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.

I was looking forward to this historical romance, but DNF. The narrators killed it for me. The accents were terrible.

Audio specific🎧: I had an ALC and the narrator did a really great job! I sometimes have a hard time with single narration, but Mhairi Morrison nearly made me forget it wasn’t dual narration with her voice work for New Orleans Duke Peter Kent. I’ll definitely look for more audiobooks with her as the narrator!

Review📖: I haven’t read many historicals and this was a breath of fresh air. I loved the highjinks Selina and Peter got into on their journey to marry Peter off. Both of them were people with great intentions and yet things went awry so often. Peter won me over with how he responded to the conflicts they came across, and that he didn’t really care what society thought of him, aside from it effecting his attempt to gain custody of his siblings. Selina was never afraid to risk her reputation to educate the women around her with her secret venture, until she knew it could put Peter at risk too. This was a spicy read and you could definitely feel the chemistry between Selina and Peter. The side characters we met were charming and I quite enjoyed their personalities and dialogue.

This opened the historical romance genre up for me and I’m looking forward to reading more in the future!

*Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Dreamscape Media and Alexandra Vasti for the advanced copy to review! All opinions are my own*

Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti is a delightful historical romance.

I enjoyed this lighthearted and fun read. This story follows Peter Kent, who has just been named Duke of Stanhope. He has relocated to England from New Orleans, and on top of that he is determined to gain guardianship of his younger siblings. He has had more difficulty obtaining custody due to his accidental scandals.

When Selina Ravenscroft finds out about Peter’s difficulties she decides to help him. She thinks finding Peter a wife will help him gain guardianship faster. Selina has a difficult time trying to fight the chemistry between her and Peter as she tries to find an eligible woman for him to marry.

If you are in the mood for a light, easy, historical romance then this is the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Peter Kent is new to London. He inherited his late father’s home and title, and now he’s the Duke of Stanhope and needing to become a respected member of society. Born and raised in New Orleans, he doesn’t stand on propriety much. But he has a younger half-brother and half-sister, and he is hoping to become their legal guardian. He needs the family court in England to allow him to take the kids in, so he can keep them safe and raise them with love and good humor.

Lady Selina Ravenscroft has a soft spot for the new duke. She thinks highly of how he’s passionately against slavery and willing to speak up about that, and she likes that he wants to take in his siblings and raise them himself. She understands it would easier for him to get custody if he had a wife. And while she is find of him, she cannot be the one to marry him. Because Lady Selina has a secret that could ruin them all if she were.

Selina puts together a short list of distinguished women who would all help ease Peter’s way into London society. He meets with them all, and after not only getting to know them all but heling to rescue a small dog that was stuck in the water, he has made his choice. The Duke of Stanhope wishes to marry . . . Lady Selina Ravenscroft.

She refuses because she has been running a library of scandalous books geared towards women. Lady Selina knew of a woman who had gotten pregnant without knowing how it had happened, and she realized that women were woefully unprepared for relationships and wanted to do something about that. Her patrons are discreet about the books they borrow from the library, but no secret is safe forever. Selina knows that at some point, some of the more self-righteous in society could come after her for her library, and she will be forced to leave London in shame. She has a contingency plan already in place.

But what she doesn’t have a plan for is how to deal with the fact that she is falling quite hard for the Duke of Stanhope. Peter is turning out to be intelligent, funny, charming, and very attractive. Selina finds herself jealous of the women she tried to set him up with. Although she needn’t be. The Duke only has eyes for her.

How will they resolve their feelings for each other, while trying to make the duke more respectable and keeping Lady Selina from being the center of a huge scandal, all while keeping the duke’s half-siblings safe? Is there a world where a London Lady and an American Duke can find love, or will everything collapse around them?

Ne’er Duke Well is a steamy Regency romance where love and logic compete. Both Peter and Selina are strong characters and devoted to their purpose in life, but those purposes seem to keep them apart. As their attraction grows, so does the heat, and the scenes in this book could put any of those titles in Selina’s secret library to shame. But there is also a lot of heart and humor as these lovers try to make the world a better place.

