Was a fantastically written historical romance. I really enjoyed that the protagonist gets with Peter half way into the book as I thought ooo where is it going to go from here?

A unique spin on the genre, I haven’t read a historical romance where the concept of Belvoir’s exists. I was also wanting Lydia and Georgina to find love so I’m very happy that Lydia’s book is out next year!

I will be recommending this to all my historical romance loving friends. Great spice, very warming plot and loveable characters. 5/5

Ne'er Duke Well is such an amazing book, I enjoyed the characters and loved the MMC's obsession with the FMC from the beginning. There were moments I feared there would be the dreaded miscommunication, but I think the author did well, and it wasn't overly frustrating, more learning to work together. Would recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Ne'er Duke Well is a fun read with some great characters. Peter and Selina were great as the leads in this book.

I enjoyed this book, it was nice to read a book set in the regency times but covered topics that felt modern.
Peter a duke fresh from New Orleans, finds himself fighting to keep custody of his half siblings. An acquaintance, Selina takes it upon herself to find a match for Peter, realising that a respectable marriage will be the factor that will keep Peter with his half siblings. Amidst the chaos of finding Peter a suitable match, and the undeniable chemistry between the two, Selina and Peter find themselves engaged.
With Selina keeping a big secret of her own, can she keep herself and her family from falling from grace, and not jeopardise Peter’s chance of gaining custody.

The characters worked really well, a fun read with some romance and spice thrown in for good measure!

"Ne'er Duke Well" by Alexandra Vasti is a captivating historical romance that blends wit, intrigue, and passion in the richly detailed world of Regency England. Vasti’s writing is elegant and engaging, perfectly capturing the nuances of the period while delivering a story that is both emotionally resonant and delightfully entertaining.

The novel follows the journey of a protagonist who is unexpectedly thrust into the world of nobility, grappling with the responsibilities, secrets, and scandals that come with a new title. As they navigate the treacherous waters of high society, they find themselves entangled with a duke whose enigmatic presence is as intriguing as it is infuriating. The romance that unfolds is a slow burn, filled with tension, sharp banter, and undeniable chemistry.

Vasti expertly weaves together a plot filled with twists and turns, where every character has a role to play in the intricate dance of society. The supporting cast adds depth and color to the story, enhancing the rich tapestry of the narrative. The novel also delves into themes of identity, duty, and the challenges of living up to societal expectations, making it more than just a love story but also a thoughtful exploration of personal growth and self-discovery.

"Ne'er Duke Well" is perfect for fans of historical romance who appreciate a strong, well-drawn protagonist, a dashing and complex love interest, and a plot that keeps you hooked until the very end. Alexandra Vasti has crafted a novel that is as smart as it is swoon-worthy, making it a must-read for anyone who loves a good Regency romance filled with depth, charm, and a touch of intrigue.

I assumed this book was part of a series or at least a companion novel to another series but it turns out this is a debut novel. This is a little disappointing as we never get to read about how Peter and Selina met or what they thought of each other at the time. The story alludes to their initial meeting, but it's written in a way that this was already covered in a different book. I think writing it this way took something away from the story and the main characters, I wasn't invested in their romance from the beginning which I would have been had I been able to read about their original meet-cute.

Peter is a new duke after recently inheriting the title from his father and grandfather, but he's not endeared himself to English society especially being from New Orleans. He has radical opinions on the slave trade and behaves differently to what the aristocracy is used to, but he's not particularly bothered by anyone else's opinion of him. Except now he wants to take guardianship of his younger brother and sister who are his father's illegitimate children and when he died he didn't leave anything to look after them.

Selina wants to help Peter get his siblings and realises the only way to do this is make sure Peter stays away from scandal and the best way to look like a respectable gentleman would be to take a wife. So she makes him a list of three women that he needs to start courting and chose one to be his wife. Trouble is, Selina is in love with him, but because she is the owner and curator of a women's only erotic library she doesn't want to risk the scandal that would befall Peter if she were to be found out.

I loved Peter, I thought he was a great character. He loved Selina as well and was excited and supportive of her women's only library, agreeing with her that it was important from women to have some form of sex and anatomy education. Selina was, in return, incredibly supportive of Peter and his drive to get guardianship of his younger siblings but I didn't feel there was a lot of depth to her as a character. There definitely could have been more to her, and there were moments where I thought we would go a bit deeper into her character but this never really happened and so she remained very two-dimensional.

