I’ve read a good bit of historical romance novels but I haven’t read one quite like this. Such an interesting story about an American Duke and an English Lady who has her own business lending out sexy books to other unmarried ladies in the Regency era! It is so cute and fun and just makes you feel all the fuzzy good feelings!

"In this steamy Regency romp, Lady Selina is determined to find the Duke of Stanhope the perfect wife—the only problem is she's starting to think that might be her. The main characters: Peter Kent—newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana and Selina society’s most proper debutante, save one tiny secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women."

A rare 5 stars. I don't give them out very often, but this story was well written and had me from start to finish. Peter and Selina are well-rounded characters, they have depth. The secondary characters are well done but the standouts are Peters half siblings, Lu & Freddie. The kids are adorable. Even the devilish kitten is entertaining.

Peter is a walking disaster, if something can happen it will; he draws it like a magnet and is always surprised that it's such a big deal. Anything outside society's stodgy rules is going to wind up in the gossip pages and Peter is a regular. Selina is a perfect ton lady with a big secret. Her lending library for ladies is full of what would be considered smut. It's really more educational tomes for innocent ignorant young ladies but there are some racy novels too. One woman checked out a book so many times, and kept it overdue, that Selina wrote it off and bought another!

A big part of the story involves illegitimate or natural born children, a father who didn't care about them or his own heir. Peter spends a lot of time and energy trying to make things right as we would see it today but shocking in historic England. Why it's not shocking to everyone in the book is a mystery, it's taken in stride that a duke wants custody of his father's by-blows. A sad story about one of them will break your heart. My opinion is that you'll enjoy the easy fun read as much as I did.

Publisher‏: ‎ St. Martin's Griffin (July 23, 2024)
Publication date‏: ‎ July 23, 2024
Print length: ‎ 345 pages

#Ne'erDukeWell #AlexandraVasti #St.Matrin'sGriffin #historicalromance #romance #historicalEnglishromance #NetGalley

So beautiful, fun and sexy! I love Alexandra Vasti and she knocks it out of the park. The characters are well written, the FMC is a total boss, and the romance is swoon worthy.

We meet Peter Kent the new Duke of Stanhope as he is contemplating his error in judgement. It started with a kitten rejected by his sister Lu, in favor of a rapier. Which led him to dressing her as a boy to accomplish the task, much to the amusement of his brother Freddie. It's also how he manages to run into Lady Selina Ravenscroft while holding aloft a small rapier.

It's important to know that Lady Selina has some interesting secrets as well.

As they converse, she finds the children are Peter's half siblings and he's trying to get guardianship over them.

Her solution is for him to marry, and she puts forth candidates for the position of Dutchess. Her own name is conspicuously missing from that list.

Every time these two are together the attraction is palpable. However, she can't see past her secret to accept that they are the perfect match.

This book is so much fun, the antics of the children and their kitten, and watching Peter navigate courting is very amusing. I couldn't figure out how these two would get together, but I knew they absolutely had to.

Too fast of a burn for my personal preferences. I do enjoy a comedy of errors, but this one was just a little too far on the silly side. I've liked Vasti's writing in the past, but I think her style is more suited to novellas and the lack of real conflict or tension between the characters made that evident.

In this delightfully sexy romance, Selina discovers that you cannot learn everything from books, some things are meant to be experienced.

I think I enjoyed the first half a lot more, when Selina was looking in all the wrong places for a wife for Peter, but with good intentions, obviously. It was tremendous fun watching Peter “court” these three women while pining for Selina. The second half adopted a slightly more serious tone and while I loved seeing Peter and Selina happy, I missed some of their earlier sarcastic banter. The inner dialogue of these two characters was hilarious. They had chemistry in spades right from the start.

This story had schemes upon schemes upon schemes, some more farfetched than others, to be sure. Peter’s siblings and Selina’s friends added levity and rich dimension to the story, while trying to find a solution to a very serious problem. Georgiana was the absolute best and I sincerely hope we will see more of her, as well as Lydia and Selina’s twin brother.

