I loved this right from the very beginning! I adored both Selina and Peter, as well as all the side characters. I also really loved that Selina ran Belvoir's, and LOVED how she was so theoretically knowledgeable about sex but also still had some insecurities--that was so realistic. Overall Ne'er Duke Well was a lot of fun and I can't wait to read more by Alexandra Vasti!

I was a huge fan of the author’s indie works, and was so excited to read her read review. It didn’t disappoint! It’s funny, romantic, and heartfelt, everything I want in a historical romance.

This is such a fun, delightful, rompy historical! Peter, a new duke with radical politics raised in the US, needs a respectable bride for the guardianship of his younger siblings, and Lady Selina--a proper debutante running a secret erotic library--is just the person to help him find this bride. It's definitely not her (wink wink). If you're a fan of Tessa Dare, you'll love this book!

I fell in love with this author after reading the Halifax Hellions series as free reads on her website. I’ve been saving this book as kind of a “break glass in case of emergency” read, which after the last couple of months and my resulting book slump seemed to be a good plan from past me.

Peter Kent, the new Duke of Stanhope, recently arrived from Louisiana, desperately wants to gain custody of his siblings, 12-year-old Lucinda, aka Lu, and 10-year-old Frederick, aka Freddie. Their father all but abandoned them and Peter wants to earn their trust and make a home for the three of them. But in order to do that he must gain some semblance of respectability. His reputation for radical politics aside, his biggest hurdle is the whole cognac misunderstanding between him and Lord Eldon, who also happens to be the chancellor of the High Court who will decide his case.

So, he enlists the help of the most competent and brilliant woman he knows. Lady Selina Ravenscroft.

Selina has the bright idea of finding a duchess for Peter. One that will lend him respectability, and hopefully the romance of a quick engagement will endear him to Lord Eldon and his wife, who were themselves a love match. She has a list, with only three names on it, but she is determined that one of the three will work. The only problem is that Peter doesn’t have eyes for anyone but Selina. The more time they spend together, the more Peter realizes that Selina is his perfect match. It doesn’t take long for Selina to realize she is in love with him as well. But she has secrets, and a marriage between them wouldn’t bring him respectability, but ruin.

This was such a wonderful romance, with a clever feminist FMC and a MMC who is supportive and loving and simply delighted by Selina’s boldness when he discovers that she is running a library that includes a secret section just for women. The relationship between them is both sweet and steamy, and I admired that they always seemed candid with each other. Even after getting caught in a spicy moment, which leads to their engagement and marriage, Selina is honest with him about her misgivings and why she is worried their marriage might endanger his guardianship hopes. There are plenty of fun moments with the shenanigans during the hunt for a wife and the scenes with Peter’s siblings. It kept a smile on face.

I’m looking forward to the next two books in the series, which will feature the lovely women who Peter courted before falling in love with Selina. The next book in the series, Earl Crush, releases January 21, 2025.

like other Vasti books I liked this a lot and the growing world she creates. The two leads are excellent , the younger characters even better.

Tessa Dare fans, rejoice! Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti serves as the perfect Regency romp to satisfy your craving until Dare and her perfect banter return to the publishing calendar. This was a STRONG debut with a clever plot, high stakes, and swoon worthy leads. With a spunky matchmaking heroine, this historical romance would pair well with Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard or Emma by Jane Austen. Mhairi Morrison does a fabulous job narrating the audiobook, so I highly recommend that format. Normally I’d drop some hints at plot, but let’s just go with this: secret salacious lending library for ladies + rabble-rouser duke from Louisiana + friends to lovers + supportive girlfriends = heart-warming delight.

This was a really fun regency romp featuring an American duke, oh my! If you listen on audiobook, the accents are fantastic!

Ne'er Duke Well is what I am beginning to think of as a "modern" historical romance. Meaning the setting is historical but the characters -- their personalities, speech, ideas, mannerisms, etc. -- are distinctly 21st century. This isn't a bad thing but it might be a bit disconcerting for a historical romance purist.

As a modern historical romance, Ne'er Duek Well is loads of fun. Likeable, quirky charactes and an unusual plot -- a woman owning an erotic subscribing library pairing up with a duke from Louisiana of all places -- provides lots of opportunties for laughs.

The beginning was a bit slow but this is a amusing read for fans of this genre. Just don't expect Jane Austen in tone or level of spice!

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an advanced copy of this novel.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Ne’er Duke Well was a charming Regency romance, perfect for anyone suffering from Bridgerton withdrawals. I wish the backstories of the characters had been fleshed out a little more, but I adored their personalities and the found family aspect of the novel.

I LOVED this book! The Ravenscroft family were wonderful, and Peter may be my favorite historical male main character I’ve read. This book is funny but deep, it is informative but still light - it is great, beginning to end. My only qualm is that the supporting cast was large and I felt like they each had backstories that I didn’t know. I looked and it didn’t look like they were in the descriptions of the author’s previous novellas (I plan to read those next!) but it left me a little frustrated at times and feeling like I was missing information. I can’t wait to read Lydia’s book next!

