This was a hard pass dnf for me. The characters are so whiny and annoying I nearly threw my phone across the room several times. As much as I love A.H. and her work this was a fail read for me. I will not trash it in my review spaces, but I will not review it either.

What a ride! This was a steamy little romcom with nods to the regency, but unhindered by strict adherence to all the societal rules that typically govern the genre. From the start, our characters are frank and forthright about their wants, though Gage, the male main character, withholds his main motivation from the Effie, our female lead.

Effie has been disappointed and bullied during a few social seasons and has decided to remain unmarried, channeling her time, energy, and dowery (when she gets control of it) on rescuing animals. She's curious about sex and propositions Gage, a second son who inherited a debt-ridden Dukedom when his brother died. At the same time, the villain of the story says he'll forgive some of Gage's inherited debt if he gets Effie and her sister to London for the season so he can court the sister.

Effie and Gage have great chemistry and their relationship takes off quickly. Of course, they fall for each other and Gage's deal with the villain tears them apart. As this is romance, you know they find their way back to each other.

This was very spicey, a little outrageous, with lots of comic relief coming from the animals.

I have enjoyed other books by this author, but wasn’t a fan of this one.

The plot wasn’t very original, I feel that I have read this book before.

My other beef was the use of modern phrases, which I found quite jarring. The phrase “hot mess” doesn’t really have any place in a regency or Victorian novel.

Overall, this one was a miss for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever / Grand Central publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

3.5 stars

“That tongue of yours is as sharp as the most lethal of blades.”

Lady Evangeline has no interest in marriage, thank you very much, but the appearance of a persistent suitor for her sister, Viola, encourages their father to make a new rule. Lady Viola can partake in the season and accept a courtship…so long as her sister does the same. Despite preferring to stay in the countryside with her animal shelter, Evangeline caves and travels to London with her sister. It has nothing to do with the penniless Duke of Vale and how handsome he looked with kittens climbing all over him. No, not at all!

Amalie Howard is a consistent author and I usually enjoy her books, but this one was a bit of a miss for me. I loved that Evangeline set up an animal shelter, such a noble thing to do especially in a time when animals were more like property and less like family. I loved that she had a good group of friends too.

The biggest issue I had was the modern language and sensibilities. I don’t read historical romance for present day feminism - I like to see how the women of the time began to carve out the path we walk today. I could see Evangeline being a bluestocking by the day's standards, but some of the conversations she had were too out of place to be believable. I hope this modernization of historical romance doesn’t become a new trend…if I want to read a modern story, I’ll pick up a contemporary romance, you know?

All of this to say - if you like fun banter, a lot of spice, and a flexible interpretation of the regency era, give this one a go!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This author’s writing is delightful- and excellent balance of sarcastic and sweet. I enjoyed reading this. As an ebook it me months, though I can confidently say I would have finished the audiobook in about 3 days (curse you ADHD!). Good read, especially as part of the series. Looking forward to Briar’s book next!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for access to an advanced reader copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

This is definitely my favorite book from Amalie Howard! It was such a fun retelling and it is perfect for readers who want to dip their toes in historical romance.

As an absolute 10 Things I Hate about You stan this book checks out. It has enough of its own thing, definitely parts of the plot I couldn't predict, but also has just a few cheeky hallmarks back to the movie/source material to satisfy fans.

This is a historical romance with a FMC that has agency as her dad supports her emotionally and financially to either get married or live comfortably on her own. She seems cool and confident to the ton but secretly inside has had to build this persona up and feels more at home requesting pets and animals (no animal deaths or active on page abuse in this btw). When she decides to have a spicy fling with the MMC she does it all because she wants it and they have so much fun together tbh. I know the MMC is keeping his motivations from her but honestly it's easy to forgive him because 1 his level of guilt 2 his reasoning of paying his brother's debt and being backed into a corner and 3 you can tell that pretty much immediately he would be into her anyway.

Potential light spoiler about the MMC's level of experience: I loved the rep of a virgin hero, he may seem like a rake but that reveal I would love to see more of it in historical romances.

