[ARC Review] Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard
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 . . .
MY THOUGHTS: I love Amalie's writing, I love that this historical romance was inspired by Clueless, and I love the drama that comes with a childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance. Vesper and Aspen were definitely memorable - and not just because of their names.
This is the 2nd book in Howard's Taming of the Dukes series, and I overall liked the plot and the spice of this one. There were definitely a few things that threw me off (like both the MCs names...) and I would've loved to see more Clueless inspiration throughout, but Never Met a Duke Like You was a very solid story from start to finish.
[However, I will warn you: if Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast) trying to put Maurice in the asylum just so he can force his way with Belle is (still) a trigger for you (like me!), you will definitely not finish this story with fond memories of Aspen's mother. I sort of wish I could just remove her entirely from this story, but here we are.]
This was, overall, a good read. I didn't love all the plot resolutions, but that's more about me and my preferences and not a mark against Howard's writing or storytelling. This was a great addition to what is shaping up to be a fantastic series, and I can't wait to see what Howard has planned next!
This is the 2nd book in Howard's Taming of the Dukes series, and I overall liked the plot and the spice of this one. There were definitely a few things that threw me off (like both the MCs names...) and I would've loved to see more Clueless inspiration throughout, but Never Met a Duke Like You was a very solid story from start to finish.
[However, I will warn you: if Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast) trying to put Maurice in the asylum just so he can force his way with Belle is (still) a trigger for you (like me!), you will definitely not finish this story with fond memories of Aspen's mother. I sort of wish I could just remove her entirely from this story, but here we are.]
This was, overall, a good read. I didn't love all the plot resolutions, but that's more about me and my preferences and not a mark against Howard's writing or storytelling. This was a great addition to what is shaping up to be a fantastic series, and I can't wait to see what Howard has planned next!
[A huge thank you to Forever for providing a galley of this title!]
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Release date: 11/14/23
Format: paperback galley
Galley provided via: the publisher
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