I can highly recommend this if you like a light-hearted, yet steamy, historical romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF @ 42%

Unfortunately, I found this extremely slow and uninteresting. Which is supremely disappointing, given that the Halifax Hellions is one of my FAVOURITE historical novella series. Vasti does so well in this shorter novellas, I had such high expectations for this. Unfortunately, it wasn't hitting the right notes.

Such a fun read!! This was actually my first historical but maybe it won’t be my last?? Loved Vasti’s voice and characters, and of course the spectacular love story.

I don't read a ton of historical romance. I've mostly stuck to contemporary, but every so often I dip my toe in (and I've also recently started watching Bridgerton).

Last week, I finished reading NE'ER DUKE WELL by Alexandria Vasti. I had seen a lot of RAVE reviews before I started, and so I was super excited to read it. And let me tell you, they weren't wrong. This book is FANTASTIC. If if historical isn't generally your thing, this is one you need to make sure to read.

Peter Kent, of New Orleans, has recently inherited the title of the Duke of Stanhope. All Peter wants is to be able to have guardianship over his younger half siblings, but because of he doesn't have the best reputation, he's having issues. So he asks Selina Ravenscroft for help.

Selina is smart and knows the ton well (which is the high society and not a place like I thought while watching the first season Bridgerton lol). While Selina is a well respected lady, she also has a secret - she runs a private library full of erotic books for women.

Selina's plan is for Peter to marry a respectable lady who will help his reputation. But that doesn't go as planned when none of the matches are quite right, and instead he and Selina find themselves unable to resist each other. But Selina is worried her secret will come out if she allows herself to fall for Peter and will ruin his chances of adopting his siblings. But the two also can't stay apart.

This book is SO MUCH FUN!!! It's funny, it's sweet, it's sexy. It's everything you want in a romance! Selina and Peter are an amazing couple with fantastic chemistry! I absolutely adore Peter's siblings. The secret library is so great.

Highly, highly recommend this one and I can't wait to read Alex's Halifax novellas.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC.

I really enjoy Alexandra Vasti's writing. In fact, as soon as I finished this title, I went and checked out all of her old novellas from the library. Something about the way she writes her cast of characters just hits all the right notes. I was never bored, there was always someone on the page who was entertaining. Definitely a good fit for anyone who loves a historical romance with a strong cast of characters.

I'm so delighted Alexandra Vasti is now writing full-length books. I fell in love with her writing through the Halifax Hellions novellas, and seeing her transition into a full-length series set-up is so exciting. This hit all the right notes - a guardianship conflict that feels realistic (and doesn't overly rely on child drama), a newly minted (American) Duke with radical politics, entrepreneurial heroine (running a salacious lending library), near-miss ruination (gasp!), and pining-while-married. This is fairly low angst, with most of the conflict operating outside the couple, and features several absolutely delicious open-door scenes that feel Just Right for these characters. I particularly enjoyed a few of the plot twists that set up future books in the series and can't wait to see these characters get their own happily-ever-afters.

Come for the spicy regency comedy and stay for the author's note, because as always, Vasti evidences how deeply researched and historically authentic these characters are - a great reminder that there have always been women clawing their way to self-determination with the tools available to them, and feminism is not anachronistic.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was such a fun regency romance novel.

Peter is an American from Louisiana who moves to England to become guardian to his two siblings. While there he runs into an old acquaintance Seline who is secretly running an Erotica library. The two hit it off and Seline decides he needs a bride and she is just the person to help him. But the person he needs just might turn out to be her.

I did feel like there was a lot of unnecessary extra talking in this book and it took the main characters a bit to warm up to each other. However, it was very fast paced and ended up being a fairly quick read once you got going.

Solid 4/5 stars and I would recommend this one.

Thank you so much to the Publisher and Netgalley for an arc of Ne’re Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti.
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This was such a fun historical regency romance. I enjoyed it so much and was invested in the characters. I loved Lady Selena and was rooting for her ! I loved how Peter loved her, and the children were so great! I loved the cast of characters and the story of educating women. I felt like some themes / conflict was stretched out a bit much and could have been involved sooner, but I loved the writing and will definitely read from this author again!

Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti
Historical romance.
Peter Kent is a surprise Duke reluctantly accepted by the ton since he has both money and the title. He’s found out that he has a young brother and sister that his father never acknowledged but Peter wants custody of the two to be part of his family. His reputation is suffering because he often acts without thinking how it would look to the London high society so he turns to Lady Selina Ravenscroft for help. He’s noticed her clever, hidden manipulations at parties and events such as pulling an extra pair of gloves from somewhere to help another with protocol. Selina agrees to help Peter find a wife among the ton and introduces three women to him. Peter tries but he really only has eyes for Selina. She won’t consider herself since she manages an erotic circulating library for women and doesn’t want that ownership to be exposed. Oh but, watching Peter and those three ladies socialize doesn’t sit too well with Selina either. Could there be another solution?

Charming and steamy romance as Peter and Selina try to ignore their feelings until the inevitable happens. The children are precocious, especially Lu who seems to be planning a pirate future for herself. I really loved Selina’s mission to teach the women about themselves, both in high society and the servants behind the doors. Lots of humor, banter and romance.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Peter Kent has just become the ninth Duke of Stanhope. He has lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in America for most of his life which is where his mother was from. He was not close to his father who had many mistresses and now there are two half-siblings for whom he wants to gain custody. They are Lucinda (Lu), 12, and Freddie, 10. They have been living with their Great-Great-Aunt Rosamond. He hopes to adopt them but there is one man in the government who looks upon this with disdain. Peter realizes he must convince this man that he will be good to these children. However, Peter’s fight for ending slavery has also not set well with this man. Therefore, he has his work cut out for him.

Lady Selina Ravenscroft is the sister of the Duke of Rowland. Peter knew Selina when they were children so when he runs into her, she knows what he is up against and offers to help him. She thinks that if he marries, that will look good for him to get custody of his siblings. However, the women she introduces him too are just not suited for him.

Selina is hiding her own secret as the owner of Belvoir’s, a lending library, which also offers erotic memoirs and scandalous novels. But she has not let anyone know that she is the owner. As the time comes closer to the hearing on the fate of Peter’s siblings, he and Selina agree to marry. Will this be what it takes to get custody of his siblings?

This is a very good book that I enjoyed. I had to laugh at one of the young women that Peter tried to get to know. She is simply an adorable twit! There are a lot of interesting characters in this book and they all add something to the story. My only cringe here is that this is a very steamy novel. So, if you like those books, you will truly enjoy this one.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Alexandra is an incredibly smart and charismatic author, and I can't wait to read more of her books. the ONLY reason this book isn't 5 stars is because this is a matchmaking plot. however, the prose here is stunning, spicy times fantastic (hello bath scene), and the found family is touching as hell. I want all her books.

I received a complimentary copy of this through NetGalley, but I also bought it from an indie seller and can't wait for it to arrive.

I confess that, despite being mightily intrigued by the blurb, I did not expect to like this book as much as I did--probably because I struggle with illustrated covers of this type for historical romances. But we all know the thing about books and covers; what's beyond this cover is truly delightful: three dimensional protagonists, a well-constructed world for them to move in, a fully-realized cast of secondary characters, and believable conflict.

And the narrative voice is so engaging, I read the book in one long sitting.

Beware: death of children in the past; explicit sex on page; swearing; violently abusive fathers; gravely ill child; grief; social anxiety.

The only legitimate offspring of a third son, Peter Kent never expected to inherit a thing from the father who abandoned his family in Louisiana so many years ago; between illness and war, however, the unthinkable happened: he is a duke now. Which, as unprepared for the role as he is, is bad enough; the real problem is that his late and unlamented father managed not only to sire two more children with one of his mistresses, but also to not acknowledge them publicly or in his will.

Now their mother is dead, and so is the guardian she appointed, and as the children are shunted off to yet another distant relative, Peter petitions the court for their guardianship. Unfortunately, between his politics and his lack of social know-how, which has landed him on the front pages of London's scandal sheets more than once over the past couple of years, the outcome is uncertain.

