This was a new author for me and I am very impressed. I loved the plot and the character's backstories, especially Selina's and her involvement with the Venus collection. Both main characters were likable and relatable and the spice level was just right. Even the children were a nice addition, and I'm not normally fond of children in my romance novels. I can't wait to read more from this author. Four stars and definitely recommend. Thank you to St Martin's and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. Overall, I felt that this was a fun, light historical romance read but that the plot was a bit disjointed and like two different books in one with the first half being about Selina trying to find Peter a bride, and the second half about the custody battle and Belvoirs. As a result, I wasn't as engaged in the book and also wish there was a bit more space for character development.

Definitely still recommend for a quick read if you're in the mood for historical romance 3/5 stars

Peter Kent, the new Duke of Stanhope who hails from—gasp!—New Orleans, Louisiana, needs to rapidly improve his reputation. He wants custody of his half-siblings, Freddie and Lu, and let’s just say that between his American roots and his political stance, among other things, he is not the most approved of member of the ton. When he turns to Lady Selina Ravenscroft for help, she decides the fastest way to improve his standing is to secure him a proper wife.

Selina is beloved by the ton, but her reputation would be dashed if her cohorts discovered that she is behind the circulating library that has—ahem—made some more enlightening reads available to women.

Here’s the rub, though: despite her multiple attempts at matchmaking Peter to the ladies of the ton, none of those relationships seem to take. As unfortunate as it seems, Selina discovers that she, in fact, may be Peter’s perfect match. Oh bother.

He needs his status bolstered, but allying with her, and her potentially destructive secret, may cause an even greater downfall.

I adore Alexandra Vasti’s writing; I found myself wearing an irrepressible grin while reading this one; and I just love Peter’s half-siblings, Freddie and Lu.

Peter and Selina’s banter is delicious and their chemistry is fantastic. The stories surrounding the other ladies of the ton whom Selina attempts to matchmake with Peter only enhance the humor of the story.

There is a bit of a change in tone once Peter and Selina do get together. Things become more serious as the decision regarding Freddie and Lu’s guardianship grows closer.

It all works out in the end, though, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

4.75⭐️

I received an advance copy of the book from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

After binge reading all 3 Halifax Hellion novellas, I knew I needed more of Alexandra Vasti in my life. I’m so grateful for Netgalley providing me with an ARC so I could fulfill that dream. Ne’er Duke Well has all the elements that you come looking for when reading Vasti: spice, strong women, and men down bad for their heroine. Vasti is one of my favorite historical romance authors and Ne’er Duke Well is an excellent debut.

I think a lot of people will enjoy this one - and it was fun - but it's not the kind of historical romance that I prefer. I prefer historical romance that is really rooted in the time period and setting. This felt too modern - the way they spoke and interacted with each other. It wasn't horrible by any means, but it kept bringing me out of the story.

Thank you Natgalley and st martins press for the earc. My opinions are my own and being left voluntarily. I am glad i got a chance to read her novellas befote diving into this book gave me a sense of hwr writing and the heat. I loved this book its the first time i got to see my mil name in a book and excited so show her that. Thank you to the author for providing a travelling arc to within Canada.

I read this charming book to prep myself for the return of Bridgerton season 3, and it was perfection!

I love when historical romance authors create women characters with modern ideals that challenge the status quo of the period, and Lady Selina is my dream heroine. She convinced her twin brother to purchase a library, she becomes its secret manager, including running the hush-hush erotic circulating collection. When her former childhood friend, Peter Kent, inherits a Dukedom and returns to London, Selina agrees to play matchmaker for him to shore up his fledging reputation. Her top three candidates lead to hilarious dates full of disasters, and rather than helping Peter make a match, Selina and Peter's chemistry keeps escalating. But Selina knows she cannot act on her feelings as her secrets could ruin Peter's chances at assuming guardianship of his half-siblings.

Childhood rivals to lovers, forbidden romance, secret identities, large meddling family, found family, witty banter, and SO much steamy tension make this romance a joy to read, and the perfect summer pick!

