Hello

Apologies for the late notice, but I have decided not to review this title. While I am certain it's obvious by now, I wanted to also clear this off NetGalley, so it's not showing as open for either of us.

Thanks,
Laura

A Duchess a Day by Charis Michaels, is about Declan and Helena finding their way to each other despite certain circumstances one may not wish to test. I love that Helena has spirit and isn't afraid to push for what she wants out of her life. I also love thata Declan tries to resist with everything he is, but doesn't have a chance. I recommend A Duchess a Day to all readers of romance!

This is exactly what you would expect and want from a historical romance like this one! Great chemistry between the hero and the heroine, really fun banter, and of course a HEA! Definitely recommend this one.

Declan was hired as bodyguard to keep Lady Helena from running away from her arranged marriage to a drunkard of a duke. But Helena's got a better idea: find a woman willing to marry the duke for the sake of his title. Reluctantly, Declan helps in her quest to interview duchess candidates, knowing he could lose everything if he fails in his duty to get Helena to the altar. Is the beautiful woman he's falling in love with worth the risk?

This is a fun, vibrant story with well-developed characters and a plot that never lags. There's a bit of insta-love, but it isn't just physical attraction that draws Helena and Declan together. Besides the chemistry, there's a deep compatibility between them despite their difference in station.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Who wants fun, irreverent and kick-ass heroines with a nod to fairy tales and a bit of intrigue and a dash of angst? THIS GIRL!!! And Charis Michaels delivered in spades with Helena – desperate to avoid her betrothal to the very dull Duke of Lusk. Running away, refusing and even acting a fool didn’t work – and her parents are at the end of their rope. So, they decide to ship her off for the wedding and deposit her n London into the hands of one rather dubious and determined mercenary – Declan. Declan is known as The Huntsman and is essentially a mercenary – but his last job didn’t quite go to plan and left him in jail. IF he escorts Helena to the wedding and sees her married – his legal issues go away, and he’s free to move on and do what he does best.

This was SO fun – Helena is a wonderful character full of life and light – and her marriage to the Duke WOULD be disastrous as he’s so dull and staid. But Declan, on the other hand, is just what she wants – someone who sees her for the light and ball of energy that she is – and understands her need to find a Duchess to marry Lusk and leave her free to do her own thing.

With plenty of sparks between them, and Declan determined to steer clear of the woman who is far too good for him – they develop a friendship as they look high and low, a woman a day to trot before Lusk … in place of Helena. Of course, the two are well matched and wholly inappropriate, but that just makes their scenes together, and their interactions more fun. When you have a bit of a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs twist, some angst and plenty of chemistry and camaraderie between Declan and Helena, even as she knows that his not delivering her to be wed could be the end of his freedom – the story fairly sings with laughter, life and plenty of moments.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aWN /” ><a> I am, Indeed </a>

This book didn't work for me. I found some historical inaccuracies and that bothered me. Also, the characters were bland.

Oh, this was so FUN. The nods to the obvious Snow White fairy tale were terrific, but it was just a great historical romance all along, with lots of humor and steamy tension that simmered throughout the narrative. I was very much into Helena and Declan as a pairing from the beginning, with the bodyguard element to their romance delightful on top of everything else. It did feel like their scenes took up the bulk of the book, which was fine, but I would’ve enjoyed a little more page time spent on getting to see them with other characters, maybe Helena with her sisters or Declan with his family by the end. I was even fine with how the major conflict was resolved, and overall this felt like a delightfully low-stakes, entertaining story which was what I really needed. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series for sure.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

WHY DID I LISTEN TO A DUCHESS A DAY BY CHARIS MICHAELS?
A Duchess A Day by Charis Michaels was on both my physical TBR AND on my Netgalley TBR, so that means it was a double priority read. Of course, that meant I had to listen to the audiobook version. Also, I am down for checking out new to me historical romance authors from publishers that I like. It turns out that I quite enjoyed my first time reading a book by Charis Michaels. Plus! The concept of the story is awesome!

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
A Duchess A Day is the first of Charis Michaels’ Awakened By A Kiss series which is loosely inspired by fairy tales. FYI, I am 10000% DOWN for this. Lady Helena Lark is engaged to the Duke of Lusk. Only, he is a total bore and just not her type at all. So, she decides to try and get out of the engagement by finding a more suitable woman to take her place. And so, she looks for a duchess each and every day.

Meanwhile, Declan Shaw is a mercenary – former military – and starts the book in prison. He is imprisoned because he’s been accused of murdering his last client -a young woman who he was supposed to escort to France. Declan is released from prison and asked to do a job – serve as bodyguard/groom to Lady Helena Lark. He’s going to get paid enough to solve his legal issues. As it turns out, there’s a spark between Helena and Declan.

