It was a auperbe book. I love books from this author. You have a lot of emotions and love. You don't want to out the book down.

~~Reviewed by Lisa~~

How wonderful! This is the perfect story of second chances. While it takes 14 years for them to get their HEA, it was time Collin needed to come into his own. There was a lot he had to overcome, but he did it in spectacular form. They also had to find a way through the maze her parents created through their expectations for Erienne and what she could do for them.

Thank goodness for Lucy, the Duchess of Claringdon and her matchmaking ways. She brings Collin and Erienne into close proximity and sparks start to fly from the banked embers in their hearts. I adored Lucy and her husband and their roles, they added a lightness and humor to the story.

Ms. Bowman breathes depth and spirit into her characters. While this is a novella, it feels like a novel, there were no holes or details left unattended. I am grateful that more time was NOT spent on Erienne’s parents, I feel I would have been hard pressed to find any real way to show them in a favorable light.

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

Collin Hunt is now a Home Office general, after a career as a soldier and a spy, that began when he was just sixteen. His superior insists that he take a vacation, and won’t hear a refusal. Though not happy, as his work is his life, Collin decides to visit his brother, Derek, and his family. If only Collin could be sure that his sister-in-law, Lucy, won’t try her matchmaking skills again, he might actually enjoy the break. Lucy actually considers herself a genuine matchmaker, and her sights are set on Collin. She knows there was a disappointing love in his past which has soured him on marriage. As she’s interviewing for a governess for her own children, she comes upon a candidate who apparently has some ties to Collin. Could this be the mystery woman from Collin’s past?

Erienne Stone has worked for the Hilltop family for fourteen years, caring for their children. It’s finally time to look for a new position. She is hesitant about applying to Derek, as he might remember her from their teenage years, when she and Collin were sweethearts. Lucy is overly eager to hire Erienne, offering a salary she can’t refuse. Lucy is also insistent on Erienne joining the family for dinner, where she and Collin come face to face for the first time in over a decade.

Though Collin and Erienne were in love and planned to marry, some obstacles were thrown in their path, some of Collin’s making, and some from others. They ended up parting, each believing that the other rejected them. Over the years, neither found another love or married. Their initial meeting at dinner is awkward, and Erienne ends up fleeing, though Collin follows. After all the years and misunderstandings, their reunion results in a fiery passion.

I love that MR. HUNT, I PRESUME was about a hero and heroine in their thirties, though by the same token, it made me extremely sad that they were parted for so long. Some outside forces unfortunately played a big part in their separation, and their youth and insecurities led them to accept lies as truth. Their reconciliation was sweet, and Colin’s gesture near the end had a fairy-tale like quality that was a satisfying conclusion to this short, steamy, and enjoyable story.

Great novella. Erienne is hired as governess, but she was once in love with her boss’s brother, Collin. Forced to take a vacation, Collin is stunned to see his old love again.

Sweet romance and love the matchmaking hijinks of Lucy! I have enjoyed all the books I’ve read in this series.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

Another good story from Valerie Bowman, though it was a little too abrupt for my tastes.

I've been really loving Valerie Bowman recently, and I think that this book had a lot of potential, but the novella format stopped it just short of being great.

Mr. Hunt, I Presume was a very sweet second-chance romance between a long-ago separated couple. Colin is a workaholic and Erienne is resigned to be no more than a governess. Everyone from the side characters to the main couple were great, full-fleshed out characters, which is hard to get in a novella. I enjoyed the lightness and good-natured humor in the story.

However, I didn't love the fact that all of the tension in the story relies on a long-ago misunderstanding, and I think that Erienne and Colin still had years of turmoil to work through when the story ended. I wanted more time with them as a couple, getting to know one another again. Still, the relationship was fulfilling and lovely, and it made me want to read more Playful Brides novels to find out what else Valerie Bowman can come up with with a full-length story.

This is a sweet, short story. Erienne is a lovely woman who has loved Collin since being a girl. This is a tale of parents wanting a title for their daughter causing 14 years of sadness.

I really enjoy the characters in this series. A lovely novella, that I wish had been longer. A must read

This was a great novella as part of the Playful Brides series. If you have not read the books in this series..STOP now and go do that! They are so good! While you don't have to have read those to enjoy this little romantic nugget, it makes it all the better. Bowman's books are always filled with laughter, fun and often outlandish scheming, angst, and romance...lots of romance! Highly recommend!

A lovely second chance romance. A short read part of the Playful Brides Series featuring General Colin Hunt and Miss Erienne Stone.

