of the characters and the banter make for a truly funny story. I definitely felt the connection to Clueless, and of course Emma, but it wasn’t direct, more subtle.
Overall it’s a great intro into historicals, for the contemporary or non-romance reader, and a quick, witty read all around. 3.8 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC, in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Such a good frenemies to lovers romance! The miscommunication runs high in this one, but that is fairly common in regency romance because no one talks about their pesky feelings. And everyone can see the feelings between Vesper and Aspen for miles, but they staunchly ignore the obvious.

There was an interesting undercurrent of intrigue in this one that I was very invested in. And I’m sorry to say that is was not resolved to my satisfaction. I really wanted more consequences for this character!

I haven’t read the first in this series and now I want to!

3.5 stars but rounded up. This one started off a little bit slow but then that really good, really fast. This one had some miscommunication between the main characters, Aspen and Vesper, that wanted me to shake the book a bit. But it was a sweet story of former best friends - turned enemies (due to miscommunication) - turned lovers and friends. I really love this group of friends and their support of the matchmaking main character was so sweet. A wonderful and sweet read!

Thank you to NetGalley, publishers, and the author for being able to read this book!

I'm sure there are two people named Aspen and Vesper that have fallen in love. They probably lived in a commune somewhere in Oregon circa 1963 and not in Regency England, but we're going to chock the silly names of these characters up to just being a "fun" part of a soapy historical romance.

Once I got over the names, I had to get over the comparisons to the 90s flick "Clueless" which is based on Jane Austen's "Emma." While there are a few similarities, Vesper likes to match make and gets in trouble for sorting her father's papers wrong by his employee, there's not much else that's similar. So don't let the comparisons to those other works derail your focus on this one.

Aspen and Vesper are next door neighbors and frenemies who have been secretly crushing on each other since childhood. When Aspen returns from America on a mission to uncover the conspiracy that sent his father to his death in a mental institution, he begins working with Vesper's father, also a Duke, on new legislation to prevent what happened to his father from happening to anyone else.

The attraction he and Vesper had for each other quickly reignites and they each fight their feelings, society's rules, rogue kittens and his mother's machinations to make their own HEA.
**Nine out of ten on the steam level for two sizzling interludes. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Never Met a Duke Like You is the second book in the Taming of the Dukes series by Amalie Howard and while I enjoyed this one, I think I liked book one better. Don't take that negatively - I just enjoyed the story and characters more in that book but this one was still an enjoyable read!

Lady Vesper Lyndhurst is our fmc and while she has sworn off love for herself, she believes she has a knack for matchmaking those around her. When she comes face to face with her past (in the form of the Duke of Greydon) she just happens to be locked in an attic with him and can't believe he's back.

Aspen (the Duke of Greydon) has returned to England in an attempt to revive his family's fortunes but he isn't exactly excited about it. He despises the ton and nothing changed in his absence but he is determined to set things to rights. When he finds himself trapped in his attic with Vesper, not only do the sparks start to fly, but we get to learn about their history.

Howard did a great job of developing this story and sharing who these characters truly are - including their internal struggles. I loved their banter and when he would call her Viper...it always caught my attention. Moving them from childhood friends turned enemies to lovers was a journey and I thought Howard did this well. I found the storyline with Aspen's parents challenging and truly sympathized with Aspen for having to grow up in that situation (sorry - no spoilers).

Overall, this was a solid book two in a series. I don't know that you have to read them in order as you wouldn't necessarily be confused but there are overlapping characters (so far) that if you don't read in order, you will lose some of the mystery around the first couple. All that to say, pick this up if you're looking for a new historical romance to read. This was well done and is a quick read.

This story was such a fun ride! If you're looking for a retelling of Clueless / Emma, check this one out!

Lady Vesper believes in love but fears her own (perceived) faults preclude her from deserving it herself, especially after her childhood friend (crush) Aspen gives her the cut direct during her debut ball. She feels her personality is too much, that she is too impulsive,  and doesn't fit the perfect image of what a lady should be - so she puts a mask on to hide her true self.

