I LOVED this book! It is one of the best historical romances I have read it a good while. I just could not have loved Selina and Peter more if I tried. Their chemistry was absolutely electric. Vasti writes top-tier spice and amazing dialogue. Will absolutely be reading more of her!

“Ne’er Duke Well” is hot, fun, and the perfect “Bridgerton” hangover cure. For those who were disappointed by Bridgerton season 3 or just Collin responding to anything in both the TV show or book Peter Kent, the Duke of Stanhope is everything that we disappointed fans needed. I loved Selina’s inability to say no to fixing things while also trying to hide her work as a distributor of women’s sex education pamphlets. I was very intrigued by the Author’s Note and encourage people to read it! It helps give insight to the parts of the story that had more creative license versus ones that were based on real people, history, and books. I’m an interested to read up on Lord Elron. I also hope more books come out based on some of the other characters from this book!

This book was spicy so for those who prefer more tame romances I would skip this one.

Well here’s a pretty mess 🤣

A regency romance with a difference. Peter Kent has been living in Louisiana. Until he’s tracked down and told he’s the next Duke of Stanhope, and by the way you have two half siblings!
Peter doesn’t want to return to England but those siblings made his heart break. If he didn’t rescue them then who would.
The children are a delightful challenge, especially Lu who seems to have set her sights on pirating as a career.
Peter has a few barriers to cross to gain guardianship of the children—but that’s not going to stop him.
He turns for help from Lady Selina Ravenscroft. They’d been playmates years before.
Selina has secretly been filling a lending library to the hilt with books about sex, erotica—anything so that debutants don’t suffer by knowing nothing about their bodies and desires. What should happen if her secret gets out?
Selina decides Peter should marry. Peter closes his eyes and marches forward. After his rousing speech in the House of Lords that offended some of the guardian decision makers he has to do something.
A cracker friends to lovers regency romp with several sturdy sub plots. Selina is a wonder.
An excellent read!

A St. Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

It feels strange to call Alexandra Vasti a debut author as she has been firmly cemented in my favourite authors list for more than a year, but this is her first written, first published story. It feels so good to finally hold a work of hers in my hands and on my treasures shelf. This story is full of all the nuance that I love in her writing. From spunky heroines to lovesick heroes. It is full of witty women pushing society’s boundaries and the men who stand beside them eagerly shining their light. Peter is full-in from the starting gate while Selina pushes her feelings so deep even she can’t see them, guiding him in a search for a respectable duchess. The problem is none of these women are good enough, because she is the only woman right for the role. Though scandal is her name, pride is her game and she will dig her way out of whatever hole society shoves her into. Alongside these two is a madcap cast of loveable side characters, not the least of which are Peter’s precocious siblings, Freddie& Lu. Freddie is the ever lovable brother who is eager to please and Lu is the wild tomboy who refuses to be held back by anyone, in anything. From the very first page I was already in love with Lu’s tenacious spirit and macabre way of thinking. She’s a little rough around the edges and I wouldn’t take her any other way. Throughout the story I found myself eagerly pairing off side characters for potential romance in what I hope is a long series. I know who’s next but I’ve got my list of guesses ready for the following sequels. If you enjoy wild, zany adventures in love, you will love Ne’er Duke Well.

This was a cute story. The chemistry between the lead and love interest was great with some fun banter. Even with the added modern twist of showing some steam, it was still a believable regency inspired setting.
I loved the friends. They were different and shown to be complex and I’m looking forward to future companion novels.
I would’ve loved it going more into the backstory of Peter’s past, instead of just dropping him into the story.

I love the Halifax Hellions. So I was anxiously awaiting my time to read ne’er Duke Well, the author’s debut full length novel.

I found the writing and tone to be different somehow from the Halifax Hellions. Softer, maybe? I’m not so great at finding the right descriptive words, but I will try.

This book surprised me in that the relationship between Peter and Selena seemed to be well on its way from the very start. It was obvious they both liked each other. Peter leaned in to the feeling, he was very self aware. Being raised outside the ton, he had incredible perspective on what it meant to be “ruined”. As in - he didn’t give a fig. He knew it wouldn’t help matters in achieving his goal of getting custody of his younger siblings if he were to flout convention. But he didn’t let the small world of the ton run his life.

