Mark Grimaldi has dedicated his entire life to his career. When he is finally close to receiving his promotion, he gets some unexpected news...He needs to marry. Not too happy about the turn of events, Mark drags his wife out from the country.
Once upon a time Nicole was madly in love with her husband. But now things have changed and they live separate lives. When he turns up on her doorstep, Nicole seizes the opportunity to have the one thing she has always wanted- a child.
This was a beautiful book that I enjoyed immensely. Mark and Nicole have very clear chemistry and I mourned the end of their marriage with them. If you're a fan of romance, this book does not disappoint at all!

I loved this book!! I used to love Valerie Bowman, but was a little disappointed in her few of novels in the Playful Brides series (they were starting to feel very similar to each other). But, this story was really refreshing.

The hero is General Mark Grimaldi - who is seeking a promotion to an important position in the Home Office. His superior tells him that, to secure the position, he must demonstrate that he is stable and responsible, by being married. The challenge is... he's already married! Mark was married and separated from his wife, Nicole, ten years ago and must show the Home Office that they have reconciled in order to get the job he wants. Meanwhile, Nicole has been living in France for the past decade but desperately wants to have a child. They make a deal - she will go back to England and play the role of his devoted wife if he will give her a child. The plot is further complicated by a mystery at a house party (it's not dark/heavy though at all). A few of the characters from the previous books in the series pop up and they introduce a couple more that I'm looking forward to reading more about.

The reason for their initial separation is explained and it's understandable from both perspectives (it kind of reminded me of how the parents split up in he Parent Trap, honestly). Their relationship rekindles in a well drawn out way and it's very believable in how it builds over the course of the story. It was a really satisfying read and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Valerie Bowman and/or just fun historical reads!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Duke Like No Other is the ninth book in the "Playful Brides" series and I have had such a fun time reading this series. I haven't read all the books yet, but the ones I have read have been so much. This series takes on some twists dealing with mystery, intrigue and solving crimes while finding love along the journey. The voice in Valerie Bowman's books is simply wonderful and unforgettable. I always get a kick out of her characters and A Duke Like No Other was no different. What I was really impressed with is how the author handled a certain scenario that most of the time bugs the hell out of me, but for some reason it didn't both me. Probably because you find yourself falling in love with the characters before you realize what drove them apart in the first place.

The story does begin in the present with our hero General Mark Grimaldi, is up for promotion he has been working hard to have his dream realized in a position that very few obtain, where he could really make a difference and have the ear of the King. But his boss needs something from him, wants to see Mark settled happily with his wife. Mark and his wife have been estranged for ten years, with Nicole living in France all of this time. And now he must convince her to come back with him to England to playful the loving wife. When Mark goes in search forNicole, she has a stipulation of her own. At first he assumes she wants a divorce, but no, Nicole is lonely and wants a child. And the only way she could have one legitmately without scandal, would be to have a child with her estranged husband. So they agree, and Nicole goes back to England with Mark.

But when they arrive, terrible news puts a hold on both of their plans. Mark's cousin has died from a heart attack with suspicions of poison. And when his uncle whose health is getting worse, tells him that he is next in line...Mark is shocked. He promised his father he would never get anywhere in life with his mother's side of the family's help and that includes him becoming the next duke, a title he never wanted or desired. He is more than happy to leave it to some other family member or relation, but when he is given a letter from both his grandfather and his mother, he can't deny his feelings toward his mother or the duty he feels in fulfilling a request she asks of him.

Both Mark and Nicole go to the country house, with all the parties invited who were there the night Mark's cousin "John" was murdered, to discover the culprit. But there is more going on than meets the eye, and they will need to discover who would really want John dead and it won't be anyone that they would expect. Mark and Nicole have many unresolved issues to put to rest before they can be together for good, will honesty and trust be the key to bringing them back together or will the secrets of the past drive them even further apart....


I had such a fun time with this book despite the flashbacks that we see. I am not always a big fan of flashbacks, sometimes they are nice, but other time I just don't have that much preference for them. This book we see quite a few flashbacks and you understand it but at the same time you have a urge to skip ahead to the present day which I tend to have the urge whenever I read a book with flashbacks. (I know I am weird LOL ) But this story really appealed to me. I have found I really like Valerie Bowman's writing voice, I have such a fun time every time I enter into one of her books.


