No Other Duke But You: A Playful Brides Novel

I have not read any other books in this series so I needed a bit to sort out the numerous characters and their partners. While entertaining, it did get a bit drawn out as the h and H could not drum up the courage to admit their feelings to each other. Good dialog. As the subtitle "Playful Brides" hints, this is more on the whimsical, light-hearted side. I received an advance copy via NetGalley; my opinion is voluntarily given.

Lady Delilah Montebank fancies herself a matchmaker and along with her friend Lucy Hunt, Duchess of Claringdon, is always making sure they pair any eligible gentlemen with the right ladies. This is until her mother gives her an ultimatum and tells her she must find herself a match by the end of the season or be married to a gentleman of her mother’s choice. Lord Thomas Hobbs, Duke of Huntley, has been a close friend of the unorthodox and clumsy Delilah for years and knows her better than anyone. He’s also managed to keep himself off the marriage mart and out of the matchmakers’ clutches by claiming lack of interest in becoming attached while harboring a secret love to his best friend, but what will happen now that the lovely Delilah has openly declared herself on the hunt for another Duke? Though I’ve only read a few of the previous Playful Brides’ stories, I’d read about Delilah and Thomas and was looking forward to their own book. It was surely worth the wait and, in good Delilah’s fashion, it was delightfully fun and fresh. One of the things I most enjoyed was the backdrop of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and the way the author twined it into the story. This has definitely been my favorite book from Ms. Bowman to date. It was easy to read with a nice pace to it and it’s as unpredictable as its characters

What a great, fun read! When Delilah is forced to married, her competitive nature has her determining to marry the most eligible man of the season. Having experience at matchmaking, it should be easy enough. However, she finds herself fumbling and bumbling her way through introductions and every other step of the way – the very behavior her mother constantly berates her over. When things get desperate, she turns to a more unique means of making the match…a little bit of magic. Thomas has been in love with Delilah forever. She’s always claimed she would never marry and so he stood by her side through all of her quirky misadventures, happy to have her in his life even if not the way he ultimately desires. But when she announces it’s time she marries, he’s ready, except even as she shares her news, she also shares who the man will be. And with the plan to be the man in front of her when marriage arose dissolves into despair, he sets out to show her that he has all the qualities she needs in a husband. This book was so entertaining. While this couple seemed a bit immature for their age at times, I’m a lenient reader and set it aside and made myself believe they were younger. (It’s my prerogative. Lol) With that issue dealt with, I really enjoyed watching Delilah as she bounced about trying to win the only man her mother would approve of. And I adored watching Thomas as he struggled with his feelings of jealousy and possessiveness. He just wanted to claim her as his own but knew that with her background she would never accept that he had always loved her. I truly loved just about everything about this book. It has a great pace and before I knew it I was finished and so very satisfied. All the crazy shenanigans were exactly what I was needing at the time. The steam level is low and while there are a couple of scenes where this couple kiss, the smexy didn’t strike until the last ten percent of the story. I think this is my first book by this author and I’m excited to check her backlist and find other fun reads. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.