Lord Lysander Blackstone finds himself in need of rescuing when he wanders the wrong way after a night our with his friends. Lucky for him Genevieve Valery isn't the damsel in distress she first appears to be. After running for their safety he comes up with what he's sure will be a mutually beneficial arrangement. All she has to do is pretend to be his fiancé to keep the women on the marriage mart away and he'll provide her with enough funds to be able to plan her next steps.

The premise, plot, and writing were all great. The narration was excellent. Genevieve is feisty, the banter between her and Blackstone is hilarious. For some reason it just didn't grab me. I do recommend it if you love historical romance and the fake fiancé trope.

✨ Review ✨ Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard

Thanks to Forever and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

This was my first introduction to Howard's romance writing and I had some mixed feelings.

Things I loved:
⭕️ strong powerful women, including Nève, the FMC
⭕️ fake courtship/engagement
⭕️ the banter and laughter between the main characters

Things I was less excited about:
⭕️ the pacing of the story
⭕️ the duke was kind of a jerk at times, and the male characters in the story in general ranged from kind of meh to just awful

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it didn't really stand out for me like I hoped it would.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)
Genre: historical f/m romance
Setting: London
Pub Date: 2022

I just finished devouring 'Always Be My Duchess' by Amalie Howard, and oh boy, what a regal romp!

First off, can we talk about the characters? They're like the perfect blend of charm, wit, and just a hint of scandal. Howard knows how to craft characters that jump off the page and into your heart.

And the romance? *Swoon*! The chemistry between the duchess and her love interest is so palpable that you can practically feel the sparks flying off the page. Plus, the slow burn? Delicious.

But what sets this book apart is the setting. Howard's attention to detail brings the Regency era to life in vivid technicolour. From the lavish ballrooms to the sprawling estates, you'll feel like you've been transported back in time.

Now, fair warning, this book isn't all fluff and frills. Some juicy plot twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very end. Isn't that half the fun?

Overall, 'Always Be My Duchess' is a delightful romp through high society that'll leave you with a big smile. So grab a cup of tea, settle in, and prepare to be swept off your feet!

This was billed as Pretty Woman meets the Bridgertons and that's a spot on elevator pitch! I liked both Neve and Lysander as leads, and especially loved that they were both competent adults. Recommend for anyone who loves banter filled historical romance!

Lysander Blackstone, the Duke of Montcroix, thinks he has life all figured out. He’s completely focused on his business plans and the next great deal. He also does this all while being apparently emotionless (for a variety of reasons, definitely read the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book). But his latest business deal is with someone who wants to see Lysander as more of a family man.

A chance encounter has the once up-and-coming ballerina Geneviève Valery saving Lysander’s life. He sees an opportunity and asks her to act has his fake fiancée in exchange for enough money to let her have a new life. Neither of them is prepared when they start to feel real feelings.

review

First off, Always Be My Duchess is exactly what the blurb pitched it to be: Pretty Woman meets Bridgerton. It’s a fun set up and I think we really got to see Lysander and Nève at their best (and their worst). Their characters are also very well written and we understand all the conflicting emotions they are feeling as the story progresses and they get to know one another better.

Although it is not mentioned in the story itself (but it is in the trigger warnings at the beginning), Lysander clearly has difficulties processing social cues in a way that would be recognized by doctors now – probably on the autism spectrum, but I definitely can’t know for sure! But he was just ridiculed during the time these characters are from. It was sometimes hard to read, but it also felt like an authentic representation of someone who is very high-functioning and powerful in society, but misses some things that other people might notice.

In terms of things I don’t love as much, I struggled a bit with reading about how stuck they both were in their ways. I think they didn’t really try to understand one another. While I can see how their pasts have led to these current difficulties, it still got a bit frustrating for sure. I also think the caretaking type behavior was very one-sided, with Lysander doing all the gestures and Nève just kind of going along with things. I think she could have been a more active participant in moving their relationship forward.

in conclusion

Overall, I did really enjoy Always Be My Duchess it captured my attention well enough that I finished it quite quickly. I think it honestly would have been a great book for me to bring on my next vacation, so I definitely recommend that if you’re interested in this story! I really can’t wait to see what happens with the other ladies in the friend group, since we got some hints about who they might end up with. Hopefully Briar and Lushing are up next!

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience. Please disregard the star rating as I do not rate books I haven't read.