Another Regency romance with such a heartwarming vibe! I loved the shenanigans in this one and the main couple were wonderfully well-suited to each other – and even better, great at communication. It’s something of a novel of two halves, with the first half dealing with a matchmaking plot and the second more of a “how will we get through this scandal and save our families” plot, which could have felt uneven, but the romance elements throughout and the well-written characters kept this all feeling super engaging and compelling.

Alexandra Vasti is fast becoming one of my favorite historical romance authors. In "Ne'er Duke Well" she combines humor and steam with engaging characters for a really wonderful read.

FMC Selina is strong and independent and acts as something of a "fixer" behind the scenes of the ton. She is also the founder of a rather scandalous catalog at a local lending library, one she created with the goal of educating other young women about sex and men and all the other things proprietary insists young ladies should not know. MMC Peter is newly the Duke of Stanhope and *gasp* an American. He has had several misadventures that have brought scandal to his name and cast doubt on his ability to gain custody of his much younger half-siblings (the adorable Lu and Freddy). Selina, despite a not so meet cute, resolves to help Peter by marrying him - to someone else.

Of course, Selina ends up wanting Peter for herself and no surprise, he wants her, too. This is a rare story where the couple models good communication fairly early on - Selina is honest with Peter and he, in turn, supports her in every way and accepts her full-stop. The duo have palpable chemistry and the steam is excellently written. I love Selina's interactions with her family and bestie Lydia as well as how she realizes she has allowed her circle to become too small over the years. Iris and Georgianna are fantastic secondary characters, and I really one of them (or Lydia) becomes a new love for Will upon his return. Speaking of, I really do hope this book becomes a series as I do want to read the rest of these women's stories and am sure Vasti would do a good job in telling them.

4.5 stars, rounding up to 5. Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for a complimentary ARC of this book. These opinions are my own.

Its been a while since I've read a historical romance and this may not have been the best choice for reintroducing myself the the genre. There's nothing wrong with it, but its very light with not much to grab on to. But as a pallet cleanser, it worked just fine. Thanks for allowing me to read this prepublication.

This was a delightful romance read. The plot was fun with interesting characters, and I loved the chemistry between Peter and Lady Selina. I also loved the wit sprinkled throughout.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti is a captivating Regency romance novel that takes readers on a thrilling journey through the steamy world of 19th-century England. With its quicksilver pace and unforgettable characters, this delightful story will have readers cheering for their favorites from beginning to end.

I love Vasti's quick wit and was completely smitten! She is a fresh voice on the histrom scene and I can't wait to see what she puts out next. Selina is a top favorite FMC of 2024 and beyond.

Fun Regency romance that I hope will become a standalone series! I really enjoyed this book and read it an almost a day loved the main characters. This is the perfect summer read and if you're not sure about getting into historical romance this is a good one to start with there was lots of humor and a good amount of spice. Rating this 3.5/4 stars. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

For a historical romance novel this was super fun! I wanted a little bit more tension from the romance, rather than just their physical attraction to each other. Their 'I love yous' came out of nowhere for me personally, I felt like I needed to see a bit more of them getting to know each other personally. Otherwise, really fun read.

“Ne'er Duke Well” by Alexandra Vasti
A Fun Regency, but a bit Spicy
For me, I was definitely hooked on this story by the end of the first chapter. Yes, I shed a few tears, and enjoyed some laughs, and deemed a few scenes too detailed for my reading palette. So I skipped over those scenes to read the rest of the story that I enjoyed witnessing. I am glad I spent my time spent in this story. And I did enjoy reading the author’s notes, too! Happy Reading ! !
Note: This review expresses my honest opinion.
I received an ARC of this story via NetGalley

This was so much fun. I know a lot of people think the Regency and Jane Austen and think romance, but to me it is very much the era of the comedy of manners. What I like so much about this book is that it delivers on both of those fronts. Skewering society while watching two interesting characters you can’t help but root for dance around one another was spectacularly entertaining. I laughed. I smiled. I just genuinely enjoyed myself the entire time I was reading this novel. A well rounded cast of supporting characters makes the world that much more colorful, and a historically reasonable plot about correcting the education and miseducation of women makes this one a winner in my eyes. My favorite part may have been learning that every one of the unusual and fascinating books mentioned by title is real.

