I really wanted to love this! I LOVE a retelling, but Howard's romantic pacing had shades of insta-love, which I'm not (personally) drawn to. I think what works about the romantic tension in "10 Things" is that we don't see Julia Stiles' character even acknowledge that she finds Heath Ledger's character attractive at first, even to herself––she's a hardened shell that then slowly begins to crack/soften. I think this book would have benefited from a similar kind of character work and pacing. I'll have to try this author again!

I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed by this book. I wavered between two and three stars before settling on two. It was just... meh. I mean, I finished it, but that's probably not saying much considering I had no access to WiFi at the time.

Don't get me wrong, I love historical romance and The 10 Things I Hate About You. This book should have been an easy win for me. But it wasn't. For one, it's not really enemies-to-lovers if they're not really fighting and just lusting over one another before you're very far into the book. For another, one of the thinks I loved in The 10 Things I Hate About You was the relationship between the sisters and how that evolved and that, just wasn't here. The sister (who's name escapes me) was more of a caricature than a character. She was flat and her growth had no development. It just happened off-page, if it happened at all.

I really wish I had liked this more. It had all of the right elements, but the execution just wasn't there for me.

I do have to thank NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book for review purposes. It in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

This is a review of Amalie Howard’s third release in her Taming of the Dukes series, “The Worst Duke in London”. This book is loosely inspired by “10 Things I Hate About You” otherwise known as Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”. We begin with Lady Evangeline, who is a dedicated lover of animals. In an unfortunate turn of events she is given the name “Lady Ghastly” during her first season out in Society after an encounter with the world's worst duke. Lady Evangeline is at peace with who she is and has no interest in ever marrying. BUT her younger sister has aspirations of marrying well, thus thrusting her back into society. Enter Lord Vane (Gage), who is offered a proposition to clear his last remaining family debts in exchange for convincing Lady Evangeline to attend the coming season in London for six weeks.

I loved this installment in the Taming of the Dukes series! As a matter of fact it may very well be favorite. The duke is a perfect pairing to Lady Evangeline and gives off the perfect scottish rogue vibes. I cannot wait for the next book in the series and I hope it includes Earl Lushing. I think we can all guess who the FMC will be! If you are looking for a book with a fun story line, independent and strong FMC, cinnamon roll MMC and some decent spice....this is a great book to pick.

Special thanks to the publisher for the ARC!

I liked the story line of this book. I love female characters who are not afraid to stand up for themselves. Especially in a time that was frowned upon. I love the chemistry between the MCs. My only complaint is the middle seemed to drag for me. I found myself starting to skim pages to get to more interesting parts. All in all an OK book.

Loved it! Chemistry, delicious banter, and so much fun!

Lady Evangeline has no plans to marry, give up her freedom to a man, or deal with the petulant ton in London who’ve made her an outcast. Nope, she’ll stay in the country tending to the animals she’s rescued, on her terms. But, Viola, her very opposite younger sister pines for a London season and a celebrated match, and isn’t allowed to go without Evangeline.

Gage knows he’ll have to marry someday, but his sole focus now is getting his dukedom above water after his father and brother gambled most of it away. Viola’s slimy suiter makes him an offer that’s too good to pass up: entice Lady Evangeline to London and his debt will be forgiven.

The meet-cute is perfect—at Evangeline’s animal shelter of all places—with instant sparks and a little embarrassment too! Unlike most dukes, Gage adores Evangeline’s outspoken nature and independence. Evangeline feels like Gage actually sees her, unlike the others of the ton. So much so that she makes him her own scandalous offer…

Amalie Howard can write chemistry from the beginning and fit it perfectly into her characters’ personalities! The small, sizzling touches that you know are going somewhere later; the characters’ inner thoughts and desires; the banter. It’s all right there. The buildup is long and slow—sometimes maybe a tiny bit too slow (they’re so hot for each other but it’s often a week in between meetings--these characters have more patience than I do) but it worked! The story teases us to perfection, a little at a time with a lot of intensity that eventually explodes.

