Ok- this book was BY FAR my most anticipated release of the year. I had read Always Be My Duchess last year and fell completely in love with the world Amalie had created for this crazy cool group of women (sorry Vesper, I can’t get there with Hellfire Kitties- but the effort is appreciated). ABMD was a Pretty Woman retelling so when I found out the next would be an Emma/Clueless retelling my little heart gave an extra little flutter.

Lady Vesper Lyndhurst is a match-making meddlesome sweetheart who just wants everyone else to be happy. She nudges her friends towards love, donates her time and money to the needy, but then ignores everything she needs for herself.

Aspen Drake, Duke of Greydon is a bespeckled duke/archeologist who just came back to London from the US to get his scheming mother off his back. The two are long time childhood frenemies and the chemistry and tension happen immediately and it was an absolute delight.

This book is def more Clueless and less Emma. Now how can that be? Clueless is based on Emma! Wellllll… Vesper is closer to Cher than Emma. Emma Woodhouse is naive but she also has a little bit of a mean streak. Cher Horowitz, while also naive is also just plain CLUELESS (ha!). Aspen on the other hand is more Josh than Mr. Knightly. Both are rather sanctimonious but Knightly is more preachy while Josh is just going through his “post-adolescent idealistic phase.” Totally different.

If the audiobook is half as good as Mary Jane Wells’s narration of Always Be My Duchess I will be a very very happy girl. I will absolutely be snagging that and my physical trophy copy for my bookcase.

5 Stars!!!

Thank you Amalie Howard and Grand Central for this ARC e-book in exchange for my honest review. The opinions you see are just mine

Vesper spends most of her days matchmaking, except she always wriggles out of her own proposals. Aspen, Vesper’s childhood friend turned nemesis, is back in town and unexpectedly crosses paths with an icy Vesper. Aspen and Vesper reconnect, and must decide if the risk of getting hurt is worth the possibility of something more.

Wow, this book was phenomenal. I read this in a night and I would happily read it again. I really enjoyed that there was a plot to the story along with the romantic side. The relationship between the main characters along with the side characters was believable. I do not feel anything seemed forced. I loved Vesper and Aspen! I would happily read another from Amalie Howard.

Thank you #NetGalley and Forever Publishing in exchange for an honest review. The above opinions are my own.

I loved this book just like I did the first. Amalie Howard has easily become one of my favorite authors.

Lady Vesper has to keep her presence as calm, cool, and collected. All while on the inside she is fighting her emotions and struggling to keep her mouth closed. She is a lady beyond her time wanting to help the poor and educate the children.

Duke Aspen Greydon has returned from being a paleontologist in the USA to help his mother's come of age ward get married in the season. His history with Vesper will get in the way as he enlists her match making skills to help with Judith.

I simply loved this book. The chemistry between Vesper and Aspen was great. The story paced well, and left you wanting more. I hope we get another book about one of the other Hellfire Kittens.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for this arc.

5 🌟
3 🌶

I really enjoyed 'Never Met a Duke Like You' by Amalie Howard. It's perfect for fans of Bridgerton and regency romance novels with enemies to lovers tropes. Aspen and Vesper are both such likeable characters and the chemistry between them is sizzling! There are lots of great supporting characters too including Aspens dear friends and family who all love her for who she is rather than how she presents herself for society.
Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for my copy, it was a great read that I'd recommend.

More Bridgerton than Clueless but if you like Bridgerton and wish there were more books like it, you will probably enjoy this one!

Miscommunication was HUGE in this book and it's one of my least favorite tropes, so this wasn't quite a hit for me, but you may love it. Both our MCs refused to say what they really felt until way too far into the book.

There was some fun snarky dialogue, spice, and an enemies to lovers storyline.

I did like the writing even though the storyline wasn't incredibly original. I would read another book by Amalie Howard in the future.

Thanks to netgalley for an eARC to review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for this ARC!

One of the features I hope to see in future Netgalley book options is to let us know whether this book is part of a series and what number in the series it is. I didn't realize this was book two and though it gives the idea that it is a standalone, I felt like I was missing something by not reading book one!

I thought the story started fun and Aspen and. Vesper had the kind of banter I enjoyed but as the story continued, it felt like the chemistry wasn't quite there anymore. Aspen felt very hot and cold that it ruined whatever attraction we were supposed to believe in. As for everything else, it was an easy read and to follow. Aspen's mother was quite the character but I didn't feel like the end to her story was fair. It felt like there wasn't a point to the whole conflict if she wouldn't pay the price for her crime. The modern language that snuck in sometimes threw me off but wasn't too bad. I think the. character names were an interesting choice as I hadn't read about characters with these names before.

Overall, a decent read. I wish I had read book one first though.

Amalie Howard once again captured my heart with her latest book, "Never Met a Duke Like You." As one of my most anticipated reads, it lived up to every expectation I had. The story of Vesper and Aspen is a beautiful blend of drama, humor, and touching moments that had me completely engrossed.

Vesper, a strong and fearless protagonist, caught my attention with her determination to speak her mind while keeping her true self hidden. Aspen, on the other hand, is a captivating character with a mix of quiet strength and wry wit that drew me in. Their chemistry is undeniable, and I couldn't help but fall in love with their journey.

