A Duke Like No Other - My Review
Take one grumpy exacting spymaster and one fiercely independent woman, put them together and what happens? Sparks fly, emotions surface, and everything changes. That is the premise of this gem of a novel called A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman. This is not my first Valerie Bowman book and, after reading, most definitely won't be my last! It all starts off with General Mark Grimaldi and the promotion to spymaster that he has been working towards for years. He is the grandson of a Duke, but few know that since his mother was ostracized and disowned when she married Mark's father, an Italian Catholic. One last thing that he needs before he's handed his promotion is to show himself to be a family man. Enter Nicole Huntington, his estranged wife. They've been living separate lives for years. Mark has been in England crafting his spy skills while Nicole has been in France living a contented life over there. So Mark journeys to France to convince Nicole to come back to England so they can pretend to be a happily married couple. Nicole agrees on one condition; she wants a legitimate child. Mark acquiesces to her request and so the two embark on the trip back to England to pull off this farce of a marriage.
Once back home and living together under the same roof, things don't go quite as planned. Now that Nicole and Mark are in such close proximity to each other for an extended period of time, those pesky raw emotions start to surface and wreak havoc in their lives. They finally are forced to confront the misunderstanding that separated them years ago. On top of that, they also take on the murder of Mark's cousin. This death makes Mark the next in line for the position of Duke, but he wants nothing to do with it. Nicole convinces him to take the case and they work together to solve the mystery. Along the way, they realize the love they once had for each other never died, and they finally were able to move past everything and gain their happily ever after!
As much as I enjoyed this book, I will say that Mark really got on my nerves after a while. I mean, he was just so pigheaded when Nicole tried to explain things to him in the past as well as when they were together again. His stubbornness was just a bit too much at times. I absolutely loved Nicole though! She was bored with high society so she began working on the sly for the Bow Street Runners, who were the precursors to the police force. It may have been a bit unbelievable that she would have actually been able to do this, but it made for a strong and gutsy heroine! Overall, this story is funny, heartwarming, and quite a fun read, so go pick up A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman for your next historical romantic adventure!
~M
Once back home and living together under the same roof, things don't go quite as planned. Now that Nicole and Mark are in such close proximity to each other for an extended period of time, those pesky raw emotions start to surface and wreak havoc in their lives. They finally are forced to confront the misunderstanding that separated them years ago. On top of that, they also take on the murder of Mark's cousin. This death makes Mark the next in line for the position of Duke, but he wants nothing to do with it. Nicole convinces him to take the case and they work together to solve the mystery. Along the way, they realize the love they once had for each other never died, and they finally were able to move past everything and gain their happily ever after!
As much as I enjoyed this book, I will say that Mark really got on my nerves after a while. I mean, he was just so pigheaded when Nicole tried to explain things to him in the past as well as when they were together again. His stubbornness was just a bit too much at times. I absolutely loved Nicole though! She was bored with high society so she began working on the sly for the Bow Street Runners, who were the precursors to the police force. It may have been a bit unbelievable that she would have actually been able to do this, but it made for a strong and gutsy heroine! Overall, this story is funny, heartwarming, and quite a fun read, so go pick up A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman for your next historical romantic adventure!
~M
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