firewhiskeyreader

l come to you bearing three very overdue historical ARC reviews of books I completed and one DNF review for a graphic novel, that I unfortunately, did not finish. Each of these books was provided to me via Netgalley from the publisher for review and I read the e-ARC copy of One Kiss to Desire by Grace Callaway and Duchess Material by Emily Sullivan, but listened to an audiobook of Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti that I purchased myself. My DNF review is of Vincent: A Graphic Biography by Simon Elliott. And with all of that introduction being said, let’s get to each of the books, shall we?

Ne’er Duke Well
by Alexandra Vasti

Peter Kent lived in New Orleans for the vast majority of his life, until he suddenly found himself the new Duke of Stanhope, living back in England with his (surprise!) younger siblings (whom the old Duke wasn’t interested in claiming). He’s trying to gain guardianship of said siblings, but his progressive political views and inability to remain free from scandal are sort of impeding on his ability to get the judge from the opposing political party on his side. He enlists the assistance of Lady Selina Ravenscroft, who determines that the best way to facilitate Peter’s goals is for him to find himself a wife of impeccable respectability. And despite the attraction and intrigue between them, Lady Selina cannot be said wife because she runs a rather scandalous lending library and it would be bad news bears if The Ton found out about it. Many hijinks ensue.

I listened to this audiobook after DNF’ing another on my drive to Charlotte and upon checking into my hotel, I promptly proceeded to press play again and color for another two hours until the audiobook concluded because I was having such a good time with this book. I did pause it to order Indian food via Door Dash, but aside from that, I was truly enraptured with this book. I loved the hijinks, the children, and the found family vibes of this book. I didn’t always adore the way Lady Selina felt like she was not a good pick for Peter, despite the obvious way that the two cared for one another, but that’s romance reasons for you, so I waved that annoyance away. Ultimately, this book was just so much fun and exactly what I needed at the time. I definitely recommend.

One Kiss to Desire
by Grace Callaway

One Kiss to Desire starts off with Xenia Loveday having to figure out what’s next for her after the circus type thing where she’s been essentially a phone sex operator (only minus the phone) has to close for a bit of time. She finds herself, rather unexpectedly, in the position of becoming Lord Ethan Harrington’s housekeeper. Coincidentally, Ethan also happens to be a former customer and the only one that had her actually intrigued by him. Ethan is recovering from injury, but he will never be able to play the piano again and that’s something that is very hard for him. He finds himself intrigued by his new housekeeper, but also, he has pretty high walls because he is extremely hurt by all of the consequences of his injury. There is a lot going on in this novel, in the same way that all Callaway novels have had a lot going on, so my interest never waned.

I think, for me, my favorite part of this book was the push and pull between Xenia and Ethan. The two of them do not have a straight pathway toward their ultimate HEA, but I liked the way their relationship progressed. I also am always a sucker for a book with a musical element and so I really loved that aspect of this book. Ultimately, I would say that this wasn’t overall my favorite Callaway, but as always I had such a good time with her books. The problem is, in writing this review, I can’t tell you why it isn’t my favorite. I’m fairly confident it might simply be that it’s not overall my most favorite set of tropes. Regardless, I can’t wait to read more from her.

Duchess Material
by Emily Sullivan

Will became a Duke without knowing that was really in the cards for him and it took his life from one where he and Phoebe might have been able to be something to one where he’s courting Lady something or other because her dad is his mentor and she would make a good duchess. Meanwhile, Phoebe is trying to find her missing student and teaching at a school in the seedier part of town and constantly in conflict with her dad and older sister. The two of them wind up reconnecting when Phoebe asks Will for help locating said missing student and suddenly Will’s life gets complicated all over again.

I think if you have more tolerance for Benedict’s book from Bridgerton, this book is going to work better for you than it did for me. What I mean by that is, when you cut your teeth on Tessa Dare’s Any Duchess Will Do, it makes it real hard to buy into the conflict of needing to have the “right” wife to become a duchess. Like, you’re a Duke. Live your life. Nobody can say anything. But also, there’s something about the way that Benedict’s attitude towards Sophie and insisting she should just be happy to be his mistress that made me feel like Will and how he was treating Phoebe. That said, I also loved the overall plot in this one and I’m upset because as far as I can tell, we’re not getting Phoebe’s siblings books and I want them?? So, conflicted feelings all in all, but I had mostly a really fun time with this one.

Vincent: A Graphic Biography
by Simon Elliott

For me, I wound up not finishing this book because I didn’t feel like the structure of the graphic novel was formatted in a way that I found easy to follow. I know it was short, but it felt like there were a ton of words on the pages, but ultimately not in a way that flowed well enough for me to truly follow. That said, the art is gorgeous so I would recommend for that alone. 

Closing Thoughts

All in all, I’ve been having such a successful time with the ARCs that I’ve been reading, at least, if I am finishing them at any rate. Have you read any of these? Let me know!

xx