Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard Series: Taming of the Dukes #2
Published by Grand Central Publishing on November 14, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Feminist, Fiction / Historical / General, Fiction / Humorous / General, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Victorian, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 368
Format: eBook
Source: ARC
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 . . .
I think 3.5 stars is my true rating for Never Met a Duke Like You. A cute historical romance with a light amount of angst that really serves up a delicious amount of snark and snipes between Vesper and Aspen. Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes and Howard sneaks in a former friend edition and I was incredibly excited! A bit of forced proximity in an attic? Yes, please. Aspen is intense and he was so much fun to follow even when he was putting his foot in his mouth. I enjoyed the romance but I did struggle with Vesper.
Vesper was a complicated character and I struggled to really connect with her. I disliked the intentional miscommunication on her behalf throughout the book. I know that one of her biggest flaws was her tendency to regress and bicker with Aspen like they were children again but it is one of my least favorite tropes.
I love when the MMC and FMC have atypical hobbies so I was really disappointed that the matchmaking angle was abandoned so quickly along with Aspen’s interest in archeology. It just never pops up again beyond a visit to a museum.
Ultimately, this was a cute friends to enemies to lovers historical. I thoroughly enjoyed the bickering and Aspen’s struggle to come to terms with his true feelings for Vesper. Also, Cat’s antics were so much fun! Also, a quick note on steam: there are three scenes (two full) and I’m pretty sure I’m not including the epilogue.
I’m going to circle back and read the first in the series because I’ve loved Howard’s work before and I know I’ll find another to make me swoon again!
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.