Fortunately for Peter--and the children--he happens to be acquainted with Lady Selina Ravenscroft, and there is no one he trust more to come up with a plan to ensure a favorable resolution: in the time he's known her, he has witnessed her maneuvering people and events to her satisfaction with precision and elan, while leaving everyone else with the impression that it was all their own idea.

Selina is the much younger sister of the Duke of Rowland; after the untimely death of her parents when she and Will, her twin, were but six, Nicholas left university to access his own title, and to ensure his much younger siblings knew they were safe and loved. Now she is determined to help Peter do the same for his siblings.

The first step is to turn Peter from scandalous to respectable; no more reckless escapades or irregular behavior, no matter how pure his intentions. And, in case that alone is not enough to convince the current Lord Chancellor of Peter's suitability as a guardian to two impressionable and vulnerable young children, there's always marriage to a social paragon.

That conversation alone is worth the price of admission. To wit:

"You think I should find a woman to marry in the next six weeks so that I might be more popular with a capricious old baron who dislikes me because I had the temerity to be born in Louisiana and to say outright that slavery is an abomination?" "Um," said Selina, and she looked somewhat agonized. "That's...it...It sounds much worse when you put it like that." "How would you put it?" (Peter and Selina, chapter 5)

The narrative makes it clear from quite early on, that Peter would happily propose to Selina; from his perspective, the only obstacle there is that he is lacking in every respect, and not at all good enough for her.

He may be a duke in name, she's a lady--and the sister of a proper duke--by breeding and upbringing. She's also brilliant at helping people, through manipulation of events and circumstances, or outright material support--and she cares, deeply, for those around her.

Selina's refusal to even consider a marriage between them is actually very logical: she secretly owns and operates a circulating library, which is essentially a front for a catalog of texts--only available to the female membership--which range from courtesan memoirs to anatomical and medical tracts. Her mission is to educate women about their own bodies, and the fact that she's been engaged in trade (and making a fortune) for years, is a scandal of gargantuan proportions waiting to break over her head.

As a single woman, independently wealthy and with a supportive and powerful family, Selina could weather the storm eventually. Married to Peter, it would surely end any hope for the guardianship--and Selina will not put the children's welfare at risk.

Of course, despite Selina's best laid plans, there's the matter of chemistry--as in, she and Peter have it in spades, and shenanigans of course ensue. Their relationship unfolds in fits and starts at first, but soon they learn to communicate better, and from there to trust each other.

I particularly appreciated how each time they share something intimate with the other is a conscious, considered decision; Selina tells Peter about her involvement in the library, and potential damage to his position, because she can't let him make an uninformed decision. He supports her wholeheartedly and is willing to throw his own weight behind her.

There are several explicit sex scenes in the book, with frank discussions of consent, experience, the possibility of pregnancy, and more, in a way that matches the characters personalities and motivations perfectly.

There is a whole world of background characters with well-defined personalities and full lives in the novel; from the members of Selina's family to the three candidates for Peter's hand, from his lawyer to his valet-cum-manservant-cum-general factotum and Selina's very discreet lady's maid, there's just enough information given to infuse them with life, without cluttering the narrative with extraneous detail. And, I cannot stress this enough, when talking about clothing, it's to indicate a character's situation, the importance--or lack thereof--of the occasion, their level of comfort, and so forth.

I particularly appreciated the author's note at the end clarifying a couple of historical facts, as well as the acknowledgement in text of many of the less palatable realities of the period, from domestic abuse to the wealth produced by slavery and colonization. And while Selina and her closest friends are "not like other girls" in their interests, I appreciated the explicit acknowledgement that there is also nothing wrong with being just like everyone else.

"There's nothing wrong with embroidery. I am simply very poor at it." (Selina to Lydia, chapter 18)

Selina's family is still mourning the sudden death, less than a year prior, of Will's wife and young son, and trying to accept his decision to buy a commission and travel to Brussels. Her widowed aunt's and her companion's relationship is wholly accepted by the family even if it's never openly discussed. Her close friend Lydia has an incisive political mind, and suffers from paralysing social anxiety. The most lovely Georgina has more than fluff between her ears, and even Lord Eldon, the putative villain of the piece, is more than a political affiliation.

