Mark needed a wife in order to obtain the promotion he has coveted for so long. The only problem is he has a wife that he has been estranged from the last 10 years. Collecting Nicole would not be easy. She would make a demand from him allowing them both something in return. Will they have a chance to rekindle their romance? They both embraced life one adventure at a time. What a great story allowing the reader to step back through history.

Book & Chocolate Pairing: A Duke Like No Other and Kohler Chocolates Caffé & Cream

The critics might be snubbing the movie “Book Club,” yet as a book lover it inspired to do a book and chocolate pairing for at least three book reviews. And as a salute to Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen who starred in the movie, I’m also adding wine recommendations to go with the reading.

First, the book… “A Duke Like No Other” by Valerie Bowman is a Regency romance with a whodunit component. Estranged husband and wife General Mark Grimaldi and Nicole Huntington Grimaldi had to pretend that they were a happily married couple so that Mark could get a prestigious promotion.

Though they originally married for love, they had been apart of the past 10 years with Nicole living in France during that decade. Going back to London had its own set of issues for both and they already knew they had to traverse the ton carefully or they would be found out. But, Mark and Nicole were confident that they could face anything, i.e., until there was a murder and they have to be a real couple and true partners to solve the crime, even save their lives.

With an even pacing that is mindful of the era (no Fast & Furious here), “A Duke Like No Other” captivates because the main characters are compelling and complex. Author Valerie Bowman did not slack when it came to the plot either. A murder/mystery is always fascinating; pair that with romance and make the investigation the thing that moves the romance forgot, you absolutely have a winner!

And now, the chocolate…rich and undeniably decadent Kohler Caffé and Cream comes to mind. In Caffé and Cream, smooth dark chocolate coffee ganache comes together with a layer of creamy mascarpone in a dark chocolate shell.

Like Mark and Nicole, this chocolate is multi-layered and full of surprises. Caffé and Cream offers a burst of satisfying richness very much the same way when Mark and Nicole finally came together and understood what true love is.

Finally, for the beverage, we have three to choose from as suggested by the chefs who create Kohler Original Recipe Chocolates. A bold, rich beer or heavy ale matches dark chocolate well. A tawny port that isn’t too fruity can be a nice complement to coffee flavors while bringing out the dark chocolate elements. Finally, a sweeter bourbon with a smoky finish pairs nicely with the dark chocolate, which in turn brings out the barrel notes of the spirit.

With a book, a box of chocolate and the perfect beverage, it’s time to call your book club and enjoy “A Duke Like No Other” as it should be enjoyed – with gusto!

A lovely read.

Both Mark and Nicole estranged husband and wife reunites for each of them to achieve their personal goals. Both are unable to see the love they have for each other due to their misplaced pride. Add to that a murder to solve. The story is interesting and keeps the reader guessing who the murderer might be.

I have enjoyed the well developed plot and story. A well written book

General Mark Grimaldi, spymaster extraordinaire, is in line to be the next Home Secretary, the golden ring for which he's spent his entire career striving. Things are going swimmingly until his superior drops a news bomb: the Home Secretary must be settled. Married. With a wife. Of course, those in charge don't see any problem with this directive. Plenty of women in London would be delighted to marry the man. If only it were that easy.

Nicole Huntington Grimaldi was deeply in love when she married her husband and certain her feelings were returned. But she miscalculated the depth of his enmity toward the ton and his estranged family in particular. Mere months into their marriage, a misunderstanding tore them apart and Nicole moved to France where she has lived for the past ten years. She's content, with good friends surrounding her, but even though anger with her estranged husband lives in her heart, there's also love for the man she thought she would be with forever. And loneliness. She wants more than a solitary existence.

When Mark arrives on Nicole's doorstep and asks her to pretend to be happily married to him, she seizes the opportunity to have what her heart most desires and agrees to accompany him back to London temporarily if he will grant her request in return. It should be easy. Swan about London acting like they're in love, secure Mark's appointment, and return to France, hopefully, with her deepest wish realized. But unexpected news throws Mark's life into chaos and both Mark and Nicole into the middle of a murder investigation. Will they find the killer before one of them becomes the next victim? Will Mark finally mend fences with the family he's spent his life resenting? Will pretending to be in love give Mark and Nicole the second chance they both want, even if one of them won't admit it?

