Kate still manages to surprise me by creating stories that make me feel all the feels and fall in love with her characters. Daisy and Lucien have been secretly pining for each other for years, exchanging nothing more than heated gazes and lustful thoughts after Lucien's rejection. However when two different agendas pushed them to cross paths, Daisy and Lucien were forced to acknowledge their mutual attraction and passion, and the lifelong pleasure they could lead to. I loved Lucien's wicked innuendos and cocky nature; he really was the best at being the worst and knew how to make Daisy want to strangle and embrace him equally. Daisy was such a capable and refreshing heroine, and she definitely kept Lucien guessing. I got a little frustrated towards the end with their lack of communication, but overall I devoured their sweet yet intoxicating romance🖤

Tropes: hate-to-love-you, second chance romance, obsessed hero, badass heroine, mutual pining, forced proximity, touch her and die, hurt/comfort, only one bed, fighting as foreplay, hero with a secret agenda, no-strings attached, STEAMY🔥

If Kate Bateman writes it, I’ll read it. No questions asked.

King & Co. Private Investigations has been hired to stop a wedding!

Daisy’s mission? Intercept Violet and Peregrine’s carriage before they reach Scotland to elope. But when she stumbles upon it being attacked by highwaymen, things get complicated.

With no choice but to intervene, Daisy jumps into the fray. Three against one? Not exactly ideal odds. Just when it looks hopeless, a shot rings out—the smoking gun— a tall frame, with dark eyes steps from the carriage.

Not him. Anyone but him.

Lucien Vaughn, Earl of Ultimate Arrogance, the man who broke her heart, the one who just saved her life. And it looks like their adventure is just beginning, because you never know what’s coming next on a road trip with a rogue.

This was the perfect conclusion to Her Majesty's Rebels series. Another exceptional installment. Kate is absolutely masterful when it comes to character work, storytelling, and sizzling chemistry—and Daisy and Lucien are no exception. Their banter is bantering, their chemistry is on fire, and the angst? Absolutely delicious.

Daisy is a stubborn, independent, stabby FMC. She’s built her walls high, but her mushy interior has always belonged to Lucien. Watching him break through those walls is a true adventure. He’s the ultimate cocky rogue with a heart of gold. He’s always seen her, always wanted her, and now, he finally allows himself to indulge.

They both fight for control, and I loved every second of how it played out. There’s something so beautiful about letting yourself want and take love that truly knocks you off your feet.

I hate to see this series end. Best part of this series has been the the friendship between the three women. It's heart warming and what every girl should strive for in surrounding herself with friends. The support they show for one another; never judgement, just love, kindness and the truth.

The focus of the 3rd book in this series is Daisy Hamilton, a partner in King & Co, She is set to stop Violet Brand, a spoiled heiress, from marrying a nitwit, Peregrine Hughes. But things go awry when she stops the wrong coach. Lucien Vaughan, Duke of Cranford, a war hero and the man who broke her heart at 18 is riding in that coach. He's set to ensure Violet marries his nephew, Peregrine. He'll stop at nothing to see them married. A quick trip to Gretna Green to stop the wedding, a few missteps and lots of steam leads to a very happily ever after. She's strong willed, and he's a twisted cinnamon roll.

Favorite piece of advice: "Not starting something because you're afraid it might end one day is stupid."

This can be stand alone, but I recommend reading from the beginning.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

What started out as a mission for King and Company, a private investigation firm, to stop an elopement, ended up with Daisy Hamilton stopping the wrong carriage. This carriage holdup was the carriage of Lucien Vaughan, Duke of Cranford, which she ended up trying to save his life after outlaws stopped his carriage before she could get to it. He offered to help her stop the young couple before they could marry but there were a few things she didn’t know. One being that the young man was Lucien’s nephew and he would do everything he could to help the young couple succeed therefore putting roadblocks to delay her pursuit. When Daisy’s life is threatened, he is determined to save her as well as her reputation. A great story with drama and of course you will get your happily ever after.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a complimentary copy.