I felt like the opposite was true for Selena. She was so overly concerned about what would happen if people found out her involvement in running the library. Which, I know from my modern view, seems ridiculous. She really was her own worst enemy in catastrophizing what it would mean to be discovered. Her view was so narrow that she honestly felt her solution was the best and only. I was so pleased that literally everyone she told was like …. And???? I really started to dislike Selena as she was planning to just “run away” and thought that would be the best solution to help Peter in his custody case. She was a bit delusional.

However, that all said the motivations between the couple were clear - I believed Selena believed all the nonsense.

I loved the children. There was an air of the ridiculous about them, but I truly appreciated that Selena was able to relate to Lu. And the supporting cast of characters in this book were well developed, and I am very interested in hearing more from them.

Final thoughts - while this was a lovely story and well written, it is definitely different from the Halifax Hellions. It’s not as spicy. The prose feels different. While yes this is a romance book by definition - it feels the most important story is in relation to the children and not only the relationship development of Selena and Peter.

Thank you so much to the author for allowing the privilege of receiving an advanced reader copy to provide my review.

PS. Every time Peter’s curls were mentioned I swooned.

Sweet and spicy debut historical from one of my new favorites Alexandra Vasti. It’s the story about an American who inherits a Dukedom and also finds out he has two half siblings that he wants to gain custody of. To convince the Lord Chancellor that he is suitable to have custody and he’s not just some wild American, the upstanding yet meddling Lady Selina is determined to find him a scandal free bride, and it absolutely can’t be her because she runs a scandalous erotic yet educational circulating library for women and it would be very bad if anyone ever found out. The only problem…they are burning hot for each other and when they get caught in a compromising position they marry to save reputations…as one does in a proper historical romance. It’s fun, fresh and sexy but feels like an old friend/comfort read at the same time! Loved it! Also recommend the audio version!

I was happy and grateful to receive an ARC of “Ne’er Duke Well.”

Peter Kent, Duke of Stanhope, formerly of New Orleans, Louisiana (where Vasti makes her home) is in England and trying to secure guardianship of his two young natural, half-siblings. Lady Selina Ravenscroft, nursing an unacknowledged crush, on Stanhope has determined a whirlwind love match and quick wedding will endear Kent to the courts hearing his petition. With lists and plans Selina sets out to find Peter a bride.

Selina does not put herself on this list because she has determined never to marry as her clandestine ownership of a lending library, with an even more secret Venus catalogue of salacious titles exclusively for female readers, puts her too close to scandal for any prospective spouse let alone Peter, who needs to improve his reputation rather than damage it further.

This was an entertaining book. I found it a bit slow to read because it has a plot device that I find grating; namely, the secret that will ruin everything. Secrets are common historical romance tropes, and I don't mind them as a plot device. But, I strongly dislike the “if my family and the love of my life finds out my secret, they will despise me”, when this is compounded with “I will not share this burden with anyone, let alone my potential life-partner, but create an elaborate plan to deal with the secret”, I really start to get frustrated. The self-loathing, self-flagellation is too much for me, although I give credit to Vasti for mitigating this conflict device by her plot choices.

There were a few uneven continuation moments that had me muddled, but the writing was funny and entertaining. An enjoyable read!

A friend of lovers regency era romance where we don't actually get to see the main characters become friends. we are just told they are. I wanted to love Ne'er Duke Well; it's historical fiction, it's romance, it's my favorite era but the pacing just didn't work for me. As someone who isn't the biggest slow burn fan, I also found that a couple getting together too soon in a story can also cause flow issues. With so much left in the story, it was hard to stay engaged in the side plots when I felt like the romance should have stayed center stage.

I did like the idea of the woman-owned library and the drama that presented, but in the same breath, the ending was almost too easy. I also struggled to connect with the siblings, though their story was an important part of the book, they felt like pawns not necessarily characters.

Overall I liked it, but I didn't love it.

Thank you SMP for the gifted ARC.

I am always a sucker for a cute historical romance cover and this one really got me! This story follows Lady Selina who is determined to help the Duke of Stanhope get a wife so that he might take custody of his siblings. However, things do go they way they should and the attraction between the two is seen by everyone! I loved the writing in this one plus the banter and relationships was so good. Also Lady Selina has a secret that I just absolutely loved!!! Thank you St Martins Press for my gifted copy for review!

