Delilah and Thomas are the classic friends turned lovers story. Valerie did a wonderful job with keeping the storyline moving and interesting.

This story was wicked cute. Seriously, lethal levels of adorable sweetness. A fun twist on the friends to lovers trope, No Other Duke But You tells the story of a girl desperate for her mother's approval, and the man who has always known she deserved better.

Thomas and Delilah are best friends. They are each other's perfect other half. The only one who doesn't know it yet is Delilah! Watching Delilah realize that she loves Thomas was absolutely wonderful. Here is this lovely girl who strives so hard to gain her bitter mother's approval. (Seriously, that woman is awful!)

Thomas is a fantastic hero. He does his best to be everything Delilah needs. He is a perfect best friend. I adore him.

If you're in the mood for a tender romance, grab this book right now!

Delilah and Thomas grew up together and, are now best friends. It is now Lady Delilah's 5th season and, her mother is insisting she be engaged by the end of the month.
Thomas is a Duke who is well aware of the fact that Delilah's mother wants to find her a husband. Problem is that Thomas is in love with Delilah and, he is determined to marry her. Delilah, on the other hand, is determined to get engaged to another Duke, rather than marry the slug her mother has chosen for her.
there is a comedy of errors when Delilah and her friends try to match friends and relatives. Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
The circuitous road Delilah and Thomas take to get to each other is, at times, funny, sad and, always entertaining!
I LOVED this Book!

No Other Duke But You (Playful Brides, #11)
by Valerie Bowman

buy buy buy book

A very witty and engaging read. However, the author has taken creative license through out the book that could cause readers to not enjoy it as much if being critical of historical norms. With this said. I really enjoyed this book. I found it witty and engaging. Totally different then my expectations and just enjoyed it without looking at it for historical norm. I liked the characters, the ways of different actions happening as well as the truly enjoyable romance between the two main characters. The author is creative and very talented with the way she sets out the reader on the road to enjoyable reading. Again, this to me is a very different type of historical but one I found to be a good read. So if you want a light witty engaging read, then buy this and sit and enjoy! I was given this ARC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed here are my own and totally voluntary. Regards, Anna

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martins Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read in the series (this is #11!) and it didn’t seem like you needed to read the other ones before jumping in which was nice. Unfortunately, this book was so-so for me. The biggest turn off was the borderline parental abuse Lady Delilah suffers yet at the same time is suppose to be this strong, resilient “modern” woman in her twenties. That aspect of the book was a huge turn off. Also, I found Delilah to be a bit self-centered.
Her scheme, had it been successful, would’ve hurt a bunch of people yet in the end she brushed it all off as another “hare brained” idea. I guess I just prefer my heroines with a little bit more humility.

I gave it 3 stars because it wasn’t the worst HR I’ve read but it’s not one I’d read again.

Lady Delilah Montebank has her marital sights set on the Duke of Branville. There’s just one problem: he barely knows she exists.
Lord Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley, thinks his best friend Delilah’s quest to become a duchess is ridiculous. He’s always said he’d rather give up all the brandy in London than commit to one person for life. Besides, he knows that Delilah’s love potion can’t possibly win over Branville…since she accidentally gave it to him instead.

Delilah and Thomas get their story finally. Unfortunately for fans of the Playful Brides series it is the book that brigs this delightful series to and end. I know that Valerie has something more for us on the horizon but this series has been so delightful and the tales have been so good these characters will be woefully missed.

Like all of these books this final one is filled with laughter, intrigue and romance even if it all starts out wrong.
I became a devoted Valerie Bowman fan with this series and haven't missed a book since I discovered the Playful Brides.
I guess all good things must come to an end though, so with tears in this readers eyes we say goodbye to Ms. Bowman's Playful Brides.
On an up note, this final book is a good one. I gave this book 4.85 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization. Be prepared to laugh and maybe shed a few tears with this last book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

I’ve been hoping for Thomas and Delilah’s story since they were introduced as precocious teenagers in earlier books of this series, and I enjoyed them finally getting their HEA. Delilah reminds me a lot of Hyacinth Bridgerton, the youngest sibling in Julia Quinn’s series, in that she’s been around adults most of her life and is very confident in her own mind—except when it comes to her love life. Thomas as her patient best friend is sweet and steadfast. Overall I quite enjoyed this book.

This is a winner! The lastest book in the “Playful Brides “ series is a great story. Delilah and Thomas’s love story is a special one,with them being friends since they were kids. Delilah doesn’t feel she’s good enough or worthy for anyone and Thomas trying to convince her she is and for her to realize he loves her and she loves him. The journey along the way is hilarious and fun. I loved it, and so will you.

