A captivating historical romance with a well written story. I really enjoyed the book. I give it A solid A

Delilah and Thomas have been friends since they were children. She is a Lady and he is a Duke. Their friendship has lasted so long because they are both intelligent, they have varied interests, and they laugh at the same things.

Now Delilah's mother has forced her hand. Delilah's mother is a hateful woman who has never had a kind word for her daughter. She plans to marry and she has determined that because Delilah is not married, she will force her to marry a lumpy young man with no intelligence nor a personality.

Delilah foolishly promises her mother that she will get a marriage offer from the Duke of Branville. The fact he barely knows she is alive has no bearing on anything. Delilah has acted as a matchmaker and she is determined to make her mother recognize that she is not worthless. She feels she must prove herself.

This is a fun story. A play is being put on by the upper crust for charity. The play is A Midsummer Night's Dream. All of these best people are devoted to doing well in the play and entertaining attendees.

Various characters in our story are pursuing the wrong people. There is a love potion with rules attached. People are getting into the wrong sleeping chambers.

All in all, there is a great deal of laughter attached to this story.

Delilah is careless about some things, but never about people. She is very conscious of being kind to people. She is thoughtful, even if those people are possibly going to cause her plans to go awry. It is evident that because her mother has been so very hateful to her, she is aware of how words can cause pain. She is also bright and funny and lovely.

Thomas became a duke at a very young age. He had to leave school in order to take charge of the family estates and investments. He has always felt that he is lacking because of his limited education. But, he has been an avid reader, and his knowledge is quite extensive. He has a good sense of humor, a quick wit and a very considerate nature. He has also loved Delilah for most of his life.

This is part of a series but it works as a stand alone read.

The reader is introduced to characters from past stories. Relationships and situations are touched upon so there is no feeling of being lost. The past relationships and situations help explain Delilah's and Thomas' place among their friends. Both of them are well loved as well liked.

I enjoyed this book very much. Ms Bowman has created a time and place populated by likable characters, humorous situations and feelings of warmth and friendship.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.

A wonderful childhood best friends to lovers story.
I was taken aback by the heroine at 1st. I thought the way she sprouts random French into her speech pretentious and irritating and totally unnecessary. She speaks it badly at that & knows it. The author explained it a little later as a nervous habit but still, I found it irritating.
Delilah and Thomas met as teenagers and formed an instant bond. A close friendship builds between the two and they become best friends. When Thomas loses his father and is in shock and feeling guilty for not being a better son, it is Delilah whose steadfast friendship and understanding gives him the strength and will to forgive himself and get over it.
Thomas is such a wonderful character! Where can I find someone like him?! He appreciates Delilah for the person she is, and sees character where her mother finds fault with her and scorns her for what she is. Somewhat klutzy and lacking in what society terms ladylike behaviour, D is exuberant, somewhat effusive and tends to put her foot in her mouth (not to mention trip over her feet) when nervous. She is a natural nurturer and saves strays only to foist them off on Thomas to harbour them given that her mother abhors animals.
Thomas is the one who realizes 1st that he desperately loves D and has for several years but knowing her too young then has kept his feelings to himself waiting for her to grow up and later, when she had been out in society for some years, for the “right time”. But when D’s mother gives her an ultimatum, D rashly promises that she will win the season’s catch – unfortunately a different Duke than Thomas.
So he plots how to win her, & knowing her character as well as he does, does all the right things! What a smart man. I adored how gentle and caring he is of D when she is embarrassed and mortified after yet another klutzy debacle.
A wonderful read!

This is the 11th book in the series. It’s about Delilah and her best friend the Duke. Delilah is known for her match marking skills along with her very good friend Lucy. Together they think they have the matches all figured out until it all goes wrong! I loved Thomas. Great book wonderful series.

I laughed so much reading this book! I love Delilah, she is such a character. I started the book late at night then had to keep reading until I finished it in the early morning hours. I loved seeing the couples from the other books showing up in this one. I am looking forward to Valerie Bowman's next book!