Despite being so, SO well written, this book and I did not mess well. There is so much going on that I had a hard time staying focused or even interested in the book. This was a huge bummer as I love Vasti's novellas! The big downfall for me here is that the romance was over in a flash and the whole custody battle aspect swallowed up the romance plot.

3.5

Thank you to the publisher for the eArc.

This book had some cute moments, however it just ultimately didn’t connect with me in a way that would’ve made it amazing. The beginning plot where our FMC was trying to set up our MMC for marriage felt a bit unnecessary to me as I feel the story would have had more impact without it. Had they just been engaged from the start and we had seen more interactions with the children, I think the entire guardianship plot would have been much more impactful.

Overall, not a bad book in the slightest, just didn’t connect with me as I had hoped it would.

This is Alexandra Vasti’s first traditionally published book. I have enjoyed the author's past novellas so I was very excited to read this one. I thought the beginning was strong, but sadly it fell flat. I loved the tension and wondered how they were going to get together, But unfortunately it wrapped up way too quickly and I ended up skimming the rest of the book.

Thank you Netgally and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Ne’er Duke Well follows an American-born duke, Peter, who just arrived in England two years ago. Upon learning of his two younger half-siblings, both orphaned, he intends to gain official custody of them. Too bad his reputation isn’t the greatest; he’s radical and tends to draw a lot of attention to himself! His small family is at risk of being permanently split apart, unless he can somehow convince the judges that he’ll be a caring and stable guardian. For help he turns to his friend Selina, and she comes up with a plan to have him court and marry a woman with a spotless reputation. Not her, though: She has some secrets lurking behind closed doors! And yet Peter wants only her. Can they have it all? Or would being together be too great a risk to Peter’s young siblings?

This book jumps into the main action pretty quickly; maybe it was built up in the author’s previous novellas? (I haven’t read them yet, but those characters are referenced in Ne’er Duke Well.) I found myself trying to get up to speed in the first couple of chapters, but once I did, I fell in love with these characters and their story.

Selina and Peter are both likable. Peter is easy-going and accidentally causes scandal wherever he goes, affable and charming, yet with radical political stances (at least for the time). He’s an outsider, having been born and raised in New Orleans with no likelihood of ever becoming a duke, and yet here he is. Selina is clever and endlessly helpful to anyone who needs it. She secretly runs a library offering erotic literature, something that would surely destroy her reputation and that of her brother, himself a duke. The secondary characters, too, are fun to read. From Peter’s younger half-siblings to the women he’s instructed to court, they all spring from the pages.

There are a few tropes in here—matchmaking, marriage of convenience—that feel reinvigorated and original. I was pleasantly surprised at how swiftly certain things moved along, opening up the story for more twists and fun along the way.

Ne’er Duke Well is generally a ton of fun, but it also delves into some more serious topics. There’s a health scare later in the book, bringing back Peter’s trauma over the loss of his brother back in New Orleans. There’s also discussion of women’s undeserved ignorance around sex and Selina’s determination to give women more knowledge and power in that regard. Bravo to both Selina and Peter for the positive ways they’re each trying to improve their world!

From start to finish, Ne’er Duke Well is a delightful and engaging romance. It’s a joyous read with substance, and I am exited to continue the series. The next book in the Belvoir’s Library trilogy, Earl Crush, comes out on January 21, 2025. It stars Selina’s friend Lydia and a Scottish Earl, and I can’t wait to read it!

This was such a fun and fresh historical romance. Having an unconventional man inherit a title, even a dukedom, is hardly a new trope, but Vasti takes the concept and breathes new life into it. Peter is shaking up the aristocracy with his abolitionist views AND he’s trying to gain guardianship of his half-siblings.

I also love the trope where the first person offers to help find a suitable partner for the other, only to fall in love with them. So, I really enjoyed the parts of the book that feature Peter taking prospective brides around town. But of course, Selina is the only match for Peter.

Their chemistry is off the charts– 120% sizzling! It’s def a bit spicier than some of the recent histroms I’ve read. It’s probably going to get 1 star reviews for “too much sex”, but that’s totally a badge of honor nowadays!

Speaking of which, I loved that Selina was the secret owner of a private library with a secret section of erotica and educational books that can only be accessed by women. Selina wanted to ensure that young women didn’t enter into marriage without knowing what to expect. Given that “ignorant brides” has been a trope from the beginning of the genre, it’s nice to see books presenting an alternative to “lie back and think of England.”