Thank you to Forever for the eARC!

4 ⭐️ 2 🌶️

Read As An Arc

🐈 Cute Animals
🐈 Historical Romance
🐈 Scandalous Agreements
🐈 Wallflower FMC
🐈 Strong FMC
🐈 Scottish MMC
🐈 Banter
🐈 Grand Gesture
🐈 Mystery


3rd book in Taming of The Dukes

What drew me in? 10 things I hate about you BUT with a twist! — uhh, hell yes! I love that freakin’ movie, so my excitement for this was high!

The banter and sarcasm between the FMC and MMC was too good! Effie and Gage really went for each other with the banter and brought some humour to it! I really resonated with the fun, and with the animal aspect; caring, loving and rescuing animals! — It is truly a dream of mine to on day own a little rescue place set up for people to adopt rescued animals, have support and volunteers for them, and just be around all the animals and give them all the looooove!!

FMC and MMC have a huge tension and couldn’t be anymore opposite of each other; but their spice…. That was freakin’ matched!

The characters did need a bit more work; Effie needed a bit more of the characteristics like Kat, if I am truly going to compare her to the movie. They needed a bit more of character building that would make certain aspects of the book so much better!

The writing — I did get annoyed with it as it felt like deja-vu — it’s repetitive a bit? — For me, once I read it once, that’s it, move on, I don’t need 10 reminders of it lol.

Overall, it was fun, cute and enjoyable! A good read that I really liked… is that a 4th book calling???





* Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!


** will be posted on goodreads on sept 19 @ https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/170879374-bee?shelf=read

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and lovable. The pacing was perfect and left you wanting to read more. I can't wait to read more by this author!

This was my first by Amalie Howard, and though it's the third in her current series, I felt it worked beautifully as a stand-alone. This was a hot (HOT) and genuinely funny historical romance homage to 10 Things I Hate About You, a 90s classic deserving of all the love it gets here. This is a perfect read for historical romance readers who enjoy more modern dialogue (this was reminiscent of Tessa Dare - intentionally modern phrases used as winks to the reader) and sex-positive (and sex educated!) female main characters. Our ice queen and "shrew," Lady Evangeline (Effie to everyone but Gage, bless him), is a force - passionate about animal welfare, determined to shield her (frustratingly immature) younger sister from true harm, openly curious about sexual intimacy and willing to take exactly what she wants. Our down-on-his-luck Duke is essentially blackmailed into a wager that will lure her to London for the season, and from there, we get all the comedy and betrayal and grand gesturing we could possibly hope for. This lost a tiny bit of steam for me in the third act, but honestly, I had such a great time reading this and can't wait to read the first two in the series now.

This steamy regency romance is loosely inspired by 10 Things I Hate About You (which in turn is loosely inspired by Shakespeare.) If You like spicy regency romance, you will probably love this book. It’s sweet AND spicy!

I didn’t love it the way I loved the Bridgerton books, but it might scratch that itch for someone else.

A los 21 años Evangeline está harta de que sus pretendientes la busquen por la familia a la que pertenece, quiere encontrar el amor y no casarse por status.

La familia de Gage debe mucho dinero y cuando su hermano muere, el título pasa a él. Una de las personas a la que le debe dinero es Huntington, quien le dice que la deuda será perdonada si corteja falsamente a Eva por 6 semanas sin que ella se entere.
Pensó que sería fácil, que se encontraría con una damisela sumisa, pero Eve es todo lo que nunca imagino que seria y que querría.

Ella le propone una trato: ser compañeros sexuales.

Me estaba encantando hasta que empezaron a meter temas sexuales, después de eso se volvió floja la interacción entre ellos y se centro más en el sexo.


Spoilers ⚠️ ⚠️
Ambos son vírgenes, ella tiene 21, él 28 años.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐️

Amalie Howard has become an auto read author for me and her stories never cease to delight, charm, and leave my heart full of warm fuzzies. She perfectly balances heart and humor with thoughtful conversations around social issues and gender.

