Delilah Montebank and Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley, have been friends for years. While Thomas claims he will never marry, that is not quite true. The Duke is just waiting for the moment his fair Delilah is ready to take a husband.

Several of the characters from the Playful Brides series come to join Delilah to put on a charity performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Delilah’s mother has threatened to engage her to a man Delilah has no desire for if she’s not engaged by her birthday. The play performance just happens to be the same night. With rehearsals and schemes going on behind her mother’s back, she hardly has time to fall in love. Or does she?

Bowman gives us another stellar read for the girl who deserved to have her story told. Going from friends to more than is one of the troupes I like best and we got a vibrant take in the form of Thomas and Delilah. Each time they shared the page, the simmering attraction sparked my desire to read as fast as possible. I loved how Bowman incorporated not only one of my favorite Shakespeare works, but she was able to bring back some of the most beloved characters from the ten previous stories.

For an epic romantic journey into a night not soon forgotten, read No Other Duke But You.

I received No Other Duke But You for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Delilah Montebank will be celebrating her twenty-third birthday in a month. Her mother has never been loving and supportive, but ever since Delilah’s father died, she has become more overbearing, insulting, and hateful to her only child. She insists that it’s past time for Delilah to be married, and if Delilah can’t become engaged on her own by her birthday, she will announce her engagement to Clarence, the awful son of Delilah’s soon-to-be stepfather. As always, Delilah allows her mother’s barbs to get to her, and boldly announces that she will become engaged to the season’s top catch, the Duke of Branville.

Delilah has a wide circle of friends, including Thomas Hobbs, the Duke of Huntley. She and Thomas have been best friends for a decade, yet she doesn’t realize that Thomas is in love with her, and has been waiting patiently for Delilah to decide she’s ready for marriage. When Thomas learns that Delilah plans to try to secure Branville, he knows that he can’t wait any longer to make his move.

Thus starts the mad frenzy of competition in the game of attempted matrimony. It seems that everyone has set their sights on someone, and that someone has set their sights on someone else. Since Thomas has made it clear that he’s now interested in marriage, he’s being pursued by a lady he has no interest in, while Branville has no interest in Delilah. Things really get muddled when Delilah gets desperate and purchases an “exclusive” love potion, which somehow ends up getting passed around, and to all the wrong people. This whole scenario is genuinely funny, and so vividly portrayed, that I visualized the scene in my mind as if it were a movie.

Delilah is an imperfect, but lovable lady. She’s a bit klutzy, a bit loud, and has a tendency to lapse into bad French when she’s nervous. Still, she has a good heart, has tried her best to be what her mother wants, and is kind and giving to her friends. She’s also a bit stubborn, and won’t let go of an idea once it grabs her. When she starts to feel jealous at the attention Thomas is now receiving from other ladies, she puts it down to just regretting that their friendship may suffer if he marries. She keeps the blinders on, and moves forward with her plan to capture Branville.

Thomas is a wonderful man, who has spent years waiting for Delilah to become aware of him as a man. Unlike many other men, he hasn’t lived a rakish lifestyle – far from it. He’s content to wait for the one woman he wants, and I adore that he loves and accepts Delilah just as she is. He’s aware of all of her faults and idiosyncrasies, and he cherishes every part of her. His best efforts and schemes to bring Delilah’s romantic attention to him seem to have failed, and it looks like this couple may never get together.

In NO OTHER DUKE BUT YOU, everyone can see that Thomas and Delilah have been in love for years and are perfect for each other – everyone except Delilah. This book is warm and funny and interesting. I love the passion between Delilah and Thomas when her eyes are finally opened, and I cheered when Delilah finally had the strength to stand up to her awful mother. NO OTHER DUKE BUT YOU is a genuinely delightful read which I greatly enjoyed, and is bound to please readers who fancy a light romantic romp.

It’s been a while since I finished a book and thought, “well that could have been a novella.” I am a big Valerie Bowman fan and I was excited for the next book in her Playful Brides series. They’re usually fun and lighthearted. Unfortunately, this book tipped into the over the top and ridiculous category. Really, I should have known from the synopsis this story was going to be absurd because it was loosely based on A Midsummer’s Night Dream, which is a slightly ludicrous play.