Thank you so much to Forever Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of Always Be My Duchess, Taming of the Dukes #1. This book was such a delight to read! I can see the similarities between Pretty Woman and this novel. I loved the spin of Regency Era and I was envisioning everything that was happening! I was rooting for Lord Lysander and Miss Valery!

Their banter is cute, sweet, witty, and with some spark! I'm glad that Miss Valery kept her true self throughout the book. She knew exactly what she wanted and wouldn't settle for less. Also, poor Lord Lysander, all the trauma his ex and dad gave him!

I also heard the audio of this book and loved the narrators.

This wasn't for me. I found it to be a bit convoluted and boring. I didn't feel any chemistry between the characters. I did like however that his ex fiancé became his stepmother. That is the first time I read that in a historical romance. I would have liked more of the back story.

DNFed - I requested this before I was an influencer and familiar with NG and how it works. I didn't get a chance to read it, and it's no longer downloaded on my Kindle.

A historical romance take on Pretty Woman? This one was high on my anticipated reads list and started out really strong - I loved that we got straight to our MCs meeting and the deal at the heart of the premise and they had great chemistry from the get go. Unfortunately, I felt like the chemistry faded quickly and I wanted more from them. There were some bits of writing that were extremely over the top for my taste (such as the "so. hard. (etc)" and all of the "dieus" and I felt there was too much inner dialogue in relation to actual dialogue. In the end I found it the story to be a bit boring and predictable and was left feeling disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amalie Howard is a talented writer! I loved the hero and heroine. The dialogue was spot on and a pleasure to read.

"Pretty Woman" meets Bridgerton was the perfect description for this delightful historical romance from author Amalie Howard! I simply could not put this book down. Everything from the author's writing style to the swoon-worthy romance -- it was perfection!

I loved this book from page one until the last page. It is well written. It is worth reading and savoring. I highly recommend reading it. Both of the characters are incredibly interesting people. She is vivacious and he is hard but their mutual connection makes this book so appealing and uniquely enjoyable. Their conversations are truly what kept me riveted. I read a lot of historical romance books and find many are ok but not original or sexy or funny and intriguing. This one had it all.

This book was pitched at Pretty Woman meets Bridgerton and that is the PERFECT comparison! Also this cover is such a fun nod to Pretty Woman!

I think maybe Pretty Woman retellings aren't for me. They mostly seem to skip over the why between the two main characters -- why do they love each other? What do they want besides to bang?

Amalie Howard is one of my favorite historical romance authors which makes this book better than it would have been in less capable hands. However, I think the missing pieces really brought me out of the story. I just didn't get the romance between them, and would have loved an additional Lysander POV to explain how he went from wanting to build a railroad over the land to saving the castle for his future family.

That said, I think if anyone else were to have written this, I would have given up a lot sooner. And I'm very intrigued by the set up that was done to put the other books in the series in motion, so I'm very excited to get to those!

Such a fun and humorous historical romance! I loved the witty banter between Stone and Neve. I'm a big fan of the fake dating and grumpy/sunshine tropes, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one! Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Pretty Woman meets Bridgerton is a perfect comparison for this book. It does follow the Pretty Woman storyline. Pretty Woman was one of my favorite movies as a kid. So I know the story line very well. I wasn't sure how this book would play out. But I continued and ended up really liking it. They describe Lysander as a gargoyle and unfeeling. Which as a fellow Neurodivergent person. I thought it was kind of mean. 🤷‍♀️ Neve is a feisty ballerina who knows how to take care of herself. My favorite parts are the Hell Kitties and the Music room scene 🔥.

This is not a book I was super drawn to but looked interesting. I just don't think it's for me and that's okay.

I gave this book a chance. It was not for me. I will not be reviewing it on my bookstagram account or goodread page. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it.

This was so much fun!! While I don't think it was very Pretty Woman-esque like the blurb leads you to believe, it was still pretty enjoyable and the audio was fantastic (the inflection and salty attitude had me laughing out loud numerous times). These characters were a treat, truly. Nève was a JOY and Stone was a dumbass, and it was just honestly so much fun. I had a great time. I love the Hellfire Kitties, I love Stone's bestie, and I just love love love how dumb Stone was, and I just had fun, okay?

IT WAS FUN.

Was I let down the Pretty Woman vibes were small? Sure. Did I care by the end? Not at all.

I loved this. It was fun and even if the relationship conflict was built on stubbornness and assumptions made me want to smack them for not speaking, I still had fun. Moral of the story: I HAD FUN.

Thank you to forever for the review copy that I read an entire year after publication I'm sorry it took me so long WHAT WAS I WAITING FOR