Title: Ne'er Duke WellAuthor: Alexandra Vasti
Series: Belvoir's Library #1
Pages: 352
Publication Date: July 23, 2024
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical
Synopsis:
In this steamy Regency romp, Lady Selina is determined to find the Duke of Stanhope the perfect wife―the only problem is she’s starting to think that might be her.
Peter Kent―newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana―must become respectable. Between his radical politics and the time he interrupted a minor royal wedding with a flock of sheep―not his fault!―he’s developed a scandalous reputation at odds with his goal of becoming guardian to his half siblings. For help, he turns to the cleverest and most managing woman of his acquaintance, Lady Selina Ravenscroft.
Selina is society’s most proper debutante, save one tiny secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. When Peter asks for her help, she suggests courtship and marriage to a lady of unimpeachable reputation. (Which is to say, definitely not herself.)
But matchmaking doesn’t go according to plan. Peter’s siblings run rampant on Bond Street. Selina ends up in the Serpentine. And worst of all, the scorching chemistry between Peter and Selina proves impossible to resist. For the disreputable duke and his unpredictable matchmaker, falling in love just might be the ultimate scandal.
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Ne’er Do Well is a fun and sexy historical romance that took me completely by surprise in the best of ways. I’ve never read anything by Vasti before, and I fell in love with her writing style. It’s clever and funny at just the right moments and so swoon-worthy it swept me off my feet.
The story follows friends Lady Selina Ravenscroft and Peter Kent, the new Duke of Stanhope. Peter wants to legally adopt his half-siblings even though they were never officially acknowledged by their father. If he marries, Peter will have a better case, and he turns to his friend Selina for help. Selina is a matchmaker, and she readily agrees to find Peter a wife. But as she looks for the right woman, she starts to think she might be the perfect fit.
Though she presents herself as a respectable innocent, in secret Selina runs a library that lends out erotic and sexual literature to women. She knows if her secret is found out, it would ruin not only her reputation but the reputation of those around her. She’s a woman ahead of her time, and her secret job highlights the lack of information women had access to, especially when it came to their bodies and sexual health.
Peter is fabulous too, and I especially love how determined he is to do right by his siblings and the people who depend on him. He’s an honorable man who never expected to inherit the title but does everything he can to make things work, even of it means marrying a woman he doesn’t know well or love. Unfortunately, Selina wants to marry for love.
Selina and Peter have such a swoon-worthy friends-to-lovers romance. I loved their banter! It’s fun and witty and sexy, and the spicy times are pretty steamy! Their relationship had so much chemistry, and the pining… loved it!! They are also super supportive of each other and work together as a team. Peter is as unconventional as Selina in his views, and I loved him even more for it.
I thought this was a great read. It’s sexy and romantic, and it has a lot of humor and funny moments. The dialogue and banter are done so well, the secondary characters were as fun as the protagonists, and the kids! Peter’s siblings are the best! I can’t wait to read more by the author, and I’m grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
Society had cast the women of her generation adrift-they were meant to be playthings, meant to be innocent and empty-headed and leave practical knowledge to the ment who controlled their lives. To hell with that.
“You turn what could be a crisis into a victory. A flaw into a strength. You see this world and imagine it better, Peter, and I-I think you are remarkable.”
Alexandra Vasti is a British literature professor who has loved historical romance since age 11. After finishing her PhD at Columbia University in NYC, she moved to New Orleans, where she lives with her very large and noisy family.
You had me at “banter” and “friends to lovers” 😀 The cover caught my eye on this one, and I’m glad to hear it’s got substance to back it up 🙂
It’s a good one, Rebecca! I hope you love it if you get a chance to read it! 🙂