Erienne was a governess in Shropshire for many years but now the children are grown and it's time to move on. She's relocated to London and signed with an employment agency. Lucy Hunt, Duchess of Claringdon, needs a new governess and when she goes through the applications, she realises that one of the women grew up near to her husband’s village and would be perfect for her brother-in-law. She hires her and the matchmaking begins.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. All views are my own.

"Mr. Hunt, I Presume" was a short, sweet addition to Valerie Bowman's Playful Brides series. I have read some, but not all, of the previous books in the series, and enjoyed each of them very much. While it includes a few characters from previous books, this story stands well on its own.

Even though this was a novella, both of the main characters were well-developed. General Collin Hunt is a respected Home Office official who has become a workaholic to try and forget the young lady he loved years ago, but gave up under pressure from her family. Miss Erienne Stone, the lady Collin once loved, became a governess instead of bowing to her family's pressure to marry a man she didn't love, but now feels guilty because that decision contributed to her family's current difficult financial situation and inability to pay for the surgery her injured soldier brother desperately needs. They find each other again when Erienne accepts a position as governess to Collin's brother and sister-in-law's young children. They fight their feelings for each other, of course, but come to realize that they are meant to be together (with a bit of help from Lucy, Collin's sister-in-law and matchmaker extraordinaire).

The one (small) thing that I didn't like about the novella is that while Erienne's mother's role in their parting as young lovers is addressed, her father's role is not. He wrote Collin a letter asking him to break things off with Erienne so that she could marry someone more "suitable." However, Collin never told Erienne about that letter, and it seems that Erienne continues to believe that Collin broke things off with her because he was choosing his career over their relationship. Erienne deserves to know the whole truth and that Collin didn't give her up because he was being selfish, but because he thought he was giving her the chance at a better life than he could have offered her at the time.

Other than that, I very much enjoyed this story and look forward to the next (final?) installment in the Playful Brides series.

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

I received this as an ARC. :)

Mr Hunt, I presume is a second chance romance. This is a wonderful novella. It features Erienne Stone and Collin Hunt. If you have read some of Ms Bowman’s other books you will remember Collin but it can be read as a stand alone. Erienne left a life of privilege when her family didn’t want her to marry Colin. Colin left the country to give Erienne up so she could live the life she was born too.
Fast forward many years later to Erienne being a governess for Colin’s nephews while Colin is taking a much needed break at his brothers estate. This was a fun, sexy book. I loved it! This was not a book with tons of anger and miscommunication. It was sweet and you felt the connection to Erienne and Colin immensely. The Playful Brides series is one of my favorites!

Does Lucy Hunt overplay her game?

Loving each other since childhood, Colin Hunt reluctantly broke with Erienne Stone after a request to that effect from her parents. As they put it he had nothing to offer Erienne and she was all but spoken for by someone far superior.
Now a decade later Erienne is a governess and Colin a General and spy working for the home office.
When Colin is ordered to take a holiday he heads for his brother Derek's, (the Duke of Claringdon) estate, little knowing that he'd run into the woman he'd loved and left all those years ago.
(Ah! Those meddling Regency mothers have a lot to answer for!)
Lucy Hunt, the Duchess of Claringdon, is up to her usual match making tricks. This time they might just harm more than help.
A pleasing second chance romance.

A NetGalley ARC

Here is another Second Chance love story! If you like Nicole Jordan books on tropes like Cinderall or Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew. You will definitely love Valerie Bowman series. Her books are based on old fairy tales or famous works. This is a novella and the penultimate book in the series. Guys pick this book up!

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Lucy Hunt is at it again - trying to match her governess to her brother in law. When she finds out that Eirenne was Collin's young love,she works to hire her so that they will eventually be brought close to each other.

Well, eventually happened right away! As Collin and Eirenne find out secrets from the past, they learn that they never lost their first love.

I love these books in the series and always look forward to the next book in the series! The book is a quick read and their reunion was not a prolonged situation. Now Lucy is on the hunt (lol) for a new governess.

I can never get enough of Valerie Bowman’s books! This story is a reunited lovers tale that hits the heartstrings!

Lucy, who was introduced in book one of the Playful Brides series is in need of a governess (as she had matchmaked her last one) and discovers Erinne, an applicant, who is also the long lost love of her brother-in-law. Meddling Lucy orchestrates a plan and Collin and Erinne reunite and fall back into love.

Collin, the brother-in-law of Lucy, is an army general who selflessly gave up Erinne 14 years prior despite still loving her, as he believed that she deserved better than a soldier. Erinne refused to marry all those years because of her deep-set love of Collin. She ended up leaving her family to make her own way as a governess.