**4.5 Stars**

You love her
But she loves him
And he loves somebody else
You just can't win
-Love Stinks, The J. Geils Band


Lady Delilah Montebank has lived under the tyranny of her abusive mother since her father passed away. Now she has been given an ultimatum—she must secure a betrothal by her birthday or be forced into one of her mother’s choosing. Desperate to please her mother, she announces that she will make a match with the most eligible bachelor in London, the Duke of Branville. Now she must get her matchmaking friend, Lucy, to help her plot how to achieve the task set forth before her.

Lord Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley, has secretly been in love with his best friend Lady Delilah since they were teens. Delilah has always been by his side, and they have shared many an adventure. Since the day she offered comfort during the loss of his father, they have formed a loving friendship that has grown stronger over time. But it is the thought of losing their friendship that has kept Thomas from declaring his feelings. When Delilah announces she intends to get the Duke of Branville to offer a proposal of marriage, Thomas sets out on his own matchmaking mission to get Delilah to see him as a lover rather than just a friend.

No Other Duke But You is a comedic friends to lovers romance that had me laughing and cheering for these two to finally get together! After all, what could possibly go wrong at a country estate with everyone running around attempting to douse love potion on their intended?

While this is the 11th installment in the Playful Brides series, it may be read as a standalone. Thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend!

This was cute and if you're a fan of this genre you might like it too. Loved Thomas and Delilah. Definitely stood on its own despite many references to past couples in the series (did not realize there were so many books in this series before this one!)

I love women characters set in this time period who stand up for themselves and I'm glad that Delilah was that type of character particularly near the end of the book. Her family life was tragic and I'm so glad for her wonderful friends, which really made the book for me.

Sweet, lighthearted, and innocently dramatic. That made the intimate scenes feel a bit naive but it worked for the couple. The meanness of the character's mother and the Madame Rosa nonsense added problems to the plot but not to my taste.
This isn't a story I want to

I received a free ARC from netgalley.

Note: Part of a long series, which I haven’t read prior books for. There is a lot of page time spent on other characters making their appearances and helping this couple get together. I also feel this may have been a couple the reader cheered for getting a book through prior books as well. That all said, this was still an enjoyable book.

Thomas was a Hero with a capital H. So sweet, funny, and absolutely in love with his best friend. She was so oblivious to his feelings and what Love was in general that she made me a bit angry.

Having met when Delilah was 13 and Thomas 17, they had been best friends for almost ten years. When she decides to get married it’s to another man, one she doesn’t even know. For Thomas, it’s always been her. He bides his time and courts the woman without her knowing it. He just needs to let her realizes she loves him too...hopefully before she’s married to someone else.

I went into this excited about the premise but, while I appreciate the general plot and the attempt at a A Midsummer Night's Dream-based romance, I found this pretty unreadable.

While most of the dialogue was boring but not bad, Delilah’s dialogue was very stilted and unbelievably ridiculous. Speaking French casually when no one else is? Delilah is self-confessedly bad at French yet goes around using it in her daily conversations. I cringed every time I read it. Thomas’ wasn’t much better, but the prose overall was decent.

I can only assume this is a subsequent book in a longer series by the author, because until about Chapter 6, I was still very confused by the range of characters that I was supposed to know. The main characters were pretty underdeveloped - having a past or a bad childhood is not character development or depth - and I just didn’t feel engaged in the romance at all. Thomas basically pines from the beginning of the book and Delilah’s actively pursuing other guys that she doesn’t particularly care about and shows no strong emotions about that fact. They seemed to have more of a brother-sister relationship than a romantic one.

Just didn’t grab me at all, and I wouldn’t try another book by this author.

I really liked this story. It had great characters, a friends to lovers plot trope that is one of my favs, and some funny ridiculous moments that had me laughing. Thomas the H is not really alpha, so if that's a must this book may not work for you, as he's very caring, sweet and supportive to the h. The only part that I really didn't care for was the epilogue (which is unusual for me). Overall, a good story. * I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

No Other Duke But You was a fun, sweet book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Lady Delilah has spent most of her life trying to get her mother's approval. Delilah is an exuberant, popular lady who has is a bit of a wild child. Her mother appears to not like her very much and has demanded she marry and has decided who Delilah should marry and it is someone she has absolutely zero interest in marrying. Delilah decides if she has to marry it will be the number one sought after bachelor of the ton who does not even know Delilah exists. Little does Delilah know one of her best friends has his sights on her.

