I have covid so I am too miserable to write a review right now, but this Emma reimagining (or really a Clueless reimagining) is bad. Howard loses track of who doesn't want to marry (Vesper insists she does not want to marry, then Aspen says he is sorry he can't marry her as she wants.) She peppers conversation with wildly anachronistic language. Did it occur to anyone that people in the 19th century would not say "mind-blowing " or refer to masturbation and orgasm. Also things happen for no reason. She needed to rein in some topics. The whole side story of Vesper trying to hook up the housekeeper with her father's man of affairs is terribly written and distracting. ( )

In the latest addition to the TAMING OF THE DUKES series, the heroine is a self-proclaimed matchmaker who isn't looking for love, but in this book, she finds it with the hero. The hero is looking to revive his family's fortunes while also realizing that a lot has stayed the same even after his return to England, including the heroine. Then a fateful accident entraps the hero and heroine together, which changed the relationship they had towards something more.

This is a nice addition to this Amalie Howard series. I did find the story an enjoyable read, but it does need more details and better resolution in the book. Like any character, the main couple each have their strong and weak points, and as such there were certain actions of the main couple that I didn't find pleasing at all. The book also could have a better resolution for a certain secondary character, their actions being intolerable considering the sensitive subject being explored in this story. Overall, it's not a bad book to this particular Amalie Howard series and I still want to read more books from the author in the future.


** Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own. ** ( )

Never Met a Duke Like Me by Amalie Howard
Taming of the Dukes series #2. Historical romance. Mental health partial topic.
Lady Vesper Lyndhurst is a member of the ton. She fills her days with friends and matchmaking. She’s sworn off love herself. She won’t admit it’s because no one can compare to her former friend Aspen.
The Duke of Greydon returns to London hoping to revive his family’s estate and stop his mother’s spending and underhanded manipulation. Getting locked into seldom used rooms with his former friend turn enemy, Aspen and Vesper are forced to acknowledge their attraction is stronger than ever.

An epic romance that twists through the ton, matchmaking, friends, politics, and a cat that mixes things up. There are also underlying manipulations and pressure from the matriarch of the family that everyone will to slap down.
Vesper and Aspen are hot and steamy together. Their feelings haven’t gone away and clearing up a misunderstanding makes them closer but they still have society and their own issues to deal with.
Oh, when Aspen declares himself! So heartbreaking because ….well, I don’t want to spoil the story.
I loved Aspen and loved their resolution against his evil mother.
The authors note is worth reading and a reading guide is included at the end.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I also purchased copies to keep and share. ( )

Vesper Lyndhurst has sworn off love for herself, but it doesn't mean she doesn't like seeing those nearest and dearest to her find their happily ever afters. If she's the one to facilitate the match, all the better.

The Duke of Greydon would rather be digging in the dirt uncovering some unknown creature, but he reluctantly comes back to England to see his mother's ward, Judith, married. Not interested in staying in his mother's company any longer than needed, he hopes to let the ton see that he's still alive, and make quick work of Judith's marriage. So, he goes to the one person who he hears has a reputation for making matches: Vesper.

Vesper and Greydon have a tumultuous history. Childhood frenemies, their relationship was irreparably altered when Greydon snuffed Vesper at her own coming out and then immediately left for a dig site and didn't look back. But being back in each other's orbit only highlights the attraction between them. With two very different lives, can they find some common ground?

I really enjoyed Amalie Howard's first book in this series so I was looking forward to reading this one. I like that, so far, they've each been slight retellings of a pop culture classics. For example, the first book takes on Pretty Woman and this one is Clueless (or actually Emma if you're a stickler for that kind of thing). I say slight retelling, because never once did I feel like these established stories impeded on Amalie Howard telling her own stand-out story. If you were looking for these aspects you would certainly find them, but it wouldn't overtake the narrative.

This time around, I thought that the focus placed a lot on how mental health was handled - or not - back then. How easy it was to have someone committed for not being "normal" and the conditions of "care" those people received was, I thought, very timely as we begin to see more transparency in mental health.

I'm also a sucker for a hero and a heroine with a past. I wish we got a little more from the root of Vesper and Greydon's childhood friendship. Maybe a prologue or a couple of flashback scenes. I think this would have more solidly shown the hurt that Vesper still carries for the way Greydon behaved at her coming out and the hole his absence has left since he has been away. I thought the moments with them together just sparked and I loved seeing them build that trust with one another again.

Amalie Howard also does a great job in giving us intriguing morsels for the other women in Vesper's friend group, namely Briar and Effie. Like Vesper, I'm excited to see how they're matched up with their happily ever afters.

This series works great for anyone who may have missed the first book because each one is a definite standalone. While characters do cross over, you won't feel lost, but know that the first book is also highly recommended. ( )

Friends, enemies and lovers!

Two childhood friends (well Lady Vesper Lyndhurst was challenging and never wanted to be lady anyway) meet some time later at her come out ball where Aspen Drake, the Duke of Greydon, gave her the cut direct! She’s mortified and resolved to always remain cool, dispassionate and unmarried.
Aspen disappears to America hunt dinosaur bones.
Years later Aspen returns to London to upend his mother’s plans to have him declared dead, to see to having his mother’s ward Judith settled, and to uncover the truth of his father being confined to a mental asylum. (Of course there’s a wicked mother figure!)
His reappearance spirals into a standoff between himself and Vesper (whom he calls Viper), a concern for his mother’s ward, and a confrontation with his despicable mother, the Dowager Duchess of Lyndhurst.
The sparks fly and the tension ratchets the two main protagonists, Vesper and Aspen, with some rather steamy moments. Vesper has a reputation as a successful match maker and Aspen persuades her, well challenges her really, to take on presenting Judith to society.
Underneath this romantic historical romp real issues are raised, including mental illness and treatments, women’s suffrage and marriage, women’s sexuality, accessible education for children and charity schools.

A Forever (Grand Central Pub) ARC invitation via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher. ( )