Both the characters are written so well in this novel, I adored both Mark and Nicole. Now our heroine, is very unique. She hunts down criminals and brings them to justice working with the Bow Street Runners...yep you heard me---she solves crimes and its pretty awesome. I love how bold and daring she is. But she also is spirited and has a generous heart. Both Mark and Nicole have that in common....justice and doing what is right. I adored seeing the small intimate moments we see admidst the crime solving venture that is going on with them. We learn what drove them apart in the first place and it all boils down to honesty....if they had been honest ten years previous...well they wouldn't have been estranged. However both Mark and Nicole learn some painful lessons about relationships and marriage and they did learn it thankfully even if it was hard won.

Overall I found this book to be a delightful addition to such a fun series....its a story that will take you on adventures, packed with endearing characters and a love story you can get on board with.....ENTICING!!

I loved this book. A man who has spent his entire career, solo because it needed to be without attachments, trying to work his way up to his "dream" job suddenly finds himself in need of wife. The fact that he already has a wife, an estranged wife, makes this task a little harder. Forced to go to her for help. She has stipulations of her own. The two find themselves in close quarters with lingering long buried feelings. Will they survive this time or will his career overshadow their relationship?

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book which I received
through Netgalley. I really enjoyed this read.

General Mark Grimaldi has sacrificed everything for his military career, working his way through the ranks without the benefit of a nobleman’s title nor a wife at his side. His years of dedication are about to pay off with an offer for a prestigious promotion to Home Secretary except there is only one condition. Mark must be married. He does not want to be wed, however, Mark faces the troubling problem of already having a wife.

Nicole Huntington Grimaldi has spent ten contented years in France without her husband with no regrets. Then Mark asks her to return to London and play the part of his beloved wife. She sees her chance, but neither of them is prepared for news that will throw Mark’s future into chaos nor the undeniable desire that as rekindled between them. Can happily-ever-after happen the second time around in this Regency romance?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved how Ms. Bowman interwove Nicole and Mark's story, making the reader eager to turn the page to see how they find themselves back to each other. I'm looking forward to reading about Regina and Daffin's story. A wallflower who follows her own rules and doesn't give in to convention. Their story should be explosive.

A clever plot with two interesting characters in Mark and Nicole. They've been wed ten years, but Marc has been in the army and Nicole in France living separate lives. Problem: Mark hopes to be the next Home Secretary, but it comes with a catch--a wife. So he has to convince Nicole to return, which she will--for a price. She wants a baby. To make things more complicated Mark's cousin, heir to a dukedom is murdered and Mark becomes the heir. He doesn't want to be a duke; he doesn't want to be married, and he doesn't want a child.

However, he does want to find out who murdered his cousin, and with the help of Nicole--something of a sleuth herself, they set out to solve the crime and you can imagine what happens when they spend time with each other.

The story is well plotted and the characters well drawn. There are so many romances on the market, but if you are in the mood for a change of pace with laughter and intrigue, try A Duke Like No Other. You won't be disappointed.

Thoroughly enjoyed this romance between Grim and Nicole! It was a delightful combination of enemies to lovers, fake relationship, and a Regency whodunit. I found their relationship authentic and loved that Grim was a match for fiesty and independent Nicole.

Really enjoyed reading this book. I really enjoy reading this authors work. They always keep me encaged in the storyline and the characters . some to love some to not like. Can’t wait for the next book

I love Valarie Bowman's books and this one did not disappoint. I thought that Mark and Nicole being seperated for 10 uears was pure stubbornness. They were oobviously meant to be together. Thamks for letting me read.

This is book nine! of the series. A very fun second chance at love novel. I had a great time reading this book and getting to know the characters. It's worth checking out!

As always first and foremost goes to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing us with a copy of this book so that we could bring you this review.

Now we all know I love my second chance love books. And how could I not love this particular second chance. The fact that they were already married and all Nicole wanted was to have a child was awesome. Mark had to work hard to be able to provide his wife with what she wanted and to get what he wants. But not only that his wife helps him solve something that he is reluctant to but she also helps him see that he is deserving of many things that are coming to him.

I gave this book 4 kisses...

