Reviews

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the prerelease of Ne’er Duke Well at Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans (shoutout to Blue Cypress fr) and to get my copy a few days before the book officially comes out, and I’m so happy to say that IT WAS AMAZING!!!! This was so much fun, the perfect combination of funny, romantic, intelligent, and steamy. I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time.

Highly recommend for fans of Evie Dunmore, Julie Anne Long, MMCs who are smitten from the start, antics (so many antics), silly younger siblings, pastry bribes, curly-haired men, historically accurate innuendos, independent women, bathtub scenes, and excellent storytelling.

sellsbooksformoney's review against another edition

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hopeful medium-paced

4.5

elizab3thc's review

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It wasn't particularly outstanding nor did it do anything ground-breaking for the genre, but it does what it says on the tin - scratches that certain itch one sometimes gets for a recency romance with incredibly low stakes.

I couldn’t really find myself getting into the characters or feeling much connection with them - I don’t know if it’s because the romance was quite rushed and undeveloped, or whether the characters just weren’t for me. The writing was okay but some aspects just felt a bit too… modern for me? I know it’s silly to expect from a book like this, but I did kind of want the language to be in keeping with the time.

although, I did get an incredibly good giggle out of “stupendous bubbies”

characters: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

plot: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

setting: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

prose/writing: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

final rating: ★ ★ ★

danadoesbooks's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC of Ne'er Duke Well! All opinions in this review are my own.

I liked the set up of this book, that Selina is trying to help Peter get custody of his half-siblings, but I felt like the pacing was off. Selina has the brilliant idea to match Peter with a respectful lady of the Ton to help improve his reputation, but very quickly realizes she would rather be with him. They marry pretty early on in the book and are living in wedded bliss until her secret threatens to be exposed. Despite the pacing, I loved Selina and her library! This series shows promise and I would still like to read the second one!

beasleysbooks's review against another edition

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7/20/24 DNF @34% but I may go back to it. I think I just didn’t like the audiobook narrator.

carpereadem's review against another edition

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funny hopeful medium-paced

5.0

tc_booksandmore's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to SMP for the review copy, my opinions are my own.

This was my first Alexandra Vasti book, and it will not be my last, I really enjoyed the story and am looking forward to more stories set in this world. I loved the Emma'esque story and the fact that the main character runs a library.

I have no complaints about this book, I loved it.

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