Heroine a Bit Dizzy and Ditzy

I'm not quite sure exactly what I think of this book. Parts of it were what I enjoy about a Regency, like the sometimes funny play of manners of the aristocracy. The characters can get themselves all tied up in knots and involved in a variety of unlikely schemes. I enjoyed the group of friends, both the gentleman (who particularly showed their mettle at the end) and the ladies. I quite liked the hero, with his unrequited, long-time love for his best friend (the heroine, Delilah) and his attempt to subtly show her how he ticked all the boxes on her ideal husband list. I wasn't so wild about Delilah herself. She had a naivete about her mother and the hero that just didn't ring true and actually became annoying. When she latched on to an idea, she wouldn't let go, no matter what others told her or what she herself experienced. She might be compassionate, but she didn't come across as terribly bright or able to make logical decisions. It got a little tedious at times to see her make the same mistakes, think the same silly thoughts, or do the same not-to-bright things over and over, dithering about the same conundrums constantly; her head is a very unsettled place to be. I found myself wishing at times that the hero had a more worthy heroine. The book was mostly clean right up until the end, so the sudden sensuousness of the novel was a bit jarring even though I don't mind a sensual romance. It just didn't seem to be a natural part of either their relationship or the book itself.

Delilah makes a deal with her mother that she can secure an offer of marriage from the most eligible bachelor, Duke Branville before the end of the season. However all her experience of matchmaking for others has not prepared her to fix her own match.
When it seems like her efforts of going nowhere, Delilah grows desperate and decides to enlist the help of a love potion.
When her best friend, Thomas Huntley learns of her schemes, he decides to take the opportunity to show Delilah how he feels- how he has always felt- about her. Huntley has been waiting for Delilah to decide she was ready for marriage so that he could make his move.
I looked forward to reading Delilah's story ever since her first appearance in "The Irresistible Rogue". However this book was not as action-packed as some of the other books in the series so I am giving it 3 stars instead of 5.
I loved the romance between Thomas and Delilah however I just wished that there was more chemistry between them from the very beginning.

I enjoyed this book. I've been following the Playful Brides series for a couple of years, and I was excited to read this one. It did not disappoint, and I would recommend it to others.

When a group of high-spirited, high-society ladies and gentlemen put on a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, hijinks are sure to ensue. There’s an absolutely hilarious scene in this book where it seems half the cast are running around a country house in the middle of the night, all trying to get into the bedrooms of someone they shouldn’t, generally someone who doesn’t return their affections, while trying to use a ‘love potion’ of doubtful origins. I adore Lucy, the matchmaking duchess who appears throughout this series, and Lucy’s befuddlement as she tried to work out just what went wrong and who was up to what had me in stitches.

Delilah is Lucy’s closest friend, a matchmaker who’s always been too busy to make a match for herself, but she’s finally run out of time. Her mother - an appalling excuse for a human being - has given her an ultimatum, and Delilah, who can’t resist a challenge, has thrown down the gauntlet in return. Now she has just two weeks to extract a marriage proposal from a man she’s never even met… but he is a duke, and the catch of the season.

The thing is that Delilah already has a duke in love with her, her best friend Thomas. It’s just that she really hasn’t noticed. When Lucy ropes him into their matchmaking efforts and a rival starts showing interest in Thomas, however, Delilah realizes she might just be aiming her sights at the wrong duke.

Now, for personal reasons, friends to lovers really isn’t my favourite romance trope, but it’s done so well here, with so much humour and charm, I absolutely adored it. Even if you haven’t read any of the previous books in this series (I’ve read a few but not all) you’ll be able to figure out what’s going on with the cast of characters, and with most of the action centered on Delilah and Thomas you’ll fall in love with them just like I did. Five stars for a funny, clever read full of mischief and shenanigans.

I enjoyed this one. A favorite author of mine indeed! Clever title and characters came to life in a brilliant way!

Those of you following this delightful series have been anxiously waiting for this story to unfold. We have watched Lady Delilah and Lord Thomas grow and followed their antics. And the wait if finally over and we are rewarded with an ending that is everything we had hoped for and more.

