This was amazing! It was such a fun read, and I loved both characters so much. I just got into historical romances and I think this is a perfect book for beginners!

Regency romance is all the rage right now. This book was great! I highly recommend it to fellow romance fans.

10 Things I Hate About You vibes and I loved it. 😍 I was so excited when I saw this book on NetGalley and I read it in one day. The story follows animal lover Evangeline and the penniless Duke of Vale. They are both adorable 🥰 and I wasn't annoyed at any point in this book. We don't get to read much about side characters, but we do get enough to like most of them and want to read their stories as well. There are a lot of steamy scenes, but not too soon or too many. 😅 To sum up, one of the best historical romance books I've read this year. 💯

This series from Amalie is just so fun - and as a bonus for me, they're based on some of my favorite 90s romcoms! I absolutely adored this one (I refuse to pick a favorite from this series)

I love me a Scotsman and Gage was no exception! He was so lovely and also so supportive of Evangeline and just enraptured by her. I loved Evangeline's animal menagerie and her heart.

I can't wait to see what comes next in this series!

Thank you to Forever for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Amalie Howard never ceases to amaze me. Every story she writes is unique, exotic and full of sexy romance. I was extremely fortunate to receive an ARC of The Worst Duke In London from Netgalley. During the last season in London, Lady Evangeline Raine had been dubbed Lady Ghastly by an arrogant rude disrespectful man. Lord Gage Croft ia now the Duke of Vale, after his brother's death in a race. Gage has been given the dubious title of the Dastardly Destitute Duke because of the debts he has inherited from his deceased father and brother. To repay his dead brother's debt, he has been told that his debt will be forgiven by no other than the arrogant man who had given Evangeline her moniker, if he can convince Evangeline and her sister to go to London. I have no words to describe the roller-coaster ride readers will go on with all that eventually happens between Gage and Evangeline....I am speechless.  This is a must read story for all Amalie's fans.

I am a sucker for this series and MAN did this one hit it out of the park! I will be FERAL to get my hands on Briar and Lysander's book.

Summary:
Lady Evangeline has happily embraced what she believes is the consequence for not putting up with the ton's shit-- spinsterhood. She prefers the company of her menagerie of animals than humans, than humans (with the exception of her group of girlfriends The Hellsfire Kittens.) Gage Cross, the Duke of Vale has the responsibility of rebuilding his estates after his gambling brother's unexpected passing. He is given the opportunity to erase his brother's debt if only her could convince the ton's bitter spinster, Lady Evangeline, to come to town fore the season. He falls hard and quickly and their story is just the best.

Review:
I just loved this story. Evie was hilariously grumpy with a side of insecurity. Gage was this naive Highlander who will do anything to win Evie's heart. Highlights:
* We get to revisit the wonderful supporting cast of this series
* The annoying younger sister turns out to be a badass
* Briar and Lysander are PRIMED!!!!!

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher Forever for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Amalie Howard's The Worst Duke in London is a delightful romp through Regency high society with a dash of scandal. Howard's characters are the heart of the novel. Effie is a refreshing heroine – intelligent, unconventional, and unafraid to defy societal expectations. Gage, beneath his roguish exterior, possesses a surprising vulnerability. Their witty exchanges and undeniable chemistry build throughout the story, making their eventual connection all the more satisfying.
The plot is light and fast-paced, with a touch of mystery adding intrigue. The secondary characters are well-developed, providing humorous asides and emotional support. Howard's vivid descriptions propel you into Regency London, where opulent ballrooms glitter and gossip simmers in every drawing room.
The novel is a wonderful escape read.  If you're looking for witty dialogue, a touch of spice, and a heartwarming romance, this book will surely please. Overall, it is a fun read for fans of historical romance.

Kendra here again with a review of Amalie Howard’s third release in her Taming of the Dukes series, “The Worst Duke in London”. This book is loosely based off the movie “10 Things I Hate About You” aka. Shakespere’s “Taming of the Shrew”. We open the book with our FMC Lady Evangeline who is a dedicated lover of animals. In being presented to society in her first season she is given the name “Lady Ghastly” after an encounter with the worlds worst duke. Lady Evangeline is at peace with who she is and has no interest in ever marrying, unfortunately, her younger sister has aspirations of marrying well in her first season thrusting her back into society. Enter our MMC, Lord Vane, oh my goodness cinnamon roll. Lord Vane (Gage) is offered a proposition to clear his last remaining family debts to get Lady Evangeline to attend the coming season in London for six weeks–an offer he can't refuse!

