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.

When Lysander Blackstone, Duke of Montcroix, finds himself in a sticky situation after the theatre one night, he never expected to run into Miss Geneviève Valery, out of work ballerina. Even more unexpectedly, he didn’t expect that her quick thinking would save them both. In the interest of solidifying a business deal, he propositions Nève with an offer she can’t refuse - act as his fake fiancée to persuade the ton that he is settling down in exchange for a life changing amount of money.

I am still relatively new to historical fiction, but this one drew me in right away! (Despite the fact that I have never seen Pretty Woman 🙈) Fake relationships are one of my favourite tropes ever, and for good reason - those initial sparks can become a huge blaze simply through the forced proximity involved. So obviously, I was hooked right away!

I really enjoyed that as we progress through the book, we begin to uncover Lysander’s neurodivergence. As referenced by Amalie Howard before the book begins, they may not have had the words to describe it in the time period, but Neurodivergents existed anyway! This definitely elevated the book for me.

I thought Nève was a really interesting character as well, dealing with the realities of being a ballerina who needed to work, but who did not wish to allow patrons to take her to their beds. I loved her strong will with Lysander, and loved how quickly she was welcomed into the duke’s friend group (and what a great collection of characters that I’m dying to read more about!)

Though this book centres around one couple, it also did a great job at introducing a cast of characters who are fiercely loyal and care for each other, from fellow society folk to the staff of the house.

And the CHEMISTRY. Sparks are flying from their first meeting, and the pining for each other throughout was absolutely *chef’s kiss* for me. Even though the open door spice doesn’t come until later, we are still treated to some steamy thoughts early on from each of them.

I really enjoyed this one, and it was a fun escape from work and life when things got overwhelming for for me.

This is one of the best historical romances of the year! I couldn’t put it down once I started reading, and I can’t wait to read more about Nève and her crazy aristocratic friends. The book is very well written, and the characters have lot of depth and are intriguing to read about. I enjoyed seeing the differences between Lysander’s public and private personas.
All in all, this one checked all the romance boxes. 4.5 stars.

Synopsis:
Lord Lysander Blackstone, the stern Duke of Montcroix, has only one interest: increasing his considerable fortune. After a series of betrayals, he keeps his emotions buried deep. Money, after all, can't break a man's heart—or make promises it can’t keep. But when his reputation for being heartless jeopardizes a new business deal, he finds himself seeking a most unusual—and alluring—solution . . . 

Once an up-and-coming ballerina, Miss Geneviève Valery is now hopelessly out of work. After refusing to become a wealthy patron's mistress, Nève was promptly shown the door to the streets. When she accidentally saves the life of a handsome duke, she doubts the encounter will go any better than her last brush with nobility. But instead of propositioning her, Montcroix makes Nève an offer she would be a fool to refuse: act as his fake fiancée in exchange for fortune enough to start over.

Only neither is prepared when very real feelings begin to grow between them. They both stand to win . . but only if they’re willing to risk their hearts.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is such a fun and heartwarming and entertaining historical romance. It’s also one of my favorite trips in that it’s a fake engagement. Lysander is a Duke who has a reputation for being heartless and needs to change it in order to land a big business deal. Genevieve is a ballerina whose career is on the rocks because she refused to be a mistress to someone in the aristocracy. When they run into each other lies under offered her a chance for money by pretending to be his fiancé. It’s fun to see how feelings develop between both characters . It’s well written and you can see emotions fly off the pages. All in all I highly recommend this book.

I loved this historical rom-com!! It gave me major Bridgerton vibes. Also loved the fake dating trope that was wrapped up into the book. Amazing.

I... have never seen Pretty Woman. I know the basics, but I've never seen it in its entirety. And honestly, I wanted to see how this book held up if you didn't know the source material. BOY DID IT EVER. This book was full of textbook yearning and I unashamedly ate it up. Their first meeting was less meet-cute than it was meet-lust, and like, that is okay with me. It set the tone for the whole book. Lotsa feelings, lotsa yearning, and under it all, two characters' POVs that I genuinely enjoyed. Was it the perfect historical romance? No, there were a few pieces of the subplots that I found myself wanting to skip through. And weirdly, I felt like our leading hero gave us his Grand Gesture(TM) so early in the book that everything after it just felt a little... less grand? I don't know, it was still worth it all, I really enjoyed it. Very pleased that it looks like this'll be a series, because I'm excited to see what else these Queen of Hearts go through. If you love the camaraderie of Evie Dunmore's League of Extraordinary Women or Lisa Kleypas' Wallflowers, I think this series might eventually scratch that same itch.

With her fiery heroine, a surly (but endearing Duke), and a fake engagement like NEVER BEFORE, Howard delivers on the steam, the comedy, and the heart. All my favorite things wrapped into one fantastic story.

This fun start to a new series (Taming of the Duke series) is being marketed as Pretty Woman meets the Bridgertons and I am feeling the need to rewatch Pretty Woman. I don't think I would have made the connection, since it's been many years since I've seen the movie.

I really enjoyed reading this and am looking forward to the next book. There are a few potential main characters and I'm looking forward to seeing who will get center stage in the second book in this series.

In this romance Neve (Genevieve) is a ballerina in need of work. She refused someone's advanced and is now struggling to get a job. Montcroix, a Duke, is trying to buy some property. The property owner is sentimentally attached to the property (his late wife loved it ) and he's concerned that the Duke is all business and profit and won't value it. So, when the two main characters almost literally run into each other on the street, a deal is proposed (it's a longer action-packed scene). The negotiations continue and this sets the stage for this slow burn romance that almost has an enemies to lovers vibe. I loved getting to know Stone (the Duke) and Neve as they got to know each other. Of course there was a strong attraction and some steamy scenes, but the scenes where they connected and just got each other were my favorites. Also, Neve quickly made a wonderful group of strong female friends whom I hope will get their own books.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.