The Story:
Mark Grimaldi is a high ranking English spymaster. He is a proud, self-reliant, and a self-made man. Born from an Italian painter, Mark has worked his way up through the military to secure the position he is in now. However, his eye is on the position as the Home Secretary for England. Mark has a dream to rebuild England and protect the people in it. BUT, the only way to secure this position is to find his estranged wife of 10 years, Nicole Grimaldi. His boss does not believe in selecting a bachelor to become the House Secretary. Which meant Mark had to find his wife and bring her back to London to put on a show that he is a family man. Would she come willingly? Mark has never been known to share his own emotions so freely. When he arrives in France to bring his wife back to London. The door he closed long ago on her reopened. His emotions crashing in. Mark struggles to reclose the door. He is there to use her to secure the position he’s worked so hard for. After all to Mark is ex-wife is a “scheming liar.” right?



As a daughter of an Earl, you are expected to act like a proper lady and prepare for the day of your marriage. Not Nicole. She wants much MORE! Nicole secretly took on a job as a bounty hunter. She loves tracking down thieves to capture them. It makes her feel worth more than the title she was given at birth. Nicole is a fierce, and strong-willed woman. A woman that prefers to ride her horse at night than to learn how to act properly at a ton party. Which she often felt was boring. Nicole wanted someone outside of this hell hole that she was raised in. Nicole wanted more from life, she wanted to act freely without any consequences as the daughter of an Earl. After Nicole met Mark she was hopeful that someone could see her beyond the title and family she was raised in. Unfortunately, Mark and Nicole had a falling out and Nicole closed off her heart for good. Not allowing anyone especially Mark to find their way in it. Ten years later Mark shows up at her house and Nicole’s emotions hit her as if they had never been locked away. She despises this man for what he had done to her. But she needs something from Mark. And if he showed up after 10 years then apparently he needs something from her too. But at what cost? Is having her heart broken all over again worth it? She sure hoped so.





The review:

This was a wonderfully written book. The flow of the storyline never dragged along. Each part of the manuscript had sections and stories that created a bigger picture for the reader to understand. I enjoyed reading two characters who are prideful and strongwilled. It’s amazing to see an aristocratic woman more headstrong than the damsel in other Victorian novels. I felt Mark and Nicole were described amazingly well. They were not described as God-like characters. They were very relatable for married couples, especially those that are estranged. I thoroughly enjoyed how the storyline would switch from the past to the present. Though at times I WANTED TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO EACH SECRET THEY WERE TRYING TO UNCOVER. I understand as a reader I had to gather the bigger picture at hand before continuing the storyline during present time. I don’t believe there are any sections in the book that I felt wasn’t necessary. Each part had a purpose and it was explained very well. My favorite part of the book is the conversation Mark had with his buddies. Or men he would consider to be his buddies. As a Spy Master, you can’t have any connections to anyone that can be used against you. It added some good humor to help their “idiot friend” come to his senses. The author did a phenomenal job as usual. This is the 9th book in the Playful Bride series.



If you would like to pre-order this book you can click on the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Like-Other-Playful-Brides/dp/1250121736/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Some of my favorites quotes:



Rate: 4/5

Thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book. A quirky regency romance which is full of fun. Read it and enjoy!

A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowmanis another enchanting romance. A historical that pushes boundaries and sinks its teeth into my heart. The plot was fast-paced, engaging, and emotional. Two protagonists both with a desire to work in a dangerous field and do what is right. Despite their Desiree and attraction, both hide things from each other. This causes a rift to form and both fall apart. A marriage based on love but broken by secrets. Neither one was able to let his or her pride down to set things right between them. Ten years later, life has a way of bringing them back together. One wants to become a mother and the other the Secretary of State.