I loved this installment in the Taming of the Dukes series! Evangeline has always been a favorite character in the series for me and I was so excited to see her love story. The duke is a perfect pairing to Lady Evangeline and gives off the perfect scottish rogue vibes. Ugh, that kilt! I cannot wait for the next book in the series and I hope it includes Earl Lushing, I think we all know who the FMC will be! If you are looking for a book with a great story line, independent and strong FMC, cinnamon roll MMC and a decent amount of heat/spice you have found your book!

Special thanks to the publisher for the ARC!

This review will also be posted on my book club instagram-- Bookish Brunch Club (@bookishbrunchclub)

-10 things I hate about you but make it historical

-Sexy Scottish Duke and sassy sharp tongued independent heroine with lots of opinions on everything 🤩🤗❤️

-Rescue animals 🐶🐈🐭🦔🦊

-Banter

-Friends with benefits that turns into HEA ❤️‍🔥

-10/10 totally recommend, no notes

This series is fantastic! The next book can’t come soon enough 💗💗

This was such a cute and lovely historical romance. I really enjoy reading books by Amalie Howard because they always have strong willed amazing fmcs and hot mmc’s and this wasn’t any different. I really enjoyed the fmc in this one is a wallflower that is not well liked by the ton after an incident happened during her first season. The mmc is a Scottish duke who is in financial situation after his brother died. He is forced into because of his brothers vow a situation which requires him to seduce the fmc and get her to London with her sister.

The banter between the main characters on this one was so so good. I loved how stubborn and strong willed the fmc was especially when it came her conversations with the mmc. I liked how much the fmc cared for animals and rescuing them as well. The main characters were opposites and immediately had so much tension. I loved the hook up benefits thing they had going on cause it was hot and they matched each others freaks very well lol 🤭. This is a loosely 10 things I hate about you inspired and I would rec this for lovers of steamy and fun historical romance. Thank you Forever for the arc.

This book was everything and more! I absolutely love 10 Things I Hate About You and couldn’t put this down. Gage and Effie were so magnetic and steamy together. I love this entire series but this one may be my favorite!

Effie is different, she has strong opinions, shes outspoken and loves animals. She doesn’t fit in with the ton, except with one man-the Duke. Love finds each other fast with these two. Great story

3.5 rounded to 4 stars. I really like Amalie Howard’s work, but this book didn’t work for me as well as I had hoped. What I liked: I loved the concept of a 10 Things I Hate about You re-telling (which of course was a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew). I loved that Evangeline was devoted to animals and founded her own animal shelter. I really appreciate it the research that Ms. Howard put into this book, as evidenced by her substantial author’s note. This is a strength of all of her books; they are well-researched, and she really dives into the period she’s writing about. Having read the previous books in the series, I always love seeing the Hellfire Kitties together and really appreciate how this series emphasizes strong friendships between women.

Unfortunately, what didn’t work as well for me was the couple. Maybe it’s because recently I’ve read a couple books in a row where the plot is the FMC approaching the MMC for sexual exploration/education, but I’m not feeling the instalust. I’d like to see more of a relationship at first and more build up to the sex.

4.5 stars – The Worst Duke in London by Amalie Howard is Ten Things I Hate About You with a historical perspective with lords, ladies, tons of rules and beastly kittens. Howard hit the ball out of the park with this one! This book was entertaining and riveting. Lady Evangeline (Effie) and the Duke of Vale (Gage) meet and develop this hate you/love you relationship full of sarcasm, chemistry and banter but skirting honesty. I love how brave Effie is an advocate for animal rights and welfare. As a former kitty foster parent, I know that animal rights are still a big issue today. The story is a fun one and book #3 in the Taming of the Dukes series. While the book can be read as a standalone, you understand more about the characters and their relationships if you read the earlier books first. I am looking forward to Book 4!

A big Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Books for allowing me to read an ARC. The opinions here are my own. Also, thank you to Amalie Howard for creating such a wonderful series!

Content warnings: poorly animals, blackmail

Lady Evangeline Raine isn't interested in marriage and prefers to spend her time caring for animals at the shelter she started in Chichester. Her younger sister wants to go to London for the season, but their father refuses to let Viola be out in society without her elder sister present.

Gage, Duke of Vale, is a duke in name only as he sells off everything not nailed down to pay his late brother's debts. Fellow peer Lord Huntington is determined to marry Viola, but he needs someone to court Evangeline. He enlists the help of the "worst duke in London" to convince Evangeline to go to London for the season.

Sound familiar? The novel is based on 90s cult hit 10 Things I Hate About You, which in turn was loosely based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. No surprises here, but it's still an enjoyable ride.

Recommended for fans of historical romance, especially Regency-era.

