Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Always Be My Duchess

I'm conflicted.
The most interesting part of this book was the male lead's trauma and discovering how that affected him. On the other hand, the most interesting part of this romance novel was the male lead's trauma and discovering how that affected him. There were other "issues" coming between the leads, but those issues were easily disposed with once Stone decided to get around to it. (Using his nickname, Stone, because I can't remember the real one after a few days...)

I found him more believable later on in the novel, and knowing what I know about him, he seems out of joint with his own internality based on his reactions in the first part.
What do I mean by this?

I find it highly unlikely that he'd be so smitten so soon. And this is a matter of taste, to some extent.

Granted, I'm on the asexual spectrum, and when characters experience insta-love or insta-you-know-what, my reaction tends to skew skeptical. But the rampant hormones in here were... a lot. If that sort of thing isn't your cuppa or puts you in a bad headspace/mindspace/etc., you might want to skip this one.

The ladies' solidarity with Neve was sweet, and so were many of the passages describing art as an emotional and creative outlet. But Stone spends so much time flipflopping between absolute impassivity and raging passion that I was a little bit in favor of him getting some therapy and not in favor of them running off happily ever after. At least, not yet. But this is a Victorian novel, and that suggestion is a bit anachronistic.

Also: Am I the only one who sort of hates the grovel trope when it's overblown? Yes, apologies that recognize wrongdoing are good, but promising to never ever make a mistake again is just...unrealistic. I have no idea how this couple would thrive moving forward.

Are we expected to believe

Treadway's not going to manage to blackmail them with Neve's dancer background? I get that he's facing prison, but he's not without ability to speak.

Anyways. The moody, artistic, dark atmosphere of the duke's house and was often super immersive, but some of the character development fell a touch flat for me.

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noellelovesbooks's review

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4.25

I received a finished copy, ahead of release, for being part of the Forever Publishings influencer program.

Content Warnings: Sexual scenes, ableism, sexism, violence, classism, sexual harassment. Mention of physical/mental/emotional abuse and loss of a loved one.

Fauxmance to romance is one of my favorite tropes and I absolutely adored the way it was used in this book. Neve and Lysander’s meet-cute is hilarious and full of heated glances.

Watching these two fight their attraction and growing interest in the other had me laughing, swooning, and occasionally wanting to lock them in a room until they talked it all out.

I love that the author actually put content warnings in the front of the book and that she was inspired to write a neurodivergent hero after going through one of her child’s neurodivergent diagnoses.

Although there wasn’t an understanding of neurodivergence at that time, historically, I loved being able to see Lysander’s process through different conversations and situations. As someone who constantly misunderstands, or is misunderstood, during conversations that lead to anger from others or me…it was wonderful seeing that representation.

I also loved how we’re able to see in action, and in thought, how much Lysander cared. Too many people see neurodivergent people as uncaring or unemotional which isn’t the case, we merely process and express things differently than our neurotypical counterparts.

This was my first Amalie read and I’m so excited to start devouring her backlist as I wait for the next installment of this series to release next year!

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