Every so often, a romance book comes along that just makes me happy the entire time I'm reading it. This summer, that book is Road Trip With a Rogue by Kate Bateman. I had read the other two books in this series earlier in the summer and I couldn't wait for Daisy's story. I'm so glad it did not disappoint me because I had very high expectations.

From the very beginning, Daisy's voice grabbed me. Sentences like "Bloody hell. What a stupid way to die. And in front of Vaughan too. How utterly humiliating" just made me eager to turn to the next page to see what Daisy actually did and what Vaughan's actual reaction was. The moment these two were together on the page, the banter was snippy and playful, not forced, and it had me giggling out loud. Romantasy authors take note! This is how you do banter!

The actual plot of the book was rather silly, but it was a feel good silly, not a cringy silly. I was delighted the entire time I spent time with Daisy and Lucien and the ending was just as good as the previous books with the same type of over the top shenanigans and I was sad to close it.

I love Kate Bateman's work and I look forward to her next book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for gifting me a last minute arc for review purposes!

Hampstead Heath, London - 1817

Lady Daisy Hamilton, 23, and daughter of a duke, runs an investigative service called King and Company along with her two friends Ellie and Tess. Daisy has been tasked with catching up with Violet Brand, 18 and Peregrine Hughes, 19 who have eloped and are on their way to Gretna Green.

It is nighttime and Daisy is waiting by the edge of the woods with her horse when another coach comes along and is held up by 3 masked men. Fearing that it is the young couple, Daisy tries to intervene by shooting and stabbing two of the men. However, inside the coach is Lucien Vaughn, the twelfth Duke of Cranford. The two of them have always clashed. She explains to him what she is doing there and he demands that she ride in his coach and together they will overtake the couple. Reluctantly, she agrees.

The two of them spar as they take stops at inns along the way, Lucien has always loved Daisy but she is too independent to want to marry anyone. However, their togetherness tests her independent streak. How will things end up for this couple?

If you like a steamy, humorous, and romantic story with lots of action, this one’s for you. I have enjoyed many of this author’s books and I really think readers will like this one as well. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Kate Bateman could write a CVS receipt and I would be first in line to read it.

This is another pitch perfect historical from one of my favorites! Pick it up for:

- Banter
- Chemistry
- Fake Highwayman!
- Road trip romp!!
- Lots of swoons and spice!

Holy anachronisms, Batman! I kept getting pulled out of the story because things that seemed to not fit the stated time period of 1817 kept catching me off guard. And then I would google them and discover that no. They weren’t invented till the 1900s. Things like sympathy cards, crème brûlée, and the name Brad. Not to mention a good portion of the book is about a single woman of the gentry traveling across the country without a chaperone. She only realizes the scandal when they are spotted at the end of their trip. And somehow she is then able to attend a society event without being a social pariah. This definitely doesn’t fit with my understanding of the Regency period. Granted there were women that ignored social constraints in that time. But they weren’t accepted by society.

I still gave three stars because if you can massively suspend disbelief for a bit, the romance itself is decent. Daisy and Lucien have secretly been attracted to each other for years, and the forced proximity of a trip together brings all that passion to the surface. Of course he’s lying to her the whole time, a fact she gets over rather quickly. And the ending was a bit chaotic. But overall I didn’t hate this one as much as I probably should have.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @stmartinspress for the chance to review this ARC.

I enjoyed reading Road Trip with a rogue, it was a good, fast pace read! I liked the enemies to lovers trope and even the marriage of convenience. Thank you Netgalley and publisjers for allowing me the chance to read and review.

Rating: 4,5/5 stars.
3rd book in the Her Majesty’s Rebels series
Can be read as a standalone.

What a last installment in this series! This is ending with a bang and it had me smiling and giggling and kicking my feet the whole time.
Where the first 2 books in this series were great, this is hitting every single mark when I think of a classic Kate Bateman book. It’s reminding me a lot of the Ruthless Rivals series. Daisy is a quintessential Bateman hellion of a heroine (and she has knives). Whereas Lucien is the charmer of a rogue who wants her, only her, and isn’t afraid to admit it (while Daisy obviously thinks he’s joking or being sarcastic). I’m a sucker for a pining hero while the heroine thinks he is just joking and it has to take a lot of work from him to actually win her over.
The pacing of this story was very fast and the book is clearly separated in 2 different parts, but what I really enjoyed was that the pacing did not suffer from this.
I can’t wait to reread this on audio, the whole time I was reading I heard the voice of Beverley A. Crick in the back of my mind which made me smile even more.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review.

