Dorothea "Daisy" Georgiana Hamilton is the 23 yr old daughter of the Duke of Dalkeith. She is also one of the owners of King & Co., the best private investigation company in London along with her best friends Ellie and Tess. Daisy has been hired to stop the wedding of the 18 yr old heiress Violet Brand to the 19 yr old Peregrine Hughes who are trying to elope. Dressed as a male, Daisy tries to stop a carriage that she believes the love birds to be on but instead she finds Lucien William Devereaux Vaughan, The twelfth Duke of Cranford and the man who broke her heart five years ago. While they may have only shared a hot and steamy kiss, Daisy was hoping for much more.

Daisy doesn't realize that Lucien has always been attracted to her but thought she was too young five years ago. Now things are different. When Lucien realizes that Daisy is trying to stop Violet and Perry he decides to help her. Lucien wants his nephew Perry to marry and being on a road trip with Daisy is just what he needed. Of course along the way they have a fun and entertaining journey where their chemistry starts to sizzle. Before long they have crossed over that line and while both of them secretly realize that their feelings are more than serious, neither one will admit to it. Just when it looks like they may finally have a happy ending, a twist gets thrown into the mix causing Daisy and Lucien to realize what their hearts are really feeling. In the end love prevails.

I just adored this steamy, second chance at love with a little suspense thrown in. Lucien and Daisy were perfect together and balanced each other out well. Another great book in the fun series.

St. Martin's Press eARC
This book was so much fun from beginning to end. It gripped me right away, and I couldn't stop reading. There was so much tension here between Daisy and Lucien, and I enjoyed every second of it. The banter was top notch, the hate-to-love was paced perfectly, the plot that forced them together was original and propulsive. The spice was placed perfectly. I liked all of the different points of tension. The book delivered on all points. This is perfect for historical romance lovers, but I would also recommend to those that want to try this genre. I can't wait to read more of this author!

The FAV elements:
🕯️𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐲
😍”𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝” 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲 to complete a mission
🛏️𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐝
🫦𝐊𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 w/ added spice of touch her & die!
🗡️𝐒𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞 (𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭)😏
*That being said the morning after the one bed scene w/the knife to the neck, lean in & ‘first blood to you’ will live on in my mind FOREVER!!!
👀𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥) 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

Daisy is on a mission for her company King & Co. to stop an elopement & from the moment Lucien stepped out of that carriage post highway robbery attempt I KNEW that he was the fictional man for me (and Daisy of course - well she fought it for a lot longer than I did)! Their immediate ‘it’s you!’ disdain for one another had the chemistry sparking esp. when we get to know what happened in the past to make this reaction occur b/w them.
Add in Lucien’s “secret”/offer to aid Daisy in her quest & a mutual seduction makes Road Trip with a Rogue the best ending to Bateman’s latest series!

Lucien’s moderate manipulation when they got back to London gave me the best historic HR vibes! Also needed is the honorable mention of the scene with the billiards & the previous MCs all discussing Lucien & Daisy! It made me giggle more than once. I adore when MC friend groups get together to discuss/make plans. It creates such a great connection with the MMC’s character for me. It is one of my favourite aspects of a dual POV.

Road Trip with a Rogue is a fun, sexy, engaging road trip romance. The third entry in the Her Majesty’s Rebels series is my favorite of the three. I had a great time reading this novel, not putting it down unless I had to because of dinner or some such nonsense. Kate Bateman is very good with the adventurous vein of historical romance, and accomplishes what she sets out to do. I always enjoy reading her books and look forward to whatever she gifts us.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. (I also preordered the book.) All opinions are strictly my own.