HOW DID I LIKE A DUCHESS A DAY BY CHARIS MICHAELS?
Of the historical romances that I have been listening to, A Duchess A Day is my favorite so far. I loved the theme and the twist on the fairy tale which was Snow White. I loved that Declan was not a member of the ton. Helena has got a bold plan and I loved her for it. The storyline is actually interesting and kept my attention the whole way through. I genuinely am looking forward to more from the Awakened By A Kiss series.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
A Duchess A Day is narrated by Morag Simms. This is not my first time listening to an audiobook narrated by Simms. However, it has been awhile, so her voice was not immediately familiar. As it turns out though, I really liked her narration. It is smooth and easy to listen to. The production values are also on point. I listened to this at a variety of speeds depending on what I was doing and my ability to pay attention. I would be willing to check out the next book in the series via audio as well.

Lady Helena Lark has spent years trying to escape her wedding to the vain and boring Duke of Lusk. Declan Shaw, better known as “The Huntsman,” is a mercenary who can pick and choose his clientele.

When their worlds collide, Declan realizes that containing his new client is only slightly harder than keeping his hands off her. Helena senses an ally in her handsome new bodyguard and solicits his help. Together they must escape the forces that oppose them and fight for the fairy-tale love they desire.

Another win for Charis Michaels. She's become an auto-buy for me. I really enjoyed this book so much that I ended up with a hardcopy version as well as kindle. Michaels writes steam and witty banter really well. She's become an instant favorite! (Also note to publisher, I didn't get this book before it was published so wasn't able to write a proper review. Thank you for the arc but I had actually already bought this! Either way, I am a huge fan of hers and her books are really enjoyable all around!)

This book was so much fun! I thoroughly enjoyed the vignettes created by the duchess hunt, and the overarching story of romance. Each character grew and surprised me at different times in the story, which is hard to do. I am interested to see how the rest of the books in the series are connected to this one. The link to Snow White was so much fun and the end was bonkers in the best way. Very enjoyable novel!

Romantic and sweet! A lovely read!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was such a creative take on a Snow White and the Seven Dwarves retelling!

In trying to avoid marriage to the very dull Duke of Lusk, Helena tries to find him a replacement bride. The Duke of Lusk hires Declan, a man who was falsely imprisoned, to guard his errant fiance. The sparks start to fly between Helena and her bodyguard. Helena was such a fun heroine to read. Equal parts confident and playful, I absolutely adored her!

Very much looking forward to Knightly and Lusk's romance!

I like this book. It was uneven at times and beyond farfetched but fun. I love forward to her next book.

Really liked this fairy tale retelling and always prefered the Huntsman over the Prince! Declan is very sexy and sort of like a Bond character, he can do anything and is very good at his job. Helena is basically a prisoner by her own family and needs to escape a wedding she wants no part in.

Will the Huntsman save her from the Prince?

This was awesome! I liked the romance between Shaw and Helena! I liked that she was open to taking matters in her own hands, and was hoping to find a wife for her betrothed to take her place. I loved the romance between the characters, I liked the chemistry, I thought the characters were really well written! And I enjoyed this book immensely!

My first Charis Michael’s novel and it definitely won’t be my last!

I really enjoyed the twist on the classic Snow White story, plus I love me a good bodyguard romance. There was also a bit of mystery thrown in that made things more interesting for the main couple. I’m really looking forward to reading the other books in this series as they come out!

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

I could definitely have done without the Snow White motif in this story. It was cheesy but tolerable until the over the top ending with the knock-off Snow White and her not so princely, Prince Charming. I honestly think I would have enjoyed the romance more with our the referee to a classic fairytale.

DNF after 40 pages

Too silly even for me. A man being plucked from prison to guard a potential bride while posing as her "personal groom" just does not work for me. Especially since he's huge and muscular when he should be malnourished. And the fact that he agrees with forcing this girl into a marriage it's obvious she doesn't want. This doesn't set a nice tone for the novel or predispose me to liking them as a couple. Her POV did not win me over either. It also seems sloppy with the American use of fanny.

I had a hard time parsing the Snow White allusions in this novel because the plot tried to rely so heavily on them without actually having anything to really do with the fairytale? It sometimes felt like a MadLibs to tick off as many references as humanly possible in a short amount of time. While the hero was "The Huntsman," accused of murdering a Snow=White-esque character off page, there was no clarity as to who the heroine was supposed to be in this fairy tale, and that constant nagging misalignment distracted me from what was actually a more than decent romance. I love a fake-identity, "let's play with assumptions" character development plot line, and it's going to take a few more re-reads for me to truly appreciate what the author did here. I'm curious to see if future books will improve upon the fairy tale inspiration line here, but I'm also sure I'll enjoy the romance at hand as well.

The first scene between the hero, Declan and the heroine, Helena had me smiling and their antics with the Duke of Lusk definitely had me giggling. Helena is so smart and brilliant, I adored her right from the beginning of the book. The scene with Helena searching for the list on Declan had me laughing out loud. The humor in this book was so unexpected and so welcome this year.

This story is a play on Snow White and the Huntsman with her white gown, red apples and his name, “Huntsman” but the author has written such a wonderful spin on the fairytale.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*