I've enjoyed all of the books in Valerie Bowman's Playful Brides series but A Duke Like No Other is one of my favorites and, in my opinion, one of Bowman's best. Nicole and Mark are both compelling, complex characters who have allowed pride and stubbornness to keep them apart for ten years. Young when they married, they had desire and love but, for Mark, there was an absence of trust and, for Nicole, it was easier to walk away than stay and fight for her marriage. Both they and their relationship are compelling and complex, with obstacles that must be overcome and emotional wounds that must be healed before a happy ending can be realized. Bowman takes readers on their shared journey from past to present, allowing us to delve more deeply into their thoughts and emotions, and the events that separated them. The pace never lags and the investigation of the murder moves their relationship forward while also bringing resolution to familial events that Mark has allowed to define his life. The secondary cast is vibrantly portrayed and includes two characters who surely will have a story of their own - at least, I hope they will!

With mystery, sensual romance, witty banter, and a depth of emotion that will have you yearning for a happy ending as Mark and Nicole yearn for one another, A Duke Like No Other is a welcome addition to Valerie Bowman's Playful Brides series and a historical romance not to be missed.
4.5 stars

A Duke Like No Other had that traditional Regency London flair with a twist of Americanisation.

The Americanisation was pretty much the only thing I didn’t like about this book. A Duke Like No Other had all the hallmarks of great regency novel with that previously mentioned traditional flair. There’s a certain something-something about regency books that I love but I can never put my finger on what it actually is.

Is it the dresses for the ladies? Is it the Hessian boots for the men and the sheer I-Just-Don’t-Care-What-You-Think attitude of pretty much everyone in London in this time period?

Is it the Bow Street Runners which are so infrequently put into Regency novels?

What is it about regency?

This is actually the first Valerie Bowman novel that I’ve read and I can tell that she has her facts and she has her fiction and they’ve got a super easy flow and they mix really well. The writing style wasn’t stodgy and stiff-upper-lip like some regencies can be which was great; the book flowed in and out of each chapter and each point of view with an almost seamless ease.

There were also some really great secondary characters whose back story was hinted at but not thrown at you – it was just enough to draw you in to these other characters lives and I can’t wait to see where Valerie is going to take them.

Read A Duke Like No Other and drop into the life of the Grimaldi’s and the intrigue and the haphazard life and times of Regency London from Valerie Bowman’s perspective.

Review of “A Duke Like No Other” by Valerie Bowman (Playful Brides #9)

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3 and a half stars 🌟 🌟🌟

Most all female authors these days are trying to capture a market where readers are very much on the side of progressive feminism. That being said, when trying to write about a strong heroine, who gives as good as she gets, creating storylines that are a bit far-stretched for the time period are also becoming the norm. Sometimes, these artistic licenses taken by the author work for me, when they don’t seem TOO unreasonable. At other times, I do feel like rolling my eyes going.. Really??! There are genres where imagination can take far greater leaps and readers expect it even.. for example, historical paranormal romances...

But a historical romance based around plots and characters very much grounded in “real life”... well, there is a very grey area I suppose what one can get away with.

So a female Bow Street Runner was a tad too much for me. And though the romance is enjoyable, the premise for a decade long separation between the hero and heroine, who are married.. without anyone trying to resolve anything.. again a bit weak.

The mystery that the two try to solve together was more believable. However, I wish a little more time had been spent on how the h and H emotionally reconnected after 10 years. The connection felt more physical and not a very strong reason to resolve such a long period of separation.

So, given all the issues that left me feeling a bit dissatisfied, I am giving this one a 3.5 rating for at least holding my interest with the mystery in the story.

