#BookReview: NE’ER DUKE WELL by Alexandra Vasti @AlexandraVasti @CorvusBooks

Publication: 1st August 2024 – Corvus

STRATAGEM FOR THE RESTORATION OF RESPECTABILITY TO THE DUKE OF STANHOPE:

Step 1: Find perfect wife
Step 2: Save reputation from ruin
Step 3: Do not, at any cost, fall in love with Selina Ravenscroft

Peter Kent, newly inherited Duke of Stanhope, has developed quite the scandalous reputation – which must be overturned if he is to win the guardianship of his young half siblings.

For help he turns to Lady Selina Ravenscroft, society’s most proper debutante (save one tiny secret…). She suggests courtship and marriage to a lady of unimpeachable character – which due to the aforementioned secret is definitely not Selina herself.

But her matchmaking goes awry when the scorching chemistry between them proves impossible to resist. For the disreputable duke and his unpredictable matchmaker, falling in love might just be the ultimate scandal…

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

If you are looking for a new historical romance author, then I highly recommend Alexandra Vasti. Her debut novel, Ne’er Duke Well is entertaining and immersive and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

The protagonists are Peter Kent, the Duke of Stanhope, and Lady Selina Ravencroft. Raised in Louisiana, Peter inherited the title a few months back, but he has already made a name for himself arguing in parliament against slavery, making an enemy of the man who will decide whether he will get custody of his half-brother and sister. He asks Selina for help, since he’s seen her matchmaking and resolving problems for many people of the ton. Selina’s solution is that Peter should marry a respectable woman who will put him in a positive light and she finds him three perfect candidates. However, the more time they spend together, the more Peter and Selina are attracted to each other, but Selina is hiding a secret: for the last two years, she’s been managing an erotic library destined to women and, if it is discovered that she’s the one behind the publication of books that half the ton is secretly reading, the scandal would affect not only her, but also those close to her.

I loved this book so much that I read it one day. There is humour, spicy scenes, two entertaining children who often get into trouble, and a cast of secondary characters that I couldn’t help but adore. Peter and Selina are two fantastic protagonists. I loved the chemistry between them, their easy relationship and how they are ready to do anything for the custody of the children. 

Ne’er Duke Well is a well-written, witty, steamy slow-burn romance and I couldn’t put it down!

I huge thank you to Corvus and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this beautiful novel.

Alexandra Vasti loves coffee, beignets, and books, in no particular order. She is the author of the Halifax Hellions series. In between writing swoony Regency romances with hijinks and heart, she teaches British and Caribbean literature in New Orleans.