Series: Bow Street Bachelors #3
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group on December 29, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Regency
Pages: 304
Format: eBook
Source: ARC
Goodreads
A princess in disguise is forced to live with a rogue in order to protect her from danger in this fun, sexy regency romance from Kate Bateman.
In The Princess and the Rogue, Bow Street agent Sebastien Wolff, Earl of Mowbray, doesn’t believe in love—until a passionate kiss with a beautiful stranger in a brothel forces him to reconsider. When the mysterious woman is linked to an intrigue involving a missing Russian princess, however, Seb realizes her air of innocence was too good to be true.
Princess Anastasia Denisova has been hiding in London as plain ‘Anna Brown’. With a dangerous traitor hot on her trail, her best option is to accept Wolff’s offer of protection—and accommodation—at his gambling hell. But living in such close quarters, and aiding Wolff in his Bow Street cases, fans the flames of their mutual attraction. If Anya’s true identity is revealed, does their romance stand a chance? Could a princess ever marry a rogue?
Spies, criminal investigators, and criminals are all like catnip for me and I have been itching to get my greedy paws on Sebastien’s book since the first book in the series. Paired with my fascination with Princess Anastasia and I was smitten.
I loved Anya! She is exactly the sort of heroine I enjoy rooting for. Clever, practical, and loyal; she was such a fun heroine to follow. I don’t think I’ve come across a heroine with a Russian background before so I enjoyed learning some of the cultural tidbits Bateman wove in. Sebastien was delightfully suspicious of Anya at the start. It made watching his declaring permanent bachelorhood all the more entertaining.
The chemistry between Sebastien and Anya was sizzling. That delicious tension and growth from lust to love was perfectly paced and had me hooked for the entire read. As always, Bateman’s smexy scenes were on point and blush inducing.
Summed up, I adored this couple! A chef’s kiss blend of mystery, romance, and action. I only wish we had a little bit more time with Seb and Anya because I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I highly recommend if you are looking for a book with a fun royalty spin and a sizzling romance, look no further. It can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment I recommend reading the whole series.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
About Kate Bateman
Kate Bateman (also writing as K. C. Bateman) wrote her first historical romance in response to a $1 bet with her husband who rashly claimed she'd 'never finish the thing.' She gleefully proved him wrong. Her Regency and Renaissance-era romances all feature her trademark feisty, intelligent heroines, wickedly inappropriate banter, and heroes you want to both strangle and kiss.
When not traveling to exotic locations 'for research,' Kate leads a double life as a fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several TV shows in the UK, each of which has up to 2.5 million viewers. She splits her time between Illinois and her native England and writes despite three inexhaustible children and a number-loving husband who still owes her that dollar.