Happy Reading... Adri

An enjoyable romance with a little bit of a twist from what we're used to - the main characters are already married instead of just in instalust. It does feel a bit far from the start of the series and the call back characters are a little hard to keep straight after so many books. I'm still looking forward to Valerie Bowman's next.

Another excellent instalment in this always entertaining series.

This book concerns the spymaster himself the enigmatic Mark Grimaldi. Near the beginning of the story Mark's schemes come to fruition when he is offered the position of Secretary of the Home Office (which would mean he was in charge of all of England's spy's) but there is a caveat, he must be married! Unbeknownst to almost everyone he has been married but estranged for the past decade and Nicole is definitely his match! The two of them had chemistry in spades and their story was great fun!

As always Bowman's writing was top notch and the plot was absorbing and entertaining! Highly recommended.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher*

This is a moving reunion story. Estranged husband and wife trying to find their way back to each other. A bit of a mystery to solve. Hero struggles with who he is and who he is meant to be

In July 1818 in London General Mark Grimaldi finally has what he has been waiting his entire life for a promotion but not just any promotion the Home Secretary or rather the head of the Home Office. In order for Mark to take the job though is he must have a wife. Fortunately for Mark he already does even though he is estranged from her. Mark’s plan is to get her back though in order to get his illustrious position. When Mark arrives in Somme France to find his estranged wife Nicole he is more than a little surprised not that he sees her with someone else but Nicole still has never forgiven him it seems for the way he’s treated her. When Mark finally tells Nicole what he needs from her she has a few rules of her own as well. She will come back to England as Mark’s wife but he must get her with child without the passion involved. Can Mark and Nicole find common ground enough to put their differences aside or will they both end up losing each other?
I have really enjoyed the other two books that I have read in the playful brides series by Ms. Valerie Bowman. This book even with all the adventure, betrayal, secrets, spies and second chance love still didn’t hold the same fascination for me than the previous others I have read. I am not saying that I didn’t enjoy it because I did but I felt a little bit disillusioned by the characters supposed hatred of each other. Also the title didn’t seem to fit because it was supposed to be about a duke not a general so I think the book was misnamed of course it did fit at the end but it was a little frustrating to find out much later. Now I don’t mind the verbal sparring because sometimes it just makes me love the book that much more but both the male and female protagonist’s seemed a little too cruel for my taste. I liked Mark from the very beginning yes he had the mysterious suave debonair gentleman down pat so he was easily likable. In a sense I felt rather sorry for him because I didn’t like how Nicole treated him. Now Nicole was not an easy heroine to like or swallow. She seemed not only mean but spiteful that I kept hoping Mark would divorce her and find someone who deserved him. Still Ms. Bowman can write an interesting tale that did hold my interest and even though I didn’t care for this one so much I still want to read more books of Ms. Bowman anyway.

General Mark Grimaldi must reclaim his wife for his new post. Nicole Huntington Grimaldi must find out if love can happen with second chances. Good characters, interactions and storyline. Keeps the reader turning pages.

Ebook from Netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

Great story! I enjoyed it! The characters are strong and interesting. The story is unpredictable and kept me reading to see what would happen next. Thank you!

General Mark Grimaldi is almost at his career goal - promotion to Home Secretary but with one condition: Mark needs a wife. No problem! Mark has a wife stashed away in France. For TEN YEARS. Now, Mark must go to France and convince his wife Nicole to return to London and play the part of his beloved wife. OMG.

The plot intrigued me. Battle-hardened General with a career goal needs his estranged wife. But, then other things got in the way of the reconciliation and overshadowed it. There was the murder of Mark's cousin that mark and Nicole were investigating shortly after their arrival in London. The murder throws Mark into a tail-spin. He is now the heir to his dying Uncle's dukedom. And Mark doesn't want to let anybody know about his mother's side of the family because of how they treated her after she married a poor Italian immigrant shoemaker. The flashbacks were annoying. Mark and Nicole's stubbornness was annoying. And Corporal to Major General to Home Secretary in ten years? Someone had to know Mark was the nephew of a duke. The whole "codicil that allowed for the duchy to be passed down via a female heir if and only if a male heir existed on that side" felt like it was thrown in after realizing that Mark was related to the Duke via his mother.

I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.