Full of intrigue, The Princess and the Rogue is the third and final installment of Kate Bateman's Bow Street Bachelor's series, and the first of her books I've read. Not having read the first two books in the series, I was a little apprehensive that there might be references I'd miss or not be able to follow some of the plot. However, I'm very happy to say that The Princess and the Rogue works well as a standalone book. There are appearances by the main characters of the previous books, but their backstory is explained enough that it doesn't break the immersion of the book.

This was a very enjoyable book. The story starts out with a wonderful introduction to the heroine, Princess Anastasia Denisova, Anya, of Russia, on the run from an abusive would-be-fiance. You get the measure of her character right away, and can't stop rooting for her throughout the book. She ends up working as a companion to a dowager duchess in London and things are going well until the not-fiance turns up. The dowager convinces her great-nephew, Sebastien Wolff, Earl of Mowbray, agent of Bow Street, and owner of a gambling club to protect her, without disclosing her true identity as a princess.

Bateman does a great job in developing both of these characters, and setting up their romance. The climax of the book was utterly engaging, and I couldn't put the book down for at least the last 50 pages. Even knowing that Sebastien and Anya are going to get their happily-ever-after, it was still hard to see how it could be possible at times.

There were a lot of really interesting references to Russian traditions and customs, which was very intriguing and not something that is typical in a Regency romance. It was obvious that a lot of research went in to this book.

I would recommend The Princess and the Rogue, and will likely be reading more of Kate Bateman in the future as a result of reading this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy!

This novel was enjoyable read by Ms. Bateman in the Bow Street Bachelors, where the most cynical of them all, Sebastien, meet his match in a lady who is not all that she appears to be. Anya is a contradiction, intelligent and mannerisms of a well-bred lady, but does not dress nor act as one. Sebastien has never been denied, for his looks alone attract many females, but he is dedicated to his job. Anya has desired a love match, someone who sees her for more than what she represents and Sebastien has seen her. She keeps her identity a secret, but needs protection from those chasing after her. Sebastien decides to be her protector and uses her language skills to translate documents. However, the passion burns bright between them, but Anya knows if Sebastien knew the truth about her, he would keep his distance, but Anya has other plans, wants things to be on her terms. Will their budding relationship survive when all comes to light?
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book happens to be my first by this author and I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. After the death of her remaining family member, Princess Anastasia Denisova must go into hiding in London from an unwanted and dangerous marriage proposal. For the past year things were going well for her and best friend Elizaveta, she had been working as a companion for an elderly dowager duchess and as a tutor for the working girls next door at London’s most exclusive brothel. Unfortunately her somewhat peaceful existence is interrupted by an interlude at said brothel.

Sebastian Wolff, the Earl of Molbray, and Bow Street investigator, has been feeling a bit out of sorts since his friends got married. He didn’t consider himself lonely but something was missing. With the appearance of “Anna Brown” things started to look up for him. He felt the instant attraction, but was shot down just as quickly. They meet again, but this time with him saving her life. With the help from his aunt, who ends being the duchess Anna is the companion for, she is convinced to go into hiding once again at his gambling hell. That initial attraction they felt before comes to the forefront the more they spend time with each other. When they finally admit their attraction to each other, Anna’s past comes rushing back.

Overall, Anna and Sebastian’s story was a great read. There was a mixture of danger, suspense, intense attraction and great camaraderie. And even though this is book 3 in the series, and we do see the couples from the previous books, I had no issues following along in this one. I actually may need to go back and read the first two in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

4.5☆
Loved this series!

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: Bow Street Bachelors
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading more from this author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.

Excellent end to the trilogy. Anya was a pretty awesome character who was a pretty awesome match for the never wants to get married Sebastian.

It was nice to see the other characters from previous books. I had to laugh at the few references to Georgie and her love of all things nautical. We meet some a lovely friend of Anya’s and there’s an appropriately terrible villain in this which ties into the spy work Sebastian does.

Read the whole series of you like Regency romance that has a pretty good story other than the romance.

Absolutely lovely. Sweeping and epic. I have loved this series from Kate Bateman, and this was a perfect installment in it. 4.5 Stars!

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This novel unfortunately did not deliver as other novels have by this author. The novel opens to Princess Anastasia in Paris but other than her referring to her presence there you don't get the sense she's actually there. It's lacking in realistic landscape imageries and rich language that would indicate she's Russian.
Then there's the notorious Sebastian who falls in immediate lust with the princess and is relentless in pursuing her to satisfy his sexual hunger. He's arrogant and more of a spoiled child than a man. I was annoyed the whole time he was around.
I just couldn't fully engage with this story which seemed like a cheap rip off of the classical Anastasia tale.

This was the first book I read by Kate Bateman and it was very enjoyable! I was worried that since it was the 3rd in the series, I might miss out on backstory, but that was not the case. This can certainly be read as a stand alone, but I liked it enough that I will be going back to read the previous 2 books of the series.

From the description, I wasn't sure this book would be for me, but I was happily surprised. Generally I don't like Royal court books, and I don't always like spy/investigative stories. But while this book features a princess, she is not at court but hiding out next door to a brothel in Covent Garden under an assumed name and working as a companion for an elderly duchess (who is snarky and delightful). And while the Earl works for Bow Street and is investigating rumors of Russian spies in London, the story takes place mostly in the gaming hell he runs, which is where he hides Anya once he realizes her life is in danger from the very people he is investigating.

Overall, I thought there was a nice mix of action, intrigue, sexiness and humor. I enjoyed all the characters, and it was a fast paced read.

A secret princess protected by sexy bow street runner? My cup of tea!!

This book was perfection! The writing was fantastic and I adored every character. Let’s highlight Anya.
She. Is. A. Goddess.
I want to be Anya when I grow up. And not because she’s a princess. She is smart, funny, and so freaking strong and resilient. She did what had to be done. I had so much respect for her. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully in love with Seb.
But Anya freaking stole the show.