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Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group

Playful Brides

Bestselling author Valerie Bowman sets the stage in Regency England for her Playful Brides series, where couples’ misadventures on the way to the altar are witty, romantic romps based on some of the world’s most beloved plays. In The Unexpected Duchess, Lady Lucy Upton may have a tongue too sharp to attract suitors, but when her friend needs help discouraging an unwanted suitor, Lucy is happy to step in and ward off Derek Hunt, the Duke of Claringdon. But Derek refuses to go back on his promise to marry Lucy’s friend. After spending years in battle, Derek wants peace – not war with Lucy Upton. But when their bantering turns into something more, the spoils of this war may be true love…

  • No Other Duke But You
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    • No Other Duke But You

    • Playful Brides (Volume 11)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • The Playful Brides novels are:

      “Wholly satisfying.”—USA Today

      “Smart and sensual.”—RT Book Reviews

      “Delicious.” —Kirkus Reviews

      • Avaliable in:

      • Physical Book
      • eBook
  • Kiss Me at Christmas
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    • Kiss Me at Christmas

    • Playful Brides (Volume 10)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • A spirited lady facing spinsterhood. A common man with a noble mission. And a surprise that just might be waiting for them under the mistletoe. KISS ME AT CHRISTMAS is the next delightful Regency romance from Valerie Bowman.

      • Avaliable in:

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  • A Duke Like No Other
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    • A Duke Like No Other

    • Playful Brides (Volume 9)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • A 2018 Daphne du Maurier finalist

      First comes love, then comes marriage. Unless it’s the other way around. . .

      General Mark Grimaldi has sacrificed everything...

      • Avaliable in:

      • Physical Book
      • eBook
  • The Right Kind of Rogue
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    • The Right Kind of Rogue

    • Playful Brides (Volume 8)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • Can two star-crossed lovers come together—until death do they part?

      Viscount Hart Highgate has decided to put his rakish ways behind him and finally get married. He may adore...

      • Avaliable in:

      • Physical Book
      • eBook
  • Never Trust a Pirate
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    • Never Trust a Pirate

    • Playful Brides (Volume 7)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • The rules of engagement were never so scandalous. . .

      A rumored pirate and the scurrilous black sheep of his well-to- do family, Cade Cavendish relishes his world of rebellion, deception, and...

      • Avaliable in:

      • Physical Book
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  • The Legendary Lord
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    • The Legendary Lord

    • Playful Brides (Volume 6)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • When Christian, Viscount Berkeley, flees for his Scottish hunting lodge, the last thing he expects to find before his fire is the lovely runaway Lady Sarah Highgate, who inspires an eminently practical exchange: he’ll safeguard her reputation if she helps turn him into a legend in order to attract a bride…but will he run away with her heart?

      • Avaliable in:

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  • The Untamed Earl
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    • The Untamed Earl

    • Playful Brides (Volume 5)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • When Lady Alexandra's childhood infatuation, Lord Owen Monroe, is set to marry her shrewish sister, Lavinia, she must take matters into her own hands in a reverse Taming of the Shrew!

      • Avaliable in:

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  • The Irresistible Rogue
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    • The Irresistible Rogue

    • Playful Brides (Volume 4)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • A PROPOSAL FROM A SCOUNDREL
      Daphne Swift has not laid eyes on her devilishly charming husband, Captain Rafferty Cavendish, in quite some time. As a matter of fact, she wants the rogue...

      • Avaliable in:

      • Physical Book
      • eBook
  • The Unlikely Lady
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    • The Unlikely Lady

    • Playful Brides (Volume 3)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • FOR THE BACHELOR AND THE BLUESTOCKING…

      Certain that no man wants a bluestocking for a wife, Miss Jane Lowndes is careful to wield her books and her spectacles as weapons against matrimony....

      • Avaliable in:

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  • The Accidental Countess
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    • The Accidental Countess

    • Playful Brides (Volume 2)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • CAN A SCANDALOUS CHARADE
      For seven long years, Lady Cassandra Monroe has waited for the man of her dreams to return from the war. Unfortunately, he happens to be engaged to her flighty...

      • Avaliable in:

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  • The Unexpected Duchess
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    • The Unexpected Duchess

    • Playful Brides (Volume 1)
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • IN THIS BATTLE OF WITS

      Lady Lucy Upton's tongue may be too sharp to attract suitors but her heart is good, and when her painfully shy friend Cassandra needs help she devises a brilliant...

      • Avaliable in:

      • Physical Book
      • eBook
  • The Unforgettable Hero
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    • The Unforgettable Hero

    • Playful Brides
      Valerie Bowman
      St. Martin's Press

    • A touch of amnesia makes a romance novel come alive for one unlikely duo in this special novella from Valerie Bowman's Playful Brides series!

      • Avaliable in:

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Valerie Bowman

Valerie Bowman is an award-winning author who writes Regency-set historical romance novels aka Racy Regency Romps! Since her debut in 2012, Valerie's books have received starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus. She's been an RT Reviewers' Choice nominee for Best First Historical Romance and Best Historical Romance Love and Laughter. Two of her books have been nominated for the Kirkus Prize for fiction and New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas calls them, "Too delightful to miss!"

Valerie has a B.A. in English Language and Literature with a minor in history from Smith College. By day, she is a technical editor at a computer software company. By night, she combines her love of writing, history, and romance to craft stories about people falling in love.

Originally from Rantoul, Illinois, Valerie lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her family including her two rascally dogs. When she's not writing, she keeps busy reading, traveling, or vacillating between watching crazy reality TV or PBS.

Mary A. Behre

Valerie Bowman

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