🏝🔥 Looking for the next steamy romance to read on vacation this summer?!! 🔥🏝

A Daring Pursuit by Kate Bateman comes out May 24, and it can't come out fast enough!!! Thank you to St. Martins Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book. 💜

📝 The Montgomery and Davies families have been feuding for years. The second book in the Ruthless Rivals series picks up with Carys Davies, an independent thinker, who's not afraid to speak her mind, and Tristan Montgomery. She has a secret that could not only ruin her, but also, her family name. When Tristan tells her about what she's missing in relationships, Carys proposes for him to show her!

What I 🤍:
💓 Frenemies to lovers (longtime crush)
🥁 Independent woman who advocates for what she believes in
🐻 Animal Activism
👵 👵 Hilarious Meddling Aunts
🔥 The chemistry between Carys and Tristan

This steamy romance is still on my mind! After the first chapter of re-introducing the characters from the first book, the plot gets moving. While I was reading, I did wonder how to pronounce Carys name. Is is Carrie-s, Sherry-s? 🤣 Warning...I wouldn't recommend reading this book on the ✈️ unless you know the person next to you because this book is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥!!!!

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

The Montgomery and Davies families were the biggest enemies in England until recent nuptials between two members but that doesn’t mean that Carys Davies and Tristan Montgomery are friends. He finds her frivolous and outrageous and she finds him stodgy and boring, but what happens when Tristan finds out that Carys’ care free nature is nothing but a facade to help her deal with being blackmailed. A plan for justice keeps bringing the two together and forced closeness lights a fire between them. This is book two in the series, although you do not need to read the previous one to enjoy this book (but I highly recommend that you do). It is definitely not your typical historical romance as there’s lots of sexual tension (grab a fan) and feistiness (no weak wallflowers here) with Carys and Tristan. Add in a motley crew of animals, hilarious family members (I love the Montgomery aunts), and the enemies-to-lovers angle and you have a recipe for a fun romance that has you wanting more .5 stars, must read. I voluntarily read and reviewed an arc copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Daring Pursuit

A Daring Pursuit is the second book in the Ruthless Rivals Series. The Davies and Montgomery families have been feuding for years. A Reckless Match, the first book, unites the families with the marriage of Gryff and Maddie. This book is about Carys Davies and Tristan Montgomery. This story is "enemies to lovers" --- Tristan and Carys have always been attracted to each other, but suppressed the feelings.

Carys is well known for "thumbing her nose" at the Ton with her outrageous behavior and clothing. She avoids any marriage proposals on purpose: she is being blackmailed for a previous scandalous act. Tristan is home from the French wars and is trying to build a reputation as an architect . And lead a quiet life with a quiet wife. Carys and Tristan's paths cross frequently, often with mayhem and humor. They deny their attraction until Carys challenges Tristan to show her the pleasures of love.

This book is fun and filled with snarky dialogue, romance, danger and likable and dastardly characters. Tristan's Aunts are a hoot and deserve more pages! I received an ARC from Net Galley for my honest opinion: an enjoyable and fun story. Buy the book!

If you love enemies to lovers this is a story to read . She is in her third Season and she will anything to avoid marriage . Like her red hair she is fire but the reality is that she made a mistake two years ago and she is being blackmailed . He is her neighbor and sworn enemy . He has passion with architecture and he is the oppisite of her . they make a bet if he can make her change her opinion about marriage . While spending time together they can 't deny their feelings .
I received this book from netgalley and the puclisher as an arc . Thank you . All thoughts and opinions are my own .

If this isn't on your radar, it should be. The first book isn't necessary to understand the plot, but I did like how there was less family dramatics.

Only content warning I can think of is that up to 25% of the book, the heroine is being blackmailed, but the hero finds out and isn't so antagonistic to her. I liked the protectiveness of most of the male characters, and I liked Carys' aura and personality.

*This review contains content warnings*

Here’s what I loved about it:
- Dual POV
- Kind of Enemies to Lovers - they've been pining each other since forever but since their families were enemies, they didn't pursue their own feelings until now
- You can teach me all about sex for a week to have it out off our systems and then we’ll each marry someone else - trope.
- The heroine is bold, strong, decisive.
- The heroine bringing up birth control and the hero promising to adhere to her wishes and to have consented sex.
- The heroine’s animal shelter.
- The many cultural references.