Overall, I found this to be a fun and enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Peter Kent is the new Duke of Stanhope, not something he aspired to. He has recently returned to England from America. Peter wants to unite his family, which means gaining guardianship of his two half-siblings, but there is opposition to this because of his political beliefs and penchant for scandal. Selina Ravenscroft is the woman he enlists to help him find a respectable wife; they have chemistry, but Selina has a scandalous secret. It's a lovely story full of wit, misunderstanding and passion. The novel explores topical themes of Regency England through its clever and motivated protagonists. The cast of characters is also well-characterised and adds emotion and depth to the tale. I like the characters, the politico-social themes explored and the romance.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

📚Book Review: Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti
📚Genre: Regency Romance, Historical Fiction
⭐Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 of 5 stars)

Ever wondered what would happen if a scandal-prone duke and a matchmaker with a secret tried to play cupid? Spoiler: nothing goes as planned, and everything gets delightfully messy. Alexandra Vasti delivers a charmingly chaotic regency romp where sparks fly, reputations teeter on the brink, and love might just prove to be the biggest scandal of all. If you enjoy a blend of humor, heart, and a dash of scandal, "Ne'er Duke Well" is your cup of tea!

Perfect For:

Fans of regency romance with a twist
Lovers of witty banter and sizzling chemistry
Readers who appreciate a strong, secretive heroine
Anyone in need of a hearty laugh and a heartwarming love story

"Ne'er Duke Well" is a delightful blend of humor, romance, and regency-era charm. With its lovable characters, sparkling dialogue, and an utterly engaging plot, Alexandra Vasti has penned a story that will keep you laughing, swooning, and eagerly turning the pages. Don't miss out on this gem of a romance! Thanks to @rachelsrandomresources and @netgalley for the #ARC #BlogTour

#NeerDukeWell #AlexandraVasti #BookReview #NetGalley #RegencyRomance #HistoricalRomance #ScandalousRomance #ReadersOfInstagram #IGReads #InstaBooks #Bookstagram #Bookstagrammer #BookstagramCommunity

I adored this one so much. Every character is fully rounded and brings so much to the story. I loved the relationships between the children and Peter, and then with all the adults who support them throughout, bringing humour and levity and also those more tender emotional moments. I loved getting to see Peter facing his past and opening himself up to be vulnerable with others, and seeing Selina getting to see she didn’t need to face the hard times alone. Their relationship had everything I want to read, chemistry, adoration, humour and that undying support for each other. I also loved that there were so many headstrong women, and I truly cannot wait for more in this series

I have a new favorite regency romance in Alexandra Vasti's Ne'er Duke Well! I've been a fan since the Halifax Hellions novellas and I absolutely adored this debut novel. It had all the ingredients of a regency romance - lovable characters, witty banter, sizzling chemistry and, of course, swoonworthy romance. Peter and Selina were absolutely delightful, complex, flawed, perfectly imperfect, and I loved the side characters too. From Freddie and Lu to Lydia, Aunt Judith and Thomasin, Nicholas and Daphne, and everyone else, this book had me laughing and loving all these characters and rooting for them. I loved the delicious slowburn, Peter and Selina pretending they weren't into each other from the start, and then the way they fell, fully, ready to take a bullet (or a peer) for the other. Peter and Selina are so obviously made for each other, they just get each other, and love each other through everything and it's so satisfying in the end when they get their happy ending. I also really loved the Belvoir plot and the ending with the custody hearing, and now I want to be a Belvoir member. All in all, this was a wonderful regency romance, full of banter, romance, and shenanigans. I adore the world Vasti crafted, and can't wait for more. If you're looking for your next Bridgerton fix, Ne'er Duke Well is a must-read.

🪷 Lu was a menace and a delight and I adored her
🪷 I'm a sucker for a good hurt/comfort moment
🪷 the spice was 🔥🔥🔥
🪷 Also Thomasin and Aunt Judith >>>>
🪷 Peter calling Selina "sweetheart" 🥹
🪷 "For wanting you? I promise you it's no hardship."

Let me start by saying I love the cover, it is super cute and colourful which is what drew me to the book in the first place. I am one of those people, who judge a book by their cover.