This story captivated me from page one. I really enjoyed the tension between Mark and Nicole - married, but estranged for the past 10 years; both still madly in love with each other but feeling self- protective, leery, anxious, yet drawn to each other beyond all control. As a side note, they were involved in solving the murder of Mark's cousin and heir to a duchy. Fun story, great characters, can't wait for more!

I really enjoyed reading this romantic second chance at love story from Valerie Bowman.

This was a fantastic book. Mark and Nicole were absolutely endearing as the estranged married couple who both let their pride tear them apart only to reunite over ten years later. They both wanted something out of the deal. Mark and Nicole were such rich, well developed characters, that it was easy to sink into their story. He needed a wife and she wanted a baby. So they struck a deal. In reality, they were both lonely, and needed someone to love. Their reunion grew more complicated with each twist and turn the plot took ..... as all the while Mark and Nicole continued to fight their feelings, their foolish pride, and lastly, a suspenseful murder mystery.

This was a very lovely book from beginning to end.

I’ve just finished “A Duke Like No Other” and I liked it.

“A Duke Like No Other” is about the relationship between Nicole, a headstrong girl and Mark, a man concerned with getting what he wants. The Playful Brides series is a collection of standalone novels.

NetGalley gave me permission to read “A Duke Like No Other” so it’s thanks to them that I was able to read it!

2 Stars!

I read this for:

• Book Bingo on Facebook! It completes the challenge of reading a book about death. There’s a Murder mystery that takes place within “A Duke Like No Other” - https://m.facebook.com/events/1442935242483308.

Spoilers Below...

“For the love of God, he’d nearly died for this promotion”

At the beginning of “A Duke Like No Other”, Mark’s biggest concern is getting the job of Home Secretary, “or die trying” to get it. He’s advised that he needs to be married and settled to get the job, though.

“Lord Tottenham doesn’t want a secretary who’s a bachelor. He wants someone settled,”

shows that Mark will have to prove that he’s wed before getting the job of Home Secretary. To do this it’ll mean opening up old wounds with his wife, whom he no longer associates with. His wife Nicole, lives in France, while Mark lives in England. He needs Nicole to return to England. There’s something she wants in trade for playing the happy wife, however, a baby.

“No, you dolt. I don’t want a divorce. I want you to have sex with me.”

The couple go through a lot of will they/won’t moments. These were sometimes annoying. The book could have been shorter without so many of these and it’s relatively short to begin with. They actually have sex nearer the end, so there’s a LOT of build up to it, maybe too much build up.

“He collapsed at dinner, that’s true, but it was no heart condition,” is what Oakleaf, a police investigator Mark knows, says. The Duke in waiting, collapsed at dinner. The current Duke is sick, and so won’t be around for much longer.

This is the murder mystery element, which was surprising, as it took quite a lot of the plot away from the main couple. I didn’t hate it but I thought this book was going to be solely a romance novel, which it isn’t. That’s what the cover and title suggested to me. If you’re looking for a cute romance, I wouldn’t suggest this, as the main plot, I feel is surrounding the murder mystery and just who the next Duke will be, rather than the romance. Why does someone want to kill the Duke in waiting, though? You’ll need to read to find out!

What did I like about “A Duke Like No Other”?

I liked the romantic parts we got, although I did expect a LOT more of them.

I liked our main couple. They are quite modern in that they weren’t living together at the beginning of the story. Only when Mark’s job is bought up so they consider living together again. I would have liked to have seen them in more scenes together, in the present. I feel like we saw too much of how they got together and not enough of them actually together.

I liked the baby plot line. I always like books that include the want of a child, although I felt that this was more used as a plot device rather than just something that happened.

What didn’t I like about “A Duke Like No Other”?

I didn’t like that the editing wasn’t done very well. I think there were two or three occasions where either punctuation was missing or the novel just didn’t make sense.

I feel that Mark and Nicole, could have been much stronger characters. They both felt rather weak to me. Like they couldn’t get anything done, without the other one there during the events of the novel. Before the start, they were living apart! I wish that there had been a little independence shown by them both.

I didn’t like that the plot was dominated by the murder mystery, as that isn’t what the book is sold as, I don’t feel.

