USA Today bestselling author Charis Michaels enchants with her Awakened by a Kiss series, taking our favorite fairy tales’ forgotten characters and making them the hero of their own story.An heiress with a plan… even run away. When her family’s patience runs out, they pack her off to London to walk down the aisle. But Helena has another idea: find a more suitable bride to take her place, even if she must look for a replacement duchess every day.
A bodyguard with a job to do…
Declan Shaw, better known as “The Huntsman,” is a mercenary who can pick and choose his clientele. After his last job, escorting a young noblewoman to France, landed him in jail under false accusations, he wants nothing to do with aristocrats or women. But the law isn’t done with him, and if he agrees to babysit a duke’s errant fiancé, the payout could make his legal troubles go away.
A most unexpected alliance…
When their worlds collide, Declan realizes that containing his new client is only slightly harder than keeping his hands off her. Helena senses an ally in her handsome new bodyguard and solicits his help. Together they must escape the forces that oppose them and fight for the fairy-tale love they desire.
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I got to read this book early and it is just lovely. A romantic twist on Snow White and the (Hunky) Huntsman. Charming and so sweetly romantic!
Declan Shaw is rotting in Newgate, charged with a crime he did not commit. He was hired by the palace to escort Miss Knightly Snow to her aunt in the south of France, but Miss Snow disappears and Declan is charged with abduction and foul play, with the threat of murder hanging over his head. He has tried without success and at considerable expense to have the charges dropped, but to no avail. But all that changes when he is visited by Titus Girdleston, the uncle to the Duke of Lusk. He tells Declan that The Duke is betrothed to Lady Helena Lark, but the lady is not thrilled at the prospect of marrying the duke – she has evaded the marriage for the last five years, but has at last agreed to come to London. Girdleston wants Declan to guard her and make sure she doesn’t bolt – the reward if he succeeds is great, enough to settle his debts and care for his father and sisters, not to mention having the charges against him dropped. But if he fails, he will get nothing and quite possibly will be returned to jail. With no opinions, Declan accepts – besides, how hard could watching a young woman and delivering her to her wedding possibly be?
Lady Helena Lark has used many strategies over the years to put off marriage to the duke – she knows he doesn’t want her, but their families want the land that her grandmother left her – the land that contains a summerhouse that she calls home, her apple orchard, a forest and tenants – all of which will be lost if she marries the duke. She is determined to end her betrothal and has the perfect plan – she will find a new duchess for the duke – because if he jilts her, her family will finally let her retire to her forest in peace. When she arrives in town, she is prepared for Girdleston’s spies – but even knowing isn’t enough to stop her immediate fascination with Declan. She has never felt even the slightest attraction to a man before – but she is drawn to Declan and hopes to win him to her side.
Helena waits until everyone is asleep and slips out to the stables to talk to Declan – he tries to resist, but he is just as taken with her as she is with him and cajoles him into helping her. And against his better judgement, he tells her he will help her and then to make matters worse – he kisses her. He is angry with himself and fully intends to resist her and to inform Girdleston of her plan – but he can’t and finds himself falling under her spell. But he has secrets and while he will help her, he can’t afford to lose his heart to her, but will he be able to walk away?
I really loved this story, it was a fun tale with a bit of a Snow White twist – Helena and Declan are both wonderful characters and I loved their interactions and dedication to each other – which never wavered, no matter how dismal things appeared. The story is well written, fast paced, filled with witty banter, schemes, secrets, surprising twists and turns, a couple of warm love scenes, great secondary characters and a very satisfying ending complete with a epilogue, The copy I read was an uncorrected proof, so I assume that the typos and title errors will be corrected by publication and did not factor them into my review rating. This is the first book in the new series and I am hooked – I highly recommend this book and am really looking forward to the next installment.
**I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that I requested and was provided by NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.*
A lady known as the “runaway bride” and a mercenary blackmailed out of Newgate to be her “private groom,” conspire to find a replacement bride for the Duke she doesn’t want to marry. Her plan to interview seven prospective brides tends to have some hilarious consequences. Not to mention, no lady should be so attracted to her groom and no groom should be attracted to this particular lady. A laugh out loud adventure of how to get out of marrying a Duke.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
A wonderfully written romance, great characters and a well paced plot made this a page turner for me. Nothing better than a bodyguard and heiress and their attraction and wow what an attraction Helena and Declan have. Helena was relentless and Declan in love with her at first sight, a romance of different class that doesn’t matter when true love intervenes. I felt their anxiety and determination to be together and their happily ever after when it happened was like a burst of sunshine.