However, to become Secretary of State he needs his wife back in England to assume the position of a family man. General Mark Grimadali is more of a family man than most presume and more than he, himself thinks he is. It was funny watching his troubles, fears, and heart explode among the pages. His wife Nicole is jus s strong of character as her husband. Stubborn to a fault...she can't hide her feelings any longer. Afraid of a broken heart again, she is prepared to leave her husband she loves one more...but could he really not love her? Both are grave, smart, and charming. I fell hard and fast for these characters. Their personalities and struggles were exciting to follow. Overall, I highly recommend this historical regency novel.

❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋
A sentimental romance , set in England And France .
Mark and Nicole , married for 10 years , living in different countries.
Secretly they still, and have always been in love , but although the feelings are strong they just don’t seem to be able to show their emotions to each other .
When situations arise Mark goes in search of Nicole and returns with her to England, but will they both get what they want this time round ?
A cant put down Novel , love tears and intrigue and a dash of murder , make this book a must read .
I read an advanced copy of this book and chose to submit a review

I made it 31% of the way through this one and realized I probably could have kept reading, but I was going to be sort of "meh" about it and would've rather used my reading time on something I felt more interested in. Things were already playing out in a very stereotypical way, and some of the romantic barriers were already feeling forced and artificial that early in the story. The hero and the heroine didn't engage me enough to set aside my issues with the story, so this one was an abandoned-for-now read for me.

I loved Grim and Nicole! Their bickering was so much fun, and they had so many twisty misunderstandings. The build-up between them was really well done. I could have done without the murder mystery plot-- we never even met the man who was murdered, so it was hard to care who had killed him or why.

Secrets and misunderstandings separate Mark and Nicole. A promotion and a murder bring them back together. Loved the girl spy’s.

A Duke Like No Other (Playful Brides #9) is my first novel by Valerie Bowman. I enjoyed it, because not only is it a steamy romance but a well written one, with a witty sparring-couple that were estranged and reunited for practical reasons, and then things change. The story well thought out which included a murder to solve; secondary characters were filled-out with personalities and just as entertaining as the main characters. I found 350-some page novel quick and easy to read. It was fun and enjoyable.

I was offered an e-ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed Mark and Nicole's story.,,however, Mark was a bit too prideful and stubborn and always wanted his way and never thought he was wrong. That irked me a lot about him. But for the most part, I as adore historical romances, this one was a keeper. Besides the obvious sexual chemistry between the main characters, there was a smidgen of intrigue and mystery. A who dun it so to speak, though I would have never guessed who the real culprit was. I highly recommend this book. I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A truly delightful story about second chances and learning from our past mistakes. A Duke Like No Other is more than just a historical romance book. It's a story filled with redemption, love lost and gained, and a deep mystery that eventually leads the main characters to band together to solve the crime.
I really enjoyed reading A Duke Like No Other. Nicole was a wife with an estranged husband, Mark. After fleeing to France to escape her failed marriage, she led a somewhat pleasant and calm life running a lavender field and occasionally helping out the police by solving crimes. When her estranged husband finally returned from the war and needed to settle down for a huge promotion, all of her buried anger and hurt resurfaces. With a strange request, Mark finds that he needed his wife back in his life in order to gain a much sought-after position after the war. But Nicole had her own plans as well. She wanted a baby knowing that after she gave Mark what he wanted, she will once again be left alone.
A Duke Like No Other is funny, adorable, and full of miscommunication. The estranged couple obviously still had strong feelings for each other, but a huge misunderstanding drove them apart 10 years ago. The dialogue is cunning and intelligent and I couldn't help but love Mark's personality in the story. While he was stoic and steadfast, he was also putty when it came to his wife.
A Duke Like No Other is a fun story with a mystery towards the end that was also fun to discover along with the main characters.
Thank you for the ARC!

3,5 STARS

This wasn't exactly what I was expected, it wasn't bad but it didn't reach my expectations either.the blurb led me to believe this was an couple, estranged as a result of a misunderstanding, reconnecting to enable the husband to get a prestigious promotion and falling in love. Whilst it was, it was not the main plot, which revolved around solving a murder.Also I found A Duke Like No Other lacked the angst and relationship development I expect from Estranged Spouses despite having a solid premise and strong side characters. Overall, it was a great story but not one I would love to read again!

