Miss Genevieve Valery was not happy. She needed to find a job, but getting fired from the ballet and then being turned down by the other theaters in town (just because she turned down the gentleman’s offer, not that he was a gentleman, clearly, making an offer like that). But she needs to figure out a way to earn some money, so that she can stay in London and so that her sister can continue to recover back home in France.
She’s so angry that she’s still outside the theater, despite the late hour and the less than stellar neighborhood. But that’s when she sees him, looking lost and probably drunk. He comes closer to her, and since Neve knows how to protect herself, she pulls her pistol out of her pocket before he can get too close.
Lord Lysander Blackstone knew he shouldn’t have let his friend talk him into going out tonight, and he definitely should not have gone out drinking after the theater. Now he’s a little tipsy and more than a little lost, and there are no cabs around. There is only a lady, and it looks like she’s crying. When Lysander tries to talk to her, she pulls a gun on him. But when a gang of men who are clearly not up to any good start moving towards them, she grabs him and pulls him toward the back streets that could hide them.
Once they’ve lost the scoundrels, Neve takes Lysander to find a cab, and they get away by the skin of their teeth. But while they had been ducked into a close alley, they both experienced a moment of wild attraction like neither had felt before. And maybe that’s why Lysander felt he could proposition her in the cab, on the way to his home.
Lysander is a businessman, and he is trying very hard to make a deal on some real estate. He needs that land for his railroad, but the owner of the land doesn’t want to sell it. It had meant the world to his late wife, and he doesn’t want to sell it to a bachelor who might not respect it the way his wife did. Lysander thinks that if he appears at the next night’s ball with Neve on his arm that e will have a better chance at closing the deal. So he offers her a tidy sum to be his date the following night. But only for the ball, nothing else.
Neve agrees, because the sum he is offering will pay her rent plus help with her sister’s care. Also, she is intrigued by this man, whose face looks to be set in stone but who has hints of depths underneath. He provides her with a majestic gown and introduces her to his friends, who Neve is pleased to discover are open-minded and quite fun to be around. They are quick to speak their minds, especially the women, and they like it when Neve does the same. And when she learns that Lysander is actually the Duke of Montcroix, she is even more surprised.
Lysander’s ploy to get his real estate deal doesn’t quite work out, so Lysander extends his offer to Neve. If she will stay through the season, pretending to be his fiancée, then he will give her a sum of money that would have Neve and her sister set for life. He makes the offer partly to finally get that real estate deal but also because he can’t bear the thought of Neve leaving.
Neve turns down the Duke’s offer at first, but then she finds herself in a situation where she needs the money. She agrees to the terms, two months for a life-changing amount of money. But as she grows in affection for Lysander, she worries that being in his home for two months, seeing his generosity, discovering how he can play the pianoforte, eating food from the French chef he hired for her, will she be able to protect her heart from the longing she feels?
And as Lysander spends those two months with a divine French ballerina in his house, will he be able to keep his heart and his head focused on business? Or will desire wear him down?
Always Be My Duchess is a charming rom com, taking the story of Pretty Woman to Victorian England with wit, intelligence, and heart. Author Amalie Howard has created two characters are well matched in strength and snark, and their conversations are as steamy as their kisses. While this is clearly anachronistic, it’s also so much fun. It may not be the Victorian England from the history books, but it’s definitely the one we want to read about.
I am not a big fan of historical fiction, but the combination of the description and that adorable cover had me hooked. And I’m so glad I gave it a try. I fell for these characters almost immediately, and I wanted to see how they would play off each other. But I also loved the female supporting characters. They had spunk and spirit, and I wished I could have tea with them and join in on their conversations. Always Be My Duchess is clever and fun, and I think rom com fans will absolutely find something to love in this book.
Egalleys for Always Be My Duchess were provided by Forever through NetGalley, with many thanks.
