4⭐
R🌶️

What do you get if Outlander's Jamie started in the Bridgerton-version of 10 Things I Hate About You? This book!! Amalie Howard continues to excel in creating a beautiful group of headstrong friends finding love (and making love 😉) in the era of balls and carriage trysts. I can only hope Briar's book is coming ASAP!!

If you're looking for a historical romance version of 10 Things I Hate About You, then Amalie Howard has the book for you!

Lady Evangeline is not interested in getting married. She thinks that men stifle all that a woman could be, so she wants to just stick to taking care of her animals and living on her own. That is, until she meets the Duke of Vale, who is a seductive man with Scottish roots. He is trying to pay off all of his brother's debts and rebuild his family's estate, and makes a deal to have his books balanced.

Evangeline and Gage (the duke) end up spending a lot of time together, because of not only the arrangement he has made to clear his debts, but they are so attracted to each other that they have a scandalous deal to have some intimate time with each other. And it doesn't matter about their reputations being ruined, they are already both deeply unliked by the ton.

This was a fun read, but I did think it was a little long. There was so much back and forth in both of their POVs that could have been cut down. I did enjoy the banter that they had with each other, there were even some funny moments that were very endearing. And once all the secrets came out, I loved how he eventually won her back.

I loved the nuggets of 10 things I hate about you in this book. When I closed my eyes sometimes I thought while I was reading pictured Julia Stiles a couple of times :) Perfect way to use something for inspiration and still make it your own!

I loved the misunderstood duke and how this book shows how easily society will listen to someone with perceived influence just for that part to be the villain and wrong about everything. The MMC was such an honorable person he didnt judge his father or brother he just did not want to make their mistakes. Also, it was so refreshing to not have a duke be a rake!!!!

FMC she was unnecessarily rude at times and bull headed and her attitude is why this lost a star. She refused to acknowledge her feelings to the very end and I also hate when something is blown up bigger than it is......

Thanks to Forever and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I have been loving this series from Amalie Howard and the third installment is so much fun. A retelling of the Taming of the Shrew where the woman isn't an actual shrew! How novel. Gage and Effie are so much fun and I love how they come together discover all that they have in common and all that they want to explore together. I think I would have loved a little more grovel from Gage (because who doesn't love a good grovel) but he did what Effie needed and that's perfect. I can't wait for the next one, it better be Lushing and Briar because COME ON.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read, and enjoyed, several other books by this author and this book was no exception. It was wonderful!

I adored Evangeline and Gage's story! It was so much fun to watch these two together! I can't wait to see what Howard has for us next!

Whew. *fans face* Amalie Howard popped off with the slow burn that went full throttle in this one. I *loved* main characters Evangeline and Gage. It was so refreshing seeing how true to herself Evangeline was, and how Gage admired her for it and never tried to change her or make her something different. 100/10 would recommend this book!

The Worst Duke in London is a bit of a mixed bag. On its face--for what it is--I really enjoyed it. I think I read it in about two (very busy) days. It's a fast-paced, fun story with the twists and turns I like to find in historical romance. That said, oh my god is it anachronistic. The language, the behaviors, slip into jarring modernity from time to time. I don't blame that on Howard; that's squarely on her editor. I will still fully recommend this one. Most historical romance readers will enjoy it thoroughly.

If you know me you know how utterly obsessed I am with 10 Things I Hate About You (and will consume any Taming of the Shrew adaptation I can get my hands on) and this one delivered all of the vibes. But to make it a historical romance too?! Those are 2 of my fave things! This was so comforting and fun to read: I enjoyed it very much!!

Thank you so much to Forever Grand Central Publishing for my ARC, I appreciate it :)

4/5

4.5 stars.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the eARC.

10 Things I Hate About You was one of my favorite movies as a teenager and The Worst Duke in London is basically that movie…in historical England.

Yes, the plot is a little ridiculous—you’re telling me a Duke bare knuckle fights for money?? And the villain is a little cartoonish—but it’s still a fun and entertaining story. Filled with humorous dialogue, including a Scottish accent, the story was a quick and lighthearted listen.

It’s almost too similar to 10 Things, but since I love that one so much, it doesn’t bother me. Add in a little steam and this was a winner for me.

Gage Croft, Duke of Dale, has paid off all his father and brother's debts except one owed to Lord Huntington. Strapped for money, he has no choice but to accept Lord Huntington's plan, convince Lady Evangeline Raine to go to London as a chaperone for her sister Viola. Continuously ridiculed by Harrington, Effie refuses to let Huntington court Viola, only Gage keeps distracting her with his seduction.
Effie turns the table and takes the seduction to the next step, an affair. A heroine not afraid to speak her mind and a hero who loves her just as she is. Some humor and lots of hot, hot sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

10 Things I Hate About You + Bridgerton = The Worst Duke in London

Pick this up if you love:
- Regency romance
- enemies to lovers
- spice

This book was so fun! What an awesome introduction to Regency romance.

I'm not the biggest historical romance reader but when Amalie Howard writes it I am never left unsatisfied!! Her latest in the Taming the Dukes series is a fantastic 10 things I hate about you/Taming of the Shrew retelling that has the indebted Duke of Vale (Gage Croft) making a bargain with another Lord in order for him to court the younger sister, Viola. In exchange Gage will get the money to fix up his estate and must convince older sister Lady Evangeline Raine to spend the season in London.

