I am not a huge fan of historical romances, but I absolutely fell in love with this one. This book was so much fun to listen to! The storyline was different and interesting. The characters were well developed and this was very well written.

Peter doesn’t have the best reputation, and he wants to become a guardian to his younger siblings. Selina tries to help Peter by finding him a wife. This is definitely when the fun begins. This book had great spice and a fantastic storyline that kept me listening from start to finish! I highly recommend this one! I thought the narrator did a great job! thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape for allowing me to listen and review this book!

Alexandra is an incredibly smart and charismatic author, and I can't wait to read more of her books. the ONLY reason this book isn't 5 stars is because this is a matchmaking plot. however, the prose here is stunning, spicy times fantastic (hello bath scene), and the found family is touching as hell. I want all her books.

I received a complimentary copy of this through NetGalley, but I also bought it from an indie seller and can't wait for it to arrive.

✨ 𝐀𝐋𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰✨


𝐍𝐞'𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥
𝐁𝐲: Alexandra Vasti

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢, 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙛 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪."

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: 14, 17, 19 & 24
𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧: 35%
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: Friends-to-lovers, found family, marriage of convenience, reversed grumpy x sunshine
𝐏𝐎𝐕: 3rd person
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Single
𝐊𝐔: No

This was my first time reading a regency romance, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I really enjoyed it! This is a cute story with a lot more to the plot than just romance. I loved how Peter (MMC) and Selina (FMC) are both fiercely loyal and protect the ones that they love. They really are a great match!

This was spicier than I was expecting, but I still believe it to be appropriate for closed door romance readers as the spice wasn’t overly descriptive and didn’t take over the plot. I recommend this to anyone who loves Bridgerton!

Swipe to read goodreads summary and trigger warnings

⚠️𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:⚠️
Multiple open door scenes with explicit descriptions
Strong language

Ne’er Duke Well is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. It’s only July and I’ve aleady read it twice. I am not a re-reader so for me to have read this book twice in 6 months is unheard of. It’s just that good!

I mean I read it in March and LOVED it and then when the audio was up for review I snagged it so quick and OMG the audio is FANTASTIC. @mhairicmorrison brings this book to life. I am still drooling over her Louisiana accent for Peter. 🥵

This book has everything you could want in a #historicalromance - scandal, shenanigans, fighting the patriarchy, just everything.

So please, please, please go read this story. Selina and Peter are just #goals.

Special thanks to @dreamscape_media for the ALC. This one comes on July 23.

I’ve been hooked on Alexandra Vasti’s work since I read her first Halifax Hellions novella. As well-written as her novellas are, I was incredibly excited to get my hands on her first full-length novel. I was not disappointed. In fact, I loved everything about this book. I adored Peter and Selina and their love story. The way they loved each other tore me apart and then put me back together again. Her secondary characters were absolutely delightful as well, and I so hope some of them will be getting their own stories. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough. The narration was excellent and really added to the reading experience.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

"Ne'er Duke Well" by Alexandra Vasti is a rare gem that expertly weaves together humour, romance, and a hint of scandal in a way that will pique your interest. The story follows Peter Kent, the newly appointed Duke of Stanhope, a New Orleans native determined to restore his tarnished reputation. His political leanings and a notorious incident involving a royal wedding and a flock of sheep have left him in dire need of an image makeover. Enter Lady Selina Ravenscroft, the epitome of society's propriety with a secret life as the curator of an erotic circulating library for women.

The dynamic between Peter and Selina crackles with energy from the outset. Selina's proposal that Peter should court and marry a lady of impeccable reputation is a ploy to divert his attention from her. However, their carefully laid plans start to unravel as Peter's mischievous siblings cause chaos and the undeniable chemistry between Peter and Selina becomes impossible to ignore. Their journey from reluctant allies to lovers is a rollercoaster of witty banter, unforeseen turns, and moments of genuine tenderness.

