Always Be My Duchess was fantastic! This is classic fake fiancé enemies to lovers and it works! Amalie Howard filled this one with wit, spice and a group of feminist friends I’d love to have!

After reading the content guidance given with the arc and some reviews from other readers on goodreads I decided not to continue with thus book. There were too many triggers for my.

I do appreciate that you granted me a copy if this book.

I really enjoyed this take on a fake relationship. I absolutely adored the Hellfire Kitties & hope that they each get a love story. The book had great commentary about the lack of power women had at the time & it resonated with the crazy things STILL going on with that today. I loved that Lysander was a low key supporter of those less fortunate than him. I loved that the love story was gradual & not instalove.

Want a witty Bridgerton vibe romance book to read? Then I recommend this book! The plot, the character dynamic hit real different. Personally I do not read a lot of historical romance so if you’re like me, this book is a great start!

Marketed as Pretty Women meets Bridgerton, Always Be My Duchess follows the fake engagement
of the Duke of Montcroix and struggling ballerina Néve Valery, both of whom have their own reasons to benefit from the arrangement. Lust, scandal, friendship, romance, and growth ensues as the two navigate the social season

This book was pretty cute, but felt more surface level in comparison to some other books I've read with similar themes. I found the introductory chapters pretty abrupt, and I am generally not a fan of insta-love (or lust for that matter) - luckily the banter between the characters was well done or I think I would have given up before the characters and the story was properly developed. The stakes in the romance felt really low and the characters were pretty aloof, making it a bit harder to root for the couple. This being said, there were plenty of cute moments and I did enjoy reading. I loved the friendships developed in this book between Néve and some more rambunctious members of the ton, lots of sequal baiting!

Thank you Forever (grand Central Publishing) and #NetGalley for the arc!

I'm not a big fan of insta-love, but I did enjoy the back and forth at the beginning of the book between Lysander Blackstone and Genevieve Valery. I also usually am always down for a fake-dating trope, but in this book I did not enjoy it as much as I usually do. I also believe that there should be a page for potential triggers, and this book has a few - including ableism, sexual harassment and fertility issues.

This book is labeled as a Pretty Woman retelling, and I can totally see that with the turning of her room into a ballet studio and using her as his fake fiance. Overall, this book was a solid 3 stars.

I love this author! Her stories and characters are so amazing and wonderful! The dynamic of the two MC’s is perfection! Lysander is a Duke, who works hard. He doesn’t do feelings since his mother died. His father wasn’t the nicest man either. Lysander is the middle of trying to make a deal for a castle but is in need of a fake engagement to win over the owner. Neve is a ballerina from Paris trying to find work in London. She needs money for her sister. Neve meets Lysander in a rough part of town when they were possibly going to be attacked! Now these two are faking it….but really are slowing opening theirselves up to one another!They have instant chemistry! And the build up for them was perfect! I really adored them as a couple and separate as well! This book had so many sweet and steamy moments! I would def say it’s grumpy/sunshine trope! I really loved this book! I can’t wait for the next one!

This book had me wanting to get more into historical romances! I really enjoyed this. I liked the characters and felt like they had good chemistry. The cover drew me in at first and i was not dissapointed!

Read if you like: fake dating, close proximity.
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Described as Pretty Woman meets Bridgerton, this was a fantastic historical romance. Neve needs to find a job in order to provide for her sister, but she is struggling to find work as a ballerina. When she meets Lysander, who is trying to close a business deal with a man who wants to sell to someone more of a family man, the two pretend to be engaged in order to help each other out-Lysander will look like he is willing to be a family man, and he will pay Neve so that she can support her sister.
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I loved Neve and her descriptions of her love of dance. The banter between the two main characters was fantastic and I loved the buildup of the romance.
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CW: sexual harassment, assault, sexual content, sexism, classism and violence.

Thank you to Forever and Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love historical romances and this book with its two main characters that are complete opposites (think belle/beast- grumpy/sunshine), did it for me!

The author was great at balancing the historical tone with modern values which made it felt real and believable.

Always Be My Duchess is steamy, witty, and I loved its unconventional heroine and the allusions to Pretty Woman.

Geneviève Valery is a ballerina at a time when society saw them only as mistress-material. She was determined to steer her own path and support her sister.

Lysander Blackstone, Duke of Montcroix, had matchmaking mothers chasing him because of his wealth and status. He felt women were much too predictable and he liked precision and organization in his life.

Neve and Lysander are the answer to each other's prayer. She is a performer looking for a part, and he needs a "lady knight-errant" to be a fake fiancee and help him secure a business deal.

Howard's writing continually delights and her word imagery is a feast.

"..buzzing over his skin came from facing an unseen change, from knowing that some intense storm brewed on the horizon. As though she were rain...and he, a vast, barren desert."

SIGH!!