With this synopsis I couldn't not pick up this book - In this steamy Regency romp, Lady Selina is determined to find the Duke of Stanhope the perfect wife―the only problem is she's starting to think that might be her.

Peter and Selina are brilliant characters and watching them navigate the world apart and together was a joy. It is so refreshing to see female regency character written who didn't want to reply or a man or marriage to secure her future. Even though she ends up falling head over heels for the Duke in the end.

Really enjoyed this book and looking forwards to reading other books by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This fun historical romance brought in a little bit of silly with a great dose of incredibly clever and determined woman revolutionises society. It sounds like a lot but it's a good mix! I loved to see Selina being admired for her cleverness and scheming too. She totally deserved a man who was going to admire and adore her to the traits that society in those days tried to squash right out of its women. Peter is not your traditional Duke and his antics add a good dose of humour to the story but it's also sweet to see how much he wants his siblings in his life, and to do well by them. There's plenty of light politics at play through the story but the real focus is on Peter and Selina 's changing dynamic and budding romance. These two find it hard to resist each other and I love that for them.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

I loved this book. Everything was perfect and if it weren’t for the few Americanisms that crept in it would have merited 5 stars.

One of my least favourite tropes is misunderstandings due to secret-keeping. The fact that Alexandra Vasti managed to write a real relationship with drama and hurdles to overcome without the characters lying to each other and keeping secrets was just wonderful.

Vasti’s characters were all superbly written with different voices, well-rounded personalities and lovable traits. Lu’s hesitancy to trust Peter was heartbreaking, while Lydia’s inability to speak to men was endearing. Even Eldon had his moments.

Personally, in regards to his personality, ability to make Selina smile and his love for his half-siblings, Peter Kent is a better book boyfriend than Colin Bridgerton. He was aware of her capabilities, accepted her boundaries and supported her in all her endeavors.

He loved her because she violated society’s expectations, he didn’t hold it against her. Unlike SOME people I could mention. I couldn’t help but feel for Will even though we never met his character and it is a skill for an author to make us long for someone who doesn’t have a line of dialogue.

I really hope that her next book follows on and we get to give Selina’s brother a happier ending.

I intend on reading any books that Alexandra Vasti releases and I would highly recommend this to anyone, not as “like Bridgerton” but as “better than Bridgerton”.

Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Peter Kent―newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana―must become respectable. Between his radical politics and the time he interrupted a minor royal wedding with a flock of sheep―not his fault!―he’s developed a scandalous reputation at odds with his goal of becoming guardian to his half siblings. For help, he turns to the cleverest and most managing woman of his acquaintance, Lady Selina Ravenscroft.

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.)

But matchmaking doesn’t go according to plan. Peter’s siblings run rampant on Bond Street. Selina ends up in the Serpentine. And worst of all, the scorching chemistry between Peter and Selina proves impossible to resist. For the disreputable duke and his unpredictable matchmaker, falling in love just might be the ultimate scandal.

My Opinion

I had some high expectations going into Ne'er Duke Well as I had seen some great things about the book - I have to say that this was everything I thought it would be. Alexandra Vasti has written a charming book with some great characters. If you have enjoyed Bridgerton then you will definitely love this book.

Whilst this book is a romance, there is so much more going on. It was heart-warming to see how Selina took to Peter's siblings, whilst also trying to educate women. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I will be on the look out for future books by Alexandra Vasti.

Rating 4/5

I loved the idea of there being a secret library of smutty and erotic novels available to the ton and this was one of the parts I enjoyed the most. However I did feel that the storyline was a bit all over the place with the main characters Selina and Peter already previously met I felt that some prequel moments would have build an understanding of the existing chemistry better than the sub plots. I did enjoy the second half of the book more than the other, but still had to take a large number of breaks away from the book. Personally I feel that less entanglement and more clarity in the storyline would have led to a more interesting read for me.

The Duke who never expected to be, and the Librarian who runs a naughty library when women were intended to be innocents. And dumb. And not to own property.
And when bastard children were so often not acknowledged by their fathers and thus left to the vagaries of life for care.
A heartwarming story of a brother who did care and who wanted his half siblings to be in his care but due to his unconventional - for the British aristocracy- upbringing in America, had some trials to overcome before this could be achieved. Including the characters of the children themselves.
I enjoyed reading this novel and hope to find more from her.

