Review by Ronny
Series Name: Her Majesty’s Rebels, # 3
Road Trip with a Rogue is another fun, swoony, and delicious historical by the talented Kate Bateman.
Favourite Quote:
Something strange always happened to him whenever their eyes met: he experienced a tightening in his chest, an instant rush of desire that turned his cock to iron. It was infuriating. No other woman had ever had the same effect.
Book Synopsis:
Mistakenly holding up the coach of the man who broke her heart is bad enough, but having to endure his sinfully alluring company all the way to Scotland is Daisy Hamilton’s worst nightmare . . . and her most secret desire.
A midnight mishap.
Daisy Hamilton’s new mission for King & Co., London’s premier private investigation firm, is simple: stop heiress Violetta Brand from eloping. But her case is derailed when she mistakenly holds up the carriage of Lucien Vaughan, Duke of Cranford—cynical war hero, infamous libertine, and the very man who broke her heart five years ago.
A reluctant road trip.
Lucien’s determined to see his lovestruck nephew married to Miss Brand, but the unexpected appearance of Daisy— the one woman he’s never been able to forget—could ruin his plans. As they follow the runaway couple together, Lucien decides that delaying the headstrong Daisy by any means possible—including seduction—will be his absolute pleasure . . . and hers.
A dangerous desire.
After Daisy’s reputation is threatened, Lucien makes a scandalous claim, but when an unexpected enemy threatens her life, he realizes she’s the only woman for him. Their past encounters have made Daisy almost as jaded about love as Lucien himself, and it’s going to take action, not words, to convince this knife-wielding hellion to risk her heart on him again…
Review:
I adore, devour, and am obsessed with a historical road trip romance. That’s because when done right, a road trip romance forces the two MCs together and creates many situations that always have bookworms’ hearts racing. I’ve been looking forward to getting to read Daisy’s story, right from the moment I met her back in the first book in the series. She has always been portrayed as the slightly wild one in the group. She always has a knife or knives on her. She grew up with brothers, and she knows how to handle herself in a fight. My thought and hope were that since she is the more adventurous and wild one, her book would be this wild ride, and I am delighted to say that it was.
At its core, this book is a lot of fun, whether it’s the crazy antics that always happen on a road trip or some spicy fun times. Reading this book was addictive, and I have no shame in admitting that I finished it in one sitting. Kate knows what her readers want, and it shows in her storytelling. Right from the first chapter, we are thrown into this crazy scene where Daisy is watching this carriage being robbed by highwaymen, and as the chaos unfolds, Daisy throws herself into the mix to help ensure no one from the carriage gets hurt. But when the dust settles and she realizes that this isn’t the carriage she is meant to be following, but instead the carriage of a man she loathes, it’s the beginning of an adventure neither character was expecting. The events and situations that unfold on the pages of this book are perfection. When they get to a small village, of course, there is a horse festival happening, which means there is only one room left with one bed, and the hero can’t let the heroine out of his sight either, because then she will run off and try to stop Lucien’s nephew from marrying the woman he loves. So, obviously, they will have to share the room and bed. Then there is the fact that these two characters spend countless hours in a small carriage having to fight that lusty attraction they feel for one another.
If you like Sarah MacLean’s Hell’s Belles series or Lindsay Lovise’s Secret Society of Governess Spies, then I think you will enjoy this book and series. In all these series, you find groups of women who are brilliant, brave, and defy the stifling restrictions placed upon women during those times. You also get this sense of community and belonging amongst this group of women. They show up for one another, and they can handle any problems that come their way, usually as the exasperated men in their lives hover nearby, worrying about their safety like a bunch of mother hens. It’s great. The case or task that Daisy is hired to complete is stopping an elopement between a young couple, one being Lucien’s nephew. What Daisy doesn’t know is that Lucien is determined to see his nephew married and lies and sidetracks Daisy to ensure it happens. Any romance bookworm knows that when the hero spends most of the book lying to the heroine, he is going to have to do some major grovelling, and the grand gesture better be memorable. Which, in this case, it was. I actually really adored the grand gesture at the end of this book.
The romance was great. There is this loathing-to-lovers vibe going on for about half of the book. Daisy does not like Lucien, who is a friend of her brothers. There was this whole incident between them that left Daisy feeling bitter towards Lucien. For Lucien’s part, he knows that Daisy is this forbidden fruit that he cannot have because she is the little sister of some of his closest friends. Daisy’s dislike of Lucien and Lucien’s need to push Daisy away creates some amazing sparky and feisty banter between the two characters. It’s great. They poke and push each other in the most delightful ways. The chemistry between these two just felt right. They complemented each other in the best possible ways, even if they won’t admit it. They have some stuff to work through. Daisy doesn’t want to get married. She saw what a loveless marriage looks like and doesn’t want that in her life. She also doesn’t want to have a husband who is going to control her actions and stop her from doing the work she does. Lucien also has no interest in getting married, which is connected to past trauma. He has sworn to never feel another romantic feeling again, silly man. The way their relationship unfolded was incredibly enjoyable, and there was just the right amount of spice to get your heart racing.
Road Trip with a Rogue is a swoonastic Regency romance that will leave you feeling so satisfied.
Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
