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.       

ARC REVIEW A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman

Playful Brides #9, Don't let that ninth book in the series scare you off it can be read as a stand alone, I have only read one other book in the series and even with mentioning past characters it didn't have any precedence over the current story. This is a second chance romance between Mark Grimaldi and Nicole Huntington Grimaldi. It was love at first sight for Mark and Nicole that lead to a quick and small wedding, but even before the honeymoon was over they argued and Nicole ran off. It's been ten years of trying for get each other, ten years of Nicole telling herself she no longer loved Mark and half expecting to receive a letter telling her he died in the war. Mark doing everything in his power to forget Nicole focusing on his career and now finally Mark is in line for a promotion, the position he's been aiming for his whole military career, but he needs his wife at his side. Nicole is tired of being lonely so when Mark shows up out of the blue asking her to be his wife again so he can get his promotion the only thing she wants in return is a baby. 

Mark was just a soldier when he met Nicole and it surprised them both when her Mother and Grandmother approved the match. It wasn't until after the wedding that he found out that they knew the identity of his grandfather. Mark's mother was the daughter of a Duke but was disowned when she married an Italian man for love. Mark grew up hating that side of the family and wanted no connection to them at all. When found out that Nicole knew of this and that was the only reason she was allowed to marry him he assumed she just married him for the possibility of one day being a Duchess and not because she loved him. Mark never stopped loving her even when he just thought she was after his non-existent title and bringing her back into his life makes him question whether he'll be able to let her go again. Nicole never stopped loving Mark but ten years is a long time and the whole miscommunication thing going on between them that started all those years ago is still a big issue. When Mark's cousin dies suddenly he finds himself the first in line to inherit the Dukedom. Mark is put in charge of finding out who murdered his cousin but asks that everyone keep it quiet that he's the next in line mostly to draw out the murder and also because he doesn't want his new title to influence the higher ups about his promotion. 

Overall, the murder mystery bit was great that was my favorite part of the book; the romance on the other hand got aggravating, all the assuming and not communicating with each other makes me want to bang my head on the desk, all the sexy bits were good...hot, very nice indeed. I can understand the miscommunication when they were younger but after all his time as a spy and working for the Home Office during war time he should know how important communication is and not just speculating something but finding out the truth but he can't do that with his own wife? Nicole overreacted and then was too stubborn to go back home. But despite their inability to talk to each other and listen i really enjoyed the book.        

ARC REVIEW Never Trust a Pirate by Valerie Bowman

Even though it is book seven of Valerie Bowman's Playful Brides series it is a perfect stand-alone. Never having read any of the previous books only the mentioning of  Rafe and Daphne past gives any inclination that this is part of a series and since they aren't the main characters and their book was book four, it really has no precedence in this story all the pertinent information is given and really very easy to follow.

The descriptive playful in the series title is also a good descriptive for the writing style. It kind of reminded me of the older pirate romance with a playful twist on it. I love the direction it went and how the story played out the characters were all very likable and easy to empathize with.

Danielle came from a good family and high in society but her mother was disowned when she married a Frenchman for love. It didn't end well and Danielle ended up becoming a spy for the English crown. Danielle just wanted one thing in return for her service to get vengeance against the man who ruined her life. Getting closer than she has ever been before to the pirate she just needs to bide her time until the right moment until then she was been charged with keeping an eye on Cade Cavendish and see what he's up too.

Cade faked his death years ago for his brother's protection but he's back now and with one last thing he needs to do before he can settle down but the intriguing french lady's maid that his sister in law just hired has piqued his curiosity and stirred his lust. The attraction is instantaneous which Danielle thinks is horrible because she thinks he is his brother. Thankfully that quickly gets straighten out and against her better judgment she falls under his spell and allows the seduction. But things are not always what they seem and in the end Cade and Danielle have a common goal.

Overall, this was a quick and witty story. A joy to read, seriously this book made me happy. The whole Black Fox thing was very clever.