Oh my gosh I had such a fun time with this book! This is a retelling of 10 Things I Hate About You with a Victorian twist and I have to say I really loved it. If you're going to have characters get involved with crazy schemes you've got to give them a good reason to do it and the author definitely did that with these characters. They both had strong motivations for the actions they took and I found myself very invested in their story. If you prefer your historical romances to have a modern feel then this is definitely the right historical for you. It gets very old to me when historical heroines are missish or shy and Effie is neither of those things. The banter was delightful and the chemistry was sizzling. This book could have felt unbalanced because there were quite a few sex scenes but thankfully there was a good bit of emotional development too and I never felt like the story was moving too quickly. I also really liked the author's choice to push back on the whole arrangement that the premise is based on. It wasn't cute in that play or the movie and it's still not cute here, but because the author calls that into question and gives the Duke a strong motivation to participate in the scheme I didn't mind. That change really added to the story for me. Overall I blew through the story in a day. If you're looking for something with lots of banter and steam I would recommend picking this book up.

Lady Evangeline prefers animals to people and has no interest in marriage­ and she is very opposite of her younger sister, Viola.

Their father has one rule: Viola may be courted, only if Effie has a suitor as well!! Such a tricky time for someone who is not a fan of that.

Gage Croft, Duke of Vale, has a ton of debt and is determined to rebuild his estates.
He was offered a fortune to charm Lady Evangeline for the season so Lady Viola can be courted.

Effie is such a fun, strong character, especially in a time when women didn't have much power!

Her love for animals made her even more likable to me!

This book was an easy, happy read, perfect for my Bridgerton binge.

The chemistry between Effie and Gage was fantastic, and watching their fake courtship turn into something real was so enjoyable.

If you’re looking for a light, romantic escape, this is it!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Can’t do it. DNF at 50%.


This has taken a turn into lecturing me about modern feminist concepts like the constructs of virginity, sapphic relationships, self pleasure, sex toys, women’s sexuality and all the double standards therein. The heroine is constantly lecturing this hero like she’s just walked out of a women’s studies class at Berkeley not an unwed woman from the regency (maybe?) era.
Honestly, I expect some modern sensibilities in historical romance, and I like seeing a woman push against the expectations of society but this is beyond enough and yes i absolutely agree with everything this author is spouting but I do not love to be lectured on it. WE AGREE WITH YOU BUT HOLY CRAP SHUT UP AND GIVE ME SOME PLOT AND STORY DEVELOPMENT.

This book vacillates between soap boxing on the patriarchy and its injustices (from a modern ethos) and dick and 💩 jokes and horny inner thoughts. There is no substance to this story and the plot is basic af.

This whole thing is a huge miss and I could go on about how much masturbation this character talks about, how stupid all the set ups are, how contrived and unbelievable the plot is and how every single male character in this series is a Duke, but I won’t because it’s simply not worth it.

Skip this book folks. There are a billion Duke books out there, maybe even more. Go read one of those instead.

This next story in the Hellfire Kitties series follows Evangeline Raine as she crosses paths with Gage Croft, the impoverished Duke of Vale--also known as the worst duke in London. Neither one of them is particularly fond of the London scene, but end up there anyway mostly because of family reasons. Evangeline to chaperone her younger sister, Gage in order to pay off his dead brother's debts. Of course the sparks fly between them and the author creates quite a few steamy scenes that usually work. Unfortunately, a number of them come across as anachronistic, particularly in the language used, but on the whole this is a decent book with the requisite happy ending achieved after much angst on the part of both main characters.

I really enjoyed reading The Worst Duke in London. This book does a great job of tying in the historical fiction with a strong, independent female main character. It’s hard not to root for Effie and her desire to be a badass woman in a world dominated by men. The tension between her and Gage is hilarious but also delightful, and when they kiss for the first time I just about shrieked! The build up was totally worth it, and I so loved getting to watch them grow as independent people and as a partnership.