Delilah was very uneven throughout the story. I can appreciate the author was trying to write a farce of mistaken identity but instead of light and airy this felt incredibly tedious and repetitive.

The final scenes with the forced engagement, the back and forth around the potion didnt help.

There looked to be a really fun story at the core of this which unfortunately got lost in all the needless padding.

Delilah got her story! I was so happy to see that Delilah finally gets her match and that it was with Thomas - PERFECT! I did find the bit about the love potion a little silly, but I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. Delilah's mother is adamant that she get married and if she doesn't make a match by her birthday then she is stuck with her mother's choice. I came to very much not like her mother during this book, good thing she doesn't win in the end.

I have loved every book in this series, and I hope there are more coming. I love revisiting characters from the previous books and they are all in this one.

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I was so disappointed and bored by this novel and its repetitiveness. I usually prefer more danger in my HR novels, so the fact that this one is purely a sugary sweet and misguided love story was a bit of a miss for me. All of the "conflicts" were fabricated by the character's lies and inaction (mainly Thomas), and all could have been avoided had the characters simply TALKED TO EACH OTHER (I'm looking at you, Delilah and Thomas).

I also think Delilah was a highly selfish creature. She was willing to ruin six other people's happiness just because she was afraid to disappoint or stand up to her mother, and I could not forgive her for her self-absorption. She does feel remorse for her actions in the end, but it was too little too late for me. Overall, there was a lot of back-and-forth and repetitive passages ("I love you but....") that ultimately bored me to tears. I've read other novels based on Shakespeare's play and felt this one could have been better. Plus there was only ONE mention of my beloved Daffin! :(

In this Regency romance, Lady Delilah Mountebank has been given an ultimatum by her odious mother to secure an engagement in her fifth Season or be betrothed to someone she could never love. The term loser does not even begin to cover the unfortunate fellow. Delilah has made a sort of career as a matchmaker for several of her high society set who are almost all now married. With one of her closest friends, Lucy, they hatch a crazy scheme to win the most eligible of the Season, the Duke of Branville, for Delilah’s husband. They have very little time to do it. Set in the back drop of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which members of the ton are performing for charity, musch silliness ensues including a love potion and other over the top schemes.

Lord Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley, has been Delilah’s best friend and more importantly, in love with her for years. Thomas comes up with his own subplot to win her for himself, but before that can happen, there are many missteps, near misses, and finally drama before it all shakes out. Delilah is totally clueless about a lot of things including Thomas’s feelings for her. She lends a lot of comedic talent to this story with her ungainliness, habit of saying and doing very inappropriate things, and hare-brained schemes a la Lucille Ball.

So much angst, turmoil, and ridiculousness could have been avoided if Thomas had spoken up before all the twisted plots are launched on both sides. Delilah, while being a really good soul, is one of those characters readers will want to smack with their own books. She is best described as ditzy, wacky, and a mistress of antics though her friends don’t seem much better or smarter. A woman trying to dupe a man into marriage who does not love her is not a plot I particularly enjoy.
As this is book 11 in the Playful Brides series, many characters and their connections have been previously introduced including Thomas’s professed feelings for Delilah. Readers of this series may enjoy this book since they are connected to the characters and have thus far been fans. I am giving it three stars for the quality of the writing.

When I agreed to read this book I wasn't aware it was part of a larger series. However, I was so drawn to the gorgeous cover that I didn't even look to see what the book was about before I started in. Thankfully, this book is a complete standalone in the Playful Brides series so i didn't feel lost or confused despite the fact that it's the eleventh book in the series. Overall, I though this was a fantastic book. I love historical romances that bring me back to a time I could never imagine living in. It's the perfect fantasy! Now I want to go back and read more of the authors novels.

A very good read. This book is both quirky and very funny though their matchmaking skills leave a lot to be desired , I did find
myself laughing out loud in places Thomas and Delilah are well matched .well worth a read.

No Other Duke But You
Rating ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Summary: Lady Delilah Montebank has her marital sights set on the Duke of Branville. There’s just one problem: he barely knows she exists. But no matter, she’s got a plan to win him over with her charm, her wit—and perhaps the love potion she has in her possession wouldn’t hurt her cause. Lord Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley, thinks his best friend Delilah’s quest to become a duchess is ridiculous. He’s always said he’d rather give up all the brandy in London than commit to one person for life. Besides, he knows that Delilah’s love potion can’t possibly win over Branville…since she accidentally gave it to him instead. But perhaps this is the excuse he needs to show her he’s always loved her.