I listened to the audio book of Ne’er Duke Well, and I thought narrator Mhairi Morrison added a lot of texture to these character’s insights. She brought the voices of Peter and Selina to life through their arguments and bed sports, and made this a very enjoyable listen. I did think that her narration was a touch slow, which fits with the duke’s New Orleans background, but I did speed up the narration just a little so it wasn’t quite so languid to listen to. But I think that’s a personal choice, and it was lovely at normal speed also. I was really happy with Ne’er Duke Well. I thought it balanced important subjects with humor and brought the heat to this charming summer read.

A copy of the audio book for Ne’er Duke Well was provided by Dreamscape Media, and egalleys were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I now want to read everything Alexandra Vasti writes. This was so, so good.

I was a bit apprehensive about an American duke, but I absolutely loved Peter. He was simply wonderful, probably one of my favourite heroes in a while. It was admirable that he was trying so hard to get custody of his siblings-historically, that wouldn't usually happen. I do wish there was a bit more about his background/parents.

Selina was a great character as well. So often in historical romance, we see FMCs who are strong with ambitions yet they scorn marriage (though they get married in the end anyways). Selina wasn't against getting married and still kept on with her business. (I have such a soft spot for historical books about women writing/publishing smut.)

Peter and Selina were such an awesome couple and I loved that they had good communication. No misunderstandings, things were handled like adults - perfection!

Also, Mhairi Morrison did a great job as the narrator!

Ne'er Duke Well is a Regency romance with a secret erotic library owner heroine and an "American duke" in need of assistance winning a custody battle. While trying to help arrange a proper marriage for his things go wonderfully off course, Plenty of witty banter, steamy moments, and a touch of social commentary. Perfect for fans of historical romance that love strong and non traditional female leads!
I'm adding this author to my TBR, and so glad I was gifted this A R C to give into her work.

Who doesn’t love the charm of a Southern gentleman? Lady Selena, that’s who! At least that’s what she tells herself that she tries to not fall in love with Peter, the exceedingly chivalrous and well-being, American Duke from Louisiana.

Peter is a need of a ducal overhaul to help him gain custody of his younger half siblings and can’t think of anyone better to help him achieve his goal than the very respectable lady Selena.

Finding herself not only smitten with the Duke, but his siblings as well. Selena makes it her mission to put this family back together. And she has a great solution- find Peter a respectable wife!

As they try out her matchmaking scheme, it starts looking more and more like Peter’s perfect match is Selena… Selena is hesitant to fall for the Duke because she has secrets of her own!

This was such a fun and delightful romance. Both of these characters were so easy to root for. I fell in love with the southern charm from peters Louisiana roots the moment he stepped onto the page! Selena’s industrious attitude, determination to fix the wrongs done to her and help others made her heroin that you could easily support and side with.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mhairi Morrison and was exceedingly impressed by her excellent accent work for both the Louisiana drawl for Peter and the crisp aristocratic voice for Selena. Above and beyond that her speaking voice is incredibly soothing and easy to listen to. Morrison will definitely be a narrator. I look out for my audiobook.

Overall, this is a historical romance that needs to be on your reading list for 2024! Why haven’t you started reading it yet?!?!

Selina is society’s most proper debutante, save one tiny secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. When Peter asks for her help, she suggests courtship and marriage to a lady of unimpeachable reputation. (Which is to say, definitely not herself.)

The above description had me from the get go.

Such a wonderful world created by this debut author. I loved this book and will be keeping an eye out for the author in the future.

The fact that the title is a bit of a pun and the subject matter is not what you would expect is fabulous. I know in the end it is boy meets girl, stuff happens, they fall in love but this is done so imaginatively and with style.

I had to stop listening to the audio for this one. I may be an outlier, but I just could not get into the narrator’s male Louisiana accent.

I enjoyed the content, but the narration just wasn’t working for me. I will be picking up a physical copy to read instead.

“Ne’er Duke Well” 5/5⭐️

(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book and its audiobook!)

I’ve been on a historical romance kick since I finished Bridgerton season 3 😌 Naturally, I had to read this book.