NO OTHER DUKE BUT YOU is a friends to lovers story about Delilah, a clumsy, accident prone heroine with a heart of gold, and her best friend Thomas, Duke of Huntley, who has been in love with her for years. Let me just say, the first 50% of this book was promising. Yes, I was annoyed that Thomas had a nice guys finish last mentality, but he really loved Delilah so I was willing to forgive him. And Delilah is my favorite kind of heroine. I liked how much she cared about everyone else.

I was willing to overlook how immature Delilah and Thomas were. They both acted like teenagers but it was cute and made me smile so I was still enjoying the story. Everything went sideways once Delilah bought the silly love potion that, at one point, four grown adults fully believed in and were running around attempting to use. There were a few characters that scoffed at it, but the heroine was all in on the love potion and it annoyed me. She was a grown woman. A love potion? Really? Plus she was going to use it on a man who A) wasn’t interested in her AT ALL, and B) was interested in her supposed friend. I lost a lot of respect for her through that whole plot point. She felt guilty, but she was still going through with it.

Plus, because Delilah was basically clueless Thomas was even a man most of the book, there was basically no sexual chemistry between them. There isn’t as much from Thomas’ perspective and since he’s the one who has been in love with her for years, I felt deprived of some prime pining opportunities. I really had a hard time believing in them as a couple. Friends, yes. More? Eh. Even when things *ahem* heated up, it came out of nowhere for me.

Overall, if you’re looking for a super light and silly historical romance, this one is for you. I still love Valerie’s writing and I am sure I will continue on with this series, I just need more emotional heft and sexual chemistry next time. And maybe fewer love potions.

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

Finally Delilah story is told. I loved her way back in the series, and "jadored" her storyline. Thomas has been her best friend forever. Unbeknownst to Delilah, he's been in love with her for years. When Delilah's mother decides it's time for her to get married, she sets her sites on a different Duke. She even purchases a magic love potion to help her win his love, while Thomas is patiently waiting to express his desires to Delilah. I really enjoyed the tension created by this love potion. All rules are broken, but the results are well worth all the angst.

This is book eleven in the ‘Playful Brides’ series, and even though I haven’t read them all, I have thoroughly enjoyed all that I have read, these books are a lot of fun to read Valerie Bowman has a real witty way with words that never fails to amuse. She has genuine gift for her play on words and her imaginative storylines ….plus, not to mention her amazing heroes!

Delilah has come to the point in her life where she really must wed, after all she can’t very well keep going around like a feral child for the rest of her life now can she? She knows who she wants to marry, the only problem is to catch his attention. So, she devises a ‘not so’ brilliant plan to lace her intended with a love potion that will have him falling to his knees in love with her, then she can live happily ever after. Sounds like a good plan, right?

Unfortunately for Delilah her great plan doesn’t go to plan as the man she wanted doesn’t end up drinking her potion, but instead the man she has always seen as a best friend does. Oops!

Thomas has always had feelings for Delilah, he has never had any inclination to get stuck in the parsons mousetrap himself, yet when he sees his friend so adamant on becoming a duchess and her infatuated with another man he starts to have stirrings which shows themselves as true love for her. So, he starts to show her exactly how much she means to him.

Will Thomas finally prove to her that he has always loved her? And will they finally have their happily ever after?

The story which follows is a fun, clever and imaginative and quirky; friends to lovers romance. Even though this is a very fun, light-hearted and easy to read book and there is a real playful element to it which I found very entertaining, yet for me it wasn’t the best I have read of the series. It did feel as though there was something lacking, it didn’t quite have the same magic as the other books did. It has all the ingredients of a brilliant Valerie Bowman book; imaginative and fun plot and sensual, charismatic and lovable characters. But whether because it’s the last book, it has lost some of that much loved sparkle.

Overall this is a charming, little story that has a real warmth and wit to it that will entertain, those who love Ms Bowman’s work will devour it in one.

This series goes out with a bang! I believe this was my ultimate favourite. This was a charming second chance at romance novel. I loved the witty dialogue between Delilah and Thomas, Delilah and her love potion given to the wrong man and you have love in the air. But while she was focused on the wrong man the right man has always right under her nose!
Valerie Bowman has penned a fabulous story, this was so entertaining that once started you have to finish!

I’m sad to see the series come to an end, and I can’t wait to see what Valerie Bowman will have for us next.