I have had a complicated relationship with this series. I love the concept of a Charlie's Angels inspired historical romance series. I often really like mystery subplots in my historical romances. The first book Second Duke's the Charm, I gave a 3.5 star because I liked the writing style and the friendship between the three women, Tess, Daisy, and Ellie, but I disliked the emphasis on her virginity and the dropping of the mystery for some of the book. Book 2, How to Fall for a Scoundrel, has been my favorite one in the series. It was rompy with a couple of little mysteries and cases going on, and I gave it 4 stars because I just felt like the romance was a little fast for me (though to be fair the book is less than 300 pages). So I went into this book, Road Trip with a Rogue, excited to see what Daisy was doing. Daisy, overall, was fine as a character. She was spunky and stubborn. My main problems are with Lucien, who is (unfortunately) her love interest. I say this because Lucien is the type of love interest I just 9.9 times out of 10 will dislike. He's overbearing and says some weird things to Daisy (in my opinion), and I did not like the way he was treating her during their moments of tension and/or intimacy. The overbearing 'you're mine' and undiscussed rough handling just doesn't really go over well with me. I will say, props to Kate Bateman for having each hero have pretty different personalities.
I know very well that I am in the minority in my opinions of this book, and that is fine. There are so many readers who love a more domineering 'alpha' type hero, and they will find that here! I am very willing to give another Kate Bateman book a try. Not every book from an author you like is a hit.

Road Trip with a Rogue is the third standalone in the Her Majesty's Rebels series by Kate Bateman. This one follows the reckless Daisy as she finds herself working alongside the Duke that broke her heart 5 years ago . Kate Bateman's historical romances are always entertaining with likeable characters and this one is no different. I adored both Daisy and Lucien. Their banter and chemistry were fantastic and their love story includes hate to love, forced proximity, just one bed and quality steam .

I always wait with great anticipation for the release of a new Kate Bateman book. I love her light touch and sexy encounters. I read for entertainment, not to be preached at like a lot of HR writers are prone to doing lately. I want a story to take me away and let me live in the fantasy, for a little while at least. Life was tough for women in the 1800's and that was reality. This story blends both the reality and the fantasy into a wonderful plot that had me both hating and loving the heroine. Our rogue hero was steadfast throughout, and sexy as all get out.

Daisy Hamilton and her childhood friends, Ellie and Tess, are doing business as King and Company, a discreet private investigation business. Since the three are members of the ton, they keep their activities on the downlow as women doing business is frowned upon. Daisy's current assignment is to stop a runaway heiress from eloping to Gretna Green. Thinking she is stopping Violetta Brand's carriage, Daisy comes face to face with the man who broke her heart years ago only to end up his reluctant companion on her race to stop the runaways.

Lucian Vaughan, Duke of Cranford, is on the road north to make sure his nephew doesn't make a hash of his elopement. His encounter with Daisy was not in his plans. She is the face that got him through the worst times of the war and the face and body that haunt his dreams. He has been studiously avoiding her since his return and now fate has dumped her in his lap, literally. What's a rogue to do, but to take full advantage of the situation.

It's a long way to Scotland and the pithy repartee and smoldering gazes erupt in fiery passion. Even though Daisy keeps telling herself that this is just the encounter to purge herself of Lucian once and for all - it doesn't quite work out that way. But Daisy, if she contemplates marriage at all, wants a love match and Lucian, to her mind, is not love match material. Of that, she is certain. But long days and even longer passion filled nights, while sating her desire, don't change her mind where Lucian is concerned.

Being discovered, unchaperoned, has the potential to ruin Daisy and that is something Lucian will not allow to happen. He makes the supreme sacrifice for her honor, but Daisy is not impressed. She can't seem to see that this man, in deeds if not words, is in love with her.

My thanks to the Publisher and the Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the review copy on Netgalley and this is my honest review.

This was so fun: fast paced, light angst and nonstop pursuit in both trying to catch the eloping pair for the heroine's job and also in their (metaphorical) chase for one another.

Heroine is a happy daggers wielding competent private investigator who's been hung up on the hero as they have a history, with him being her brothers' debauched party friend. The hero is a broody duke with Tuxedo Mask vibe and gloves-wearing ex-soldier. It's got a lot going on and I adored the pair and their chemistry.

It's my first Bateman and I am in love with the humour, the writing and the intimacy, definitely made a fan of me and I shall go back and read the other two from the series plus her other works.

Road Trip with a Rogue (Her Majesty’s Rebels #3)

I am utterly captivated by this book and its series. “Road Trip With a Rogue” is an exquisite fusion of witty banter, smoldering gazes, electrifying chemistry, passionate intensity, and intrigue. Kate Bateman has crafted a story that is simply irresistible and impossible to put down.

