Amalie Howard does what she does best with this uniquely funny and steamy historical romance! What is it about cold, stern dukes with a sad past that I love so much? Especially one of this author’s Dukes! They are always so good, but YOU GUYS, this one plays the piano and the cello and there is a scene that will live rent free in my head for the rest of time. Lysander is a neurodivergent hero of many talents who can appreciate an independent working lady!

I love that Neve is a unique kind of heroine for this time as she is a ballerina, and intent on making her own way in the world. She is smart, witty, and exactly the lady to thaw out Lysander’s heart of stone. Their relationship is slow burn but completely worth it for the steamy scenes that are eventually there.

Although my heart hurt for the Duke, this book made me laugh more than cry and I loved the unlikely group of hilarious ladies who have such a great friendship and accept Neve with no judgment. Fingers crossed we will see the rest of group find their HEAs as well!

Get ready for the 19th century “Pretty Woman”! This book was spicy within a normally buttoned and laced up time period.

Lysander Blackstone is a typically grumpy Duke avoiding the trappings of marriage although he finds he needs one to secure a lucrative business deal. He meets ballerina Nève Valery under interesting circumstances in the shadows of Covent Garden. The two enter into a fake relationship business arrangement but the sparks begin to fly.

I enjoyed this book even if it was a tad predictable along the “Pretty Woman” blueprint. 4 stars!

3.5/5 stars

I have, admittedly, never watch Pretty Woman. It's a fatal flaw of mine. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I didn't need to know Pretty Woman to enjoy it as a story in its own right. It was engaging and interesting and the characters were good fun.

I'm a sucker for good secondary characters and this book brought them in the Queens Club. I loved those women and their interactions with the main character.

Overall, lovers of historic romance won't be disappointed.

A French ballerina meets the Duke of Montcroix and needs her to be his date and then later offers her money to pretend to be his fiancee. She needs the money for a new life and he doesn't need any complications. Sound familiar? It's just like Pretty Woman. But, of course, it wouldn't be a great story if they didn't fall in love...and if there wasn't some drama along the way.

This book can be summed up as "a pretend engagement with some grump and sunshine and some Hellfire Kittens thrown in for fun!" Neve meets the greatest group of friends and she is exactly what the Duke needs to get out of his grumpy slump. The author writes every detail to perfection.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Always Be My Duchess is described as a historical romance retelling of Pretty Woman, but instead of the female lead being a prostitute, she was a ballerina. I am in my bridgerton era as most ladies are so I was excited for this. I thought the writing/banter was witty and fun. It also had a considerable amount of steam which I appreciated. My one complaint is that the story really didnt start developing until about 45% of the way in so it took a bit to get there but overall I really enjoyed it.

First, a (very) few thoughts on Always Be My Duchess. I enjoyed the story and the characters, although I thought the readers were reminded of Genevieve's ballet background a little too forcefully. Regardless, I enjoyed the dynamic between the H/h and I thought the tension between them was well built, and the entire read was enjoyable.

Now, a few thoughts on Amalie Howard as a historical romance author. First, there are FAR too few authors who have a realistic understanding of emotions, resolution, and the passage of time. All too often, the big conflict is resolved within a day or two, and usually by the heroine accepting a lackluster (compared to the horrible behavior that created the conflict) apology from the hero. Not with Ms. Howard! She consistently alludes to the passage of time before a resolution is reached as well as honest reflection on behalf of both H/h, and that, to me, lends all her works more authenticity than many of her peers.

Next.....I want to give Amalie Howard a solid slow clap on her addressing consent in historical romance. I have read most (all?) of her HR titles and she.gets.it. While there are (now) many authors who are embedding consent into their scenes, they are frequently a bit clumsy. I'm not mad at them! I would rather have the consent a bit disjointed and incongruous than not present at all! But what Howard does amazingly well is embed the discussion of consent authentically into her characters' dialogue AND actions. I will read her all day, everyday just to see how she continues to weave it so seamlessly into her stories.

On the whole, I think the story is a solid 4 but I am adding a star for her realistic resolution timeline and (especially) for her masterful handling of consent.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC; all opinions shared are my own and freely given.

Thank you Net Galley and Forever Publishing for the eARC!

This was a fun read. I enjoyed the pacing and the tension. Honestly this is one of those books where I feel happy while reading it, satisfied with the ending, but still have no clue who the characters are. I struggled to connect with both the main characters, and was mad at Lysander for most of the book because of his railroad plans lol!

Overall a fun, light-hearted, somewhat spicy book.

This is one of the slowest of slow builds I've ever read. Considering how the book starts, that definitely isn't what I was expecting, but I was honestly pretty bored for the first 50% and was forcing myself to continue reading. The second half was a lot better, but the story isn't without its problems.