“Ne’er Duke Well” follows Selina Ravenscroft as she attempts to find the perfect wife for Peter Kent, the Duke of Stanhope. Peter is desperate to obtain guardianship of his younger siblings, so the New Orleans native must become respectable in the eyes of London society. However, Selina has secrets of her own that may prove disastrous when attraction grows between the two of them.

Let me tell you, I am OBSESSED with this book. Peter and Selina are so perfect to me. I adore female characters like Selina who are clever and subvert expectations. I also cannot get over how much Peter admires her 🥹 Their mutual respect and care for one another was to die for. Furthermore, witnessing two characters COMMUNICATE so well was a breath of fresh air. (Unnecessary miscommunication is my biggest pet peeve in romance books.)

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves witty female characters and historical romances.

4.5 stars

I absolutely devoured this book (and I listened to the audiobook so that’s saying a lot - I spent the whole day cleaning just so I could keep listening to it) these characters where so sweet and I was obsessed with their love story. I loved Selina and Peter pining for each other even while trying to find a wife for Peter. These characters had so much chemistry and they could not stay away from each other. I liked how the conflicts were handled and how Peter was so supportive and would do literally anything for Selina.

I also thought the audiobook narrator did a really good job with this book (although I did think it was funny how Peter was described as having a “slight American accent” and in the audiobook it was definitely giving Benoit Blanc - that’s not a critique though, I enjoyed it)

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC!!

Much like the rest of romancelandia, I was super excited to read Alexandra Vasti’s first full length novel after reading her Halifax Hellions novellas (spoiler—they’re mentioned in her newest!). Ne’er Duke Well is within the same universe as Matilda and Margo and takes place just before either of them have settled down. We have a bit of an Emma story with Lady Selina Ravenscroft attempting to be a matchmaker for Peter Kent, the 9th Duke of Stanhope. Peter is a different sort of Duke hailing from Louisiana and only recently inheriting the Dukedom, making the mistake in the ton of accepting his father’s illegitimate offspring as his own siblings. Selina hopes to help secure a match for Peter that will elevate his capabilities of taking care of his siblings as their rightful brother. Oh course this matchmaker is bested when she assumes she knows whom Peter desires most, never expecting it to be herself!

This was a tricky read for me. I think overall it was because of the pacing. Perhaps I was expecting the speed of Vasti’s past novellas, and this one felt slow to start. The matchmaking attempts by Selina were fun and the book picked up when Peter reveals it’s Selina who’s been occupying his thoughts instead of his other possible paramours. However the couple gets together and we aren’t yet to the halfway point. The second half of the book read as more of a custody battle for the children than as a love story. Although this didn’t bother me and I don’t mind children in romance, I think I wanted more romantic tension and pull between Peter and Selina prior to the second plot. There are also LOTS of things that happen in this book, some of which I wish were more front and center. Selina runs an erotic library and although the consequences of this are explored, the fun bits of what this means weren’t really touched upon. Perhaps I was hoping to be scandalized? I did like what Vasti did with one of Peter’s love interests (even if I anticipated this storyline early on). I have to say though that this novel wasn’t as memorable as Vasti’s earlier works and somewhat forgettable. I know there was steam, but unfortunately can’t remember enough of it to feel excited for. I am sure Vasti will continue to hone her writing with time as she truly has a knack for historical romance, and even though this wasn’t my favorite from her, I look forward to reading more in the future. I received an advanced copy from St. Martin’s. All opinions are my own.

I received an ALC from Dreamscape Media. Mhairi Morrison narrated this one just as excellently as Vasti’s other novellas. I appreciate her tone and love her reading voice. Her Louisiana accent for Peter made me smile because it was the perfect amount of slow Southern drawl needed to counter Selina’s impatient nature. It was also so unlike a Duke to have that kind of voice that it made me giggle with delight to think of how out of place Peter seemed. I hope she continues to narrate Alexandra Vasti’s novels.
3.5 🌟 rounded up to 4

This was my first regency romance and it did not disappoint! The tension and spice was absolute perfect, just enough to keep you wanting more without being over the top.

I was pleasantly surprised how the plot really centered around women’s sexual education and empowerment, as it was not necessarily something I would have expected in a novel set in this time frame.

For anyone who has enjoyed watching Bridgerton and wants to dip their toe into regency romances, I would highly recommend this novel!