⭐️ 5/5
🌶️ 4/5

I am kicking myself for putting this book off for so long! This story had everything I could possibly want from a historical romance: banter, marrying to save one’s reputation, rump grabbing, cheeky maids and valets! It was utterly charming!

For me, it isn’t a historical romance if there isn’t some scandal in danger of breaking and Ne’er Duke Well certainly delivered. I found myself constantly reeling with every twist and turn. The custody battle over the Duke’s siblings, the Belvoir ownership drama, and the uncovering of who is trying to ruin the Ravenscroft family name! I couldn’t get enough.

I simply cannot wait to read Vasti’s next book in this series, Earl Crush, and continue to follow this unlikely trio of ladies as they navigate the marriage mart! It is bound to be an unputdownable ride!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press (@stmartinspress @smpromance) for the advanced copy!

I do not read many regency romances, but this one has me rethinking that. I really enjoyed the story, particularly the historical aspect of it. I hadn't really considered that someone during that time period would have been so deviously deviant to do such a thing. Good on her! Recommend where regency romance is popular or where the collection needs to have some regency romance added.

Finally, in Alexandra Vasti’s NE’ER DUKE WELL (St. Martin’s Griffin, 352 pp., paperback, $17.99), Peter Kent is a radical duke, born in New Orleans and with a tendency toward abolitionism. He also has two young illegitimate siblings in dire need of care; finding an unimpeachably respectable wife is the surest way to ensure he’s granted custody by the courts. His friend Lady Selina Ravenscroft offers a list of eligible brides — but doesn’t include herself, as she secretly runs a ladies’ library filled with sexually explicit volumes. Some of these are erotic, some are educational — and all of them would ruin her if the truth were to get out.

So Peter must marry someone else, no matter how much his heart soars when Selina walks into a room. And Selina has to let him go, no matter how jealous she gets to see him flirting with the diamonds of the ton.

This is a gem of a Regency, with dazzling banter and more than the usual amount of charm. Nearly everyone is hiding something, because when social rules are so rigid nearly everyone has something to hide. Because everyone carries their own secret as a burden — Peter not being able to publicly claim his siblings, Selina not being able to openly discuss her work — scandal becomes an immense source of power.

Which, coincidentally, is the greatest secret of historical romance: that this frothy, sexy, self-referential genre tells us so much about our modern selves.

I love a good historical romance and this one didn’t disappoint. Peter is trying to get custody of his half brother and sister. Selina, a family friend, thinks that he needs to take a wife to help his cause. Only too bad, Peter only has eyes for her. After some back and forth about how Selina thinks she isn’t the suitable wife because she runs a library with some scandalous content, they finally get together. This was a fun read and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

A fun twist on a regency romance! I really enjoyed this. The characters were unexpected, different and made for interesting reading. It's hard to put a new spin on a book like this, but this author did!

As a lover of historical romance, I always approach a new author with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. But I'd read one of Alexandra Vasti's novellas that are part of this Halifax series, and had enjoyed it, so was hopeful for her first full-length novel. I wasn't disappointed. This was fun - I enjoyed the introduction of Peter Kent, a newly minted duke who was from Louisiana, who wasn't all that enthralled with his new title but was reluctantly enthralled with his newly-met half-siblings and is determined to become their new guardian. I liked Selina Page, who's quite the proper debutante on the surface, but has chosen to forego marriage to pursue her somewhat improper vocation as a publisher. Selina's attempts to help Peter find a very proper duchess to shore up his suitability as a guardian, her attempts are thwarted at every turn - most of all by their mutual attraction to each other. I enjoyed the main characters and those surrounding them. Overall I enjoyed this one and look forward to more in the Halifax series.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing copies for an unbiased review.

This was my first book by Alexandra Vasti and I loved it! Historical romance has always been a favorite genre of mine and when an author can write in that genre but make it feminist, I am always impressed. Ne’er Duke Well was humorous and romantic. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

This was a delightful read. The writing style and romance tropes were wonderfully executed and I was rooting for the two main characters (a rarity these days). My one complaint is I don't particularly enjoy kids in books but the ending scene with them storming into a courthouse with a horse made up for me suffering through their presence. I can't wait to read the next one in this series.

Selina and Peter were so cute.

She was determined to find Peter a wife to help him with getting custody of his half siblings. She couldn’t see or chose to ignore that she fit everything she was looking for in a potential match.

The event that lead them to pretending they were getting married made me laugh. It was like the universe wanted to force them together. I laughed so many times throughout the book. I just loved it.

I am a fan of Alexandra's Halifax novellas (which is how I discovered her) so I was excited for her full-length novel. Vasti's writing is immersive and actually makes you feel as if you are a fly on the wall of a regency drawing room. You get a true sense of the language, customs, concerns of the characters and a comprehensive appreciation for the setting. All of these tenets held true for this story.

I enjoyed the unfolding of Selina and Peter's story and particularly Selina's subversive endeavours within the parameters of "good society." I also really enjoyed the exploration of Peter's motivations and self-doubts and his reconciling both through the relationship with Selina.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and look forward to more stories from Vasti.