A review by ghostiegail
Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti

emotional hopeful reflective medium-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? Yes

4.5

 Thank you to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review! 

This book is feminist smut about feminists writing smut, and I loved it. 

But then again, this was exactly what she wanted Belvoir’s to be: an attainable resource for women who would not otherwise have access to knowledge that could change their lives for the better.

Peter Kent, a Louisiana abolitionist that can’t help but create scandals everywhere he goes, inherits the Dukedom of Stanhope and discovers two precocious half-siblings. Determined to become their legal guardian, Peter turns to society’s most meddlesome debutante who has a dangerous secret — Selina Ravenscroft curates and distributes a circulating erotic library exclusively for the women of the ton, marked by iconic green cloth bound covers. Arranging the perfect match may be just what Peter needs to convince the chancellor he deserves custody, but Peter’s impulsivity and Selina’s illicit secret just may put everything they’ve built in jeopardy. 

I know this isn’t funny. But only you would turn up your nose at embroidery and resolve to overturn society in its stead.

I definitely thought this book was going to be 80% arranging a match, and while that was important to the plot, it was much more about childhood relationships, grappling for control in a society actively working against you, and the beauty of loving someone wholeheartedly for who they are. There were passages that legitimately gave me chills, which has not happened to me in years. 

Despite how emotionally grounded this story was, there was no shortage of spice. Honestly, more than I was expecting! There were a few passages where I thought, okay let’s get back to the plot, but the author usually brought it back around through character development, and the spice didn’t make the book drag on at all. Every plot point and character arc took its time to play out, so the spicy interludes were tons of fun. 

My only gripe is that there is one loose end that I was sure we would get resolution on, and didn’t really come full circle — but I’m suspecting that if the story is the hit it deserves to be, we may get a sequel or spin-off exploring that character. 

If you are 1) a lover of historical romance heavy on the history AND the spice 2) a meddlesome auntie in training with a solution to every problem or 3) a lover of complex sibling relationships, then Ne’er Duke Well will knock your stockings off.