I wanted to love this story but I had some issues with it. I have read previous books in this series and enjoyed them very much. I found Delilah’s character annoying. She spoke French when she was nervous, this irritated me so much. It was not cute or funny. I liked Thomas’s character better than Delilah’s. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see why he loved her and was devoted to win her hand in marriage. A lot of time was spent on the pursuit of Branville. I didn’t believe in their HEA. I found myself skimming and bit bored. Even though this book was not for me, I enjoy Ms. Bowman’s writing and look forward to reading her future offerings. Thank you to the publisher for providing me the ARC.

No Other Duke But You is a spectacular historical romance by Valerie Bowman. Ms. Bowman has delivered a book that is well-written and a smooth read. Delilah told her mother she would have a proposal from the Duke of Branville by her birthday, leaving her only weeks to meet and entice the Duke into proposing. Thomas has been in love with Delilah for years and sees this as his time to put forth his own proposal. Thomas and Delilah's story is a fun read. The characters are fabulous! There's plenty of drama, sizzle and humor to keep readers glued to their reading devices. I loved every page of No Other Duke But You and look forward to my next book by Valerie Bowman. No Other Duke But You is book 11 of the Playful Brides Series but can easily be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3* for "I liked it."
I have not read any other books in this series so I needed a bit to sort out the numerous characters and their partners. While entertaining, it did get a bit drawn out as the h and H could not drum up the courage to admit their feelings to each other. Good dialog.
As the subtitle "Playful Brides" hints, this is more on the whimsical, light-hearted side.

This is a new series for me and I am not your typical historical romance reader. I felt this book was wonderful and the wriitng was pretty terrific as well. It is the story about two besties who fall in love in the 1800's. At times many of their friends egt involved in their romance and at times that felt too much so keeping al the names straight but beyond that I really enjoyed it.

This is a farce type of romance. Sorta love triangle like but with a lot of hijinks romance wise. It was told really well but at times i just wanted the two leads together and they don't get together until the very end.

Delilah is the heroine and Thomas our hero. The two meets at age 17 and 15 and hit it off and become besties. Now years later D's mother is forcing her to marry and so she picks a Hot Duke to marry. Thomas is a duke but not the one D picks. However he is asked to distract the other Duk's admirers.

What D does not know is that Thomas has a BIG thing for her. So he tries to make jher fall for him as she tries to get the other Duke's attention. This was one big farce and it was a lot of fun.

I’ve read a couple of Valerie Bowman’s novels and have to admit that this book is the only story that I’ve had the opportunity to read in Playful Bride Series.

Lady Delilah Montebank is considered an exceptional matchmaker for several in society and now finds herself on the matchmaking block. In all honesty, Delilah does not want to marry but to her dismay, she appeases her mother this one time and sets her sight on getting a proposal from the most eligible bachelor of the ton, the Duke of Branville. Her dilemma is that the Duke of Branville has never met her or even knows she exists.

Lord Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley has been a friend of Delilah’s for quite a few years but now finds that he has fallen in love with her. He wants her for himself and not Branville. The only catch is that Delilah has no clue as to how he feels because he has never openly admitted his affections to her. Always a friend and her protector, Thomas goes along with her half-baked scheme to get the Duke of Branville. The twist...when Delilah plans to give a love elixir to Branville she gives it to Thomas instead. Thomas sees his chance to tell her how much he loves her, but she reacts quite unexpectedly to his overture. Later, Delilah realizes how much she loves Thomas, but how could she know if his feelings are real or if it’s the elixir talking.

Again, not having read the others in this series, I think I need to go back to Book #1 and partake of each one up to this last in the series. The plot and writing were good and overall the story to be enjoyable with all its mischief and humor. I caught myself laughing a few times because of the playfulness of some of the characters and the antics going on within an aristocrat’s home. Thomas and Delilah made a wonderful couple.

I have to admit, although the author used some far-fetched material to move the story along, i.e. the love elixir, which leaves one to their own imagination and speculation, I still thought the story was amusing and charming. This could have been introduced a bit sooner instead of half way through the story. In the end, the H/h got their HEA which put a smile on the face of this reader. I was never bored.

No Other Duke But You by Ms. Bowman is a delightful mix of characters, full of quirkiness and a fun read. I look forward to introducing myself to other novels by this author.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
4-Stars

Why is she speaking Franglais?

No good comes from feeding a squirrel.

Her mother wouldn't even let her cry when her dad died?

Witch.

I love that whole conversation. Poor Thomas is jealous.

Well played, Lucy.

Wow, that is some dream courtship he was planning on.

Is he a virgin?

Oy. First French, and then squirrels. Really?

What are you, ninety, Lavinia? Get a life!

I don't know which is worse, having an abusive mother or having a father who thinks you're an idiot. No wonder poor Clarence stays in his room.

These are nice guys.

Take that, Mommie Dearest!

Good ending.