As a huge fan of 10 Things I Hate About You, I couldn’t wait to see how Howard would bring this inspiration to the page, and The Worst Duke in London did not disappoint. I loved seeing Evangeline get her moment and to see the Hellfire Kitties rally around her, while delivering moments and banter that had me giggling. I adore this group of friends and am really hoping we get Briar’s book next!

Ahh, I loved this one!! I didn't realize it was the third in the series when I requested it, but it became obvious early on and I now MUST go read the first two!

This one was very similar to Evie Dunmore's A League of Extraordinary Women series - not in plot, but in style. Specifically, having strong female characters that buck society's oppressive rules for women, are outspoken, have a supportive female friend group, etc. I absolutely adored the A League of Extraordinary Women series, so it was no surprise that I loved The Worst Duke in London as well.

There were a few moments that seemed a bit confusing - for example, she has two cats who make an appearance in the bedroom and then are referenced later on, but apparently she can't keep Beasty Buttercup because her sister is allergic? But...she already has two cats? Additionally, who did adopt Beasty?? It seemed like Vale had, but then he says "I thought Lucky would like a friend when she comes to visit us?"

...is Lucky not Evangeline's dog? Wouldn't she be...with them?

There are also some moments where it's not clear exactly who's around. For example, when Huntington confronts Vale and let's the whole scheme slip, is he still there watching it all go down? He's not mentioned again. And though she whispers that Vale slept with her, that would be a pretty damning admission to make with an audience, even if they're relatively assured the audience can't hear them. I was surprised she wasn't ruined by that admission in the next chapter.

Lastly, I truly didn't need any of the trigger warnings, however I DID need one for how bitchy and manipulative the little sister was at first. Yes, she matured and eventually ended up being a character I didn't hate, but my god at the beginning of the book? I actually had to stop reading and come back to it several days later. I probably wouldn't have picked it up again if it hadn't been an ARC.

I can not say enough things about this book. I had previously read a different series by the author, but was unfamiliar with this series.
Fans of feminist historical fiction will love it. Based on Ten Things I Hate About You, the female MC and make ‘MC have intense chemistry. The spice is well done. This book is a masterclass in feminism, romance, and adaptation. I have already purchased the previous titles in this series.

This is an entertaining read. Gave and Evangeline are interesting, intriguing, complex, strong, entertaining characters. I enjoyed them as individuals and a couple. Their romance and the path to their HEA is entertaining. Parts of the story dragged for me, but over all I enjoyed the story. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. The story is easy to read and get into.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love the books of Amalie Howard, although this series has been a bit uneven for me. I have received ARCs of each title, and I am thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an advance copy and provide my own opinion. There were lots of parts that I completely enjoyed in this story, and some frustrating elements that seem to be in keeping with recent sensibilities as to what makes a historical romance more appealing for a wider audience.

If you like Howard's books, if you like this series, definitely pick up this book!

I'm a sucker for a good retelling and this one did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the banter between Gage and Effie as well as Effie being a women who knew what she wanted. Can't wait to see what happens next in this series.

The Worst Duke in London by Amalie Howard is not your typical Victorian novel.

Lady Evangeline Raine is intelligent, well read, and outspoken. She calls them the way she sees them. Struggling with the double standard of the day, she shuns Society as much as she can without jeopardizing her family's standing.

Gage Croft, Duke of Vale is a second son who inherits the title and debts left by his father and older brother. As he tries to restore the ancestral lands, he is drawn in to a scheme to clear his late brother's debt. He is asked to use his good looks and charm to convince Lady Evangeline into going to London and staying there for six weeks of the Season.

To the surprise of both of them, the sharp-tongued Lady Evangeline and the honorable Duke find that sparks really ignite between them.

There are some blunt and graphic hot and heavy passages. Definitely not for the faint of heart or a prudish miss.

I love a Scottish duke. They seem to have more grit to them then all the rest. Gage is the duke that agrees to get Lady Evangaline to London for the season. Sparks fly between these two. I took off a few stars because some of the story felt more 21st century than 19th century.