I really enjoyed this book - I'm not usually a fan of romances where the couples are split because of a (usually fairly pathetic) misunderstanding, but in A Duke Like No Other the overarching storyline and brilliant (if stubborn) characters won me over. Nicole's independence and Mark's ambition are at the same time their greatest assets - and the reason they fell in love with each other - as well as their ultimate downfall.

I wouldn't necessarily describe the book as a "spy caper", when the main plot line was solving a murder close to home, but I did enjoy the added element of Mark's espionage background and Nichole's own working life.

This book was very fun. I love a romance with former lovers reuniting, and one with lots of sexual tension and this one had both. The hero was very swoon-worthy. The end of the novel was a little rushed and kind of weird, but I can forgive that because the romance was so nice.

3.5 stars

"Sometimes life calls upon us to be the things we never thought we were meant to be."

My first Valerie Bowman book, and certainly not my least. Seems I missed out on some pretty fun (if slightly far-fetched if the other books are all like this) stories here! I really liked the writing, it was so easy to keep turning the pages, even if I did roll my eyes quite a bit here and there.

The premise of this was what initially made me request this title: a grumpy spymaster who, in order to get the promotion he wants to become Home Secretary, has to retrieve his long-estranged wife from France and pretend to be a family man, only to realize that the feelings he thought he had long since buried have actually never gone away? A woman who is determined to make the best out of a shitty situation to get what she wants and is not afraid to ask for it? A man who is dead set against reuniting with a ducal family who cut off his mother after she married a lowly Mister only to find himself entangled in a whole lot of family drama, including the murder of the heir? Sign me up!

I actually liked the first half of the story. I liked both Nicole and Mark, I thought they were a really good match, both headstrong and impulsive, neither letting the other, as Nicole out it, "run roughshod" over the other. It was nice. There could've been a whole lot more bitterness between them, and I liked that they accepted their past.

But there were some things I didn't like:
- The murder investigation, in my opinion, overshadowed the reconciliation. And, the reveal of the killer made me roll my eyes. Hard...
- The spy stuff. You have to suspend your belief quite a bit here. Nicole, a wealthy aristocrat, got bored during her first season and started going after criminals whom she then presented to Bow Street. They were so impressed with her, they let her work for them. After her marriage and subsequent move to France, she works for the French police too. Need I say more?
- The frequent misunderstandings. You see, both Mark and Nicole have a tendency to throw in the towel at the first sign of trouble and run away. And, I have to say, for a supposedly clever man, Mark could be really really stupid at times. Just saying. Anyways. So, after a whirlwind romance the unlikely pair (she is a member of the ton, while he is just a Mister) got married. Their first fight after a few weeks of bliss, they have a fight that could've easily been remedied with one very simple conversation, and both just gave up after that. Later on, after they spend some time with each other, solve the murder, and everything, Nicole overhears something Mark says to his uncle, lies to him because she thinks he wants to get rid of her again now that he has gotten his promotion, and runs back to France without talking to him. Call me crazy, but that sort of pattern doesn't really make me believe in their happily ever after.

But even despite all that, I really did enjoy this book!

I am always honest, however, I have decided to be totally honest, no matter how much I like the Author. This is about Extremely Alpha Male, General Mark Grimaldi, a self made man, who did not ever rely on his Aristocratic side of the family. In other words, a real man! Who now has the opportunity to be Head Of The Home Office. Lady Nicole Huntington, young, and in her first season, does not want the ugly, overweight Marquess, she wants handsome Corporal Mark Grimaldi, she finds out that his Grandfather, and now his Uncle, is the powerful Duke of Colchester. This, and her determination, to be a Bow Street Runner, destroys her marriage. They separate for ten years. This is where everything is just too much for me to swallow! Why put a young lady of the Aristocracy into the grimy world of Bow Street, where men had to catch a criminal, in order to be paid? She takes food out the mouths of Children, whose father's had to provide for their families. Bow Street Runners on the whole, were not gentleman in the least! This is all too much for me! It's called pandering to the modern Feminist ideology, and to the devil with History. Of course, even though Mark has given his life to his Country, she finds the killer. I am sorry, however, I will not continue spending my money on books, that make men look ridiculous, in order to use Propaganda for a modern Feminist ideology.
I don't Recommend! If you are a feminist, you will love it!
Carolintallahassee 👒