Aspen has returned from his archeology digs in America to claim his title as the Duke of Greydon since his mother was going to proclaim him dead after a 7 year absence. While home, he also hopes to address problematic laws regarding institutionalizing family members after what happened to his father.

Together, their chemistry is electric from page one, their banter is witty and fun, and their evolution of dislike to love was such a fun time.

Plus! Kitten shenanigans abound!

With spot-on pacing and a writing style that leaped off the page, Never Met A Duke Like You is sure to be one of my favorite romances this year!

Aspen, the Duke of Greydon, was freinds with Vesper until they were teenagers when their friendship fell apart. They go years without seeing each other, as Aspen went looking for fossils around the work. Vesper stays busy while he is gone - matchmaking her friends and being part of society while secretly supporting charitable causes. The unlikely pair end up trapped in an attic at his family estate. Forced proximity illuminates their undeniable chemistry has never dimmed. Will they ignore their growing feelings or will love find a way?

I loved this one! It had everything I love in a romance - witty dialogue, swoony scenes.

4.5 out of 5 stars

I just reviewed Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard. #NetGalley

I love Amalie's writing, I love that this historical romance was inspired by Clueless, and I love the drama that comes with a childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance. Vesper and Aspen were definitely memorable - and not just because of their names 👀

This is the 2nd book in Howard's Taming of the Dukes series, and I overall liked the plot and the spice of this one. There were definitely a few things that threw me off (like both the MCs names...) and I would've loved to see more Clueless inspiration throughout, but Never Met a Duke Like You was a very solid story from start to finish.

[However, I will warn you: if Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast) trying to put Maurice in the asylum just so he can force his way with Belle is (still) a trigger for you (like me!), you will definitely not finish this story with fond memories of Aspen's mother. I sort of wish I could just remove her entirely from this story, but here we are.]

This was, overall, a good read. I didn't love all the plot resolutions, but that's more about me and my preferences and not a mark against Howard's writing or storytelling. This was a great addition to what is shaping up to be a fantastic series, and I can't wait to see what Howard has planned next!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Amalie Howard for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Never Met a Duke Like You coming out November 14, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’ve read another book by Amalie Howard and I loved it. I have several of her books that I haven’t read yet, but I’m a big fan of regency romances. This book isn’t my favorite. I liked parts of it. But overall, I felt it had the usual romance tropes and it didn’t seem different from other books I’ve read. It kind of bugs me when the heroine says I’m never getting married, especially if she’s only 23. Maybe it’s because I just read another book with that same sentiment. It just seems like the heroine thinks she’s stronger if she doesn’t marry and it seems like a more modern mindset. It doesn’t really work for the time period. I enjoy her writing though, even if it’s a little modern. I will definitely read other books by this author.

I absolutely adored the first installment of this series, so I was so very excited to be able to read and advance copy of the next installment in the series.

However, this one did not hit as strongly for me as the first book did. While I love and adored Always be my Duchess, this one left me feeling frustrated.

The push and pull and back and forth of Vesper and Aspen was repetitive and frustrating to me as a reader. I also was not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope.

I wish I could give this a better review, but it just didn't have the same emotionally pull for me that the first book did.

This was a FANTASTIC Clueless/Emma retelling that sees 23 year old, neurodivergent 'spinster,' Vesper helping to match her dinosaur loving childhood crush, Aspen Drake with new deb Judith (who also happens to be queer).

The banter and spice in this frenemies to lovers, dual POV, historical fiction romance was top notch!! I loved how strong-minded and caring Vesper was and how she went after what she wanted, especially when what she wanted was Aspen, Victorian propriety be damned.

The mental health focus in this book was also particularly excellent. I really enjoyed that the author focused on England's Lunacy Acts which allowed for the incarceration of women (and some men - the duke's father in this story) based on the flimsiest of 'causes.' The treatment of such 'patients' was often deplorable and Aspen works hard in the book to repeal and improve the laws.

Great on audio narrated by Mary Jane Wells, this is HIGHLY recommended and perfect for fans of authors like Martha Waters, Virginia Heath or Sophie Irwin. Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever for early digital and finished copies in exchange for my honest review!!