Lady Delilah is a force to be reckoned with. With her wit, unconventional ways and a pet parrot that is just as witty as his owner, she is a heroine that you would be hard pressed to forget and not love. But it takes a special kind of man to appreciate her uniqueness and it seems that her best friend is that man.

Lord Thomas Hobbs, the Duke if Huntley has been waiting for his best friend to realise that their relationship can be more than just a friendship. So he does the one thing he knows that she won’t be able to resist. Asks for her assistance in finding him a bride. A request that no matchmaker will be able to resist. While Delilah is determined to catch the attention of the most eligible bachelor of the season, the Duke of Branville, she finds herself seeing her best friend in a whole new light and seeing that maybe it’s Thomas who is the Duke for her.

A delightful, witty and playful romance full of laugh out loud moments! Not to be missed!

A Regency rom-com, “No Other Duke But You” has Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” intricately entwined to the plot, I immediately thought of “Sleepless in Seattle” wherein the classic film “An Affair to Remember” was also so much part of the story.

So, though some would say that “No Other Duke But You” has a Shakespearean twist, I’ll say that it is more than just a twist. The play “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” is almost one of the characters! It seems that Puck is creating as much havoc here as in the play.

Not necessarily a comedy of errors, “No Other Duke But You” has so many laugh out loud funny moments that it is more than just entertaining. I had to stop reading at times just to wipe tears from eyes from laughing.

Lady Delilah Montebank and Lord Thomas Hobbs are not your typical romantic heroes; they definitely came from a different mold. They are so entertaining, they are rememberable.

“No Other Duke But You” is Rated T for Teens.

As a long time fan of Bowman, I immediately jumped at this novel. It had everything I wanted and childhood friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes. It started off strong with Bowman’s trademark humor and wit and moved quickly. However, I had a problem with immature heroine and unremarkable hero. Typically I enjoy Bowman’s heroine’s but this one felt too immature, bordering on obnoxious. While there was nothing wrong with the hero, he just didn’t stand out., The plot also fell victim to progression by misunderstanding, meaning that most of the conflict existed due to lack of communication. As someone who is sometimes overly honest, this grates all my nerves.

Overall, I didn’t hate the novel. It still felt like a Bowman novel, but not as good as previous entries I have read from her.

I completely adored this book! It's definitely a page-turner but also witty and light-hearted. Classic friends to lovers. Definitely recommend it!

I always adore a Valerie Bowman book and this one did not disappoint. After getting to know Delilah through so many of the Playful Brides books it was so nice to finally read her HEA. Delilah has a skill at matchmaking but disastrous when finding love for herself. Huntley chooses to sit back and watch while hoping she realizes it is he she wants. A fun friends to lovers story that brings together so many of the playful brides characters! Definitely recommend.

Great love story among friends that fail to see they are right for each other. The adventures they get into together shows how much they enjoy being together. A good read.

Delilah is a determined woman. But is Thomas more determined than she? And will he be able to show her that life can be far from what she thinks it should be? Another story by Valerie Bowman tied to stories from the Bowstreet runners. Loved it.

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…
This was an inventive story on how a man can move from the friend zone in an era when the term didn’t exist. In these types of stories, usually it’s the female with the unrequited love. It was a nice change of pace to have it the other way around. I really enjoyed this story and the characters, Delilah’s quirky nature in particular. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Lady Delilah Montebank has been a matchmaker for several of her friends in society. Now, her mother is demanding that if she doesn't have a potential husband by her birthday, Delilah will have to marry who her mother wants. Delilah declares that she is going to marry the most eligible man in society.

Thomas Hobbs has been Delilah's best friend since childhood. He realizes that he loves Delilah. Unfortunately, Delilah isn't after the correct Duke - him!

Can Thomas convince Delilah that he is the right duke?

This was a sweet friends to lovers romance. I liked Delilah and Thomas. They were perfect characters. I enjoyed reading this book.

I probably should have reviewed this book when I first received it; I might have enjoyed it better. Right now, I'm all humiliation-ed out, all Shakespeare-d out, and all Duke-d out. The story just seemed juvenile to me instead of funny and I feel like Thomas was short-changed with the love interest he got in Delilah.