What I could have done without (this may be spoilery):
- The heroine bringing up her enemies name each time for the first few times she and the hero are intimate. Why bring up this person by name? I felt like being dragged to an abrupt stop each time they were going down a romantic route.
- Why oh why was the choice to write that the hero got lost in passion and not adhere to his fierce promise for birth control? Why does this have to be a thing? Why can’t there be decent, trustworthy guys (who this is supposed to be) who actually holds on to that promise - especially out of love for the heroine?!
AND then why write it so that the heroine thinks it’s her fault in some way? What could she have done about it?
AND then this whole toxic way of acting and thinking wasn’t even addressed and resolved? Argh!

It’s 3 stars overall from me.

This story is the 2nd of the series but can definitely be read as a stand-alone.
I thank the publisher and NetGalley for granting me access to reading this romance before official publication.

*Content warnings* (Could be seen as spoilers by some.)
blackmail, animal cruelty, non-adherence to promised birth control method by the hero

I was able to read an early copy of "A Daring Pursuit" by Kate Bateman on NetGalley. I loved this book! The characters were easy to like or hate and it kept me entertained the entire book. So much so that I didn't want to do anything else but read it! This was the second book in a series and I have not yet read the first book, but I will be!

I really enjoyed this story, which is the first I've read by Kate Bateman. In this story, enemies Carys and Tristan have to reconcile their family feud in order to be together. I really loved the banter and I enjoyed that while they were enemies, they were never really mean to each other. This story is also really well-rounded in that there is a bit of intrigue that kept my attention on the story. The rest of the supporting cast was also fun and I already looked up the first book in the series because I definitely want to continue to visit the world!

Carys Davies and Tristan Montgomery's families have been enmeshed by a feud for hundreds of years, but since his sister recently married her brother, maybe there's room for compromise? Carys and Tristan have been the best of enemies since childhood. With adulthood comes a simmering awareness of one another, though of course romance is off the table. Right?
With a quick moving plot, sharp dialogue, and likable characters, this enemies to lovers Regency romp hits just the right notes. Kate Bateman is new to me, but I'll be seeking out more of her work. Recommended for fans of Sarah MacLean and Julie Ann Long.

NOTE: a version of this review will be posted to my Instagram later today and I have posted the below on Goodreads as well.

I loved so much about this book! It hit a real sweet spot for me as a reader. I adore a steamy childhood frenemies to lovers with a historic blood feud between two families and a lot of pining thrown in for good measure. I am all for the "I've imagined this. A thousand times" type of romance, so I really enjoyed A Daring Pursuit. The historical details here were also really on-point; the setting felt firmly rooted in the Regency and, as one of the only people who has probably willing read him in the twenty first century, I appreciated the James Fordyce shout-out.

Carys Davies has the backstory that I have been absolutely thirsting for—the non-virgin, non-ruined aristocratic heroine. Carys is a young unmarried woman from the storied Davies family and, two years prior to the opening of the novel, she slept with one of her suitors. She hasn’t been ruined socially because her transgression remains a secret. However, she is being blackmailed by this very same ex-lover, who is now married to another woman, and who she now completely loathes for his all-around asshole behavior. Not only is he blackmailing her, but the night that they slept together was a deeply disappointing experience for her—while she consented to the encounter, it was not at all pleasurable and left her with a low opinion of sex in general.

On top of being blackmailed, Carys has always nursed an attraction to Tristan Montgomery, her childhood frenemy whose family’s land borders her own (and, yes, childhood friends to lovers that takes place across bordering lands is my PARTICULAR kink). Bateman deftly handles Tristan’s entrance into the above drama—I won’t give it away, but it’s masterfully done. Once Tristan knows about Carys’s problem, they are drawn closer together—and their mutual passion takes over.

I really give Bateman credit for creating a hero in Tristan who is so supportive and non-shaming. It’s not often in a Regency that you hear a hero say “I’m going to marry her, and I don’t care how many men she’s slept with” and “I don’t care if she has slept with an entire cavalry regimen,” so that was really refreshing. I love so much about this book—I definitely recommend it to any reader who enjoys classic steamy regency romance, particularly those interested in reading about non-virgin heroines!

A Daring Pursuit is the second in Kate Bateman's Ruthless Rivals series, which focuses on the Montgomery and Davies families, who have been feuding for centuries. The first book, A Reckless Match, was one of my 2021 favorites, so I couldn't wait to read the second installment. Bateman didn't disappoint! This book was just as much fun as the first!