The audiobook version of "Ne'er Duke Well," narrated by the talented Mhairi Morrison, adds charm and vivacity to the story. Morrison's voice breathes life into each character with a distinct flair, capturing the nuances of their personalities and the subtleties of their interactions. Her narration elevates the book's humour, emotion, and overall experience, making it a delightful listen.

Alexandra Vasti has crafted a romance that is both heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny. Peter and Selina's unconventional love story is a refreshing departure from the norm, filled with endearing characters and a plot that keeps you hooked from start to finish. "Ne'er Duke Well" is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good scandal with their romance and appreciates a story where love conquers all in the most unexpected ways.

This is a Regency romance winner for sure! When I read this genre I would prefer a good amount of steam, there’s just something about that forbidden aspect of it that makes it so so good! This definitely had that build up and angst and definitely brought the spice. Selina is such a strong FMC and the more you learn about her, the more you’ll love her. Peter aka the Duke is actually a transplant from America after inheriting the Dukedom and while he goes along with Selina’s advice he obviously down bad for her and no one else!

Peter Kent, the newly inherited Duke of Stanhope with a scandalous reputation from New Orleans, seeks the help of the proper Lady Selina Ravenscroft—who secretly runs an erotic circulating library for women—to become respectable and guardian to his half-siblings, but their attempt at matchmaking leads to chaos, rampant siblings, and an undeniable, scandalous romance.

Read if you vibe with
💠 Regency Romance
🧲 Opposites Attract
💕 Forced Proximity
♠️ Matchmaking
📚 Secret Library
♟️ Scandal

I've never really read historical romance. I'm not sure why since I love romance books. Following Lady Selina and the Duke of Stanthorpe's love story had me in stitches. It was a fun, sweet and slightly steamy story that had me eagerly listening. The audiobook was narrated well and kept me intrigued.

Gosh you guys, this book is SO GREAT!!! I've been an avid reader of Alex Vasti's works since her newsletter novellas and there is something so special about what she is writing. Her writing is so engaging, sweet, and sexy! If this is the future of historical romance, I truly cannot wait to see what she and others do with the genre because I really think this has SUCH broad appeal.

Selina runs a secret erotic library aimed at educating women and Peter is a fairly new Duke who is attempting to gain custody of his previously unknown half-siblings. Peter is fairly progressive politically and worried that the older judge his case has been assigned to won't accept his petition. Selina finds out about this and suggested that Peter marry an acceptable aristocrat and offers to assist him. As they continue to spend more time together, Selina realizes that this matchmaking role may not be for her...

This book has everything I've come to expect from the author - it's really funny, super sweet, and incredibly sexy! I was rooting for Selina and Peter the whole time and was really curious how they were going to get their HEA. I loved all of the found family vibes. Children in romance novels are incredibly hit or miss for me but Alex really brought these kids to life and they felt really authentic - and were really funny! (The fact that they named their kitten Peter still makes me laugh)

I of course loved the narration by Mhairi Morrison

Thank you to Macmillan audio and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This started as a three star read for me, as it was such a friends-to-lovers cliche. Then suddenly around a third into my read, the author turned it into so much more with the drama of the library scandal and it became a meaningful reflection of true love and friendship. I loved the chemistry between Peter and Selina and the character growth from Lucinda and Freddy. And spice…there was so much heat between Peter and Selina, I thought my kindle would catch fire. Definitely a great regency romance read for me!

I adored this story! I read the eARC as well as this audio and both are fantastic. Highly recommend both formats!

"It wasn't the first time she kissed someone but it was the first time she felt all that."

"I think about you all the time even when I shouldn't...I dream about how you would taste and...Selina, I want to taste every part of you."

"I was so tired of feeling like I had no control over my life...So I took control."

Listening to the uproarious steamy historical fiction regency romcom, Ne'er Duke Well, by debut author Alexandra Vasti, left me smiling and fanning myself just a bit.

