ARC Review : A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman



A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman
Series : Ruthless Rivals #3
Genre : Historical Romance
Publisher : St Martin's Press
Publication date : December 27th, 2022
 
If there’s one thing impossible for a Davies to resist, it’s a challenge from a Montgomery. . .

A teasing bet.

Shipwrecked and imprisoned thanks to an incorrect map, Captain Morgan Davies has returned to London to exact sweet revenge on the cartographer responsible for his suffering. He’s also vowed to claim the winner’s prize―three kisses―in the bet he made with his long-time nemesis, the prickly, smart-mouthed Harriet Montgomery. His incarceration has clarified his feelings for her, but convincing the infuriating woman he wants to marry her is going to be his greatest challenge yet. When Harriet’s revealed to be the very mapmaker he seeks, Morgan decides to combine revenge and seduction into one delightful package. . .

A dangerous enemy.

Harriet’s always wanted witty scoundrel Morgan, and now he’s back; as handsome and as taunting as ever. She has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s failing eyesight and a rival mapmaker copying her work to play wicked games with a dastardly Davies―however tempting he might be. But when a threat from Morgan’s past puts them both in danger, Harry discovers that she and Morgan might not be enemies at all . . .

Actually it's my first reading this author's work and I was pleasantly surprised!❣️✨ This one was really good and hit all the right notes for me! 😍 Also, let's take a moment to admire that cover as that's the thing that caught my eye at first! I was thinking this one was going to be about two enemies falling in love but it turned out to be different - and in a good way!😆 It's two rivals(the type of playful rivals not the mean ones!) who've been lusting after each other for so long!🤣 This is definitely a favorite of mine this month - just for being so lovely, steamy and not giving me any tension! I mean, I always have something to nitpick about the characters in almost all of my reads but not in this one!😌⁣
Harriet Montgomery and Morgan Davies have been rivals since childhood mainly because of family history, but it has never stopped them or their siblings from interacting with each other and engaging in bets! And just before Morgan sails off, Harriet puts forth a daring bet and now Morgan is back to claim the three kisses that she promised him. But it's upto him to decide the logistics of it 😉 He does get a surprise when he finds out that she's the mapmaker who was indirectly responsible for his imprisonment, but it wasn't really her fault so he doesn't care. And his experiences have made him determined to marry Harriet, but convincing her to believe him is the challenge. Luckily, he has three unclaimed kisses and a way to make her realize that she's just as attracted to him as he is!⁣

Because imprisonment had granted him a shocking epiphany: He needed Harriet Montgomery.
In his bed.
In his life.
Permanently. True, they rubbed each other the wrong way, but that constant friction created a delicious kind of heat— a heat he planned to kindle until it burst into flame. He knew perfectly well how good the two of them could be together. Not just physically, but intellectually too. They shared a quick wit, a love of the absurd, a thirst for knowledge and adventure.

I loved the not-so-subtle seduction game that they were playing and the steamy attraction between them! Rhys is all in from the beginning and there's no will they- won't they thing happening her except for some misgivings that Harriet has - and Rhys immediately addresses them! So extra points for all of this alone! And on a side note, I must admit that I was reading some of the steamy scenes while I was on public transport and oh my lord! 🥵🥵🥵*fans self*


If you're looking for an angst-free, steamy historical romance with two rivals and adorable family members this is the one for you! In the meantime I'll be checking out the author's other books and waiting for Rhys' story!

You can also find my review on my bookstagram here


*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Kate Bateman, (also writing as K. C. Bateman), is the #1 bestselling author of Regency, Victorian, and Renaissance historical romance. Her Renaissance romp, The Devil To Pay, is a Romance Writer’s of America 2019 RITA® Finalist and her Regency-set A Counterfeit Heart (Secrtes & Spies series) won the 2018 Book Buyer’s Best contest for Best Historical Romance.

Kate wrote her first historical romance in response to a $1 bet with her husband who rashly claimed she’d ‘never finish the thing.’ She gleefully proved him wrong. Her books feature her favorite intelligent heroines, (badasses in bodices!) wickedly inappropriate banter, and heroes you want to both strangle and kiss.

When not traveling to exotic locations ‘for research’, Kate leads a not-so-secret double life as a fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several TV shows in the UK, each of which has up to 2.5 million viewers. Before writing romance, Kate was director and valuer at her own UK Auction House, Batemans in Stamford, Lincolnshire. She currently splits her time between Illinois and her native England and writes despite three inexhaustible children and that husband… who still owes her that dollar.

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