agrippinaes 's review for:

A Reckless Match by Kate Bateman
4.0

This was really fun! I really enjoyed it. The tone is light and humorous, but Kate Bateman also really pulled off the action, too. It was a really exciting read with lots to sink your teeth into as a reader. The chemistry between Maddie and Gryff was great – they had such a fun dynamic and the banter just sparkled. I loved how much he clearly cared for her, even in the beginning, and the fact they just couldn’t stop needling each other – even after declarations of love had been had – really tickled me. The sexual tension worked well too – the actual steam in this book was a little lacking, for me, but there were still plenty of sensual moments that made up for it.

As a premise, I really enjoyed the rivalry as it was presented – it was quite light and silly and it was so much fun! The external plot was also just as solid as the romance. The plot wasn’t breaking any new ground but the way it was written was very skillful; the writing was very solid, especially the scenes in the caves. There was a real sense of peril, even though I knew it would work out, and I also liked how this allowed for the feelings in the romance to come out through their worry for each other.

For most of reading this book, I thought this was going to be a 5 star read, but there was one scene in it I really didn’t like and I thought was quite out of place. This was when
SpoilerGryff learned that Maddie was being pursued by Mostyn, the main antagonist in the book.
The confrontation that followed felt very nasty in comparison to the rest of the book and Gryff said some things that felt very harsh and, as far as I recall, he didn’t really apologise for any of it. I think if he’d behaved like this anywhere else in the book, or had apologised, it might have made more sense to me – but as it was, it just felt very jarring to read and I found it disappointing.

But, that aside, I really did like the rest of this book. It was such a fun concept and, for the most part, was very well-written and a real joy to read. I’m eagerly looking forward to reading the other books in this series.

Content Notes: Rivals-to-lovers, bargains/deals/wagers.

Warnings:
SpoilerReferences to rape and sexual violence, violence, references to war, gun violence, knife violence, explosions, head injuries, blood, threats and intimidation, sexual harassment, death of a parent (in past).


Other:
SpoilerOn-page sex, virgin FMC, OM drama
SpoilerThe FMC is being pursued by OM. She doesn’t want to marry him at all and he is actually the main antagonist, but it does cause conflict between her and the MMC.
.