Found this to be a fun and uplifting book with a good dose of humor, mystery. and romance Cute read!

Alexandra Vasti immediately become an ista-love author after I had the chance to read her first novella. For he first full length novel, she once again serves us a fantastically written story, chock full of humor, and making you question your initial book-boyfriend list of her characters. She has a way with making you wonder how two perfectly matched characters can ever possibly NOT make it through the chaos? And that's Selina and Peter. They can't possibly end up together! There's too much at stake! And yet they do! Somehow, we arrive at a wonderfully dramatic court scene where Peter proves his worth to Selina in the most 90's rom-com way, that leaves you swooning and wondering if he'll usurp Henry, Christian, or Spencer.

This was delightful. I'm always slightly hesitant to read historical romance novels because women were basically treated like property back then, but for the most part the relationships and viewpoints of the characters align with modern thoughts, which is good (and certainly the case here). It's kind of a shame that there just aren't more historical romance novels to read, because they can be quite enjoyable. This one I found to be lovely. It was not only a fun, amusing romp, but the main characters were wonderful, and it was nicely steamy. Surprisingly I found it somewhat timely, what with all the book banning going on (although that's more for kids, while the books in this book were "banned" for women). I think my only real "issue" with this book, if you can call it that, was that our main female character was too afraid to ask for help from those that would have been more than happy to give it. But that's honestly such a small nit-pick. I'm thrilled to know that the author has some backlist self-published novellas that have been picked up by this same publisher; I will certainly be buying and reading those when they come out. My only other real hope is that Vasti will continue to write historical/regency romance and that we'll get more books like this one. I would be extra happy to learn that they were companion books to this one, because I kind of need to know what happens to the best friend, and I would also love to see one about the twin brother. I would also not be opposed to one that takes place a few decades later about the Duke's sister, because I bet that one would be a hoot and a half. Basically anything else this author wants to write I will read. I've already stuck this on a bridgerton endcap at work, and I'm hoping it sells so I can order a few more in a write a shelf-talker for it. A+ would recommend. I'll certainly be buying a physical copy to add to my library, and I'll be picking up the ebook when it goes on sale as well.

What happens when a ‘fixer’ meets a man who’s been told so often he can’t do anything right he’s quit trying? Sparks will fly. Of course! Selina and Peter’s story shows imperfect people can defeat just about any issue if they do it together. Peter is the new Duke of Stanhope and Selina has always been the most proper sister of a Duke but she has a secret that makes her most scandalous. Peter wants custody of his two half siblings but has crossed the very person that will make the decision so of course Selina has a plan. Plans go awry and love ensues. This story was fun and had all the feels! Peter was a perfect blend of insecurity and brashness and you want to turn off Selina’s self-talk. Great ending that will you will cheer for this charming couple..

Peter is in quite a situation: he has been forced to move back to England from New Orleans taking on the role of Duke as well as finding out he has two siblings in need of guardianship. New in town, in a new role as a Duke and fighting for guardianship of his siblings would be hard enough on his own. But, when he enlists the help of Selina to help him find a wife to help his case for guardianship, it's even harder to fight his feelings for her.

He's not the only one fighting feelings. Selina also fights her feelings for Peter as she is hiding a secret that would only cause scandal. Scandal and shame from the ton that Peter's case for guardianship can't afford. Her secret means the world to her and the only person who knows is her twin brother who ran off in his own state of grief. Selina juggles her grief of lost family members, maintaining a facade in front of the ton, managing a business in secret and now this task of helping Peter. She does not have time for distraction. She does not believe she has what Peter needs. But she does have these pesky feelings.

Can they find a way to work together to give Peter guardianship of his siblings? Can they save themselves from scandal? This is a story about found family, losing family and how it does not do well to fight fate.

While this book had promise, it lost me a bit in the minute details, the insecurity as well as the sap being extremely heavy towards the end. An example of minute details is there is mention of Selina's twin brother but the only appearance he makes in the book is via correspondence once. For a book focused on family, I found this to be a missed opportunity. Especially since he does not even make an appearance in the epilogue. Another example is how it is mentioned that Selina and Peter had met once several years before the book begins, but there is not much mentioned about the meeting. I am not sure if this is a dangling carrot for the reader, setting up for a novella to come out after the rest of the series comes out, but it seems unnecessary in this book. The insecurity was at times redundant where Selina believes so strongly that she is going to bring scandal and shame and ruin the opportunities for Peter and his siblings. Her solution then is to run away before they can know she is gone, then she backtracks, then goes back to the idea, then backtracks again before confessing to Peter her concerns. It seems to counter the personality we are told of Selina in the beginning where she is strong and seems to be able to find solutions for all of her friend's problems. It felt more like she was being "a silly woman in love who worries over everything" rather than a strong feminine nature. This insecurity also shows up when the idea of her being with Peter is so outlandish that she instead tries to set him up with her female friends instead. Lastly, the sap at the end where Peter is constantly fawning over Selina is a little much for me at times. It felt more like it was stagnating the plot from where it was moving along very quickly in the beginning.