This unfortunately was not for me. Already one chapter in and I was not into the insta lust of the opening scenario and decided to give it another couple of chapters. After a few chapters in, the writing hadn't captivated me enough to continue.

📖Book: Always Be My Duchess
⭐️Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏼Author: Amalie Howard
📚Genre: Romance
🗏 Pages: 341
💕Tropes: Opposites Attract, Fake Engagement, Historical Romance, Sunshine/Grumpy, Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn
⚠️Warnings: Sexism, Classism
🔥Spice: 2.5/5 🔥🔥
🔖Readability: 4/5 italic presents and thinner font

What to expect:
🩰Fiery France Ballerina
🏰A Duke
💋Bridgeton, but make it Spicy
🤟Women Recuses the Guy

Pretty Woman meets Center Stage with a SLOWEST BURN; possibly, you are begging for them to bang by the end.

Neve is an out-of-work dancer who is struggling to keep her and her sister afloat, Lord Lysander is from a band of thieves who only seeks to be more successful than his father. To not fall into the marriage game, Lord Lysander propositions Neve on a fake arrangement as a business deal after their incredible meet-cute. Neve desperate for money agrees on one condition. Their relationship can be no more than fake. However, their chemistry is unmatchable, and things, of course, start to get messy.

Amalie Howard gave us all that we wanted in season two of Bridgeton to be in this chef of a kiss novel Always Be My Duchess. It has excellent writing, witty banter, ACTUAL SPICE, music, and ballet, and it showcases how females were treated in dance jobs. I love learning new things through books; this was the cherry on top. If Historical Romance isn't your jam, or it is a genre, you are interested in getting into this. This is your gateway book. You can thank me later. Always be my dutchess is out now everywhere books are sold. Grab your copy today.

This is my first historical romance, and it was recommended to me by Forever on their tiktok page. I lucked out with an arc, and I am very grateful to NetGalley and Forever for allowing me the chance to try a new genre!

That being said, I do not think this is a genre I enjoy that much. I had a hard time staying motivated to read it, despite how well it is written. I hope to give it another shot a different day, but I ended up DNFing at 20%.

Always Be My Duchess was a quick, light read—perfect for a Saturday afternoon. I especially enjoyed a few of the instances where Nève and Lysander found themselves alone. Their shared passions and repartee was very sweet. That said, there wasn’t anything that really set this book apart for me. Fun but predictable.

I was completely entertained. This book is light-hearted while still contains enough drama to keep yu in your toes. When down on her luck ballerina Genevieve meets a lost, slightly drunk Duke, Lysander in Covent Garden one night. The ensuing escape from would-be thieves leads them to broker a unique arrangement. He needs to look like a settled, family man and she needs money to provide for herself and her sister. This leads to a faux-engagement that quickly turns into something real when attraction becomes to much to bear.
The humour and wit between these two is beyond comical, mostly because Lysander is such a stick that his humour is almost impossible to believe. Add in a group of out-spoken, well intentioned friends and this mad-cap adventure is complete. This group of friends leaves me hopeful for future stories in this series, like the hard to be denied attraction between Lushing & Briar. Well-written and thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you Forever and Hachette Audio for the #gifted copy of this novel to read and review.

Let me just say I LOVED this book! From Chapter one hooking me right out the gate, I honestly couldn’t get enough of this story. And, I couldn’t be more excited that this is a series. When is the next installment, please tell me????

This romance is a Regency retelling of the movie Pretty Women - Man needs women to help score a big business deal. Their forced proximity and domineering personalities bring tension, steam and witty banter alive in the pages. I especially enjoyed the entertaining women of the Queen’s Club - these women are truly avant-garde.

Bridgerton fans rejoice this book is exactly the fix you need to fill the void.

This book was really for me based on sheer premise (rom-com retelling! Pretty Woman set in the Regency, albeit with some tweaks!), but the story itself was purely a delight. Really enjoyed the free-spiritedness of Nève paired with the stoicism of Lysander, and the fact that they often butted heads about not just their emotional differences, but things like financial positions and privilege. They were just as likely to push each other's buttons as they were to start furiously making out, and I always enjoy that level of chemistry in a romance couple. The only critique I have (and I think this is something that's a little more commonly-held) is that it felt like this story suffered from a case of one too many villains — Nève's ex, AND Lysander's, AND his shady business partner. The book could've subtracted at least one and still been in line with paying homage to the movie, IMO, but it differed in some other great ways. Nève's past as a ballerina, for example, was a great change-up to things, and I'm STILL thinking about the scene where Lysander plays her rather than the cello, because HEL-LO.

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

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

I adore the cover of this historical romance. If the cover doesn’t give it away, the book borrows heavily from Pretty Woman. My favorite parts of this book were the friendships between Neve and the other female characters. Their banter made me laugh. Lysander was well done as a neurodivergent character. I love how he referred to her as his butterfly; it was so very sweet. Overall, I didn’t quite feel the romance between the main characters but this was a fun read.