I received this book via the publisher Forever. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard Series: Taming of the Dukes #2
Published by Forever on 2023-11-14
Length: 368 pages
Reviewing eARC from the publisher Forever
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2023 New Release Challenge
Clueless meets Bridgerton in this spicy opposites-attract Regency romance from “a must-read author” (Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
Lady Vesper Lyndhurst is beautiful, clever, and popular. Afforded every luxury as a duke’s daughter, she fills her days with friends, intrigues, and a self-professed knack for matchmaking. She may have sworn off love for herself, but she is rather excellent at arranging it.
Faced with an insolvent estate, the Duke of Greydon has no choice but to return to England in a final attempt to revive his family’s fortunes. He’s been gone for years, happy to have escaped his mother and the petty circles of the ton. To his dismay, not much has changed, including the beautiful and vexing heiress next door.
But when an accident of fate traps the friends-turned-enemies in an attic together, the explosive attraction between them becomes impossible to ignore and even harder to resist. They are total opposites and their lives don’t align in the slightest, but fate, the ultimate matchmaker, appears to have other plans . . .
This was such a fun read! Like the first book in the series, Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard is loosely based on a 90’s rom-com – this time Clueless though I’d say it leans more heavily into its source material, Austen’s Emma, than the movie did – and set during the Regency era of England. Lady Vesper Lyndhurst is a popular heiress, the center of her social circle, and though she may have sworn off love, her reputation for finding matches for her friends proceeds her. When the Duke of Greydon, Vesper’s former childhood friend turned nemesis, returns to settle his family’s estate, the two find themselves trapped together in an attic and forced to admit the attraction that’s always been there is explosive.
At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel about either character. On the surface, Lady Vesper seems highly spoiled by London society and obsessed more with looks than anything else. However, as we read more from her perspective, she has a heart of gold and a touch of ADHD, possibly on the autism spectrum though that isn’t what she calls it. She calls herself prone to flights of fancy, some of which would land her in an institution, which is why she has sworn off marriage.
The Duke of Greydon is in a similar, albeit more sinister, situation. His father was committed when he was younger by his mother, and he has spent his life with her threatening to do the same to him. So rather than pursue the things, and people, he wanted, he left. He’s an amateur archaeologist, traveling the globe, and only home now because his estate is near bankrupt. With Lady Vesper’s help, he is determined to find the cause and settle his ward into a good marriage.
The romance is steamy and the chemistry is on fire when the two are first thrown together. Then the story backs up and allows their relationship to slowly build over the course of the book. I really enjoyed that aspect. I thought it was cleverly done, and this is the part that reminded me most of Austen’s Emma than Clueless.
Overall, I really enjoyed Never Met a Duke Like You. It may not be the most historically accurate historical romance I’ve read, but it is a fun read with great characters to root for. The dual POV helps to connect the reader to both main characters and to understand their motives. If you enjoy historical romance, I highly recommend it.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
About Amalie Howard
AMALIE HOWARD is a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling novelist of “smart, sexy, deliciously feminist romance.” The Beast of Beswick was one of Oprah Daily’s Top 24 Best Historicals to Read. She is also the author of several critically acclaimed, award-winning young adult novels. An AAPI/Caribbean-born writer, her books, interviews, and articles have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Oprah Daily, Seventeen, and Ravishly Magazine. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found reading, being the president of her one-woman Harley Davidson motorcycle club #WriteOrDie, or power-napping. She currently lives in Colorado with her family.
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