I recieved a complimentary copy from the author/publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

4.5 stars - Best friends to lovers story. I loved it. 💕 Thomas has loved his best friend Delilah for what seems like forever. She has no idea. He’s a duke and very eligible, but to her he’s just her best friend Thomas. Thanks to her horrible mother, Delilah has doubted her true worth for a long time. To occupy herself, she turns her attention to playing at matchmaker and has found great success. But what do get when you put two matchmakers, three dukes, one vial of Cupid’s elixir, a play for charity, and a whole lot of people looking for a match? A wonderful read filled with humor, love, friendship a bit of smolder and quite a few HEAs.

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Delilah and Thomas are best friends in No Other Duke but You by Valerie Bowman, book eleven, and the final book in her Playful Brides series, uses Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream as a play put on by the story’s characters as well as part of the plot. Delilah Montebank is a spirited young lady who is constantly belittled and berated by her mother, undermining her confidence. Her mother has given Delilah an ultimatum to obtain an offer of marriage by her birthday or her mother will marry her off to the unpleasant heir to an earldom and son of the man mother is hoping to marry. Delilah is unconventional and lacks social graces, but she has a heart of gold as well as good intentions. To counter her mother’s threat she unfortunately blurts out that she has set her sights on the catch of the season, the Duke of Branville. Since Delilah and her friend Lady Lucy Hunt have been successfully matchmaking for many of their friends she firmly believes that getting this match should not be a problem. Thomas Hobbs, the Duke of Huntley, has been Delilah’s best male friend for many years. He has kept himself off the market as the only woman he wants, and secretly loves, is Delilah. Thomas has taken care of his family holdings, his mother and sisters since the death of his father. One major obligation Thomas still has is to arrange a marriage for his overbearing, egotistical older sister Lavina. Thomas agrees to help Delilah only if she and Lucy will find a match for his sister. He might agree to help Delilah find another man but he will work behind the scenes to find a way for Delilah to see him as her perfect match and believe that he is her one, true love. After all, who but Thomas understands Delilah and accepts her as she is. While all of this is all happening, Delilah and her friends are trying to put on a play, for charity. Knowing that Delilah’s mother would totally disapprove of such behavior, even for charity, this group of friends needs to accomplish all in secret. Like the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are plans being made for romance and matchmaking that follows much of the play. People make plans for their perfect match only to ensnare the wrong person. There is even a love potion, mirroring the one in the play. It is a comedy of errors, to borrow the title of another Shakespeare’s plays. The adventures are humorous, laugh out loud funny, and yet sometime heartbreaking.

Ms. Bowman wrote a charming, clever, entertaining and amusing story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with humorous escapades, amusing banter, sexual chemistry and endearing characters giving Delilah and Thomas true love, happiness, and a future together. I highly recommend No Other Duke but You to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I enjoy a good friends to lovers trope and that's what Valerie Bowman brings readers in this final book of her popular Playful Brides series.

Thomas and Delilah have been best friends since childhood. There's nobody they're closer to or more comfortable with than each other but they've never moved their relationship beyond friendship. Until now. Faced with a forced marriage to a man she finds repugnant, Delilah is determined to thwart her abusive mother's plans by landing the most eligible bachelor of the season, the Duke of Branville, a man she doesn't even know. Thomas, on the other hand, has been in love with Delilah for years and has been waiting for her to grow up and realize she returns his feelings. Her plan to land Branville throws him for a loop and sets in motion his own plans to win the hand, and heart, of his best friend before he loses her to someone else.

Of course, many of the couples from the previous Playful Brides books are right there in the middle of things but which duke are they helping Delilah land? And what about the other players in this comedy of errors? Thomas loves Delilah but Delilah is determined to land Branville though she has no feelings for him. Branville is smitten with Delilah's friend Rebecca who is smitten with Thomas which is causing Delilah to look at her best friend in a new way. And that's just the beginning of the romantic misadventures. It's all fast-paced fun, with plenty of twists and turns, misunderstandings, ill-advised schemes, villainous parents, and a love potion that more than one person is trying to get their hands on.

Thomas and Delilah are vividly portrayed characters I easily connected with, especially in the first half of the book. I adored Thomas and was in his corner the entire way. Delilah tested my patience a bit in the second half of the book and after one particular scene, I was not pleased with her but I'm happy to say she won me over in the end. I would have enjoyed a bit more time devoted to the evolution of Thomas and Delilah's relationship though, as a fan of the series, I loved catching up with so many characters from previous books.