The book had past elements, as well as the present parts. The past elements, I felt were lacking depth. There could have been more story thrown into them, which would have given us more information and made the book longer.

I honestly can’t remember any of the characters, but Nicole, Mark and Oakleaf. They didn’t stand out. The murderer, for example, isn’t that present in the book.

Overall, “A Duke Like No Other”, unfortunately wasn’t what I expected. I didn’t hate it but I feel that I could have really loved it if the romance was more so drawn upon. The characters should have had more depth and been fleshed out more, too. Also other parts didn’t really make sense to me. That’s why I’m giving the novel, 2 Stars!

A good solid romance! Interestingly, it starts as one thing (couple reuniting) and then halfway through takes a hard-right into a murder mystery. I have to admit I didn't mind as the soul-searching was getting a little old, but just FYI.

Also, this is the first of the series that I have read and, despite it being number 9, I didn't have any problems following the plot. Nicely done!

Expected the usual romance novel tropes, but this was surprisingly delightful. Estranged spouses, a murder mystery, and a comedic dowager aunt. More, please!

OK we are to get married as is required of us, but who is to say we have to love each other! Well thank goodness that Valerie Bowman is writing this story because anything is possible even if there are bumps in the road. Another great story by the great Valerie Bowman. Grab yourself a copy and sit back and enjoy yourself. Thanks Valerie!

I really loved this book and the world it was set in
the characters were 3 dimensional and enjoyable
can't wait for more

I really enjoyed this story. It kept me interested from beginning to end. A very independent, strong minded heroine in Nicole. And a very dominant, strong, fair minded hero in Mark. So needless to say, it was a very combustible relationship for both good and bad. Throw in a murder mystery and you have the makings of a really good book.

General Mark Grimaldi is ready for a long sought-after promotion to the Home Secretary, but the minister of the Home Office informs him that he must be "settled" or married in order to receive the honor. What irony! Mark has been married for ten years but estranged most of that time from his lovely wife, Nicole, and he is now forced to talk to her face to face after all this time. Surprisingly, Nicole is receptive to remaining married to Mark and convincing him to helping her. The arrangement is suitable to both of them and the sparks begin to fly!

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for an ARC; all opinions are my own.

I’ve been looking forward to Mark’s story for a while now. I enjoyed getting to go back into the back story of Mark and his wife Nicole. I can’t wait for the next book!

General Mark Grimaldi has almost attained his goal of becoming Home Secretary. The one caveat to his appointment is that must show he is a stable family man. After a 10 year estrangement, Mark must convince his wife to play the role he never allowed her to develop, that of a loving spouse.

Nicole Huntington Grimaldi has demands of her husband if she is expected to go along with a farce solely aimed at Mark meeting his long sought career goal. It is a request that Mark is more than willing to accept but there is a risk of them both opening deep emotional wounds. Will the risk lead to reward?

This was a great plot and the author did a wonderful job weaving the past with the present. There were gaps in the story but the sentiment was well conveyed. My heart ached for Nicole and I do wish the separation wasn't so long, as it made it hard to warm up to Mark and his prideful misconceptions of his wife. Overall, a well paced story of the path from heartache to a redeeming love.

Take one grumpy exacting spymaster and one fiercely independent woman, put them together and what happens? Sparks fly, emotions surface, and everything changes. That is the premise of this gem of a novel called A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman. This is not my first Valerie Bowman book and, after reading, most definitely won't be my last! It all starts off with General Mark Grimaldi and the promotion to spymaster that he has been working towards for years. He is the grandson of a Duke, but few know that since his mother was ostracized and disowned when she married Mark's father, an Italian Catholic. One last thing that he needs before he's handed his promotion is to show himself to be a family man. Enter Nicole Huntington, his estranged wife. They've been living separate lives for years. Mark has been in England crafting his spy skills while Nicole has been in France living a contented life over there. So Mark journeys to France to convince Nicole to come back to England so they can pretend to be a happily married couple. Nicole agrees on one condition; she wants a legitimate child. Mark acquiesces to her request and so the two embark on the trip back to England to pull off this farce of a marriage.

