[ARC Review] Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard
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.
My thoughts: Between the spice, the absolutely amazing characters, and an unforgettable meet cute, Always Be My Duchess was a memorable historical romance from Amalie Howard.
I have to start off with Nève and Stone's meet cute. Societal gatherings, balls, even in the country - those are your typical meeting places in historical romances. But at night in a seedy part of town, with a pistol pointed at the male main character? I won't be forgetting how Nève and Stone met for the first time for quite a while.
These two main characters were just an overall thrill to read. On one hand, you have Nève - a strong-willed leading lady who has found herself in the unfortunately position of having to provide for her younger sister while watching the thing she used to love - ballet - become more of a chore than a joy. I love when historical romance characters are driven by completely relatable feelings and notions, and Nève definitely fits that category. I loved that Nève was strong enough to be both independent but also willing to concede when she needed outside help. Luckily for the readers, that outside help came in the form of the Duke of Montcroix.
Stone had a great story arc in this novel. Stone is, as his name hints at, quite grave and personality-less in the beginning. All he cares about is money and proving his father's predictions for their legacy wrong. But when Stone meets Nève, he suddenly found a reason to care about things like love, family, and happiness. It wasn't easy for Stone to start opening up, even to himself, and I thought Howard did a great job at portraying his characters all while keeping his character consistent throughout his changes.
I love watching a fake dating/fake engagement trope turn into true feelings, and Nève and Stone's slow fall into love was such a joy to read. Both characters definitely held out until the end, making me wonder if Stone was ever going to recognize and give in to those feelings of his.
It's an odd thing to say, especially for historical romance, but the steam level in this novel was beyond what I was hoping for - especially before Nève and Stone admitted their feelings for each other. Howard came out swinging when it came to the spice, and I knew I was going to be hooked on this story from the very first chapter.
Overall, I can't recommend this historical romance enough. The fake engagement trope was done very well, the spice was outstanding, and every single character - both main and secondary - had such wonderfully distinct personalities and rolls to play. I loved Stone and Nève's story, and would love for every on-page character in this book to get their own story.
A huge thank you to Forever for providing an ARC and an advanced finished copy of Always Be My Duchess for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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Release date: 7/12/22
Format: eARC/finished copy
eARC and finished copy provided via the publisher
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