If this is your first Playful Brides book, there's a good chance you'll feel a bit confused while trying to sort out the very large cast of characters popping in and out of the story with regularity. For that reason, I don't really recommend it as a standalone story. As a send-off for a series, though, it's great fun that left me with a satisfied sigh and a wide smile. I'm looking forward to whatever Valerie Bowman brings us next!

No Other Duke But You by Valerie Bowman is an entertaining romance. I was laughing and falling hard in love with these characters. The plot is driven by action, characters, and emotion. All three were well-done. Valerie Bowman's novel was so easy to read, I got lost within the first few pages. 

Inside this read, I found a young woman being abused by her mother. Lady Delilah is the type of woman who is full of life. She makes me laugh and smile throughout the book. Her clumsiness is cute. And her heart is made of gold. She is also a loyal person until you betray her trust. Lady Delilah has been told by both of her friends for years that her mother was hurting her and taking advantage of her. Yet Lady Delilah continued to believe the best of her mother. All she wanted was to impress her mother and not to be a disappointment. 

Then, there's her best friend, Thomas. He's known as eligible bachelor, Duke of Huntley. His sister is a handful. And after years of being a disappointment to his father. Duke of Huntley knows exactly what Delilah is dealing with at home. His father made him feel like a failure. But then, Delilah made him feel like he was worthy of being a Duke. Her words of encouragement so long ago had changed him. He is now the man his father would have been proud of...a man he's proud to be all because of her. Delilah is the only woman Thomas wants. But now, she has her sights on marrying a Duke, and he has to prove to her that he's the only Duke for her. 

Overall, I loved this story. Heartfelt, funny, and charming, these characters had me following every word. I would recommend it to all. It had the chemistry, the sparks, the friendship to lovers, and it so much humor.

Lady Delilah Montebank wants to marry a duke and she’s picked the Duke of Branville as her future groom. She plans to win him over with a love potion. There’s just one problem, she’s accidently given the love potion to her best friend Lord Thomas Hobbs. He thinks her plan is ridiculous but is willing to help her to show her that he’s really the right man for her. This is a classic best friends to lover’s story. Both main characters are likeable although Delilah is a trifle immature.

For those who enjoy an English regency romance where the rich dilly dally in attending London balls, planning/acting in private Shakespearean plays, along with loads of talking/chess like strategy matchmaking schemes, you’ll likely enjoy No Other Duke But You. Especially if you are fond of a childhood friends to lover’s theme.

Klutzy, hand wringing, spunky, beautiful, but way too worried about trying to win her impossible to please, abusive mama’s favor pretty much sums up Delilah, the heroine. The illogical lengths she goes to in order to prove her worthy of that spiteful woman’s affections was extremely frustrating to me. I’m just not fond of a heroine who lives so deep in her own head she is blind to what is going on around her. She was her own worst enemy at times. I kept shrugging it off until she does something so plum crazy and against what she knew was right or even really wanted that I started to feel sorry for knuckleheadedness and how Thomas, the hero, felt about her.

Well, let me tell you a thing or two about Thomas. First of all, he definitely did not fit the category of a doubting Thomas. No, this handsome, rich duke has known for a long time what he wants, and he finally see a window of opportunity to go for it. He is patient, kind, forgiving, and pretty much the main reason I kept reading. Though the ladies find him attractive, he is no womanizing rogue. In fact, he’s the the complete opposite. He is truly a gentleman through and through. It was sweet the fleeting moments the world melted away when these two destined to be together lovebirds were in each other’s arms locking lips.

There are only two steamy scenes, and they happen near the very end. Overall, it was sweet but rather predictable and even frustrating at times. The wrap up was romantic as right decisions are finally made, and we are rewarded with the main couple’s long overdue HEA.

Title: No Other Duke But You, Series: Playful Brides (Book 11), Author: Valerie Bowman, Pages: 303, stand-alone but part of a connected series, only two steamy scenes, knuckleheaded thinking/actions, patient, kind hero, virgin main couple.

Personal rating: 3 stars. Lowered one star due to heroine's illogical thinking/actions. Since it may not bother others, I've rated it 4 stars here.

(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review, nor is there any affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

The man she has set her eyes on doesn’t know she exists. And this might be her last chance to get him to know her. The duke that loves her is only her best friend. But he’s determined to make her see the truth.

A magic potion.
A wrong duke.
Whole lot of chaos.

I think this story was incredibly sweet and utterly adorable.