This book is fierce, full-hearted and fabulous… I absolutely loved it!

As Daisy has been my favorite of the Her Majesty’s Rebels trio, I’ve been almost Lucien-level yearning(!) for this third book in the series. And wow, as always, Kate Bateman Does Not Disappoint. This has ALL the best tropes:

Enemies to Lovers! Sexy Banter and Chemistry for Days! Road Trip Hijinks! Touch Her and Die! Only One Bed at the Inn!

And my favorite, as defined by the author herself…
“two idiots who enjoy fighting as foreplay”
Swoon!

This author beautifully, consistently writes characters the way I love them. Women with agency, who are intelligent, brave and feisty, and the men who know they don’t deserve them… but of course, we know they do! Daisy and Lucien are simply divine in their sexy push-and-pull, I’ll rescue you right back, steamy antics, passion and ferocious chemistry. The sexy banter and dry, witty sarcasm is next-level smart and funny, and another constant in Ms. Bateman’s writing that I love and appreciate. Seriously, I highly recommend her entire catalog.

This book is the enchanting, lighthearted escapism I needed and it’s made my heart happy.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read/review an ARC. Opinions are 100% mine.

When Daisy disguises herself as a highwayman to stop a carriage, she never imagines she'd get the wrong carriage, and it would contain Lucien--he crushed her heart years ago.
Lucien agrees to help Daisy, but unbeknownst to her, he's working against her--he wants the couple she's after to get married. 
They find themselves on an adventure, near misses at every stop, an implied engagement after being somewhat compromised, but they have a plan to make everything right and fix their reputations. But danger lurks, the sparks are flying, and these enemies might just find themselves in love after all. 
The best road trip you'll have this summer!

Daisy Hamilton was hired by an heiress’s father, to prevent her from eloping with her fiancé. As she was following the couple as they made their way to Gretna Green, she was surprised when their carriage was attacked by highwaymen. She jumped into action and incapacitated one of the villains and was taken aback when, Lucien Vaughan, the Duke of Canford, exited the carriage instead of the young couple she thought she was tracking. Daisy and Lucien had history as he was friends with her brothers. After Lucien agrees to travel with her to overtake the carriage of the couple she is following, they spend a few days traveling together without benefit of a chaperone. Of course, the history they had comes back to remind them of their mutual desire for one another and after Daisy’s initial attempt to refuse Lucien, they eventually give in to their desires passion they feel. Unbeknownst to Daisy, Lucien has an ulterior motive for preventing her from catching the fleeing couple. Road Trip with a Rogue is a fast paced romp that will keep the readers attention until the end. Daisy and Lucien will have to convince each other that the attraction they have is more than a physical connection and they will need the help of their friends to ensure they reach their HEA.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was an entertaining, well-written historical romance. It was fun, charming, steamy, action-packed and kept me reading. I enjoyed this historical romance and look forward to reading more books by this author.

I was eagerly awaiting this last book in Kate Bateman’s Her Majesty’s Rebels series, and it was such a fun read!! I loved this book from beginning to end, and every delicious page in between. I enjoyed the book so much I didn’t want it to end! And just look at that book cover – it is absolutely stunning. A perfect picture of Daisy and Lucien.

This book ticked all the boxes for me! Road trip! Forced proximity! Only one horse! War hero! Attempted kidnapping! A duke who wants to prove himself! Amazing, witty banter! Kate Bateman has a way of creating incredible chemistry between her characters and Daisy and Lucien were hot, and romantic, and humorous. You know when you pick up one of her books, you are in for a treat.