I actually really enjoyed this one! It was a fairly quick read. It felt very reminiscent of Bridgerton, which I loved. I thought it was funny but also dramatic and tied together with the perfect dusting of romance. I am still pretty new to regency romances and this one delivered. The narrator was excellent. HUGE THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHERS AT DREAMSCAPE MEDIA FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AN ALC OF THIS ONE! Definitely looking forward to the next installment!

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

Ne’er Duke Well is an utterly unique historical romance. The story starts with Selina and Peter as already acquaintances. They have moved in the same circles, seen each other at Ton events, and have a clear respect for one another. So, when Peter knows that his custody suit for the guardianship of his half-siblings is in dire straits, he petitions the assistance of Lady Selina Ravenscroft and her brother, a Duke and prominent member of the House of Lords, to help guarantee success.

While Selina’s brother takes on Peter’s disastrous political image, Selina finds that finding a marital candidate is the quickest way to show that Peter is ready to take in his young siblings. As Selina plays matchmaker and coaches Peter in wooing some of the respectable ladies, their mutual respect (and well-buried crushes) blossom into a scorching romance fit to scandalize the Ton.

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The audiobook production of this story was very well done. The single narrator did a marvelous job distinguishing the multiple characters’ perspectives, especially with Peter’s Louisiana accent. I was fully immersed in the story by the quality of the audiobook. I highly recommend picking up the audiobook if you are interested in the plot.

Audiobook production: 5 stars

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As the rough and tumble American that newly inherited the dukedom, Peter can’t seem to do anything right in the eyes of the Ton. Peter is unwavering in his desire to give his young siblings, Lu and Freddy, the stability and family that he lacked. Lu and Freddy are fully fledged characters that leap off the page, that being said, it was a little disappointing that they were largely forgotten in the middle of the story. I wanted to see more of their shenanigans, interactions with Peter, and a more prominent role in the overall story. Unlike some romance books, the children were not a prop, but they certainly should have been highlighted more (in my opinion) considering their guardianship is the whole premise behind Peter getting married. And, then, the custody suit ended up resolving ridiculously easily which felt like all the drama and scandal that they weathered was not worth the hassle.

Selina’s well-guarded secret life, running the most popular library with a scandalous bend, threatens her social standing at every turn. She has balanced her life on a knife’s edge, and fears the day that her choices bring down the people around her. This becomes a large internal conflict that prevents her from exploring and deepening a relationship with Peter at multiple points in the story. Because Selina is so self-sufficient, she doesn’t bring Peter into her decisions or see a way to weather the scandal. While this conflict is understandable and adds good tension in the first half of the book, I found the repeated mentions and lack of resolution to be tiring as the story progressed.

Overall, I appreciated the nods to a more modern, inclusive, and feminist storyline without reading unauthentic to the times. I also appreciated the inclusion of the political aspects of the peerage which are often not highlighted in romance books. Additionally, the side characters had a depth and detail to them that is rare in its quality. These elements lended this story to be quite a strong story for the modern romance reader. However, I do find Selina’s doomsday approach to the run of the Venus catalog and the handling of Peter’s siblings to negatively impact the overall story being told. In addition, there is a heavy focus on spice, because of the salacious nature of Selina’s work that I felt took away from Peter and Selina’s relationship development.

I would be interested to pick up another book by this author as I found the writing and type of story to be engaging and an interesting read.

A steamy regency romance in the vein of Bridgerton. Highly enjoyable. The characters were delightful. Peter Kent inherited the dukedom of Stanford from his late father. He comes from New Orleans and he's trying to do the right thing by his half-siblings. Lady Selina is the sister of a duke who wants to help Peter secure guardianship of his siblings. She feels a wife would help him accomplish this and convince the House of Lords that he is responsible and capable. She comes up with a list of fine English ladies who would all suit. Only Selina wishes she herself were on the list. And this wouldn't be a problem, as she is a fine upstanding Lady. However, she is also running a secretive library business of erotic novels for the ton. Hijinks and romance ensue.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio e-arc.*

Wonderful story! Great narration and characters! The kids make the story though! I can’t wait for the next in the series.