Mark and Nicole found themselves together once again but this time it was for their own selfish reasons not love or so they thought. So it was surprising to say the least when things started heating up as soon as they were alone, which was too fast for Nicole, not just yet she thought. Meantime things began to unravel around Mark concerning the death of his cousin. This is a refreshing romance with a unique twist a murder mystery, making it a romance book like no other. There is a genuine love flowing between Mark and Nicole, one that is unabashedly beautiful and sexy. The storyline is an absolute doozy, the combination of romance and a murder mystery, blended together wonderfully, giving this book a captivating, intriguing and sexy appeal, it was a gem to read, I love it.

A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman
After many years of dedicated service during the war, General Mark Grimaldi is anxious for an appointment as secretary to the head of the Home Office, an appointment that would become his only on the condition that he marries. The problem is that Grim is already married to a woman that he hasn’t seen in ten years and who has been living in France. After ten lonely years in France, Nicole wants a child. She is willing to come to England and pretend that her marriage is a happy one on the condition that Mark agrees to give her a child and allow her to raise him. In chapters that move between the past and the present, we watch the relationship unfold, falter, and face many challenges. The characters, including many secondary ones, are wonderfully drawn and the challenges the couple face are realistic. Part of Bowman’s “Playful Brides” series, this is another stand-alone winner.

This was a hard one for me. I loved Nicole but had a hard time liking Mark. He was so stubborn and it was really irritating as a reader. I feel like they never really talked about what made them split also so it felt a little unfinished to me. The mystery element felt a little slapped on but it was enjoyable.

Mark and Nicole have been separated for 10 years. Until Mark needs Nicole's help. Nicole decides she will help him if he promises to give her something in return.

I really wanted to like this book, but couldn't get into the storyline and felt nothing for the hero and heroine. I think the idea was a good one and I liked the concept of an already married husband and wife, but I think the book took too long to really get started. DNF.

General Mark Grimaldi is ready for his promotion as head of the Home Office but for one thing: he needs a wife.
luckily he has one living in France.
He goes and gets her. What a cute story.
They are so good together but cannot see it. the mystery was good , It took me a while to figure out it.
I liked this romance

Really enjoyed this story line. Valerie Bowman has a superb skills in her characterization and plot development. I was really drawn in to the story.

This was an interesting variation on the separated spouses trope. Madly in love until one or the other misunderstands and departs in anger. Both waiting for the other to make the first move. Living separate lives until one needs the other for a specific purpose. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns of the story line. Valerie Bowman never fails to deliver a good story.

I felt like there was a better novel within this book than what the author actually wrote. First of all, the premise was difficult to swallow. The book opens up in 1818 where we meet Mark Grimaldi who is in line for a promotion to Home Secretary if only he could be married. It turns out that he is indeed already married, but he and his wife have been living separated for 10 years. They had a fight because he found out that she knew that he was related to a duke and he is too proud to acknowledge his ducal relations because of the way the duke treated his father. It wasn’t clear how his father, an Italian who seemed to be a poor worker/immigrant, ended up in England and married to the daughter of a duke, but go with that.

Mark’s wife, the daughter of an earl, Nicole, fled England after their fight and settled in France working for the government as a spy against the French. Right. Because Napoleon’s France would have been wide open for the daughter of an earl to swan around at parties sending back reports. We’re not told anything of what she did and how she accomplished this marvelous feat and then ended up owning a French chateau afterwards. We’re just supposed to suspend all knowledge of the history at that time and accept that.

Mark is, amazingly, a general, a very high rank for someone without noble blood (because he keeps his relationships hidden and few seem to know - but you would have thought that a duke’s daughter married to an Italian commoner might have been on someone’s radar scene - after all, Nicole’s mother and grandmother knew about it, but not the spies in the British army). How someone that young, who seemed to have spent his wartime efforts in espionage got to be a general is not mentioned.