All of this aside, I did appreciate the dialogue, banter, and charm of the characters. The ending was especially touching. I enjoyed that the goal of the characters is to work together to gain guardianship of the siblings. The siblings were also fun characters adding a touch of chaos and mischief yet unity. I also appreciated the character of Lydia and I hope to see her in the next book in the series.

This review was given freely and all opinions are my own. An electronic Advanced Reader Copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher via Netgalley. Thank you!

As a fan of Alexandra Vasti's previous 3 novellas, I was very excited for her debut full length novel!

I really enjoyed reading this novel and adore both of the lead characters. They were both well fleshed out and have great chemistry. I also liked the side characters, which is promising for future novels in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alexandra Vasti's debut novel, Ne'er Duke Well, exceeded all my expectations! Lady Selina Ravenscroft and Peter Kent, the Duke of Stanhope, are a match made in literary heaven. Selina, the epitome of society’s propriety, hides a tantalizing secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. We love a queen who is all about educating women about themselves! Peter, with his scandalous past and desire for respectability to earn guardianship over his half-siblings, is both endearing and irresistibly intriguing.

The chemistry between Selina and Peter is electric, and their romance is steamy in the best way. Their relationship evolves so naturally over the story as Selina goes from finding Peter a suitable wife to becoming that wife.

The plot is well-paced, with just the right amount of intrigue and humor to keep you hooked. Selina’s role in helping Peter find a suitable wife takes unexpected turns, leading to amusing and heartwarming moments. The blend of historical detail and modern sensibility adds depth to the story, making it stand out in the Regency genre.

Overall, this book is a must-read for fans of steamy historical romance. If you love a good Regency romp with memorable characters and a love story that will make your heart race, this one’s for you!

I have enjoyed Alexandra Vasti's novellas and I knew her full length book would be a riot. Spoiler alert, I was right! This was such a fun romp and I really enjoyed our leads and the found family-ness of the plot. The kids were not too annoying and I enjoyed their integration into the story.
I would have liked to have read some of the events that were referred to in the book but these are minor quibbles.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I don't read much romance, much less specialize in regency romance. However, I was intrigued by this author's funny social media posts (also I loved the title of this book). Ne'er Duke Well is charming, humorous and a highly enjoyable, quick read whether or not you are a huge romance fan or not. Highly recommend!

I love the title and the fun cover and the premise that she’s being a matchmaker for the new Duke of Stanhope so that he can be guardian to his much younger siblings.
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Selina is a feminist and loves to insert justice in her own way. Scandal follows behind her lurking in the shadows waiting to be let out. So when she hastily marries the Duke of Stanhope to avoid scandal - the cards are stacked against them.
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I liked how the book ended but the beginning was rough where I picked it up and stopped a lot. It seemed disjointed. And most chapters are Selina’s POV and then there’d be a random POV of Peter but there’s nothing to alert the reader of the change of view. So that would throw me for a loop too. I think the book was too long or at least cut a lot of the beginning quarter. 🤷🏻‍♀️
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The book has quite a few open door scenes and mentions of sexual education, abuse and women’s rights. A lot to cover in a debut book so props to the author for some ingenuity but needed more editing I think.
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Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the e-arc. This book released last month and is available everywhere.

Peter Kent is surprised when he inherited his estranged father's Dukedom, more so after discovering he had two half-siblings he never knew about. Despite the challenges, he is determined to gain custody of his younger siblings and provide them with a loving home. Known as the “American Duke,” his progressive views and stance against the slave trade made him unpopular among his government peers, which could jeopardize his custody petition.

Enter Lady Selina Ravenscroft, a problem-solver with a knack for finding solutions. She created a plan to help Peter to improve his reputation through marriage with a respectable young woman. Her goal is to reunite this family. As their matchmaking efforts unfolded, a strong attraction blossomed between them, and it was obvious that Selina would be the perfect match for Peter. However, Selina resisted because she harbored a secret that could jeopardize both Peter’s custody battle and tarnish her family’s reputation due to her ownership of a library dedicated to educating women about their sexuality.