Lord Thomas is a Duke and he has put off marrying because he doesn't want to be matched to anyone other than Delilah. As long as she has shown no interest in marriage he has kept the friend slot. Now that she has announced she has to marry he is ready to take that step until she notifies her friends that she intends to try and match with another Duke. What transpires is a fun, crazy set of hijinks where Delilah puts her plan in motion, Thomas puts his plan in motion to block her and their friends appear to be working on the sidelines to help each get what they want. It is a fun book. Review can also be seen at Lady Techie's Book Musings http://LadyTechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com

3.5 stars. This was such a fun, quirky read - I loved that, for once, it was the male best friend who was in love with the female.

This is absolutely a story that requires you to suspend you disbelief - over some of the antics, the historical (in)accuracies and sometimes the dialogue. But, ultimately, No Other Duke But You delivers a romance that is tender, funny, unique and enjoyable. Delilah is, at times, a little too self-deprecating, and we're subject to her inner monologue about her self-worth quite a lot, but given her upbringing and mother (shudder) it's forgivable.

Thomas was a great hero to read and I loved the times when he and Delilah were interacting and chatting. It's very A Midsummer Night's Dream (the play they're all acting in, by the way) with lots of improbable scheming and partner-swapping, but nothing malicious or mean (which is always a relief).

I'm definitely keen on reading some of the other books in this series - seems like there are quite a few!

3-3.5 Stars!! This is the 11th book in the ‘Playful Brides’ series & can be read as a standalone but it has a lot of couples from the series past books! This book was about Delilah-the matchmaker & Thomas-the Duke of Huntley/Delilah’s “BFF”! I wasn’t in love with this book because everything could’ve been much easier if Thomas would’ve just told Delilah he’d been in love with her for a long time! Or at least ask Lucy for help!! This was still an entertaining book. It just didn’t click with me, it was too unbelievable.
*I received this book at no charge from NetGalley.*

'No Other Duke But You' would have been perfect for me except for the gratuitous sex in the end. The characters were delightful, the villains were well drawn and courtship on the road to true love was humorous and like being in the Shakespeare play featured in the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thomas was handsome, rich and totally in love with Delilah since they were kids. In fact there had never been anyone for Thomas, he never had sex, just as Delilah. There's a potion and a headstrong Delilah who never saw Thomas as the man for her but when her friends confront her and tell her what really happened that crazy night, she couldn't wait any longer to get her man. Her mother and her stepfather were awful to her and she showed them, I loved that. I really enjoyed this story and recommend it highly.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet, sexy romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

3 1/2 stars. Delilah and Thomas's story was fun, if a bit confusing, to me. I really enjoy historical romances and I especially loved that Delilah was ahead of her time. It was cute seeing her struggle with the romance aspect after meddling in so many of her friends marriage prospects. Poor Thomas had to maintain his friendship with her, while trying to show her that they should be more. The aspect I struggled with was trying to keep all the characters straight in my mind. There just seemed too many couples to remember who was who and who was related to each other. Otherwise, a good, solid read.

The eleventh book in the Playful Brides series is a "friends to lovers" entry that didn't wow me. If you're a fan of the series and a completist, check it out. If you're unfamiliar with the series, I would recommend starting off with one of the stronger, earlier works. Authors of family/friends series don't have to give everyone their shot at an HEA via a full book - these lovers might've been better served by a novella or short story.

I really enjoy the friends to lovers trope and this book is a great example of how well it works!. In this book you meet Delilah and Thomas who have been friends for some time, both of them have been actively avoiding marriage when suddenly things change and let's just say that this is where the fun begins. There is lots of matchmaking and fun antics throughout this story to keep the momentum going. Along with misunderstandings, romance and friendships all coming together to create a lively and entertaining story!