ARC REVIEW No Other Duke But You by Valerie Bowman

Playful Brides #11, Third of the series that I've read so far but each of the book can be read as a stand alone. I enjoyed the book but at times I didn't. I didn't like Delilah for being in her sixth season and playing the matchmaker for years she was really kind of oblivious, and while I normally enjoy a good oblivious character she was kind of annoying. I liked Thomas, he was in love and did just about everything to show Delilah that he loved her, short of flat out telling her. In a very Kiss Me Kate type fashion Delilah and her friends are putting on a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream for charity when real life starts to emulate art.

Delilah must be engaged by her birthday or else her hateful mother will force her marry a horrible weasel of a man. She has he sights set on the Duke of Branville but so does one of the other girls. To distract the other girl Delilah's matchmaking partner Lucy intend to use Thomas as a distraction, but for some reason Delilah's hesitant to do that, and then another of her good friends Rebecca sets her sight on Thomas. Delilah easily distracts her with Lord Berwick but suddenly Thomas's sister Lavinia wants to be paired with Berwick and not Lord Stanley and to top it all off Branville outright asks Delilah if she could match him to Rebecca. To muddle things up more Thomas kisses her and she has no idea how to process that bit of information; he's her best friend and it was all just for the play, right?  Delilah is at her wits end and she's running out of time and no closer to securing Branville that's when her cousin Danielle tells her about a Roma gypsy woman who sells love potions. Only she manages to mess that up as well by dropping the potion in Thomas's eyes instead of Branville.

Overall, parts of it were really fun but I kind of wish it went a different way after the love potion debacle because as it is it's just Delilah whining. And Thomas in his infinite wisdom thinking it's better to tell he loves her under the influence of a love potion than to just tell her he's always loved her. (que me banging my head on the desk). It was a fun read, frustrating at times, but fun nonetheless.