I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The tale of General Mark Grimaldi, grandson of a duke, and his estranged wife Nicole kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning. Separated for 10 years by hurtful accusations and misunderstandings, these two are not innocents in the first blush of love. The couple reunite temporarily in order to achieve individual personal goals, then plan to resume their separate ways. Along the way, events happen (along with some steamy love scenes) that make them re-examine their original plans. The writing is top-notch and the plot not your usual historical romance, no kidnapping or arch villain to come between the two.

Rather than the classic Duke meets lady (or other bold female) trope, the novel reminds me of Persuasion–or Persuasion if Wentworth married Anne before misunderstandings ensued. There is a heavy dose of mystery and plenty of flashbacks, which set this apart from the typical Duke romance.

I voluntarily read a copy of this book through Netgalley. The book is a good read that involves the coming together of a married couple who has lived apart for ten years, solving of a murder, and a surprise heir to a dukedom.  It is well written and very enjoyable.

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.

The hero is a spy, a career focused man whose goal of his life is within reach.... then he discovers that they prefer that position to be a family man.... married.  Mark Grimaldi is caught off guard by the new stipulation, not that he has to find one...just that he would have to go get his from France.    Nicole a former bow runner and a spy herself is in France , ten years have passed since her marriage ended,  she is being courted by a Comte and despite that she is lonely.....

The story begins at that moment when the two are once again on the same land, each needing something from the other while hoping to keep their hearts uninvolved with the plans about to be made.

It was a wonderful story, equal characters. Nicole was no follower, nor insipid miss, she was a force to be recorded with.  Both characters were proud and honorable and so very vulnerable to the other, their past hurts put them both at odds as the story begins s.  There is mystery and intrigue as well as Amazing love scenes. 

A wonderful story....Thank you netgalley and Valerie for allowing me the privilege of reading the Arc and I cannot wait to add the physical book to my collection of Valerie Bowman books

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.

There are times Mark's woman leaves him completely speechless, “No, you dolt. I don’t want a divorce. I want you to have *** with me!” ..... "...completely dumbfounded. His mouth opened and closed, his eyes blinked repeatedly, and his head cocked to the side as he tried to make sense of the words that had just emerged from his wife’s lips." I liked this book, Nicole did not back down from her man.

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.

General Mark Grimaldi is ready for his promotion as head of the Home Office but for one thing: he needs a wife. Conveniently, he already has one, but he and Nicole have been estranged for ten years after a misunderstanding in their first months of marriage. He convinces her to come home and pretend to be reconciled, but she agrees only if he'll give her a child. They come home only to find they're involved in a murder investigation.
I've found historical books where there are a separation and reconciliation between the hero and heroine to be a mixed bag. Ms. Bowman does a good job in coming up with plausible reasons for the reconciliation though I thought the reason for the separation was a bit weak. The murder investigation worked as a subplot as well as the flashbacks to how Mark and Nicole met and married. There were some holes in the plot: how did Nicole work as a spy in Paris under Napoleon when she is so thoroughly English? How did she work as a Runner as a lady; didn't her mother and grandmother notice? But if you ignore these questions, it's a pleasant read. Nicole and Mark are fine as a couple as they have more in common than just the sex.
I was given this book from Netgalley, and I volunteered to review it.

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.