This proves to be a more difficult endeavour than anticipated when Evangeline just wants to stay in the country working with her animal rescue. Eventually the two make a deal for a friends with benefit's situation that leads to real feelings and the inevitable happens. This was a great dual POV, steamy romance that is sure to delight fans of the movie and that was also good on audio. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

My first Amalie Howard and it won't be my last. A mixture of modern day with the regency era AND enemies to lovers is my kryptonite. The highlight for me was the witty banter and humor laced throughout the entire book. Lady Evangeline had her moments where I felt she was one-dimensional, but those moments didn't last the entire book and I really enjoyed the Duke of Vale a lot. The sisterly relationship between Lady Evangeline and Viola felt very real and representative of the time. If you're a historical fiction purist, the modern slang will be a turn off but I found the balance to be a plus. I really liked it!

Thank you Forever Books for the gifted ARC.

Of COURSE I jumped at the chance for another Taming of the Dukes installment. This series blending modern pop culture with regency romance may be my weakness.

As usual with Amalie Howard, we are given sparkling banter and an entertaining enemies-to-lovers dynamic, which is exactly what I wanted. However, this was the weakest installment for me and it ultimately falls short of its full potential. While the strong-willed Lady Evangeline makes for an appealing female lead, I felt like I was starting to get woman-splained. I am totally behind her, but it felt like it was becoming her only defining personality trait unless we want to count crass and crude middle schooler humor as part of it. The fake courtship arrangement did provide some amusing moments, but the overall execution just lacks the substance to fully ground the romantic elements.

I am tentatively excited for the next book.

I struggled a bit finishing this book. I found it predictable and pretty slow at first. The happily ever after redeemed it somewhat.

The Worst Duke in London was a take on 10 Things I Hate About You and I was here for it! I absolutely adored the characters, and the story-line was a lot of fun! With a wonderful HEA, I’m so happy I read this book!

Lady Evangeline Raine could be as prickly as a porcupine when she wanted to be, but I absolutely adored her! Her lack of filter at times was so refreshing, and I loved how passionate she was about things close to her heart. And how deeply she loved those around her. With the cutest kitten meet cute, I couldn’t wait to see what happened between Evangeline and Gage next.

Gage Croft, Duke of Vale, was supposed to get Evangeline to London. His family's debts would be wiped clean from Huntington, who wanted to court Evangeline’s sister. But from the moment Gage met Evangeline, everything went a little sideways. I loved watching how he was challenged by her. How he had to work to even get time with her. Even if they were both attracted to each other from the start. I was rooting for Gage every step of the way. He had the most beautiful heart, and I loved watching him help her out time and again without a second thought.

Watching the friendship blossom between them was heartwarming. Throw in some banter and memorable scenes and I was hooked. And the steam in this book was done fabulously! Each time it seemed to ratchet up! Yet as they grew close, secrets were kept. And I kept waiting for it all to blow up. Because I knew it would.

With trust, honor, lies, jealousy, and secrets swirling through this story, it was so much fun to read! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for who the next book is about! I recently watched 10 Things I Hate About You, for the millionth time haha, and loved seeing little moments here or there that reminded me of the movie. So if you adore that movie and like historical romance, you should put this one on your tbr!

I loved loved loved the “10 things I hate about you” vibes of this one soooo much!!

Effie and Gage was so cute- I’m a big fan of Scottish heroes 😏 I loved all the cute animal appearances and the loved the little peeks into the couples from the first two books! Something tells me Vesper’s book is next and I NEED it immediately!!

I did feel like some of the scenes in this book were a bit too long and could have used some editing. But other than that, this book was delightfully naughty and I can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the earc in exchange for my honest review.

*3.75 stars*

I am someone who likes to read historical romances, and this one was okay. I have others that I’ve read that were more of my taste.

My biggest con of this book was some of the language used. Sometimes, it felt too modern for me, and it would pull me out of the story. The plot of the story was okay. I kind of hate the denial trope used in romance when it goes on for too long. Like it’s obvious they love each other, but the characters still internally deny it over and over even though they have all ready partially admitted it to themselves.

I think my favorite part was the personalities of the characters. You loved who you were supposed to love, you hated who you were supposed the hate, and you got attached (so, when characters did stupid things, you got frustrated with them). Evangeline and Gage were great characters, and they really did work together. The tension was tensioning. I despised Huntington, but that was the point. Viola annoyed me at first, but then she ended up being one of my favorites. And then all of Evangeline’s friends were great.

I don’t think I’ll rush to read the other books in the series, but I’ll probably check them out eventually because I always need a good historical romance series when I’m in the mood to read one.

This is an enemies-to-lovers romance with a spicy twist on the “Teach Me” trope. The writing and situations in the book had a very modern feel. It is patterned after 10 Things I Hate About You which is in turn based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

The hero of the story is Gage, a hunky Scottish Duke who falls for the heroine, Lady Evangeline. Gage is the type of main character I like to read about; Lady Evangeline not so much.

I did enjoy the funny scenes, especially the joking and harassing Gage receives from his friends.

3.5 rounded up