Always Be My Duchess claims to be a mix of Pretty Woman and Bridgerton. While this is a big claim, I feel that it lives up to it beautifully. The characters were all lovable and left me rooting for them. I appreciated the amount of detail that went into Nève and her relationship with both the other characters as well as ballet.
Nève’s journey was more than just the way her feelings developed for the Duke of Montcroix. It was also the way she was able to rise to the challenges of being an active ballet dancer and the difficult circumstances that arise from the inability for powerful men to accept the word ‘no’. Nève’s thorough background and the details that went into it really added to the complexity of the storyline.
I would have liked to see a little bit more and be told a little less. There were a few times when the conflict felt a bit forced because I kept being reminded that it was coming. It took me out of the moment rather than sinking me deeper into the plot as I would have hoped.
I always love it when I can laugh out loud while reading and have the rest of the room look at me and ask if I am ok. This book had several of those moments and I absolutely loved it. It was a book hat definitely brought a smile to my face when I needed it.
Releases July 12!
3.5 🌶
4⭐️
Thank you to #netgalley and #grandcentralpublishing for the opportunity to read this beautiful eARC in exchange for my honest opinions
The Novel Llama 