Peter Kent from New Orleans, Louisiana inherits a dukedom when his dubious father dies in England. Even more startling he finds himself the big brother to two young half siblings his father left without any means. However, his reputation precedes him, as he is described as "a walking scandal," and the courts are demanding a hearing for his guardianship of the children.

Enter independent, match making Lady Selina. She tells him he needs to marry a Lady of good standing to show the court he is becoming an upstanding member of English society. It soon becomes apparent with their flirty banter that Peter only wants Selina.

But Selina has a secret that could hurt Peter. She's the owner of an erotic circulating library educating the women of the Ton about sex and contraception. But Peter believes in being educated and he'd love nothing more than to study with Selina.

I adored voice actress Mhairi Morrison portraying Selina as shocked, yet curious, angry yet amused, and scared but fearless. Her southern accent for Peter was a hilarious contrast to the proper speaking Ton.

Filled with flirty banter, uproarious romps, steamy romance and tender moments this Duke is doing just fine.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Dreamscape Media via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

This historical romance was a lot of fun while also subverting most of the obvious plot tropes. Peter Kent finds himself far from his home in New Orleans and suddenly the new Duke of Stanhope. When he finds out he also has two half-siblings, he sets out to become their legal guardian and enlists the help of Selina Ravenscroft to turn around his negative image. Selina feels that a hasty marriage would do the trick (because, of course, this is a romance novel), and even though she fancies Peter, she has some salacious secrets of her own that force her to seek out more marriageable women.

Just from reading the synopsis, I thought I knew exactly how this plot would unfold, but I saw enough good reviews that I still decided to give this a try. I can happily report that secrets are divulged, miscommunication is not a major issue, and problems are met head-on. Overall, this felt like a fresh and fun historical romance and one that I highly recommend.

The audiobook was also very well done, and the narrator was adept at handling Peter's southern American accent.

This was a super sweet book. Peter and Selina are so cute! And i loved Selina’s antics to help Peter find a wife…

The beginning was a bit hard to get into, but once i got past the first couple of chapters the story really picked up and I really enjoyed it!

Especially the narrator, Mhairi Morrison, loved all her voices and accents! Super talented and lovely tone

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸…
📖He falls first
📖Marriage of Convenience
📖Great Banter
📖Dual POV
📖Open Door

I received an advance listening copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was so cute!

I think so many people are in their regency romcom eras and it came at a great time.

This review is for the audio version which was given to me by NetGalley! Thanks to them!

When Peter Kent inherits the title of Duke, he moves back to England and tries to get guardianship of his younger half siblings. But because of this more liberal political views he's barred from doing so.

Enter the clever, intelligent, beautiful Selina, who believes if they can only find him a wife, that will show him in good favor.

Of course out of all the women Selina finds for Peter, she is who he really wants. And when caught in a compromising position, they decide to get married.

More interesting is that Selina is secretly printing and distributing salacious books the women of the ton. She wants them to be more educated on the sexual acts and contraception than are usually given to them as well as just making er0tic books more accessible to them.

But because of this Selina is worried this may be revealed and ruin Peter's chances of getting to keep his siblings.

I wont give it away but there is no third act breakup and I love that a couple in the regency era actually have a discussion about whether or not to have children <spoiler> (even though it's never really decided on the page, there is also no pregnancy reveal in the epilogue thank goodness). </spoiler>

This was a delightful book. Peter Kent, Duke of Stanhope, wants to become the guardian of his half siblings. To be able to do this he needs all the help he can get. The help comes in the form of Lady Selina Ravenscroft. Lady Selina is convinced that if Duke Stanhope marries the right woman, his problems will be solved. She does everything she can to find this woman.
Needless to say, things do not go according to Lady Ravenscroft’s plans.

The book was a great debut novel from Alexandra Vasti. It is funny with its fair share of steam. Parts are laugh out loud. I loved every moment of this book and look forward to more from Ms Vasti.
The narration was well done and made it enjoyable to listen to.