Starting with the positives, I really liked Genevieve as a character. She's self-sufficient, self-confident, and self-saving. Even though life keeps delivering punches, she has picked herself up time and time again, and come out on top. She doesn't let anyone, let alone a man, drag her down or make her feel less than what she is. She also has a really sharp tongue, which makes for some pretty good banter between her and Lysander. Aside from the banter, there are other moments in the prose that really stood out to me, but unfortunately, what drags all of this down is the lack of chemistry between the two main characters.

Even though our characters are instantly in lust with one another, I never really felt a true spark between them, which made it hard to really get invested in them as a couple. I think most of this is probably because of Lysander and how he was written. The author mentions at the end of the book that Lysander is neurodivergent, which makes it really hard to critique his character. Overall, his character felt very inconsistent to me. He would claim servants are scared of him because he's fearsome, and then turn around and treat them with care and respect and pay for the medical bills of their families. He never cared for his former fiancé, but that relationship destroyed him. And maybe this is all part and parcel of what neurodivergence is like for him, but I don't feel the author did a good job in placing me inside his head to understand what makes him tick. Even with the dual perspective, I felt very disconnected from him as a character, which made investment in the relationship really hard. I also never felt like I got to see the internal thought progression from "she's hot" to "omg I'm in love with her"; it felt abrupt and without any buildup.

The third act breakup also felt far-fetched and very out of character for Genevieve. For someone who has been fighting her own battles as well as Lysander's throughout the book, her reason for getting angry felt inconsistent.

Mostly, I didn't really get any of the moments that made my heart flutter with how meant to be these two were. I did end up rooting for them eventually, but I never loved them enough to make this a story I'd be happy to reread.

thank you to both netgalley and forever (grand central publishing) for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

after finishing bridgerton season 2, i was looking for a historical romance to fill the gap left in my heart. this book did just that! always be my duchess was such a delightful read. this book follows nève and lysander, who fall into a mutually beneficial agreement with eachother after nève saves his life. what ensues apart from a forced alliance is an endearing, steamy, and passionate story full of rich banter and loads of character growth. you simply can't help but root for these characters! for a series opener, howard did an outstanding job. i really look forward to reading the other installments following this one. 4/5 stars!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Always Be My Duchess is marketed as a Pretty Women meets Bridgerton style historical rom-com that follows Lysander, the Duke of Montcroix, who hires out-of-work ballet dancer, Néve Valery to pose as his fiance for the season in order to sway people into believing that he is not the cold ruthless businessman he appears to be. While the setup to the story does follow the Pretty Woman plot, I wouldn't characterize this book as rom-com or Bridgerton-esque, in fact, that description in my opinion is a bit misleading and I think its downfall. This book is much more similar to Evie Dunmore's Bringing Down the Duke, but because it aims for that lighthearted rom-com appeal it lacks the depth and analysis of the socio-economic issue that lies at the heart of Lysander and Néve's business approach to their relationship. Howard tries to dig at this a bit, but given her characterization of Néve I wanted it to be explored much more in-depth -- not just through individual characters' conversations but in getting at broader society. I will admit that this is partially my personal preference, and partially due to the fact that recent authors like Dunmore and Alexis Hall do such a good job at this, that for these types of stories where money and status are central to the plot, I expect it to be fully examined. It's not a bad book per se, I think it's just stuck between trying to be a rom-com and trying to explore the dynamics of gender and class in 1860s Britain-- you either go full hijinks screwball or you go more serious, and this book struggles to do either.

Overall, Always Be My Duchess is a fun take on the Pretty Woman fake relationship trope that has interesting characters at the heart of the story (I will acknowledge here that Lysander is a neurodiverse hero, which was nice to see!) and leads to a quick and easy read and sets up future stories to be told within this world.

I have recently read one of Ms. Howard's stories in an anthology, and really enjoyed it, so I didn't hesitate to try this one. I was definitely not disappointed! Ms. Howard is most certainly an author I will be adding to my favorite author list. This is the first in her new series, Taming the Dukes, and I think it is off to a brilliant start. An opposites attract and fake engagement story - yes, please! Lysander and Genevieve were just simply wonderful together. And their witty banter was so much fun to read! I loved Genevieve's character, bold, confident , and sassy and not afraid to speak her mind. Lysander is stern, and has a reputation of being heartless. But that is not without cause. He is simply protecting his heart and keeping his emotions at bay after the betrayals he has endured. When Genevieve enters his life, she is like a breath of fresh air and begins to slowly break down the barriers he has solidly built around his heart. The attraction and chemistry between them was undeniable and the growth these two went through together was so great to see. This was a well-written and enjoyable story that I am happy to have had the opportunity to read. This is one series that I fully intend to follow!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

My favorite historical romance this year!