I'm not for steamy Regency as I grew up reading Georgette Heyer and I'm bit of a hardliner when it comes to Regecy romance.
But this one was a lot of fun and the two Mc characters are so unusual and out of the box that you cannot help having fun and loving them.
There's some backstory and I would be glad to know more about it but I surely enjoyed this one and had fun.
This is a friends-to-lovers romance and I had fun in the antics of the characters and rooted for them.
It's a well written and fast paced novel, I liked the well developed characters and the storytelling. The historical background is a bit unusual at times but i liked it.
Can't wait to read another novel by this author, this one is highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Corvus Books and Rachel's Random Resources for this digital copy , all opinions are mine

Enjoyable romp set in early 19th century … fun, relatable characters all set around the purpose of finding a match for the Duke of Stanhope. Particularly enjoyed the strong female main character, Selina, and her mission to help the American Duke get custody of his brother and sister.

Think I must have missed the connection between them at the beginning- why was Selina so intent on helping him!

But a good story with fun characters and moved along at a strong pace. Some laughs along the way, but a little too much spice towards the end. I don’t think it needed as many explicit scenes as it has - the build up scenes were much more romantic than the more vivid descriptions of their relationship!!

Overall 4*

A delightful romp through Regency life, without any uneccessary angst or misundertstandings.

What to do when you're secretly pining for the man you are trying to arrange a marriage for?

1. Do not kiss him.

2. Do not get caught kissing him by all parties you shouldn't.

3. Avoid scandal at ALL costs.

I loved loved loved this book - a trip back into the genre I have sorely neglected in recent months. Well done indeed!

Worthy of its own Netflix/Prime series - I eagerly wait more books form this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am fully in my historical romance era so I was very happy to pick up my first Alexandra Vasti book (and her debut full length novel) after hearing good things about her novellas!!
To start, I love Alexandra's writing and I flew through the book. I also loved how Selina was portrayed as a strong female character knowing exactly how to deal with society and basically being it’s puppeteer (slay). And I loved Peter’s connection to his siblings (Lucinda and her rapier are a true force to be reckoned with).

I do however feel that the plot was a little ambitious at times, since in the first half of the book the focus is on Selina (being the fixer that she is) helping Peter to find a wife and then the plot switching to the guardianship situation and the library business. It all made sense and flowed well, however it wasn’t as fleshed out as I would have liked. There were some surprises in the end which were fun and I really enjoyed the whole family working together to fix things near the end since you could really feel their love and appreciation for Selina.
The relationship between Peter and Selina was a friends to lovers story which was overall very sweet and well written. I do feel that the other plotlines sometimes overshadowed the main romance story, which bothered me a little bit and I feel the romance was a little more told instead of showed (if that makes sense). Also the romance felt a little rushed and I feel like I missed them actually falling for each other. I did feel the connection between the two and loved their interactions. The way they thought and spoke about the other was very cute. Loved the spice as well.

I am still very excited to read more of Alexandra’s work, especially since the next book is going to be about Lydia!!! Love me a wallflower, so I can’t wait to continue the series.

Rating 3.5 stars!

If you are looking for a new historical romance author, then I highly recommend Alexandra Vasti. Her debut novel, Ne’er Duke Well is entertaining and immersive and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

The protagonists are Peter Kent, the Duke of Stanhope, and Lady Selina Ravencroft. Raised in Louisiana, Peter inherited the title a few months back, but he has already made a name for himself arguing in parliament against slavery, making an enemy of the man who will decide whether he will get custody of his half-brother and sister. He asks Selina for help, since he’s seen her matchmaking and resolving problems for many people of the ton. Selina’s solution is that Peter should marry a respectable woman who will put him in a positive light and she finds him three perfect candidates. However, the more time they spend together, the more Peter and Selina are attracted to each other, but Selina is hiding a secret: for the last two years, she’s been managing an erotic library destined to women and, if it is discovered that she’s the one behind the publication of books that half the ton is secretly reading, the scandal would affect not only her, but also those close to her.

I loved this book so much that I read it one day. There is humour, spicy scenes, two entertaining children who often get into trouble, and a cast of secondary characters that I couldn’t help but adore. Peter and Selina are two fantastic protagonists. I loved the chemistry between them, their easy relationship and how they are ready to do anything for the custody of the children.

Ne’er Duke Well is a well-written, witty, steamy slow-burn romance and I couldn’t put it down!