Once back home and living together under the same roof, things don't go quite as planned. Now that Nicole and Mark are in such close proximity to each other for an extended period of time, those pesky raw emotions start to surface and wreak havoc in their lives. They finally are forced to confront the misunderstanding that separated them years ago. On top of that, they also take on the murder of Mark's cousin. This death makes Mark the next in line for the position of Duke, but he wants nothing to do with it. Nicole convinces him to take the case and they work together to solve the mystery. Along the way, they realize the love they once had for each other never died, and they finally were able to move past everything and gain their happily ever after!

As much as I enjoyed this book, I will say that Mark really got on my nerves after a while. I mean, he was just so pigheaded when Nicole tried to explain things to him in the past as well as when they were together again. His stubbornness was just a bit too much at times. I absolutely loved Nicole though! She was bored with high society so she began working on the sly for the Bow Street Runners, who were the precursors to the police force. It may have been a bit unbelievable that she would have actually been able to do this, but it made for a strong and gutsy heroine! Overall, this story is funny, heartwarming, and quite a fun read, so go pick up A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman for your next historical romantic adventure!

Lost love!

Master spy General Mark Grimaldi must take a wife to ensure his promotion as the Home Secretary.
The only trouble is he already has a wife whom he hasn't seen for ten years, living in France.
Nicole Huntington Grimaldi has put her life with Mark behind her, although in her heart--never!
When Mark seeks her out to make a bargain and return to England for three months, she acquiesces. She has a bargain too!
A bargain that is more a contract with the Devil. And Nicole certainly isn't 'supping with a long spoon.' It only takes one kiss for Nicole to miss even more the husband she'd fled.
Add to this a murder, the ramifications of which shake Mark to his core, and we have an explosive romance that right to the end keeps at least Mark and Nicole guessing.
Super read!

A NetGalley ARC

3.5 stars
I have only read one other book by this author, and I ended up having to table it until later due to the fact that it felt like I had missed something from the previous books. The hero and heroine had known each other for so long that I truly felt like the book could not be read as a stand-alone. This is book 9 in the same series, so I was a little wary, however I’m pleased to announce it can be read on its own.

That being said, we still have characters who have known each other for years, and it feels as if they are two different sets of people from when they met to the point the book picks up. Well, it’s been 10 years, so the point is that they are different people, however they were the same at the core.

Mark is a spy, and he’s up for a promotion, but the man in charge of giving him the promotion wants a family man in this role. It’s suggested that Mark marry, and fast. However, Mark drops the bomb that he already has a wife.

Nicole has been in France for 10 years. The night she and Mark argued was the end of their marriage. She took a job with the Home Office and moved to France to help. Essentially she’s a spy. However, she’s never actually spying in this book. She spends her time in the lavender fields and working with orphans. Which is fine, but she kind of sometimes takes mini espionage missions on the side.

Mark goes to France and shows up on her doorstep, asking her for a favor. He needs her to play the doting wife for him for a while until he gets the promotion at the Home Office. She agrees but with a condition of her own. He is absolutely shocked at her terms, but he needs her, so he agrees.

The trip back to England is uneventful, but we see some well-placed flashbacks about how they met, Nicole’s desire to become a spy, and the biggie, about that night that they had the Big Misunderstanding. Mark steamrolls Nicole’s any attempt to explain what happened, and then he spends 10 years believing Nicole her to be a sneaky liar who he never really knew at all. Then he continues spying, being tortured by the French, and spying some more.

What bothered me the absolute most is that I feel like she never was able to explain her part. She never got to say, hey, you got mad at me for X, but Y is really what happened. That is honestly the only thing that I didn’t like. I enjoyed the author’s voice, I enjoyed the plot, I didn’t even mind the Big Misunderstanding which usually drives me nuts! This book was passionate, and enjoyable. However for a book full of spies, there’s no danger, very little spying, and very little intrigue.

***ARC courtesy of St. Martin’s Press