Another positive point to add, is that despite the location and time period, the novel takes a Bridgerton tv series style route of representation. While slavery is a plot point, specifically support for the abolitionist movement, the ton is not solely an Anglo society and the diversity is matter of fact rather than an obvious exception or plot point.

So many romances end on a wedding like that’s the end of the story rather than the beginning of one so I very much enjoyed the fact that the novel’s major wedding takes place about halfway through and life (with its joys and its challenges) continues on. Some unresolved plot threads, nothing major, make me feel like this must be the start of a series. If that’s the case, I would love to see more of these characters and very much look forward to it.

What a great Regency novel with all the levels of romance, laughter, and steaminess. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book. It was impossible not to root for the pairing of Lady Selina and the Duke of Stanhope Peter Kent from the first few pages. Their chemistry was off the charts hot. All of the supporting characters in this novel brought so much more to the story, which I don’t always feel happens successfully.

I would love for the author to continue the stories of these friends with a follow-up book for Lydia!

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martens Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review; all opinions are my own.

Ne’er Duke Well is a charming little romance laden with feeling and a surefooted, breezy writing style… which also has a heavy shellacking of wallpapery behavior on it, with a plot that has way too many moving parts. Still, it’s a fun read, and those plot points do make sense – eventually.

Louisiana native and abolitionist Peter Kent is known for his radical politics and total inability to behave in a proper manner in his home country. He is stunned to learn that he’s inherited a dukedom. Once he lands in England, he takes on the mantle of Duke of Stanhope, meets with the crumbling and possibly haunted estate and discovers his reputation has not endeared him to his neighbors. He also spends more time than he ever has before with his younger, illegitimate half-siblings, the sword fight enthusiast Lu and animal-loving Freddie. To secure the custody of the children he turns his eyes toward the marriage mart and asks the seemingly much more staid Lady Selina Ravenscroft for help securing a match.

Only there’s something that Peter doesn’t know about Selina, who seems to be a moralistic debutante – she runs a circulating library intended for women only – a library laden with erotica and educational material related to sex. Though she herself is a virgin, naturally. Selina tries to help Peter find a proper bride, but one incident leads to another, which ultimately leads to Selina and Peter being caught in flagrante delicto. They’re forced to marry, but is it real love?

Oh, will you have to bite your lip just a bit with this one. The author tries her best to make Selina’s library seem like a credible move for a young lady of the aristocracy and, in an author’s note, ends with the notion that a woman of nobility could probably get away with running such a book service due to her status as the wife of a peer. But it’s hard to believe that, honestly.

The book suffers a bit from extraneous plot details – and really, between the library and Peter’s custody fight for the kids, there’s too much plot that has little to do with the romance. I have no idea why Peter is American, but his Louisiana life barely factors into the novel and it ought to; he and Selina already have a friendship rolling before the book, and it’s frustrating we miss out on that because it feels like the reader is missing a step.

And yet this is still a touching, charming book. I liked Selina’s brains, I liked Peter’s moral fiber and I loved how much they adore the children. I enjoyed the kids’ antics, though they read a little bit younger than they ought to for twelve and ten. The banter and humor are all fun, the sex is spicy. The way the author handles the notion of Peter and Selina not wanting to have kids is well thought out (though someone should warn them about the effectiveness of the rhythm method). Ne’er Duke Well is entertaining enough to make me look for more for the author, while noting the flaws in this first full-length effort.

If you enjoy historical romance then you will enjoy this book. I really liked the main characters but also the side ones as well. I hope to read more from this author soon.