This is Daisy Hamilton and Lucien Vaughan, Duke of Cranford’s journey, and what a delicious and intoxicating journey it was. I didn’t want it to end!!

This story has so many of my favorite tropes: Secret Crush, Road Trip, Forced Proximity, Enemies-to-Lovers, Second Chance, Brother’s Best Friend, Touch her and die, Only One Bed, One Carriage, One room, Only one horse.

I was instantly captivated by Daisy and Lucien’s chemistry. Their constant flirting, disguised as animosity, and their witty banter were a delightful form of foreplay. However, it was the palpable yearning between them that truly held me enthralled throughout this masterpiece of perfection.

These two were together for most of the story. Their dynamic was hot, and their banter was perfect. But what truly set them apart was their ability to listen to each other and be honest with one another. But the icing on the cake was the ending that had me smiling, giggling, and swooning as they finally got their HEA!

I received an early copy from the publisher and this is my honest review.

I was hooked from the beginning!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

Road Trip with a Rogue is the third book in the Her Majesty’s Rebels series by Kate Bateman. Daisy and Lucien are two characters we’ve met before in this Regency romance set in 1817 England.

Daisy is a headstrong character and has an assignment to fulfill for King & Co., the private investigative firm she owns with her friends Tess and Ellie, whose adventures we’ve read about in the first two books. She and Lucien, who’s now a duke, have a history dating back five years, and when their paths cross while she’s trying to fulfill her current commitment, things don’t go exactly as planned. They still have an attraction, but struggle to communicate. He has his secrets, but decides to travel with her to give her protection, but that doesn’t always go as planned, especially when they cross paths with one of the biggest gossips in London, who’s also part of the ton.

The story has a good flow with several adventures and lots of heat and chemistry between the main characters. Daisy is strong and doesn’t like to ask for help, but is thankful when Lucien is there when she does need someone. As they decide on their future, their happily ever after is nicely portrayed and very romantic. There is closure, but I wish the story had gone on just a little longer. I would love to see the characters reunited in a holiday story or novella to see how their lives turn out.

Sparks fly when a headstrong P.I. teams with an infamous libertine in Road Trip with a Rogue in this alluring historical romance.

I rated the book 4.5 stars but rounded to 5 stars here and on other sites.

The review is posted on NovelsAlive.

Intro/synopsis:
“Road Trip with a Rogue” by @katebatan had all my favourite elements: a road trip, forced proximity, engagement-ish of convenience and no third act break up! We have Daisy who is on the hunt to stop an elopement who intervenes in a highwayman hold up only to discover it’s her childhood crushes’ carriage and not the couple she is searching for. He insists on helping her for his own selfish motives and so begins their road trip to Scotland. Along the way they discover that their chemistry can’t and won’t be denied as much as Daisy fights it.

My thoughts:
I found the way the author structured the plot to be interesting and I was hooked on the story from the start. There were many great twists and turns and I loved Daisy’s independent spirit. Lucien’s passion for Daisy was also fun to read and I really liked all the adventures they encountered along the way and the fact that Daisy wasn’t a damsel just waiting to be rescued. I struggled a bit with how much Daisy fought the engagement with Lucien but I loved how he fought for her at the end. A great end to the series and I will confess that I am sad it’s over.

“Look for me by moonlight!”

Dashing after a couple fleeing to Gretna Green, the last thing Daisy Hamilton expected to happen was to find Lucien Vaughan, Duke of Cranford being held up by highwayman. She’s disguised as a man to make pursuit easier.
Lady Daisy Hamilton is working with King & Co. and has been hired by heiress Violet Brand’s father to recover his daughter before she makes it to Scotland with Lord Peregrine Hughes.
Rescuing Lucien is not in her plans. It just happens—sort of! They do have history. Lucien had been friends with her brothers. And yes, Daisy is a duke’s daughter. But that’s another story, best forgotten.
It’s a pity Daisy can’t forget the way Lucien kissed her before going off to war FIVE years ago.
Now finding herself in Lucien’s company, pursuing the runaways, is more than Daisy can bare. Besides she never did believe the prophecy she’d received from the fake hermit outside Vauxhall Gardens about true love and dark highways. (Maybe Daisy should reconsider!)
Lucien is dark and dangerous. Daisy’s more than a match for him, but true love is her guiding light, not true lust.
An invigorating, charming read where the rogue just might have met his match.
I always loved Alfred Noyes’ poem “The Highwayman”. It sets the tone for this witty and sardonic Georgian Historical Romance rather marvellously.