This book was SO GOOD! It was so spicy and sexy but also full of heart. I absolutely loved reading their love story and their little adventures. Big fun!

Erotic historical
Ms. Howard's tale of an unlikely pair of lovers, a broke duke and a Lady who refused to follow the ton's ridiculous rules. The story chronicles family ties, a lively courtship and a villain or two. It is an engrossing read.
I received a NetGalley arc gratis and give my opinion in the same.

As always, Amalie Howard did not disappoint! So many times I have giggled and enjoyed while reading this book. I love how the characters are so straight-forth and bold. The sarcasm and raw honesty is my favorite, I love the back and forth between the main characters. Effie is a force of nature and her own true self! And Gage literally could have my babies. He's so dreamy 😍 Perfect Book Boyfriend! This has quite a bit of spice, which I was all for it! Loved the friends of Effie as well plus Effie's sister Viola's character development throughout the story. Such a wonderful read with a beautiful ending!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Forever to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

✨Apparently 2024 is the year of 10 Things I Hate About You romance retellings??? The Ms-Perkification process has begun!✨

This is the third 10 Things I Hate About You romance I’ve read recently—Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, 10 Things I Hate About Prom, The Worst Duke In London—and I’ve been truly delighted each and every time. This one was a pretty loose version, but I still had fun picking out things from the movie.

I really enjoyed her animal shelter and all of the adorable animals, especially Beasty Buttercup omg!!! Give me a hero being completely overrun by tiny furry hellions any day of the week! Better yet, make that hero a virgin who has had a pretty easy time staying a virgin until the heroine ruins his life (and celibacy)!!! Delicious. Also the grand gesture was absolutely perfect.

✨

I do, however, run into issues when a book is compared to a movie: I just can’t shake the comparisons, sometimes to the detriment of the book. It’s totally a selling point!! but I also maybe oversold it a bit in my head? Like I still enjoyed this book immensely and had a great time, but I couldn’t fully turn my brain off.

- I wanted Effie to be more of a shrew! She was so nice??? To everyone! I needed a bit more edge, but I still definitely loved her. I really enjoy reading about heroines who are a bit “unlikeable” or truly don’t care what others think, and I just don’t think that was Effie. Plus, Viola steamrolled her at the beginning—and I was getting annoyed because Kay Stratford was a brick wall—but I did end up loving their bond by the end.

- And while I LOVE a virgin hero—BARK BARK BARK—I maybe wanted Effie to be experienced? She was a bit of a shy virgin and again it just kinda threw me off. Like the book felt a bit too safe—especially when I had Kat Stratford and Patrick Verona in my brain. But I really did love her propositioning him. That man was glitching, buffering, malfunctioning!! And it nicely raised the stakes for both of them when having sex, not just Effie.

- I do also love a good head-hopping moment, and I think that could’ve been a really fun way to play with the movie in the book. The POVs were only of Effie and Gage, so I would’ve loved to get a few from the “Bianca” and “Michael” characters to elevate the secondary romance a bit more.

✨

Overall, Amalie Howard made 10 Things I Hate About You truly her own with nothing less than a very large and very virgin Scottish duke and lady who vastly prefers the company of semi-feral animals to the fully feral ton. I also ate up the cameos of the past couples. I think I might know the direction book four is going, and I’m SO excited. This is a great series for those just getting into the genre or those who want a bit more modernity in their histroms.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️🌶️.75/5



I received an eARC from the publisher. All opinions are honest and my own.

Thank you Amalie Howard for knowing what the world needed was a Bridgerton and 10 Things I hate About You crossover. If anyone was going to successfully attempt this surely Howard, whose ability to write tension in an enemies-to-lovers story is frankly unmatched, could pull this off. This story is spicy, unconventional and unexpected. Effie believes herself to be destined for the life of a spinster after she earns the ire of the most popular member of the ton. Unfortunately, he’s now set his sights on her sister. To win the sister Effie must be distracted. He calls in a favor from the newly minted and financially desperate Duke of Vale to distract Effie, only Effie ends up distracting him. The two are inexperienced lovers who come together for a mutual awakening and education, an aspect of the plot which was by far the most endearing.

The hate is instant but the love… well that takes time but boy was I okay with that because I could have just kept endlessly reading about these two. Who wouldn’t love an animal lover and advocate who speaks out about women’s rights and a man who is willing to save the animals she loves from danger? I was simply puddy in Howard’s hands.

The worst part of finishing an Amalie Howard book is that now what am I supposed to read? The book hangover is real. In all seriousness, I’m starting to get a little afraid though. The series is about taming dukes and this is the third in the series. What are we to do when there are no more Dukes to tame?!

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.