If you are looking for your next summer read, you have found it with Road Trip with A Rogue. Daisy and Lucien will provide hours of entertainment, tons of smiles and laughs, and a fantastic ending to their story. I wish to thank Kate Bateman, St. Martin’s Publishing, and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.25/5 stars

Full disclosure. I read the initial book in this series and wasn't blown away by it (an issue with connection to the mains), so I skipped the second one. But I'm glad I decided to give this third and final in series a chance because I really did enjoy it.

While Daisy and Lucien were never really "together", five years before this story he (a friend of her brothers) broke her heart as he rebuffed her crush before leaving for war. As part of the King & Co. private investigation practice (along with her two best friends), she is tasked with stopping a young couple from wedding and strives to catch up to them before they arrive at Gretna Green. With no spoilers, along the way she meets Lucien and (as a gentleman and for her safety) he offers to escort her on this mission. Unbeknownst to Daisy, he has his own agenda. The question becomes...will those agendas blend successfully or cause further strife between the two?

While I'll admit at times I was irritated with Lucien's character and found him a bit high-handed, I dearly loved Daisy and her spunky and capable handling of any situation. There's good banter here, a fun road trip with all its attendant issues and a nice "fall" for the ever in-control Lucien.

I will probably go back and read the second book (How to Fall for a Scoundrel) and perhaps re-visit the initial book as well. Second chances in romance are always worthwhile, right?!

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing the free early arc of Road Trip with a Rogue for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I really enjoyed this book by one of my favorite authors. Ms Bateman excels at telling a story with heart and heat. Even though this is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone. The characters were fully developed with thoughts and feelings of their own. Fantastic and fun on a Road Trip with a Rogue.
The guy, Lucien Vaughan, a Duke, war hero is totally awesome. He is especially handsome and loves the unexpected highway woman. Her name is Daisy Hamilton who works for a private investigation company. She has to find a runway girl who has eloped with her boyfriend to gretna When Daisy holds up Lucien's coach, she is in for a shock because he broke her heart a long time ago. But she doesn't know the groom is Lucien's nephew. He pretends to help her, but Daisy is in for a surprise.
The road trip is so swoon worthy. But when all is done, love conquers all.
I appreciate Net Galley for this ARC title in which I gave an honest review.

When her mission to stop an elopement is thwarted by Lucien Vaughan, the annoying Duke of Cranford, Lady Dorthea “Daisy” Hamilton reluctantly agrees to travel with him to Scotland. Daisy has always been attracted to Lucian, but he made his feelings about her clear years ago and she has buried that unrequited desire deep – but is it really unrequited? When he confesses that the desire between them is not one-sided, they agree to share one night of passion, but will that be enough to change things between them? Maybe. But when she learns that he is the reason her mission failed and then biggest gossip in London sees them together, will her future be decided for her?

Lucien Vaughan has always wanted Daisy, but as the little sister of his close friends, she was strictly off limits unless he was looking to marry – which he was not. But war and responsibility change a man and when he finally has his curiosity about how things would be between them realized, he knows that he can’t let her go. When they are caught at Gretna Green by London’s biggest gossip, it seems clear that marriage is the only way to save her reputation. But in classic Daisy style, she refuses to conform to society’s expectations, leaving Lucian with the almost-impossible task of changing her mind to ensure they both get the HEA they desire.

In this final installment of the series, we finally get Lucian and Daisy’s story and it isn’t at all what I was expecting. The book is filled with adventure, highwaymen, longing, spicy love scenes, lies, abductions, well-meaning friends and finally a hard-earned HEA. I loved Lucien but found Daisy annoying. She is a strong female character, but a bit too set on being “independent” to be the heroine in a romance. I am all for girl power and strong heroines in historical romance – but I want that woman to be realistic and I just didn’t think Daisy fit that mold. I also would have liked an epilogue featuring all the previous characters living their HEAs. So overall, it was a good read with a and a nice end to the series, but it could have been better, so I am rating it 3.5 stars, rounded up.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Finally – and a bit sadly – we have the third book in author Kate Bateman’s Her Majesty’s Rebels series. More time with the fabulous, feisty women – Tess, Ellie and Daisy - who run King & Co., London's premier private investigation firm. This time the focus is on Daisy, the “tough” one with all the weapons, with knives hidden all over her body and in her clothes. They are intriguing, infuriating, irrepressible and so are the men they can’t seem to help falling in love with.