Effie is such a likable main character, and her love for animals is especially a beautiful trait. It’s hard not to love how she and Gage meet, since it’s surrounded with kittens and all manners of mayhem in Effie’s animal shelter! I loved watching Effie warm up to Gage and to embrace her feminism while also allowing herself to grow alongside a partner. Those two things can absolutely live side by side, and this book does a great job of showing that.

This was my first book by Amalie Howard, and will absolutely not be my last. I’m looking forward to reading more of her books and the journeys that her strong women go through. This book was an absolute joy to read, and was an easy, warm read that kept me turning the page. I read it through in one sitting, which goes to show how compelling the plot line and characters are!

I received a free advance copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was really interested in the storyline and how it was historical romance…but as I slowly started to read the book I realized that this was something that probably wasn’t for me !! I just had a really hard time connecting to the characters and getting into the plot ! I might give this book another try whenever I am in the mood for a historical romance but right now this was sadly just not for me :(

I think I'm perhaps one of the odd men out here, but I wasn't really a fan and struggled to get into The Worst Duke in London :(

This one was just okay for me, which was a bummer since I LOVED the other two books in the series so far and I'm a huge fan of Amalie Howard. It was a fun premise but I felt like it dragged a bit in the middle and then had a rushed ending. I'd still recommend picking this up - just maybe support your local library rather than your local bookstore for this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

A little too insta-lusty for me... I wish they fought more but it's fine

Oh hey it’s meeeeeee I’m reading this for work! Aaaaaaand there's a character limit on reviews here are some more words

Fans of Bridgerton will eat this up! The Worst Duke in London is a spicy romance full of rescued animals, Bacchanal parties, boxing matches, and more. I absolutely adored the main character, Evangeline, who eschews the traditions, expectations, and double-standards of the ton, and marches to the beat of her own drum. I did not realize this was part of a series so I’ll definitely be checking out the previous two books! However, even though they are connected, they do standalone, so don’t be afraid to pick this one up first if you’d like! Coming September 23rd.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC!

Having just finished a season of Bridgerton, I was already immersed into the courting lives of the "ton" in England and London and jumped right into this one. I have not read the other 2 in the series, and I still thoroughly enjoyed this one. Described as a mix of "10 Things I Hate About You" and Bridgerton, the main love interests are what made this book work!

Positives:
Told from alternating perspectives from the 2 main characters pov's, Gage and Evangeline (Effie)
I enjoyed Effie's side plot with her animal rescue and shelter, and many times the storylines with the animals made me giggle-Buttercup!!!
Loved the independent FMC, especially during this time in history, defying the norm
An entertaining take on society's expectations for romance and companionship and what makes a successful relationship

Negatives:
I do think overall the book was a bit long and could have been shortened

This was so much fun! Evangeline is delightfully prickly while also being a huge animal lover. I just adored her. She also knows what she wants in the bedroom! Gage meanwhile is fighting for his life whenever he’s around her lol. The man is obsessed and I truly loved it.

I especially loved how sex positive this book was! Both of our main characters are also virgins, which is super rare in the adult romance genre! I loved seeing this and how it was done.

I will say, try to go into this not expecting it be exactly like the movie. Evangeline could’ve been more prickly imo, even though I loved her! I honestly think that marketing books with other books or movies can do the book a disservice. That being said, give this series a chance! I’ve loved every book so far.

When an author hits all the right spots, humor, friendship and love, you buckle down and read the book, fast in one sitting.

I always like Amelia's books and this was no exception. Gage and Evie are quite the pair, their dialogues were amusing, their sex was sexy and steamy, the barriers they put come tumbling down slowly but steadily. The epic reveal and groveling was very believable.

A light entertaining read. Hope there are a few more books this series.

The Worst Duke iI have loved Amalie Howard’s Taming of the Dukes series, and this one is…

*The Taming of the Shrew / Ten Things I Hate About You in convenient historical romance form
*banter (with a capital B)
*adorable animal rescues
*virgin MMC (and he’s a hot Scot, to boot)
*strong FMC
*nicely spicy

In other words, utterly enjoyable and a big recommendation from me!


Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the DRC