This historical romance is a delightful read filled with charm. The main characters are endearing, and you cannot help but cheer for them. The supporting cast is equally impressive—strong and intelligent—and I eagerly anticipate their future stories. Selina and Peter's amusing escapades in their quest to find a bride had me chuckling. The chemistry between the leads was palpable, with several steamy moments throughout. Do not miss “Ne’er Duke Well” by Alexandra Vasti. It is a fantastic mix of romance and humor, with some spicy elements thrown in and it is an absolute must read in 2024.

My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for the copy of the digital ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I knew this book was going to be good from the beginning. Vasti had a great hook that instantly drew readers in to the story and made them want to keep reading. The main characters were great; both flawed in their own ways but those flaws endeared them to readers. The supporting characters were well-written and added to the levity of the story. All in all, this was a great read.

This book was bursting at the seams with wit, drama and charm. The author did a wonderful job balancing the serious topics by balancing it out with humor and steam. Once the drama and steam picked up my interest in the story was solid. I did feel confused at some points because there were so many people mentioned and their names were long, but I got the gist of it when it came to the bigger characters/plot. I loved the cute lines about the cat and its name. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction/spice should know about this book!

Thanks so much for this eARC!
I loved this novel debut by Alexandra Vasti. It was super cute with lovable mains and amazing side characters.
Lady Selina is the most proper of English Ladies... except for a pretty major secret.
The Duke of Stanhope (Peter) has a bit of a reputation... but he really just wants to provide for his siblings.

I love them all and this was an excellent addition to historical regency romance. Plus- no third act breakup! What could be better??

Absolutely loved this entire book with my heart. You would think these two, Peter and Selina don’t belong together but they do. Peter was in this relationship from the beginning, Selina just needed to stop being afraid of what society would think. In the end everything worked out in their favor, the most thrilling part was the journey they took to get their HEA.

Anytime we have a heroine in historical fiction who loves books—and tawdry reads at that—I'm pretty much destined to enjoy the story! In the case of Ne'er Duke Well, there's something irresistible about a woman who loved spicy romance back in the day—mostly because I sometimes forget that this style of book has been around forever!!

As for Selina & Peter - there's something truly delectable about a relationship that starts off because one needs help from the other. It's innocent and absolutely something I could see happening! From movies like Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey - where he realizes that he loves her only after he's about to lose her, etc - these are the stories I like to read whilst laying in a pile of chocolate wrappers, ya know? Nothing major on the line, and two utterly likable characters falling in love.

**I liked this so much that when I was majorly cleaning out my Kindle for storage purposes - I realized I had accidentally deleted it and had it sent to myself again. I'll probably end up re-reading this one!!

Ne’er Duke Well is the first book by Alexandra Vasti that I have read, but it most certainly won’t be the last. I loved reading Selina and Peter’s story so much that I didn’t want it to end. The characters were extremely well written, developed, and relatable. The chemistry leapt off the page anytime Peter and Selina interacted. I loved that Selina, her family, and friends were very different from other characters in historical romance novels that have read. I loved how they didn’t worry about whether something was popular, they just did it because they wanted to help people. I loved Selina’s very strong character and that she always helped those who were mistreated.
I loved reading this remarkable story of family, friendship, loyalty, and fighting for what is right no matter what. I loved how strong and unique the main characters and their family and friends were in this story and hope that there will be more to come like it.

** spoiler alert ** 3.5/5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley for the Arc!

I was so excited to read this book given that historical romance is my favorite but this one let me down a little. It is a relatively fast-paced, friends-lovers, with a strong heroine book. I enjoyed Selina as a character and her "side job".

The part that let me down was that I felt that there wasn't enough depth between the two main characters and found myself asking if they really did like each other or just enjoyed their bodies (nothing wrong with that but that wasn't the vibe I thought this book was going for). Also, the story started where it felt like the major conflict would be about Peter getting custody of his brother and sister, and while it was mentioned, the conflict was sidelined and easily wrapped up in a nice bow.

What a great historical romance! It's got it all-- marriage of convenience, court room drama, secret sex library and precocious kids (I'm looking at you, Lu). Selina knew the only way to help Peter gain custody of his half-siblings was with a marriage but she never planned it to be her because of her dark secret-- she runs a smutty library for ladies. Oh yes, ladies do love reading their smut. Alexandra writes these empowered women who are amazing to read. Her stories just grab you and hold your attention. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

I love historical romance with a cute title and cover, so of course this one caught my eye! What I ended up loving the most about this book was Peter, and his sense of humor and how he wasn’t your typical Duke. The chemistry between him and Selina was instant, and I really appreciated that these two figure out how to communicate to solve their problems together.

A heartwarming story of found family with more than a few laughs, this book has some great side characters that has me really looking forward to reading their own stories in this new series!