Reviews

“You bring the morning with you. You’re the light, sweetheart. When you walk into a room, I can’t see the shadows. There is nothing in this world that could persuade me to send you away if I thought you wanted me half as much as I want you.”

i have been a huge fan of Vasti’s historical romances ever since i stumbled across the Hallifax sisters’ novellas via her newsletter, and in her first full length regency romance, we encounter yet another delightful romance in Peter and Selina’s story - a perfectly matched pair of strong willed and charming protagonists.

while NE’ER DUKE WELL is definitely first and foremost a romance, both sweet and steamy, this is also a story of family, both found and by blood, loyalty, and standing up in the face of adversity - because it wouldn’t be a regency romance without scandal in the ton! Vasti is masterful in crafting conflict that doesn’t rely on the tired tropes of miscommunication and third act breakups, instead utilizing a larger storyline of impropriety and legal maneuverings which allows room for for the characters to grow together.

i’m eager for the second installment of the Belvoir's Library series, with Earl Crush expected January 2025!

special thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced copy of Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti - out now!

Content Warnings

aranzazugarcia's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

faith_hirschi's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted

4.5

lesliedavis_19's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-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? No

4.5

dobbsthedog's review against another edition

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3.0

Received from NetGalley and LibroFM quite some time ago, thanks!

This book was okay. I can’t quite figure out what it is that didn’t quite work for me? Maybe it was a bit too much not-like-other-girls? I really don’t know.

I adored Vasti’s Halifax Hellions novellas, so was really looking forward to a full length novel, but for whatever reason this one just didn’t hit the same way as those ones did.

Overall, there was very little relationship drama, no third act breakup, Selina runs a library with an erotic section for women because she wants to educate them and Peter is a an abolitionist. All of these are things that should have made me love it, but it just fell flat.

The story is that Peter Kent, the new Duke of Sanford has fallen into the title, being an illegitimate son of the former Duke, who was raised in New Orleans. This obviously makes him an outsider in parliament and the ton. He is also trying to get custody of his two much younger siblings, as their mother has died. It is decided that it would look better for his petition if he’s married. And so starts his sort of courting of three different not-like-other-girls, when Selina is the not-like-other-girls that he actually wants.

Anyway, I’ll likely read Vasti’s other books, in hopes of getting something closer to the Hellions books. And this book wasn’t bad, it was just kind of blah, imo.

shrineofyourlies's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

kkpines's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

5.0

so ridiculous and ripe!! my regency heart is on fire

Content Warnings

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