A Reckless Match series Ruthless Rivals #1
Kate Bateman
St. Martin’s Press, Sep 28, 2021
330 Pages, Historical Romance
Provided by Pub’s Rep via Netgalley for review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The cover is attractive and definitely matches parts of the story. That’s something that you don’t always get, especially in historical romance. But this time, the story and the cover walk hand in hand, or arm in arm as the case may be. Lip to lip? Even the foggy part of the picture is appropriate this time, since it is something that happens in the area where the story takes place, in Wales.
I’m a Kate Bateman fan, having read many of her books over time. She is a very good writer of this genre and this is another good one. The story is quite interesting, though I found I wanted it to go into more depth in some areas and last longer. The characters are well-developed and interact naturally for long-term feuding families. Neither one ever misses the chance for a snipe at the other. The enemies to lovers is always a good trope and in this one it’s used to its best. A centuries-long family feud stands between these two who’ve known each other since childhood and tormented each other with childhood pranks the whole time. But somehow the feelings behind it all have changed over time and it’s gone from torture to titillate. A life-threatening crisis brings it all into focus and makes it all too real for them both.
There were some editing issues I came across which I hope were worked out before the book went into its final form. Otherwise, my only issue with the book was the way the author set up the next couples so obviously towards the end of this book. Hinting is one thing, but this finger pointing went way overboard. I would have liked it to be more subtle. Still…Recommended.
a thoughtful reveal 