After Mark and Nicole agree to reunite so he can get his promotion and she can conceive a child, the story shifts to an Agatha Christie-like mystery about the murder of the ducal heir. Mark is conducting the investigation which seems to consist of inviting people in to talk to him and hoping that one of them will crack.

Mark seems pretty dumb as far as his wife is concerned and in solving the mystery. But Nicole, she’s amazing. Before she was a spy, she worked free-lance for the Bow Street Runners in some undefined way, the details of which we’re not really given. And she solves the mystery and wraps it up in a bow for Mark to get the credit.

Any one of these plotlines would have been really interesting. Together, they’re a mess. I couldn’t believe any of it and the author doesn’t give enough background to explain all these anomalies to what history was really like for noble women or the sons of Italian immigrants in Regency England. That made the whole book more irritating than enjoyable.

I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

When everything Mark Grimaldi has sacrificed to his military career first and a position he has always wanted after years of dedication are about to pay off, there is a catch.. With an offer of a promotion to Home Secretary, if only Mark settles down and marries.. Mark must confess, he already has a wife..

Nicole Huntington Grimaldi has spent years in France without her husband. . When Mark shows up on her doorstep and asks her to return to London to play the part of his dutiful wife. Nicole will agree to go with Mark, but she has a condition of her own.

A wonderful read as these two discover romance a second time around.

Mark Grimaldi's up for a HUGE promotion - to Home Secretary, head of the Home Office. Which I'm gathering is like the head of all defense/spies in England. The catch is he needs to be settled and that means he needs to be married. Guess what?! That's not a problem since he has a wife. He just hasn't seen her in ten years.

I liked this a lot. Nicole and Mark were very good together. Everyone but them could see it. And neither were willing to admit their feelings to the other. They were both hard headed, but Mark took the cake for stubbornness!

I found this a little repetitive in some places, but the mystery was great. I didn't suspect the killer at all and was surprised to find out who did it.

This romance centers on the reunion of a couple who were unsuited a decade ago because of her passion for risk and his inflexible ideas about class, but who are forced back together as a married pair to both solve a murder and sort out family forgiveness. Scorching hot scenes and good background research.

I love a great second chance romance and this is one of them. I adored both the hero and heroine and the adventures between them. Through in some mystery and flashbacks to their first meeting, made for an enjoyable read that kept wanting to read on. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that wants a fun historical romance.

A Duke Like No Other is the first book I've read by Valerie Bowman, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story pits the strong-willed husband and wife team of Nicole and Mark against each other in a series of misunderstandings that does nothing to help the estranged couple rekindle their romance. Mark wants to become England's Home Secretary and Nicole wants a baby...the bargain they make so that they each get what they want...leads us all on a trip through romance, stubbornness, the back story to their separation, and a murder investigation. There are some steamy scenes as the couple work through their relationship ... which helps to understand the difficulties they face in figuring out their feature.
I was offered an e-ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The first few pages of this book had me hooked. I am a total sucker for married couple romances. Even the introduction of both the characters of the hero and heroine is so intriguing and well written that I wanted to know more about them and hear their back story. It is utterly enchanting romance with sexy chemistry between Mark and Nicole. I adored both the hero and heroine’s and thought that the transition between past and present is really well written by the author.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

I really enjoyed this book! It was romance with a little mystery on the side. The characters were likable and their motives were explained through the story so that when it came time for their actions, they were understood.

Valerie is an exceptional author. I’ve yet to read one of her books and be disappointed. The characters come to life. Great read !