A St. Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

First and foremost, thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Paperbacks, and Kate Bateman for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader copy of Road Trip with a Rogue.

Kate Bateman has done it again! Her historical romances are some of the best ones out there. I love that she writes strong female characters who don’t NEED to be saved. The MMC’s are happy to lend a helping hand and don’t undermine the heroine (most of the time). I love the continued appearance of prior characters and their beaus - the friend/sister-ship between Daisy, Tess and Ellie is perfection!

If you’re looking for a low stakes, well written historical with lovable characters then look no further! If you’re a fan of enemies to lovers and the only one bed trope then go buy this whole series! You won’t regret it 🤓

Five stars, a perfect regency romance. No notes. Kate Bateman makes reading so enjoyable. I am always guaranteed to laugh, there will be excellent banter between the leads, the plot will be quick paced and entertaining, and the intimacy scenes will be deliciously lip biting. I have been looking forward to Daisy’s book from the start of this series and was happy to see all of the little nods to events from the prior two novels that leads Daisy toward her destiny of “true love and dark highways”.

Daisy Hamilton and Lucien Vaughan, Duke of Cranford have been circling each other in and out of ballrooms for over five years. He’s the rogue who’s down bad for her, but can’t admit that she might be what he needs. And she’s completely unaware of the effect she has on him, interpreting it as disgust. When a chance encounter involving a highway robbery has her mistaking his carriage for two lovers on their way to Gretna Green she’s been tasked to stop, it’s obvious that they must of course travel together to prevent the marriage. This is forced proximity at its best.

The banter and sexual tension are written with utter perfection and you can be sure there’s a little humor thrown in for good measure. As the ultimate rogue, Lucien is temptation incarnate and encourages Daisy to use him for their mutual satisfaction. I loved how he teased and tempted her all the while proving he knows her better than she even knows her own desires. But I think what I truly reveled in was the simple question Bateman asks; How do you know if someone loves you? As a romance reader it’s so easy to be enticed by the physicality, the wooing, the words, but it is so rare that I am actually pulled out of the story to question my own thoughts on what it means or feels like to be loved. So more than anything else this is really a love story about a man proving himself to the heroine that he loves her through his words, his actions, and his care for her. I highly highly recommend you pick this one up and would encourage you to read the trilogy. This is historical romance at its finest. I received an early copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

What you’ll find:
🗺️ She gets migraines
🗺️ He’s a Waterloo war hero
🗺️ Caretaking
🗺️ Attempted kidnapping
🗺️ Multi-chapter intimacy scene(s)
🗺️ Only one bed, only one horse
🗺️ Naughty bathing voyeurism
This book answers the question, how do you know if someone loves you?

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Steam: 🪭🪭🪭
Unputdownable

I've heard of Kate Bateman and have been wanting to try her historical romances for a while. I was glad to get an early copy of this free earc from Netgalley to read. Even if you haven't read the other series, this book can stand on its own. This is an almost second chance, brother's best friend romance with a road trip. Lucien and Daisy had great banter and chemistry throughout the book and I loved how Lucien used every seductive trick in the book to try to convince Daisy to give him a second chance while also trying to outmaneuver her throughout their road trip for reasons unbeknownst in the beginning. I really enjoyed Kate Bateman's writing style and hope to read more in the future

This fast-paced road trip romance is hands-down our favorite of the series. Daisy is following an eloping couple when she interrupts a highwayman's attack on a different carriage: one carrying her brothers' best friend and her longtime crush/ the man who broke her heart (and who happens to be a DUKE). He convinces her to let him join the hunt, and they go all the way to Gretna Green together, sharing only one carriage/ only one room/only one horse at different stages along the way.

