Reviews

Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti

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dhrachovec's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Cute regency romance with a fun setting!

annie26's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

4 solid stars. I hoped I would like this but I’m pleasantly surprised by just how much I did. A fun and meaningful feminist historical romance that I really didn’t want to end.

lyssrose's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

sashareadssss's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

hfjarmer's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

3.5 stars --

Ne'er Duke Well follows Selina and Peter in a charming historical romance. Selina, the sister of a Duke, secretly owns a library with a scandalous little twist—it houses the Venus Catalog, which discreetly provides sexual education to the women of the ton through a wide range of materials, including personal accounts, erotic novels, anatomy books, and more. Peter, recently thrust into his role as Duke after the death of his grandfather, is a charming, Louisiana-raised man determined to gain custody of his much younger half-siblings, Lu and Freddie. However, Peter's abolitionist views don't exactly endear him to the high society of the time. Together, Peter and Selina hatch a plan to help him secure custody of his siblings.

This was a delightful historical romance, a bit of a departure from my usual reads, but a good, relatively mindless break from the norm. I found Peter incredibly charming, and the writing was much less cheesy than the only other historical romance I read a few months ago. I appreciated that the characters were actual adults, not just twenty-somethings as is so common in the genre. The spicier scenes were well-written and refreshing, offering a nice change from the usual, as I often find that romance scenes can feel repetitive.

I particularly loved the element of women's education. It felt like a blend of Bridgerton and Lady Whistledown, but with a focus on sex education—a fun and clever twist for a novel set in this time period.