Declan was hired as bodyguard to keep Lady Helena from running away from her arranged marriage to a drunkard of a duke. But Helena’s got a better idea: find a woman willing to marry the duke for the sake of his title. Reluctantly, Declan helps in her quest to interview duchess candidates, knowing he could lose everything if he fails in his duty to get Helena to the altar. Is the beautiful woman he’s falling in love with worth the risk?
This is a fun, vibrant story with well-developed characters and a plot that never lags. There’s a bit of insta-love, but it isn’t just physical attraction that draws Helena and Declan together. Besides the chemistry, there’s a deep compatibility between them despite their difference in station. I enjoyed the narration as well.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
I loved this book – it has humor, romance, a bit of danger, mystery, and fairy tales, all put together so seamlessly and enjoyably. You just have to read it yourself as anything I say will become a spoiler, and I don’t want to be a bad apple.
There is fiction and then there is fiction based on fairy tales. Helena as a 24 year old was too naive. The story dragged and then everything was wrapped up in quickly.
A cute and enjoyable story. Had me giggling at times. Characters are unpredictable, Sweet and determined. No doubt you’ll be smiling at the end.
This book was a very unique and enjoyable re-imagining of Snow White. The characters definitely were perfect for each other and had great and well-written personalities. Their romance was sweet and swoon-worthy and steamy. There was also fun and cute moments throughout the story that really added to the story. The plot was fun and held my attention throughout this book. There was a bit of angst but nothing too much. The only difficulty I had with this story was that some of the allusions to Snow White seemed off and the writing didn’t seem smooth. Both of these were slight though, so it still made for a cute and enjoyable read. This is a must-read for anyone for anyone who enjoys historical romance mixed with fairy tales!
I thought that this was a very fun and cute read. I found Helena and Declan likable and easy to root for. The storyline held my attention well and I felt that the book had a fresh feel to it. I loved Helena’s fierceness and determination. I thought Declan was quite swoon worthy and the struggle that he felt between what his mind thought and what his heart felt came across beautifully as the story unfolded. All together a very enjoyable romance and a promising start to this new series that I’m eager to read more of. This is my elective, unbiased review.
I won an ebook copy of this book in a Goodreads contest and in return promised my honest review.
Lady Helena Lark is engaged to the Duke of Lusk and has spent the last 5 years running away to try to escape her wedding to a man she does not love. Her family tires of her games and packs her up and takes her to London to see her wed to a Duke. But Lena is not going down without a fight and has another plan to find a suitable replacement, even if she must look daily for a Duchess to replace her.
Declan Shaw is a mercenary known as “The Huntsman,” and he is so popular he can pick and choose his clients. His last job was to escort a young woman to France and she escaped and ran away and her disappearance landed him in jail under false claims. He no longer wants anything to do with the rich aristocrats or women. A Dukes uncle appears and makes a proposition that will set him free but he must agree to babysit 24/7 a resistant bride. If he succeeds the payment will make all his troubles go away.
When Declan and Helena met they are immediately attracted to one another but there is no trust. What he thought would be a reasonable job turns into a chore of keeping his hands to himself. Helena has good judgement in people and realizes he might be her ally and solicits his help by promising she will take care of his family and provide a place for them to live, in her forest. Together they must come up with a plan an execute its win in order to fight for their HEA.
Fun and unexpected again and again. Helena is lovely and smart and cunning and desperate to get out of an unwanted betrothal. Declan is a mercenary and was wrongfully imprisoned. Ensuring a wayward lady doesn’t escape wedding bells should be a piece of cake… if he can resist her openness and kindness and beauty.
I loved everything about this delightful, madcap, historical adventure romance! This is my first by this author and I’m in love!!
Lady Helena Lark enjoys living in her forest, tending her apple orchards and not dealing much with her parents, or the fiancé they’ve been trying to saddle her with for 5 years. Yes, he’s a Duke, but she is so not interested. She’s tried everything she can think of to get out of the marriage, from acting insane, to just running away, but nothing has worked. She has a last ditch plan to find some other woman to catch his eye, and it better work, or she can kiss her beloved apples goodbye.
