Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti
Historical Romance
July 24, 2024- St. Martin’s Griffin

Review by Angela

I fell in love with this author after reading the Halifax Hellions series as free reads on her website. I’ve been saving this book as kind of a “break glass in case of emergency” read, which after the last couple of months and my resulting book slump seemed to be a good plan from past me.

Peter Kent, the new Duke of Stanhope, recently arrived from Louisiana, desperately wants to gain custody of his siblings, 12-year-old Lucinda, aka Lu, and 10-year-old Frederick, aka Freddie. Their father all but abandoned them and Peter wants to earn their trust and make a home for the three of them. But in order to do that he must gain some semblance of respectability. His reputation for radical politics aside, his biggest hurdle is the whole cognac misunderstanding between him and Lord Eldon, who also happens to be the chancellor of the High Court who will decide his case.

So, he enlists the help of the most competent and brilliant woman he knows. Lady Selina Ravenscroft.

Selina has the bright idea of finding a duchess for Peter. One that will lend him respectability, and hopefully the romance of a quick engagement will endear him to Lord Eldon and his wife, who were themselves a love match. She has a list, with only three names on it, but she is determined that one of the three will work. The only problem is that Peter doesn’t have eyes for anyone but Selina. The more time they spend together, the more Peter realizes that Selina is his perfect match. It doesn’t take long for Selina to realize she is in love with him as well. But she has secrets, and a marriage between them wouldn’t bring him respectability, but ruin.

This was such a wonderful romance, with a clever feminist FMC and a MMC who is supportive and loving and simply delighted by Selina’s boldness when he discovers that she is running a library that includes a secret section just for women. The relationship between them is both sweet and steamy, and I admired that they always seemed candid with each other. Even after getting caught in a spicy moment, which leads to their engagement and marriage, Selina is honest with him about her misgivings and why she is worried their marriage might endanger his guardianship hopes. There are plenty of fun moments with the shenanigans during the hunt for a wife and the scenes with Peter’s siblings. It kept a smile on face.

I’m looking forward to the next two books in the series, which will feature the lovely women who Peter courted before falling in love with Selina. The next book in the series, Earl Crush, releases January 21, 2025.

Final grade- B+