I like Thomas. Delilah, not so much. The clumsiness, the French mangling, the ridiculous feminine name for the male parrot, the over-the-top illogical scheme with the love potion turned me off her. I just couldn't be happy for these two. I think Thomas deserves better.

The technical aspects of Valerie's writing are undoubtedly good. Pacing, dialogues, narration - all fine. What worked for me is the fact that for all that this book has hundreds of characters, Thomas and Delilah are always in the center of the action. Characterization is where she fell short. Her FMC read to me like she was sixteen, not twenty-three.

This is the third story that I read from the Playful Brides series and Valerie Bowman is one of the best historical authors today.

Not a fan of best friend troupe but I had a great time reading Delilah and Thomas' love story.

The matchmaking expertise of Delilah is so cute but all of the pairs she and Lucy have been throwing did not work.

Thomas is very supportive to the point that he could sacrifice his happiness just to wait for Delilah to confess her feelings.

I can't wait for another Playful Bride story!

I started out with really high hopes for this book. I love “best friend” romances and I was excited to see how the relationship between Delilah and Thomas develops. The book started off good...very light-hearted and funny. The author uses a lot of dialogue, which I love, and it really helps with the pacing of the story. But then it begins to take a silly turn.

The heroine Delilah is very immature and when the love potion comes into play she becomes dim-witted and makes ridiculous assumptions and statements. Thomas is the typical handsome, eligible and wealthy duke that has been in love with Delilah for years. He was not very remarkable in the story.

But the book had positive points. Like I said the pacing is fast. It was quite humorous in places and the author has a great writing style. I will read other books by this author but just didn’t connect with this couple.

Rating: 3 stars

Lady Delilah Montebank has been successful at finding matches for her friends but remains unmatched and "on the shelf" at 23. Her mother insists Delilah find herself a match, or she will choose someone for her. So, what does our intrepid matchmaker do but claim she will secure a match with the most coveted bachelor of the Season!

Thomas, Duke of Huntley, has known Delilah many years and watched her matchmaking skills. He tells everyone he’d rather give up all the brandy in London than commit to one person for life, but that's just a smokescreen. The one person he wants to commit to for life is Delilah. Thomas has "patience in spades" and is waiting for Delilah to see he's the one for her.

I really liked Thomas but he needed the patience of Job to deal with Delilah. I wanted her to open her eyes and see the love in front of her but, unfortunately, she had to learn everything the hard way. I also didn't understand why she tried so hard to please her mother, who was a really nasty piece of work. I cheered when she finally stood up to her!

While I haven't read the other books in the series, No Other Duke but You read well as a standalone; although many characters from previous installments figure in this one.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, which does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

No Other Duke but You is the eleventh book in the Playful Brides series by Valerie Bowman. They can each stand well on their own, although returning readers will be happy to see favorite characters making their appearances.

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. Delilah can’t believe she gave the potion to the wrong duke. Then again, Delilah could do a lot worse than win the hand of her handsome best friend. Could it be that the right duke has been before her eyes all along?

No Other Duke but You is a historical romance that had me giddy and grinning through the majority of the story. I loved Delilah's character, I found her to be earnest and brave even when stuttering over social niceties and dealing with a less than loving mother. Her friendships and big heart had me hooked from the start. Thomas is equally charming and sweet, trying to give Delilah the time and space to make her own choices and looking out for her happiness over his own. I knew from the first chapter that these two were meant for each other, and the journey to get there was full of silliness, twists, and plots gone wrong. This was an engaging and fun read, and I was very glad I picked it up.

No Other Duke but You is a must read for fans of the author, and for those that love a historical romance with plenty of humor ad heart.

This book had situations and dialog that had me laughing out loud, in a good way. This includes situations of mistaken identity, a magical love potion, and schemes not going to plan. The overall tone of the story is very light, and the author does something interesting in paralleling the tone of the play that characters are putting on in the book, which is "A Midsummer Night's Dream", with the main action of the book. I really liked both of the main characters in this book, I especially liked that the male lead, Lord Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley, knew exactly what he wants. The book was a quick read that I quite enjoyed.

I received a complementary copy of this book for honest review through NetGalley and the publisher.