Review: A Daring Pursuit by Kate Bateman!

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Title: A Daring Pursuit

Author: Kate Bateman

Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Published: May 24, 2022

Pages: 320

Format: NetGalley e-ARC, thanks St. Martin’s!

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Goodreads Blurb

“The Davies and Montgomery families have been locked in an ancient feud. But it’s a thin line between love and hate in Kate Bateman’s A Daring Pursuit.

TWO ENEMIES
Carys Davies is doing everything in her power to avoid marriage. Staying single is the only way to hide the secret that could ruin her—and her family—if it was revealed. For the past two seasons she’s scandalized the ton with her outrageous outfits and brazen ways in a futile bid to deter potential suitors. Outwardly confident and carefree, inside she’s disillusioned with both men and love. There’s only one person who’s never bought her act—the only man who makes her heart race: Tristan Montgomery, one of her family’s greatest rivals.

ONE SCANDALOUS BARGAIN
Wickedly proper architect Tristan needs a respectable woman to wed, but he’s never stopped wanting bold, red-headed Carys. When she mockingly challenges him to show her what she’s missing by not getting married, Tristan shocks them both by accepting her indecent proposal: one week of clandestine meetings, after which they’ll go their separate ways. But kissing each other is almost as much fun as arguing, and their affair burns hotter than either of them expects. When they find themselves embroiled in a treasonous plot, can they trust each other with their hearts, their secrets…and their lives?”

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My Review

I haven’t read any other books by this author, and I didn’t read the first book. I saw this as a ‘Read Now’ option on Netgalley. I saw the words “TWO ENEMIES” and I had to read it. I’m so glad I did because this was a really quick and fun read!

I got a lot of vibes from Jane Austen and Shakespeare in this one. We have two families that are enemies and rivals. Carys and Tristan are from each side of the families that don’t get along. All their lives they have disliked each other and constantly try to outwit each other. Carys is not your typical girl that fits into the tons mold. She is outspoken, outrageous with her outfits, and doesn’t care what people think of her. She has a past romance that is still haunting her. For this reason, she is dead set on never being married. Meanwhile, Tristan is the complete opposite and Cary’s thinks that Tristan hates her. It was so much fun seeing them try to get a rise out of each other. They say, it’s a fine line between love and hate, right?! I loved seeing how they are constantly trying to keep up the facade that they hate each other but deep down they don’t. They are not similar on the surface but under the surface they have so much in common.

I know there are characters from the first book. I haven’t read that one yet, but I plan to. I loved so many of them, especially her brothers. I really loved the relationship that Carys has with her brothers. Tristan’s aunts were hilarious, and I loved their meddling ways!

The pacing flows so well that it was a very easy and quick read. I think that Bateman did a fantastic job with the tension in this book. There are so many swoon-worthy moments!! The plot was interesting, but I felt like it was all mashed together at the end. The villain of the book kind of just gets away without any real repercussions and I didn’t love that. He’s slimy and I think he deserved worse! I adored the addition of the animals and how they contributed to the plot too.

Overall, I had so much fun with this one. I had a hard time putting it down and it was much needed after a chunky fantasy. I loved the enemies-to-lovers aspect. I liked the fact that these rivals are trying to change and do better. I have a feeling there’s more ways these rival families will end up coming together in the future. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own!