The book beautifully explores themes of identity, dreams, and emotions, all set in a Regency-era backdrop reminiscent of classics like Bridgerton. Amalie Howard's writing infuses the story with humor and a strong feminist perspective. "Never Met a Duke Like You" is a must-read that combines the best of historical romance with a fresh, modern twist. I eagerly await more from this talented author.

Quite charming and it has various elements that I love—enemies to lovers, childhood friends, he falls first, matchmaker FMC, both main characters having causes that help the marginalized, period appropriate hinting of queerdom with a major side character—with a delightful banter between them. And CAT????? I love a feline who just wants her parents to get together so that she can have unrestricted cuddle time with her favorite humans.

If you love historical romance, I think this will be perfect for you. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but it takes its tropes and does them well.

I took a short break from historical romances and this was the perfect reintroduction. A loose re-telling of Clueless, our matchmaking heroine, Vesper, finds herself in a battle of wits with her longtime neighbor and one time crush, Aspen. I loved the first book in this series and this one doesn’t disappoint either!

Enemies to lovers ✅
Matchmaking chaos ✅
A cute cat ✅
Mental health awareness ✅
Evil villain ✅
🌶️ ✅

BOOK REVIEW: Never Met A Duke Like you by @Amalie Howard

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Im obsessed with this book it was so good, I can’t wait to read more by this author!

I loved it. It was perfect. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I definitely recommend this book and author.

There were a lot of things about this book that I adored. It had some great tropes that I don’t usually read including childhood friends as well as friends to lovers. The chemistry between the characters was evident and I really enjoyed the dialogue. However…Aspen would often say that he knew Vesper completely, but in the next second would accuse her of being shallow and vain. It happened enough that I was annoyed. Additionally, the blackmail trope is not my favorite. I won’t elaborate further on that other than to say people in love should communicate. Finally—and probably the worst thing—this book, and by extension the series, has too many similarities to Tessa Dare’s Girl Meets Duke series. It’s about a friend group that have similar characteristics (the pet lover, the seamstress, etc.), and some of the relationships seem like a complete knockoff. Not really sure if I should recommend this series as a result.

The tagline "Clueless meets Bridgerton" gave me a sense that this would be a fun colorful romp through the regency period (it is not regency, it is Victorian, but that really just changed the way I perceived the clothes).

While it was not a colorful romp, it hits almost every point of Clueless flawlessly and without backing down. Obviously with Clueless' being based on Jane Austen's Emma, the story felt like something I'd read before.

It's downfall for me, and this was a problem I had with the series in general, is that all the mothers are dead or villains. It screamed of internalized misogyny to me and it made it hard for me to get through. I get that not all mom's are saints, but they don't all need to be evil either.

I received an E-Arc from Netgalley and the publisher for an honest review! Thank you!

I literally could not put this book down! If you like friends to enemies then back to friends with a touch of romance then you need to read this book. I couldn't stop laughing, smirking and rooting for Lady Vesper and the Duke of Greydon. I was pulled into their story and just had to know what was going to happen. Would they get their happy ending or will their hearts be broke?

The sparks between Lady Vesper and Duke Greydon just kept on going and going! I loved it. First they ran cold then hot, whoo! Even their longing, banter and chemistry builds up so passionately, you know what could happen. (Psst...Think of Bridgerton!) If you are a fan of Bridgerton, then you will be a fan of this book. I definitely am!

Vesper has a way with words which I loved! Hehehehe. I also enjoyed that she wants to be her own person and that she can be stubborn at times as well. Even her father knows this and tells Greydon of this in his own way. You'll get a chuckle out of that moment. I know I did!

Greydon..what can I say? He is a man with a kind heart who eventually takes his time in getting what he wants. He also has his own way with words. He's awesome. That's all I can say. Let me know what you think of him!

Go get it when it comes out in the Fall. You won't regret it.

Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard was a delight! Make sure to read the first book in the series for backstory and because it's a great read! I love seeing a grumpy Duke swoon for the heart of gold, doesn't backdown main character!

NEVER MET A DUKE LIKE YOU is a light and cute love story. Will Vesper the matchmaker ever find her own true love? What happens when the mother of the man Vesper is starting to have feelings for wants her to set him up with another gal? Overall great combination of banter and swoon which makes for a great read in this historical romance.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the digital advanced copy in exchange for my review.

I have been looking forward to this book since the instant I finished Always Be My Duchess (maybe even before that).

It broke my heart that Vesper thought she wasn’t going to have companionship because of something she couldn’t control. The book offers an interesting discussion on mental health. While this is done in the context of historical fiction, it is easy to see how relevant these discussions still are today.

There were times when Aspen (our MMC) drove me up the wall. His consistent dismissal of all that Vesper (FMC) showed him was frustrating. However, it was impossible for him not to come around given how incredibly witty and cheeky Vesper was.

I love that this series brings such strong feminist ideals to an era where we are not accustomed to seeing them. I’m forever living for these strong female characters!

As a side note, I loved seeing the reference to Mary Anning. I had just read a book about her with my children where we learned about her paleontological discoveries and the little credit she received because she was a woman.

Recommend this one if you enjoyed the first book!

Fun, easy to read, amazing, gorgeous✨💗🤍💕



Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

This was a super cute book! I loved Always Be My Duchess and was so excited for this one. It lived up to every expectation and more! Vesper was hilarious and stubborn and it was so refreshing to see a historical romance heroine be so independent and passionate. I couldn’t get enough of Aspen and the tension between the two. This was very fun to binge read and I can’t wait to see what else Howard blesses us with.