Carys Davies has been scandalizing the ton for two years, and none moreso than Tristan Montgomery, her archenemy. When Tristan finds out a secret that Carys would rather hide, however, they enter into a deliciously intriguing bargain (sex deal!!). They agree to be "enemies with benefits", the only problem is they can't seem to remember that they're supposed to be enemies.

I loved the characters of this book so much. The angst-level was just right, with both pining for the other, and it was just such a delight to read. This can definitely be read as a standalone, but I'd recommend reading the first book just because it's amazing as well. I can't wait to read the next entry in this series!

I had never read a Kate Bateman before, but since reading this book, I have read several others in her back catalog. I really connected with the main characters and thought it combined modern sensibilities with a still setting appropriate plot. I think the. main words I would use to describe this are "solid" -- sure, it didn't have anything super flashy or stand out, but it just hit the beats well and was engaging!

I loved this book! It has a most unique plot point for a historical Regency romance. The characters are engaging and likeable. Are some of the scenarios implausible? Yes! Are they enchanting in a way? Without a doubt. I read Regency romances for pleasure and enjoyment. This book certainly fills that requirement. I had a smile through the whole book. I highly recommend getting to know Carys and Tristan. You won't be sorry!

I loved loved loved this book. The chemistry was HOT! The characters were fun, interesting, and lovable. I highly recommend this book! There was a great balance between back story and self doubt without too much angst. The story propelled forward smoothly. It ended up being a quick read because I had a hard time putting it down.

*There were many typos and editing that I hope gets fixed before release.

Thank you to Kate Bateman and the publisher for the arc via NetGalley.

I loved the first book in this series (Gryff and Maddie's story), so I was excited to have the opportunity to read an ARC of the second book, A Daring Pursuit. While I liked the first book s little better, this one did not disappoint.

Carys Davies and Tristan Montgomery are in the current generation of two families that have been feuding for centuries. That said, the feud has become more like gleeful squabbling, and no real anger persists. (It helps that Carys' brother and Tristan's sister found True Love together.) For their part, Carys and Tristan have been striking sparks off each other for a while now, keeping away from each other pretty much out of habit. Tristan's time on the continent fighting Napoleon also served to keep them apart for a time, and it's during those years that Carys fell into something that would have been a scandal had word gotten out. A few years later, Carys is keeping the scandal at bay by paying off her blackmailer and also by avoiding marriage--and thus intimacy--at all costs.

Tristan finds out about Carys'secret, and pretty quickly, the two find themselves agreeing to engage in a week-long affair. Here's where the book lost a star for me; I find the whole "I will be your tutor and you my student in the art of lovemaking" trope kind of icky. True, Tristan is blowing smoke by considering their liaison that way since he's totally infatuated with and definitely undone by Carys, but the mere presence of "the next lesson" verbiage is just this side of too much for me.

So supposedly it's a temporary gig; typically this trope has reasons for the liaison to be short lived; for example, perhaps they are of different classes or the woman is engaged to be married to a heartless brute. Here, there really are no obstacles for them aside from the supposed feud, but again, there really isn't a feud anymore. Still, it's fun to watch these two very worthy people find delight--both physical and emotional--in each other's company.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks!

Just a very good fun historical romance .
Between two opposites that come together.
Really a good entertaining read.
Voluntarily reviewed

I LOVED IT!! This is one Fantastic story I was not expecting at all! I love when a book grabs you right from the start and takes you on a heart-stopping journey as in A Reckless Match. Kate Bateman weaves a story from beginning to end with threads of intrigue, smugglers, family feud and danger. It's an unforgettable steamy romance that brims with tension-building twists and turns, remarkable emotions, characters that come off the pages and pull you into their emotional ride that keeps you involved until the very end, great and witty dialogue and with one fantastic plot and and leaves you eagerly anticipating the next in the series.

A quick paced, exciting and steamy story. Opposites can attract and have a great run together. Strong women are underrated in what they can accomplish.

If star-crossed lovers are your trope, then you need to pick this up. Carys and Tristian are from feuding families that are recently starting to thaw due to the marriage of her brother and his sister. A family house party brings them together in a way they've never been before and it isn't soon before they both realize they can't and don't want to look back. Highly recommend!