I've been on a romance kick and this really hit the spot. I loved the characters, the fake dating, the "schemey/businessey" plot points weren't way over my head, and it was relatively spicy 🌶

If you're suffering from Bridgerton withdrawals, try this one out 🤣

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

give me a historical read and I will sign up everytime. I want read all of the regency books i can. love them so much.

I just wanna slap myself ‘ cause I’ve had this book for the longest time in my library and it just forgot it existed this book was so good it was amazing it was phenomenal I do say this is what I wanted from season two of Bridgerton.

This book has left me speechless, Lysander and Nève were perfection made book characters. Their banter, opposites attract, their fake engagement, sexy times and everything!!!!! Why am I hearing from Amalie Howard until this very day!??!

Lysander is exquisite, he is unromantic and stone-hearted, his life turned upside down when Nève entered his life. He’s neurodivergent and my heart broke so many times in those flashbacks with his dad. I loved his journey and growth throughout the book, going from believing what his father made him believe to being himself and happy.

Geneviève or Nève, she is a boss queen, she is a ballerina and even though at that time ballerinas were seen as less and treated as such, she didn’t take bs from anyone! She spoke her mind and meant it, I loved that she was not a damsel in distress and was the light to Lysander’s darkness.

I loved this book so much that I want the rest of the series to come out today! But I’ll patiently wait because this type of stories are worthy!


<Will be posting on Amazon and Instagram once this title releases.

I needed something to consume my Regency-era appetite after finishing season 2 of Bridgerton, and Always Be My Duchess fit the bill. Geneviève is the kind of character you can’t help but root for in every moment!

Thank you Netgalley for this free advanced readers copy.

This is my first book by the author and it was an enjoyable ride. The heroine, Néve, is strong willed and likeable. The hero keeps accidentally saying what he wants and that was super endearing!

Overall it was ab easy read but it had a lot of repetitive mentions about the hero being like a gargoyle. Multiple times saying he wasn’t attractive. And the drama portion of the book was easily foreseen.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars

3 🔥🔥🔥 out of 5 steam level

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Always Be My Duchess was Pretty Woman meets Bridgerton and I could NOT put it down! This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it exceeded my expectations. The characters were so well written and had such perfect chemistry. I loved the development of Genevieve and Lysander’s relationship. Swoon-worthy!

If you’re looking for a historical romance with fake-dating, banter, and the perfect mix of fun and drama, definitely check this one out in July. Very eager to read the next book in the series!

3.5 stars - this book was really cute & sweet, i liked lysander & nève a lot but i don’t feel like i really connected with either of them. plot was okay but the romance was what i enjoyed the most. i liked the author’s portrayal of the duke a lot and the insight into how others perceived him. i think he was written in a fairly unique way. overall, i think this is a really enjoyable read and i would definitely recommend it to friends!

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC. I generally don’t stray too far from the fantasy genre but I was drawn in by the Pretty Woman and Bridgerton comparisons - I definitely see the influences of both! The tropes in this were great - fake engagement, grumpy vs sunshine (but like a feisty sunshine), touch her and I’ll kill you, and a bit of found family (the Hellfire Kitties were amazing). Neve and Lysander were very fiery and passionate and had great banter. And the sexual tension?? Yes please. A few other things I loved - the historical setting, the feminism, overcoming past trauma, the music and dancing, etc! The ending was incredibly sweet and I am definitely open to reading more of this genre.

Thank you to Amalie Howard and the Forever Publishing team for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Also, firstly, big kudos to anyone who both writes and published a novel! It's so hard and that alone is a tremendous feat.


When Lysander and Neve meet by unfortunate circumstance, they come to an agreement that changes the course of both of their lives.

I am deep in the trenches of puppy training and was looking for a fun read. This book, Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard, fit the bill perfectly. It's equal parts cute, funny, swoony, and spicy. I wasn't super certain in the first page, but by the third, I was hooked, and I managed to read the whole book in a weekend, which speaks volumes considering I have both a baby and a puppy.

As always, my two stars and a wish:

First Star: I love, love, love the friend group. I love that you can feel how deeply rooted the friends are and that they've clearly been up to many shenanigans. I hope this book has a sequel, as it feels that it was set-up for it, and I want to read more about the friends.

Second Star: I love that both the Duke and Neve actually worked through everything on a deeper level, so it wasn't just getting to the passionate parts (though that was great, too), They worked to understand and challenge one another, which was great to see.

Wish: Sometimes the language and dialogue tags got a wee bit confusing. I had to re-read at certain points to make sure I understood who was saying what and certain words/phrases stood out a bit.

Overall, a fun read while on the beach, holiday, or training a puppy!

4.5 Stars