I must confess that realizing I have another Kate Bateman book to read always gets a delighted squeal of joy from me. So get ready for action, excitement, danger, mystery, and suspense but also so many hidden tender glances and unspoken feelings. And don’t forget both the steamy, scorching, stormy, sexy-as-sin and fall-on-the-floor-laughing scenes only Bateman can write.

Dorthea “Daisy” Hamilton and Lucien Vaughan, Duke of Cranford have history. Vaughan is a good friend of her brother Devlin, and she was the little sister always trying to butt in. She always had a crush on him, and when Vaughan rejected her at a party five years ago, she was devastated. Rejecting her was one of the hardest things he’d ever done but she doesn’t know that; all she feels is the sting of rejection, and the lesson she took away from that humiliating night was that love is for children and fools, and she is neither. Neither is she a child anymore, which Vaughan is well aware of.

Author Bateman opens the story with a quote from the poem “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes, and it sets the scene for everything that follows. Instead of the ballrooms, mansions and high society of the ton, most of the action in Road Trip with a Rogue does in fact take place on the road.

Daisy’s assignment for King & Co. is to stop the elopement of spoiled, clueless eighteen-year-old heiress Violet Brand and nineteen-year-old Peregrine Hughes, also clueless. They really are perfect for each other, but Violet’s father doesn’t think Hughes will be able to provide for her, so Daisy’s job is to stop the blissfully unaware young couple from getting to Scotland to be married. She follows what she thinks is their carriage and holds them up – except oops – it’s not their carriage. To further complicate things they are attacked by highwaymen. After successfully fighting off the attack, including some very exciting action scenes, the man who steps out of the carriage is not Peregrine but Lucien, the man who rejected her, broke her heart, blah, blah, blah.

He's equally stunned to see her, all-grown-up-not-so-little-anymore-Daisy, who still makes his heart twist. He’s not about to let her continue on her own so off they go on the road trip to end all road trips, with the attraction and tension practically bursting into flames between them. That’s not the only tension: they argue constantly, she is relentless in trying to evade him and be on her own. I love where her thoughts go when he doesn’t agree to her plans; her solution is to matter-of-factly thinksto herself, “Fine. He’d left her with no other option. She was just going to have to drug him.” It is what it is, right?

As they continue their travels together they talk and are remarkably comfortable together (well, except for the heat, of course). They begin to share details from their pasts and to trust, kind of. And as the pull between them gets stronger and stronger Daisy decides that it would be acceptable to “experiment” with Vaughan and see if will be different from her limited past experience, where there weren’t exactly stars and music playing. Good a reason as any, right? Vaughan has his own reasons for protecting his heart, but he has no willpower or resistance where Daisy is concerned. And yes, in fact this time around there is music playing, stars, fireworks, little birdies chirping . . . the works.

Road Trip with a Rogue was every bit as enjoyable as I expected it to be and the ideal wrap up to the series. The ending is unexpected, amazing, and just right. I loved this book and recommend it without hesitation. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

In ROAD TRIP WITH A ROGUE, Kate Bateman has given readers imperfect yet incredibly likable, whip-smart, complex characters. Vaughan's unexpected and unappreciated appearance in the middle of one of Daisy's "assignments" begins an exceptional story that is complicated yet fun. While Vaughan slowly and steadily inserts himself into Daisy's case and her life, his secrets are cleverly revealed while their undeniable attraction becomes more than either of them can resist ... so they don't! Years ago, a review I wrote stated "My 2nd Kate Bateman book has cemented my "fan" status." Countless books later, that hasn't changed. I loved Daisy and her hunk, Vaughan, and I loved their excellently crafted story. HIGHLY recommend.

WHAT I LOVED: Entertaining-Funny-Witty- Wonderful Characters-Romantic-Steamy-HEA