I would absolutely recommend Ne’er Duke Well. Vasti is my new favorite author and I can’t wait to read more of her books.







I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley.

Ne’er Duke Well, Alexandra Vasti’s debut novel is a delightful and engaging read. The story follows Selina Ravenscroft, a seasoned debutante with a knack for matchmaking who also happens to secretly run a library that includes scandalous erotic books only available to the female members. Peter Kent, a newly minted duke who inherits his title unexpectedly after being born and raised in Louisiana, is trying to gain custody of his half-siblings, Lu and Freddie. Because of his radical politics and his American upbringing, the custody suit is in peril. Selina sets out to find him a respectable match, but of course, they end up falling for each other.

This book is touted as a rom-com, and while there are the mad-cap rompish moments we’ve come to expect from Vasti’s Halifax Hellions novella trilogy, I’d say this book is more of a standard historical romance with some excellent comedic moments. I prefer the way Vasti had serious issues and moments in this story rather than more rom-com elements. Peter has suffered great tragedy in his life, and Selina has been witness to both her twin’s suffering and to the injustice faced by her own generation of women. I really enjoyed these elements of the story which led to all kinds of wonderful developments. The one I liked the best was that instead of miscommunication forming an obstacle to the romance, it was the characters’ own insecurities. They weren’t exaggerated and their realism made the story more compelling. The emotional connection between the characters was both endearing and helped to cement the reader’s investment in the main couple. Likewise, the Ravenscroft family added a wonderful layer of love and support to the story, and Peter’s yearning to be a part of that made his character more poignant.

There were some great comedic moments, excellent banter, and self-deprecating humour. The children made a welcome addition to the story and were used effectively to show the growing affection between Selina and Peter and added both comedy and drama to the main story. The steamy scenes were very well-done and helped to develop the relationship between the mains. Vasti’s deft writing is beautiful although leans a bit towards over-explaining (i.e. the significance of character’s actions and words) to the reader. I wish she trusted her readers a bit more to see these things for themselves. The other thing that took me out of the story a bit was a later scene that happened during the court hearing. No spoilers, but I found the intrusion on the hearing unrealistic, silly, and unnecessary. However, the rest of the book is truly wonderful!

Highly recommend to readers who enjoy a great story, lovable characters, excellent writing, well-executed comedy and drama, and a compelling read. The historical details were top-notch and enhanced the novel and my overall enjoyment. Can’t wait to read the next one! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I loved this book SO very much. It really surprised me and I will be buying a copy to keep in my personal library!

It started a bit slow as all regencies tend to for me — lots of scene setting and characters and adjusting to the period language. But then we were OFF and my goodness I loved every minute of the ride.

The chemistry is outstanding, the spice is so so good, the dialogue is sharp and smart. It is such a fun, swoony romance with female empowerment and the most delightful leading couple,

Summary; I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

DNFed on 07/27/2024 || Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti || #NeerDukeWell #NetGalley #HistoricalRomance #Romance

DNF - Unsure Rating 3 stars to be fair

For full transparency: college has been consuming me a lot but I did try my hardest to both eARC read this, and listen to the audiobook. Also I'm not really reviewing books from this publisher. I believe I accidently picked it up after SMPBoycott started, or had picked it up right as it was occurring. Either way, that is entirely on me and my full review will be edited and posted once I can.

Alexandra Vasti is really where people who don't like historical romance should start so that they fall in love with historical romance. What is there not to like with a woman run library, delicious banter and a strong female main character. The answer is you have to like, nay love everything.

The plot of Ne'er Duke Well is pleasantly predictable, but that only makes this novel more enjoyable. Peter Kent, the ninth Duke of Stanhope, is an unlikely Duke as he is American. He recently inherited his title and moved to England. Along with h is title he inherited a 10 year old half-brother and a 12 year old half sister. Currently the children live with a great aunt, but Peter wants custody. His friend, Lady Selina Ravenscroft, suggests that Peter will have a better chance of gaining custody of his siblings if he is married. Selina plays matchmaker, but it is Selina that Peter falls for. Selina has a secret that might destroy any future she has with Peter before it begins. Vasti's combination of passionate scenes along with entertaining characters are what make this novel a must read for all romance fans.