A Duke Like No Other rates a solid 3.5 stars. The beginning is a little slow to really draw the reader in. Nicole is my favorite kind of heroine, unconventional, strong-willed, and intelligent. I found Mark to be too stubborn to be truly enjoyable. When misunderstandings drive the couple apart, Nicole uses her previous Bowstreet runner experience to become a spy in France. Mark blindly ignores his family out of hatred for anything to do with the aristocracy and is single-mindedly pursuing his military career. The only reason he finally seeks out his wife is to create the appearance of being a family man for a promotion. Nicole agrees to reunite with Mark with conditions of her own. When Mark's cousin is murdered, an investigation ensues. I think the story would have been more enjoyable if the mystery played a bigger element of the plot because at times the plot seems to slow to a snail's pace. The secondary characters are enjoyable and I hope to read about them in their own books. The book has a sweet, little HEA and ends faster-paced than it began. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Mark Grimaldi is related to a duke through his mother and works in intelligence for England. He does not tell people about his ducal family and achieves everything in his career on his own. He is striving to lead the home office but is told he should be married. He is married to Nicole and had not seen her for 10 years. Their intense relationship fell apart because he believed she married him for his family. She also worked as a spy but lived in France to get away from all the memories of Mark. Mark goes to France and they make a deal to act married for a while. Nicole is lonely and wants a child if she goes back with Mark for a bit. Mark agrees with some stipulations. They have both been faithful and still have feelings for each other but they stubbornly won't admit their feelings. It gets a bit frustrating even when they work together to solve a case. If Mark is such a smart spy, why couldn't he figure his feelings out quicker. I like this author a lot. I would have preferred that Mark and Nicole were more forthcoming in their thought and rather work to encourage Regina's emerging relationship with Duffin.

This book was a breath of fresh air. The main characters, Mark and Nicole, were likeable and it was quite a joy to read about them. At times they were clearly a bit to stubborn but I never became too annoyed with them. There was definitely some great steamy scenes between the two of them.

I loved that there was also a mystery in this book and that eventually Nicole and Mark had to work together to solve it. I was satisfied by the revealing of who the murderer was.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley.

This story has an H I adored, an h I loved, and a story that I almost gave up on very early in the book. The couple was just too annoying to understand. I cannot comprehend a couple that is in love, madly attracted to one another, separating a few weeks into marriage, and not seeing each other for ten years. Even having finished the book, I find it absurd. I understand he was driven to succeed in his profession, but he cared enough to decorate a bedroom suite in her favorite colors and style, and didn’t see her for ten years? And she was angry with him for catching her in lies, wanted to do investigations with Bow Street Runners and yet took off to France for the next ten years. Though her heart belongs to him? Fortunately they seemed to find themselves closer as the story develops, and both recognize their feelings, BUT STILL DONT TALK? One of my pet peeves...in the end there is a HEA, but if this is typical for this writer I’m not sure I’d read another in the series. Though I liked the people very much. I received a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Valarie Bowman is a new author for me, and I really enjoyed this story. I’ve already gone back and gotten the other books in the series and I’ve started reading them!

Mark wants a prestigious promotion and in order to get that promotion he needs a wife, lucky for him has one already! Nicole agrees to be his wife on one condition, she wants a baby. A lot of each chapter is their backstory, so we know how they met and married, and how they became estranged.

Throughout the book Mark and Nicole are solving a mystery, someone has killed his cousin making him an eventual Duke, which he adamantly does not want to be. He does not want to use his family to get ahead in his chosen career.

For sure a different sort of historical romance that I would definitely recommend to anyone!

This review is based on a galley copy from netgalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.