Scan barcode
A review by niamhreviews
Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti
4.0
I was very kindly given an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley and Atlantic Books / Corvus.
This was just delightful. I finished it moments ago and I just feel rather...joyful and happy having followed it to the final page. I had read one Alexandra Vasti novella before picking this up and suitably enjoyed the writing enough to request her full length novel and reader, she is just as good in 300 pages as she is in 150.
The novel follows the new Duke of Stanhope - an American - and his struggles to get custody of his two, much younger half siblings. He engages a friend, Selina, to help him find a wife as she believes that will help support his custody claim. Her matchmaking skills go a bit awry when they realise they have feelings for each other. This is a fun, pacy, exciting book that - MOST IMPORTANTLY - does not shy away from the core issues of the day, something that is sorely missing in most historical romance. Vasti also includes significant notes at the end about the integration of real-life figures in the novel (there are one or two) as well as giving historical context to the discussion of slavery and abolition in Britain (which is not a squeaky clean as history lessons would suggest, quelle surprise). There's also a delightful subplot about a circulating library with a secret list of books for women to help educate them on the mysteries of the boudoir...
I knocked a star off for two reasons - one, because some words used by Peter (and therefore, the author) to describe female genitalia made me throw up in my mouth because they are the least sexy words in the English language - and two, I felt that the overarching conflict was both underdeveloped and solved far too easily. I was worried for a moment that the third act conflict was going to centre around 'you can't marry me because look at me', but we jumped swiftly away and a collective sigh of relief was heard by all. Ultimately, I chalk this up to first full length novel writing - it's not necessarily bad, it's just a bit underwhelming.
Nevertheless. 'Ne'er Duke Well' is a delightful addition to the Regency romance canon. It's suitably steamy but not at the sacrifice of plot or character development, it's pacy and funny and with a great set of supporting characters (Thomasin and Aunt Judith especially), many of whom you can see being the stars of their own future books. I hope we get MORE regency romance like this - it doesn't rely on stereotypes, the characters are well-rounded, the men don't get randomly angry for no reason and we're supposed to think that's hot. It's a new frontier of historical romance and I am 100% on board.
ALSO: The English people ACTUALLY SOUND ENGLISH! Thank the Lord!
'Ne'er Duke Well' by Alexandra Vasti is available from August 1st.
This was just delightful. I finished it moments ago and I just feel rather...joyful and happy having followed it to the final page. I had read one Alexandra Vasti novella before picking this up and suitably enjoyed the writing enough to request her full length novel and reader, she is just as good in 300 pages as she is in 150.
The novel follows the new Duke of Stanhope - an American - and his struggles to get custody of his two, much younger half siblings. He engages a friend, Selina, to help him find a wife as she believes that will help support his custody claim. Her matchmaking skills go a bit awry when they realise they have feelings for each other. This is a fun, pacy, exciting book that - MOST IMPORTANTLY - does not shy away from the core issues of the day, something that is sorely missing in most historical romance. Vasti also includes significant notes at the end about the integration of real-life figures in the novel (there are one or two) as well as giving historical context to the discussion of slavery and abolition in Britain (which is not a squeaky clean as history lessons would suggest, quelle surprise). There's also a delightful subplot about a circulating library with a secret list of books for women to help educate them on the mysteries of the boudoir...
I knocked a star off for two reasons - one, because some words used by Peter (and therefore, the author) to describe female genitalia made me throw up in my mouth because they are the least sexy words in the English language - and two, I felt that the overarching conflict was both underdeveloped and solved far too easily. I was worried for a moment that the third act conflict was going to centre around 'you can't marry me because look at me', but we jumped swiftly away and a collective sigh of relief was heard by all. Ultimately, I chalk this up to first full length novel writing - it's not necessarily bad, it's just a bit underwhelming.
Nevertheless. 'Ne'er Duke Well' is a delightful addition to the Regency romance canon. It's suitably steamy but not at the sacrifice of plot or character development, it's pacy and funny and with a great set of supporting characters (Thomasin and Aunt Judith especially), many of whom you can see being the stars of their own future books. I hope we get MORE regency romance like this - it doesn't rely on stereotypes, the characters are well-rounded, the men don't get randomly angry for no reason and we're supposed to think that's hot. It's a new frontier of historical romance and I am 100% on board.
ALSO: The English people ACTUALLY SOUND ENGLISH! Thank the Lord!
'Ne'er Duke Well' by Alexandra Vasti is available from August 1st.