Declan Shaw, known in some circles as “The Huntsman,” is a mercenary-for-hire, but since his last job went wrong, and he was accused of kidnapping and disposing of his client, he’s been awaiting trial in jail. When a man offers to have him released, if Declan agrees to babysit the potential runaway bride-to-be of the man’s nephew, he doesn’t see any other options. If he does this job, he would be able to build up his nest egg and care for his father and sisters adequately again. Little does he know Lady Helena will be the one person to knock him off course.
Declan and Helena had an immediate attraction to each other, and it was fantastic. I loved their banter, and how they felt kinship and trust with each other right away, even though it was the OPPOSITE of what they should’ve been feeling, based on their situations. They really cared for each other so much, even when Declan was convinced that there was no possible way for them to be together, regardless of their feelings. Helena refuses that allow that, however! I loved her determination to live life on her terms, and how she was so sure of Declan from the start.
The hijinks and hilarity these characters went through to track down the seven other potential duchesses was so much fun, and I loved tagging along on their adventures. Helena’s family wasn’t really on the page much, thankfully, but her youngest sister Camille was so sweet. I loved the way she looked up to Helena and wanted to be like her, rather than how society says that “ladies” should be. The Duke of Lusk was quite the wretched character as well, though we didn’t see too much of him either, until closer to the end of the story. And then we get a bit of a different view of him which was fascinating. But his uncle was THE. WORST. I enjoyed how everything played out in the end with him.
There’s a bit of a side plot with a mysterious cloaked figure who is following them, and they can never catch up to the person! They don’t know who it is, or which one of them is being followed, and I loved it. It added another layer to the story that I ended up really enjoying. And how that storyline completed was fantastic too!
Overall this story was just such a delight! I loved these two characters endlessly, and their stumble toward love was so enjoyable. I highly recommend the story, and I can’t wait for more in this series!!
This was an entertaining, well-written book. Lady Helena Lark has spent years trying to end her engagement to the Duke of Lusk. Now she has decided to find a bride to replace her. Declan Shaw has been released from jail (on false charges) and in exchange he has been assigned to keep an eye on Lady Helena and keep her out of trouble. The book was fast paced and I did not want to put it down. It was so much fun to read. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.
Lady Helena Lark has spent five years avoiding marrying a lousy duke. She wants to remain in the forest and grow apples, an unusual avocation for a Regency heroine. She’s out of time now — her betrothed’s uncle is determined that she will marry and goes so far as to pluck a man from prison to be her guard. Declan Shaw — better known as the Huntsman — was unjustly accused and worried about taking care of his sisters and dad. He signs on to guard Lady Helena but isn’t able to guard his heart. The two have an immediate connection, sealed with a kiss, as Lady Helena enlists Declan’s help to find an alternative wife for the duke she loathes, the two introduce seven would-be duchesses (one a day) so she can return to the forest. Helena and Declan fall in love — quickly, sweetly and without any of the games so often found in romances. They have to become a team, respecting each other’s intelligence and trusting their growing love. The villainous uncle and Helena’s useless family are wonderful foils for our heroes — and the ending is just priceless. An aside on the author; I have read all of her books since her debut, The Earl Next Door. She gets better and better and this take on a fairy tail is delicious. (I received an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions mine.
Helena does not want to marry the man she has been betrothed to for five years. Her fiance’s family hires a bodyguard, Declan, to make sure she doesn’t run away before the wedding. After falling in love, they work together to set themselves free to be together. I received an ARC from NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for my honest review.
A Duchess a Day is a fun, smart, and romantic love story. The novel focuses on Declan Shaw and Lady Helena Lark, a mercenary and an heiress. Declan is a mercenary wrongly imprisoned for murder. When he has the opportunity to be released with the agreement to serve as an heiresses bodyguard, Declan reluctantly takes the offer. Helena is an heiress who has been trying to break her engagement to a disinterested, inebriated, and philandering fiancee for five years.
An unwilling participant in an arranged marriage, Helena refuses to be a pawn in her parents’ greedy schemes, especially when her marriage will result in the destruction of the land that she holds dear. Helena determines, with Declan’s help, to find other suitable women to entice her betrothed and, hopefully, break the engagement. However, neither Helena nor Declan planned to develop feelings for each other, especially considering the impossible positions they are both in. How can they be together when life threatens to tear them apart?