Twelve year old Lucinda "Lu" and ten year old Freddie Nash, aren't cute plot moppets, but grieving children; traumatized as much by their mother's death as by the uncertainty of their lives since, they're afraid to trust Peter at the same time they want to love him.

"He had no frame of reference for what it could be like to bring up a child like Lu and protect her from the realities of their world. But he wanted to. He wanted better for her than to wake up each morning gripped by the unpredictability of her future." (Peter, chapter 6)

There is a lot of heartfelt, unashamed sentiment in the book, as well as great banter, and just as many funny moments as heartbreaking ones; the best part is that raging asshats get a taste of their own medicine, and the universe is righted at the end.

In fact, my only complaint is a very petty peeve: hair styles. At one point there's a reference to Selina's hair being down her back, and, "Bridgerton" the tv show notwithstanding, no respectable woman over fifteen would have been seen in public with her hair down in the 1800s.

(I told you it was petty.)

I am very invested in the fate of the rest of the characters, and therefore delighted to learn that this is the first in a trilogy set around Selina's famous Belvoir's Library.

Ne'er Duke Well gets a 9.00 out of 10.

Ne’er Duke Well is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. It’s only July and I’ve aleady read it twice. I am not a re-reader so for me to have read this book twice in 6 months is unheard of. It’s just that good!

I mean I read it in March and LOVED it and then when the audio was up for review I snagged it so quick and OMG the audio is FANTASTIC. @mhairicmorrison brings this book to life. I am still drooling over her Louisiana accent for Peter. 🥵

This book has everything you could want in a #historicalromance - scandal, shenanigans, fighting the patriarchy, just everything.

So please, please, please go read this story. Selina and Peter are just #goals.

Special thanks to @dreamscape_media for the ALC. This one comes on July 23.

“And he had the strangest thought then: that he’d been right every time he’d thought of her. That every time she had crossed his mind—her keen wit and her capable manner and even, if he were being honest with himself, the plump curve of her mouth and the tender spot at the nape of her neck—every time, it had been right. That she belonged exactly there, inside his head.”

Picture it, London 1815: you’ve spent your entire life in Louisiana, only to wake up one day and find out you’ve inherited a British title and are now, the Duke of Stanhope. You’re half way around the world, taking your place in the House of Lords, advocating for change and fighting to become guardian of your half-wild half-siblings, and you need serious help. Who better to assist you than the sophisticated and bright, Lady Selina Ravenscroft. Except she suggests you marry a respectable woman of society {not her} which would be spectacular if it weren’t for the fact you are half in love with her already.

Lady Selina is a problem solver and the newly appointed Peter Kent, Duke of Stanhope made the right choice when he approached her for help. Of course she has a plan, of course he should marry and of course it absolutely cannot be her. Unbeknownst to Peter, Selina is the proprietor of an erotic circulating library that provides a sexual education to women on the ton. And when that scandal eventually hits the gossip sheets, every ounce of her respectability will be sunk to the bottom of the Serpentine.

First of all, marriage to Peter Kent? I volunteer as tribute. And Selina? A society darling using her privilege to secretly advance an important cause? A queen.

I love when two already good characters, come together and become ✨great✨ characters. Peter & Selina truly bring the best of one another with plenty of heart, heat and laughs along the way. The side characters compliment the romance arc without overpowering it and gives us sub themes you can really sink your teeth into {yes, even the kiddos} Oh, & there’s a cat.

I received this free eARC directly from the publisher which did not affect my review. All opinions are my own. Ne’er Duke Well is available now, go grab it from a bookstore near you!

Selina is excellent at fixing things. When Duke Peter Kent needs to become more respectable to become the guardian of his younger siblings, Selena decides to fix the situation by getting him married to someone very respectable. Someone who isn't secretly running a circulating library like she is.

I really enjoyed this book. I particularly liked Georgiana and hope I can read more about her in future books.