BOOK REVIEW-A DUKE LIKE NO OTHER by Valerie Bowman

A DUKE LIKE NO OTHER:
First comes love, then comes marriage. Unless it’s the otherway around. . .

General Mark Grimaldi has sacrificed everything for his military career, working his way through the ranks without the benefit of a nobleman’s title. Now, his years of dedication are about to pay off—with an offer for a prestigious promotion to Home Secretary. There’s only one condition: Mark must be married. Aside from the small matter of not actually wanting to be wed, Mark faces another troubling problem: he already has a wife.

Nicole Huntington Grimaldi has spent ten contented years in France without her husband—and without regret. When Mark asks her to return to London and play the part of his beloved wife, she sees her chance. But neither of them is prepared for news that will throw Mark’s future into chaos…nor the undeniable desire they’ve rekindled. Maybe happily-ever-after can happen the second time around in A Duke Like No Other, the next Regency romance from Valerie Bowman.    AMAZON 3 STARS


The interesting book information is what really got my attention right away.  There was a good start to the book.  The animosity between the two main characters is clear.  And I also thought pretty early on that  that Mark was a bigot in reverse.  Anything to do with the aristocracy earned his disdain. 

Nicole had made a life for herself for ten years without Mark and she was not ready for his sudden return.  He needed a favor but she had also become a pretty good negotiator and had some conditions of her own. 

I had a hard time liking Mark even though he had given up just about everything for his country.  He also had no close friends, and was often viewed as a stone man because his emotions were so strongly under his control.  He had his reasons for his hatred toward the ton, and they came out as the story continued. 

There are so many secrets lurking ready to pounce on Mark and as they are slowly revealed it turns all his carefully planned out life upside down. It turns out that they needed to find the answers to a totally unexpected mystery.  And it looked like a dangerous one; it had already caused the murder of one man already. 

There are some good secondary characters which include....Daffin Oakleaf, a very effective Bow Street Runner. 

There is also some times that Nicole had flashback memories of her courtship with Mark.  It took me a minute or two to get back into that mode and then bounce back to the present part of the story.  


I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley and this is my honest opinion of it.