I loved Helena and Declan’s story. They are so different, yet they complement each other well. Declan is tough, while Helena is naive. He is experienced, and she is innocent. However, both are passionate, strong, and stubborn, and they both have a quick wit, which adds to their fantastic chemistry. They also seem to understand each other well. As both characters are misunderstood and used, Helena and Declan are drawn to one another. I loved how their relationship blossomed.
Unfortunately, Declan doesn’t feel like he is good enough for Helena. She is an heiress, and he is a mercenary. He has the threat of prison looming over him, and he has three family members to care for. He doesn’t want to burden her with his problems. Helena, in turn, feels invisible and helpless and has no one to turn to. She hates the vapid, materialistic society that her parents have forced her to be a part of and wishes to return to her quieter life at her apple orchard. Declan is the first person to really see her, understand her, and support her. The pair brings out the best in each other, and their characters are dynamically developed.
A Duchess a Day is a witty and swoon-worthy historical romance with dynamic protagonists and a well-paced plot. Readers who enjoy feisty main characters and a HEA will love this story! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Avon for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
4.5 stars!
In the five years she’s been betrothed to the Duke of Lusk, Lady Helena Lark has tried everything she can think of to escape the match. The man is wholly uninterested in marrying, but her refusals have nonetheless all failed and her family is determined to see the lucrative match finally come to fruition. But Helena has one last idea to make good on her escape: find another bride for Lusk.
Declan Shaw, a former soldier turned mercenary, better known as The Huntsman, is well-known for his skill and has his pick of wealthy clients. His last job seeing a young noblewoman to the south of France ended in disaster, with Declan imprisoned and falsely accused of kidnapping his charge. He’s not interested in having anything further to do with the aristocracy, but is left little choice if he hopes to be released from prison so he agrees to mind the duke’s fiancé and see she makes it down the aisle.
But when Declan meets Helena, he finds her utterly irresistible. She senses his reluctance to aid the duke and enlists him as an ally. Against his own rules forbidding involvement with a client, Declan is soon all in with Helena, helping her enact her plan to see herself free of Lusk and securely in Declan’s arms instead.
I do love a good fairytale retelling, and this was a cute one. I’ve never read anything quite like it and while some of the plot points still don’t quite make sense to me, I really don’t even mind. I adored Declan as the initially somewhat reluctant hero. Once he decided he was all in, there was no hesitation and he was fully committed to Helena. She was just as steadfastly loyal to him and their determination to be together no matter what made this a delight to read. I loved that Helena was fiercely determined to have her freedom and make her own way, but she never came off as shrewishly insufferable or arrogant as is the case so often with heroines lately. Instead, she was willing to reevaluate and admit to being wrong, considering Declan’s feelings along with her own. I enjoyed picking out all the nods to Snow White and they gave this regency a refreshingly whimsical feel. I’m continuing this series and looking forward to the next fairytale.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I savored every word of this fantastic romance!
Paying homage to the Snow White fairytale with many direct and in-direct references, this delightful romance starts with a clever plot and ends with a surprise twist. The writing is sharp, witty, sardonic, and zany at times and is exquisitely descriptive, both visually and emotionally. The story is filled with the kind of swoony romantic scenes that make a romance novel truly great.
Helena is desperate to extricate herself from an arranged marriage to a dissolute duke, so she hatches a plan to find an assortment of more qualified young ladies in the hopes he’ll choose someone – anyone – in her stead.
Tasked with ensuring that Helena makes it to the altar, Declan (the “Huntsman”) finds himself increasingly drawn into her plan and inextricably drawn to her. He has everything to lose by helping her, but it seems he just can’t say no to her.
Their adventures involve examining seven lovely ladies as possible replacements as duchess, but these missions serve mostly as the background opportunities for Helena and Declan to discover just how much they’re willing to risk to ensure the other’s happiness.
Containing elements of both insta-love and slow-burn attraction, this story had me hooked from the very first scene and I found myself rereading various passages just to enjoy the charming interplay once again. Just when you think all is lost, a completely unexpected twist brings the perfect solution straight to their door. I was simply amazed at how this was all worked out in such a marvelous way, and stunned that I hadn’t seen it coming, despite all the glorious little hints that hindsight reminded me were sprinkled throughout the story.
I loved every bit of this story and highly recommend it for everyone who reads historical romance. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
This one left me with a grinning happy sigh kind of experience. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. Sparkling, surprising, and overall wonderful.