Beautiful book, gorgeously written, with vivid characters. Selina and Peter are perfect of each other and their banter is witty and hilarious. The side characters also are so intriguing that I’d like to know all their stories in detail, and not only Selina’s friends who will have their own books (and I can’t wait to read them!). The only thing that I found a little strange is that the book lacks a little world-building. I just felt I was thrown in the middle of a story that had already started somewhere in the past… There’s just a fleeting mention of Selina and Peter’s first meeting, but when the book starts there’s already this mutual attraction that seems to come from nowhere. But the steamy and emotional lovemaking scene more than compensate for this little flaw.

As for the audiobook version, the narrator is good, but unfortunately I didn’t like the voice she chose to give to Peter. The American accent is jarring and I couldn’t stand it. Maybe it’s just me because English is not my mother tongue, but she sounded like she wanted to imitate a Southern American drawl and couldn’t. Everything else is perfect, all the other voices very good and the narration is lively, but not that voice. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley and Libro.fm for an advance copy.

I loved his lazy New Orleans accent set next to this bright English accent in the narration. He’s trying to get custody of his two half siblings and needs to scheme to get his custody agreement approved.

I love them. She wants to marry him off and he just wants her. The chemistry they have is delightful. They blessedly get together fairly early in the book and the plot shifts to how they’re going to get these children into their home.

They lost me a little bit toward the end because everyone has like three names and I got lost.

The narration by Mhairi Morrison was spectacular as ever. She’s done all of Alexandra Vasti’s books so far I believe and they are such a soothing listen.

Newly inherited Duke of Stanhope, Peter Kent, seeks to shed his scandalous past to become guardian to his siblings. He turns to Lady Selina Ravenscroft, society’s most proper debutante with a secret library. Selina suggests he marry a reputable lady, but their chemistry leads to unexpected love and scandal.

The writing is vibrant, the tone upbeat, and the chemistry sparkling from the beginning. This is my first book by Alexandra Vasti, and I immediately loved the fast-paced, quippy sense she passionately writes with. This was both wittily clever and filled with exhilarating romantic tension. Selina is a strong, capable woman who does the unthinkable and secretly runs a library. While I didn’t enjoy the entirety of that plotline, I did appreciate how enthralling it was to see a woman pushing women’s rights forward. Peter Kent is the ultimate awkwardly charming male lead. It was heartwarming to see him do everything in his power to secure legal guardianship of his illegitimate half-siblings, and I couldn’t get enough of him equally protecting her and supporting her in all endeavors.

Thank you @dreamscape_media @netgalley for the ALC 💚 Mhairi Morrison was a perfect narrator! #netgalley

Perfect for you if you like:
Clever writing + playful characters
Secret endeavors with necessary marriage
Historical romances with a modern take
Heartwarming/emotional family dynamics

Similar to:
All’s Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews (closed door)
The Duke and I (Bridgerton) by Julia Quinn

⛔️chapters 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 & 24 contain explicit romance scenes (open door)
⚠️explicit language (infrequent), previous death of loved ones, custody battle, mentions of slavery, sick child

3.75 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of the audiobook for Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti in exchange for an honest review.

This had a little bit of everything, it was funny, flirty & spicy.

Peter & Selina were cute together, they had a couple of hiccups and awkward interactions in the beginning as they were navigating the situation they were in. Seline was intent on finding Peter a wife and all Peter wanted was Seline. I do wish we had gotten to witness their earlier interactions and the first time they met, as we're told about it but we do not see it, so it kind of felt like the book started but you didn't have the backstory for it. I did love how their relationship progressed and how they worked through things together plus the communication at the end was ✨

Another thing was that we get to see Peter's younger siblings (Freddie & Lou) in the beginning, but midway through, they're not really present anymore, and I wish we would have seen more interactions between the 4 of them overall.