While a novella, I believe that the story was given enough page space to fully develop, which is uncommon for me as I usually find novella to be rushed. I appreciated that while towards the end of the series, this book brought back the first book’s duo. I definitely recommend this novella, it was perfectly timed to be released around Valentine’s day as love prevails!

Mr. Hunt I Presume by Valerie Bowman
Playful Brides #10.5

Lucy Hunt LOVES to play matchmaker and is given the perfect opportunity to do so in this book! She needs a governess and just happens to have a name come across her desk that might be the woman her brother-in-law once loved...the only woman he ever loved. This is definitely a second chance at love for Collin and Erienne whoa re both now in their 30’s and never thought to be together ever again. The unfolding of why they did not get together years before and how they do get together in the end is a sweet and sometimes steamy story that left me happy when I finished the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and June Third Enterprises for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

I do like a good second-chance romance, and Mr. Hunt, I Presume fits the bill nicely if you’re looking for a quick, light read. Erienne and Collin were childhood sweethearts, but as a young soldier and the daughter of a baron, there was a class mismatch and her father refused to let them marry. Strong-willed and determined even when Collin gracefully left the field at her father’s bidding, Erienne refused all other suitors and took a position as a governess, which was a little-bit eyebrow raising considering the laws in Regency England at the time would have made it very easy for her father to haul her home if he’d wished to.

However, I liked Erienne enough, and she was determined enough that I could believe she could have carried her point if her father was weak-willed enough to let her get away with it.

Collin and Erienne meet again fourteen years later through the machinations of Lucy, Duchess of Claringdon, who’s an absolute little madam but such a likeable one you could never call her a spoiled brat and really mean it. Lucy just loves matchmaking and has set her sights on her husband’s brother, Collin, as in need of a wife. Though the workaholic general with the War Office has resisted her attempts thus far, a serendipitous circumstance brings her Erienne in need of a new governess position, and Lucy just can’t resist.

This is only a short novella so there’s not really a great deal of angst, or not that doesn’t get resolved quickly, at any rate. Collin and Erienne were charming together and Lucy as an irresistible force of nature/fairy godmother is a laugh a minute. A delightful novella to while away a few hours, my only quibble is that we really didn’t get enough insight into Collin’s character. Four stars.

The Story in 4 Sentences or Less: After a decade apart, Collin Hunt and Erienne Stone find themselves face to face when she accepts a position as a governess in Collin’s brother’s home. Collin never forgot Erienne and she hasn’t forgiven him for abandoning her, but with Collin’s sister-in-law, Lucy, it’s just a matter of making sure they can’t escape each other while they figure out that they belong together.





Like It? Hate it? Love it? Why? Meddling Matchmaker Lucy Hunt is back and this time she’s determined to help her brother-in-law find his happy ending with his first and only love. I have had a love/hate relationship with Lucy ever since the second book. I love that she’s so loyal and supportive of her friends but her railroading methods of matchmaking can get annoying, plus, by this point in the series she’s become a tad arrogant in her ways. That said, the story really is about Collin and Erienne, I enjoyed their second chance at love. Erienne’s determination to follow her own path was admirable, she was never a delicate flower that needed coddling and even when Collin was being a thick headed baboon he was a likable guy. Mr. Hunt I Presume had all the romance I’ve come to expect from this series but with a quicker pace because it’s a novella.

Click It or Skip It? Click It. It’s a quick but energetic read that will hold you until the final book in the series is out.

Who doesn’t like a good second chance romance? Erienne and Collin were separated by a misunderstanding years before. Now he’s a military success and she’s the new governess to his brother’s children. What will happen when they meet again? A sweet story that goes down as easily as a warm teacake.

Mr Hunt, I Presume by Valerie Bowman

Valerie Bowman has written a novella to go along with her series called The Playful Brides. In this series, everyone seems to be a bit of a matchmaker, but Lucy, Duchess of Claringdon seemingly is the best at it. Her husband notices a name on her list of governesses for their children and Lucy decides matchmaking is called for.

Erienne Stone has turned to being a governess after she was spurned by Collin Hunt. Her parents expected her to marry brilliantly, but she refused since she was in love with Collin Hunt. The Duke and Duchess of Claringdon offer her a home, salary and safety. Erienne can send home a lot of money to her parents for her brother’s care and she will not see General Collin Hunt as he is rarely if ever visiting his brother in the country.

General Collin Hunt was forced to go on vacation. He decided that he might as well visit his brother in the country and enjoy his niece and nephew. The Duke and Duchess of Claringdon are put into an interesting position. Will they fight, ignore each other, or figure it out?

I enjoyed Mr. Hunt, I Presume, the quick read by Valerie Bowman and really wished it was longer!