Look. This is a book where you want to just sit back and enjoy the ride (like Daisy, hey-o!) because if you think too hard, you might not have as much fun. If Daisy's so good at her job, why does she keep failing at her objectives? DON'T THINK ABOUT IT. If she's pretending to be Vaughan's nephew at the inn, why don't people talk about the sex noises coming from the room? DON'T THINK ABOUT IT! If the only thing keeping them apart is his refusal to do the one thing she's been very open about needing, why doesn't he just do that one thing? Please, Reader, DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.

Like we said, though, we had SO MUCH FUN reading this book. It's fast, fun, and sexy (road trip sex is the best sex, apparently). 10/10 would read again.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

I’ve really enjoyed this series that’s centered around the female investigative group that’s been endorsed by the Queen, King & Co. They’ve been fun, I’ve loved the humor, and it’s well balanced between romance and the investigations. This one was no exception. The animosity and banter between Lucian and Daisy was filled with so much sexual tension and I loved every bit of it.

Daisy is a knife wielding and throwing heroine that has been able to live somewhat independently and after seeing her parents marriage, she only wants to marry for love. Until then, she has her friends and partners in King & Co to keep her well. And despite Lucian ruining all her adolescent romantic notions five years ago, she can’t help the pull she feels towards him. But she learned her lesson and won’t let him know her feelings again.

Lucian is friend’s with Daisy’s brothers and has only recently returned and healed from war. He’s got a bad boy reputation from fighting a duel before he left to serve in His Majesty’s army and from the bedroom. It was so fun for how hard he fell and yet they still didn’t make it easy. I enjoyed how the ending played out but wished it would’ve gotten to that a bit sooner.

Roadtrip with a Rogue is the third book in The Queen’s Rebels series. This book is best read after reading the first two.

There are three encounters.

I received an advance reader copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This has been a great series with three friends, Daisy, Tess and Ellie. The three ladies are very different and best friends. Even if they don’t always agree they always have the others back. Both Tess and Ellie are now married, and Daisy is carrying out a mission for their company alone. She is trying to catch up to Violette Band an heiress who plans on marring Perry Hugh, a man with no title or wealth. Her father forbids it and has hired King & Co Investigation to stop them. Daisy is the daughter of a duke, and her brothers are all known by the ton. But she wears pants, rides like the wind and always carries three knifes on her person. She is excited to hold up the carriage carrying the pair and getting the money for the company. She is shocked to see the carriage she plans on stopping is already being held up! The men are real robbers, and Daisy worries about the young lady and lad inside, both are spoiled and not the brightest. She is speechless when she helps stop the robbery and see’s the man exiting the carriage. It is none other than her worst nightmare. Lucien Vaughan, Duke, war hero and a rogue. He broke her heart five years ago and she has never for gotten it. He did it to save her reputation, as he knows her brothers and father well. Daisy secretly still thinks about him all the time, in her dreams and thoughts where no one knows. Lucien can’t believe his living dream women is holding up coaches! Remembering her face has brought him thru the worst battles and helped him with the pain of healing. Oh, my what a ride it will be for these two, both headed to the same place with very different reasons why. As the past comes to light, secrets, regrets, longings and hidden truths will come out. This is a fast-moving story with plenty of action, danger, caring, passion and love. What a way to end a great series. I loved Lucien's, man service Finch he is such a character! I received and ARC from the author and wish to thank her. This is my honest opinion, and I am freely giving it. Be sure not to miss this series, it wonderful.

This might be Kate Bateman's best yet!
The book jumps right into the story and doesn't slow down until about halfway. Even when the pace slows down, the story keeps moving right along.

The chemistry and banter between Daisy and Vaughn is natural and so much fun. Daisy is great; strong, smart, level-headed. Vaughn truly acts the part of the rogue.

Someone pointed out some flaws in the book but honestly, it is so fun and moves at a fast clip that you probably won't stop to think about them. Just enjoy the ride!