joanav's review against another edition
4.0
Review originally published at Romancing Romances.
I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.
A Russian Princess and a Bow Street agent – the perfect recipe for a different story!
Anna and Seb didn’t hit it off in the beginning, especially considering that Seb believed that Anna was fooling and endangering his grandmother.
This forced proximity story ticks all the boxes for a romance from… maybe not completely enemies (but close enough) to lovers, with lots of danger, history, and sexy times in between.
Although I haven’t read the previous books in the series, I really enjoyed meeting the characters that formed the original owners/lodgers of the gambling hell where our hero currently lives. It was very interesting to read about Sebastian’s feeling regarding the changes in his life, and how he was dealing with it, which not the most common situation in romances. You might have the teasing between friends saying “you’re the last one, it’s your time to find a partner”, but here we had the hero actually working through his own feelings of, in a way, losing his best friends, even though they are still around.
I really liked Anna, she was very fierce, very determined, very loyal, and very resilient. Not everyone would be able to change lives the way she did. And she took control of what she could!
As they slowly fall in love, we see some romantic gestures, and how each of them pays close attention to one another. The writing was compelling, and the book had a good pacing. An enjoyable read.
I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.
A Russian Princess and a Bow Street agent – the perfect recipe for a different story!
Anna and Seb didn’t hit it off in the beginning, especially considering that Seb believed that Anna was fooling and endangering his grandmother.
This forced proximity story ticks all the boxes for a romance from… maybe not completely enemies (but close enough) to lovers, with lots of danger, history, and sexy times in between.
Although I haven’t read the previous books in the series, I really enjoyed meeting the characters that formed the original owners/lodgers of the gambling hell where our hero currently lives. It was very interesting to read about Sebastian’s feeling regarding the changes in his life, and how he was dealing with it, which not the most common situation in romances. You might have the teasing between friends saying “you’re the last one, it’s your time to find a partner”, but here we had the hero actually working through his own feelings of, in a way, losing his best friends, even though they are still around.
I really liked Anna, she was very fierce, very determined, very loyal, and very resilient. Not everyone would be able to change lives the way she did. And she took control of what she could!
As they slowly fall in love, we see some romantic gestures, and how each of them pays close attention to one another. The writing was compelling, and the book had a good pacing. An enjoyable read.
nd2712's review against another edition
3.0
For me, this is the weakest in the series. The vibes have really run out of steam on what could have been a fascinating novel. I got the vibe that this was supposed to be a bodyguard-style book, but then it was also trying to be enemies to lovers and forced proximity and hidden identity - there's too much going on.
I also worked out that a real issue I have with a lot of historical romance - this one included - is when the protagonist (usually the female) ceases to become the most interesting character and stops driving the action of the book. As a writer, the one thing I always remember is that your protagonist has to be the one making things happen, rather than experiencing things happening to them. As soon as these two had had sex and stopped communicating (god I hate that trope), Anya was no longer interesting. I felt the author dwelled too much on the 'she's so small, he's so big' concept and found Sebastian to be entirely two-dimensional.
I think I just need to...not read historical romance for a while. Because it's all feeling increasingly mediocre and I know it's not.
I also worked out that a real issue I have with a lot of historical romance - this one included - is when the protagonist (usually the female) ceases to become the most interesting character and stops driving the action of the book. As a writer, the one thing I always remember is that your protagonist has to be the one making things happen, rather than experiencing things happening to them. As soon as these two had had sex and stopped communicating (god I hate that trope), Anya was no longer interesting. I felt the author dwelled too much on the 'she's so small, he's so big' concept and found Sebastian to be entirely two-dimensional.
I think I just need to...not read historical romance for a while. Because it's all feeling increasingly mediocre and I know it's not.
bookreaderbeth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pleasantandminty's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
iggyebab's review against another edition
4.0
**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
I was very excited to find out who would knock Sebastien on his ass. Of course, it would take a Princess.
There are so many things that I love in this book: educational kissing, forced proximity, both mistaken and hidden identity, meddling dowagers, and bad proposal.
This author has a thing for unusual words and I am here for it. I love finding these “old” words that I can add to my arsenal.
Anya was bright and brave and definitely a survivor. I loved that there were some surprises and that she is was adaptable.
Seb is strong and sexy and stubborn. His original proposal was abominable and he deserved that no.
Although I did not like this one quite as much as the other two, it was still a good read. I cannot wait to see if there is another book for another man in the near future.
I was very excited to find out who would knock Sebastien on his ass. Of course, it would take a Princess.
There are so many things that I love in this book: educational kissing, forced proximity, both mistaken and hidden identity, meddling dowagers, and bad proposal.
This author has a thing for unusual words and I am here for it. I love finding these “old” words that I can add to my arsenal.
Anya was bright and brave and definitely a survivor. I loved that there were some surprises and that she is was adaptable.
Seb is strong and sexy and stubborn. His original proposal was abominable and he deserved that no.
Although I did not like this one quite as much as the other two, it was still a good read. I cannot wait to see if there is another book for another man in the near future.
livruther's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.25
i normally dont love retellings, but i greatly enjoyed this!! it was so fun and sweet, and i loved the twist. classic good kate bateman
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
pyiab's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
dgrachel's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This was better than the second book in the Bow Street Bachelors series, but only because I liked the chemistry between Seb and Anya. The plot moves quickly and there’s some fun dialogue between the H/h, but even for a historical romance, the storyline was utterly ridiculous. I almost threw the book across the room at the big twist.
Bateman’s books have gotten better over time, with her Ruthless Rivals series being superior to this series, so I’ll be on the lookout for new books, but I don’t think I’ll be digging any further into her backlist.
Bateman’s books have gotten better over time, with her Ruthless Rivals series being superior to this series, so I’ll be on the lookout for new books, but I don’t think I’ll be digging any further into her backlist.
schulzmadeline's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Sebastien and Anya’s palpable chemistry melted my ice heart.