Thomas was such a sweetheart. I giggled when he got all pouty over Delilah focusing on another man. His subtle hints and flirtations were the highlight of the story. They way he adores and loves Delilah just the way she is made me swoon. We all need a Thomas in our life.

Delilah is the kind of girl that’ll definitely be my best friend. I love that she’ll do anything for her friends. I am so happy with how her story played out and how she stood up for herself. She really came into her badass self and I’m here for it.

This story was so heart – warming. I fell in love with Delilah and Thomas’s friendship and the way it developed into love was such a pleasure to watch. Friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and Valerie gave such a good story.

Fun way to end the series, I really enjoyed and recommend this story.

Lady Delilah, the matchmaker, and Lord Thomas, confirmed bachelor and a duke, are destined to be together, but neither realizes it. With some Shakespearean magic through acting in a play, these friends think they are playing parts while matchmaking others, but find themselves together, a potion of eye drops seems to be key, but they deny the attraction though it has always existed. Farcical adventures and matchmaking mishaps make this a delightful romance to read!

**received a review ARC from netgalley

While it was for the most part an enjoyable romp, several aspects of the plot of Valerie Bowman's "No Other Duke but You" came across as rather silly and far-fetched to me. I liked the first half of the book well enough, but the story went off the rails a bit when the idea of a love potion was introduced. It strained credulity that so many people, who otherwise seemed to be relatively sane and level-headed, would actually believe that a love potion could work.

I was also frustrated with the book because it seemed that the main thing keeping Delilah and Thomas apart was the fact that neither of them would admit their romantic feelings to the other. A single honest conversation would have allowed them to settle things between them and avoided a lot of drama and heartache. I can understand why Thomas was afraid to tell Delilah he loved her before the love potion debacle, but afterwards, there was really no reason for him to have delayed telling her the truth for so long. Delilah's hesitation was slightly more understandable because she thought Thomas only cared for her because of the potion, but even so, if she had made the first move, he probably would have confessed that he had loved her all along. They still would have had to deal with Delilah's mother and Lord Hilton's scheming, but that would have been a lot less of a problem if Thomas and Delilah had already been engaged by then.

In spite of the above frustrations, I have rated the book 4 stars because the main characters were both very likeable, and I enjoyed catching up with the couples from earlier books in the series. Overall, while "No Other Duke but You" was not my favorite book of the series, it was still a nice enough way to wrap things up and say goodbye to these characters. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Bowman plans to write next.

*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful read. Lady Delilah Montebank, better known as a match maker with her friend Lady Lucy, has not had a loving mother and now he mother is demanding she marry. To appease her mother, she sets her sights on the Duke of Branville. Her friend, Lord Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley, wants Delilah but doesn’t want her to know as he doesn’t want to scare her away or lose her friendship if she doesn’t feel the same way about him. The story had some moments that I totally was laughing so hard. I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

No Other Duke But You by Valerie Bowman is book 11 in the Playful Brides Series. This is the story of Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley and Delilah Montebank. I have read (and Loved!) the other books in this series, but I feel you can make it a standalone one if you wish to do so.
Delilah and Thomas have been friends for a long time, but Thomas has always been in love with her. Delilah hadn't noticed that he felt more for her. Pressured to look into getting her own husband she thinks the Duke of Branville would be the way to go. So she has a love potion to ensure her success but accidentally Thomas ends up drinking. The time has come for Thomas to show his true feelings with this accident.
This was such a sweet and fun read! I have really enjoyed this series and look for more books from Ms. Bowman!

I have to say this wasn’t my favourite book by this author. Although I did like the character of Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley, he was aware of Delilah’s faults but loved and accepted her for who she was. However, Delilah was annoying at times, in particular, the way she slipped odd French words in her speech and she was quite silly at times. I did feel sorry for her, having such a heartless mother. However, she did redeem herself towards the end. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had trouble with this story. I found the characters to be flat and almost cartoonish. The first half of the book was predictable and then the second half became quite foolish. I have enjoyed other books by Valerie Bowman and will continue to read her stories.

I love Valerie Bowman's books and I've enjoyed this series a lot. This story is light and lively, with crazy mishaps and lots of fun. With the mention of a love potion in the synopsis I knew I was in for an unusual Regency read.

It may be a bit sillier than the other books in the series but I needed a quick fun read and this book fit the bill perfectly.