The Story:
Mark Grimaldi is a high ranking English spymaster. He is a proud, self-reliant, and a self-made man. Born from an Italian painter, Mark has worked his way up through the military to secure the position he is in now. However, his eye is on the position as the Home Secretary for England. Mark has a dream to rebuild England and protect the people in it. BUT, the only way to secure this position is to find his estranged wife of 10 years, Nicole Grimaldi. His boss does not believe in selecting a bachelor to become the House Secretary. Which meant Mark had to find his wife and bring her back to London to put on a show that he is a family man. Would she come willingly? Mark has never been known to share his own emotions so freely. When he arrives in France to bring his wife back to London. The door he closed long ago on her reopened. His emotions crashing in. Mark struggles to reclose the door. He is there to use her to secure the position he’s worked so hard for. After all to Mark is ex-wife is a “scheming liar.” right?



As a daughter of an Earl, you are expected to act like a proper lady and prepare for the day of your marriage. Not Nicole. She wants much MORE! Nicole secretly took on a job as a bounty hunter. She loves tracking down thieves to capture them. It makes her feel worth more than the title she was given at birth. Nicole is a fierce, and strong-willed woman. A woman that prefers to ride her horse at night than to learn how to act properly at a ton party. Which she often felt was boring. Nicole wanted someone outside of this hell hole that she was raised in. Nicole wanted more from life, she wanted to act freely without any consequences as the daughter of an Earl. After Nicole met Mark she was hopeful that someone could see her beyond the title and family she was raised in. Unfortunately, Mark and Nicole had a falling out and Nicole closed off her heart for good. Not allowing anyone especially Mark to find their way in it. Ten years later Mark shows up at her house and Nicole’s emotions hit her as if they had never been locked away. She despises this man for what he had done to her. But she needs something from Mark. And if he showed up after 10 years then apparently he needs something from her too. But at what cost? Is having her heart broken all over again worth it? She sure hoped so.





The review:

This was a wonderfully written book. The flow of the storyline never dragged along. Each part of the manuscript had sections and stories that created a bigger picture for the reader to understand. I enjoyed reading two characters who are prideful and strongwilled. It’s amazing to see an aristocratic woman more headstrong than the damsel in other Victorian novels. I felt Mark and Nicole were described amazingly well. They were not described as God-like characters. They were very relatable for married couples, especially those that are estranged. I thoroughly enjoyed how the storyline would switch from the past to the present. Though at times I WANTED TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO EACH SECRET THEY WERE TRYING TO UNCOVER. I understand as a reader I had to gather the bigger picture at hand before continuing the storyline during present time. I don’t believe there are any sections in the book that I felt wasn’t necessary. Each part had a purpose and it was explained very well. My favorite part of the book is the conversation Mark had with his buddies. Or men he would consider to be his buddies. As a Spy Master, you can’t have any connections to anyone that can be used against you. It added some good humor to help their “idiot friend” come to his senses. The author did a phenomenal job as usual. This is the 9th book in the Playful Bride series.



If you would like to pre-order this book you can click on the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Like-Other-Playful-Brides/dp/1250121736/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Some of my favorites quotes:



Rate: 4/5

Thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book. A quirky regency romance which is full of fun. Read it and enjoy!

A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowmanis another enchanting romance. A historical that pushes boundaries and sinks its teeth into my heart. The plot was fast-paced, engaging, and emotional. Two protagonists both with a desire to work in a dangerous field and do what is right. Despite their Desiree and attraction, both hide things from each other. This causes a rift to form and both fall apart. A marriage based on love but broken by secrets. Neither one was able to let his or her pride down to set things right between them. Ten years later, life has a way of bringing them back together. One wants to become a mother and the other the Secretary of State.

However, to become Secretary of State he needs his wife back in England to assume the position of a family man. General Mark Grimadali is more of a family man than most presume and more than he, himself thinks he is. It was funny watching his troubles, fears, and heart explode among the pages. His wife Nicole is jus s strong of character as her husband. Stubborn to a fault...she can't hide her feelings any longer. Afraid of a broken heart again, she is prepared to leave her husband she loves one more...but could he really not love her? Both are grave, smart, and charming. I fell hard and fast for these characters. Their personalities and struggles were exciting to follow. Overall, I highly recommend this historical regency novel.