Loved it! If you know/follow me; then you know that I don't often give out 5-star reviews. For this reader, this story hit all the marks. It has an enemy to friends to lovers theme, smuggling, an explosion, a decrepit old man conniving to get a young woman to wed him, feuding families, war, adventure, and of course, romance. There are two feuding families: the Montgomery's and the Davies'. The feud has been going on for generations. Finally King Henry the Seventh made a decree that the two families had to stop the bloodshed and feuding and have a "truce" of sorts; one member from each family was to meet at a bridge (on non-family owned land) on the Vernal equinox to shake hands each year.

The author introduces the reader to Madeline "Maddie" Montgomery and Gryffud "Gryff" Davies as the two representatives of the feuding families. These two have always had a tense relationship; since they were children young enough to go off on their own to play and have adventures. When Gryff sees Maddie on the bridge waiting for a Davies' to show up; he is captivated by the young woman she has become. He's always taken great pleasure in irking her in order to parry with her at any given time. He finds himself intrigued by her. Maddie has always found Gryff to irksome and doesn't know why he is always able to "raise her hackles". She's made the assumption that it's just the way it is between their two feuding families.

The story has Gryff and Maddie going on an adventure; stumbling upon caves and smugglers and a man being beaten by the smugglers. It spirals from there to a point where they don't know who they can trust besides each other.

This was a very well written story with believable characters and situations that could have happened. The story flowed well and kept this reader entertained right through the Epilogue.

An updated Romeo and Juliet. Neighbors that played together as children but families are enemies. But what a good forbidden fruit story. Interesting relationships, interesting adventures and just the right amount of steamy. Even the ending was a good one.

I enjoyed the rivalry between the family and tension between MCs, but there wasn’t enough to really pull me in and not want to stop reading. Okay read but not one I’ll remember

Part of what I loved about this first-in-a-new-series book by Kate Bateman was that the hero and heroine's families had been enemies for YEARS and they had shared a kind of love/hate relationship while they were young. Seeing them grown up and trying to sort out their feelings was fun to watch! Really enjoyed this one!

This was just okay for me. There were certainly parts I enjoyed but I just had a hard time getting into it and investing in the characters.

This is cute!

Love the banter between Gryff and Maddie. Whenever Gryff flirted with Maddie, I swooned a little lololol. The word game in the library had me fanning myself, honestly.

Excited for the next books in the series.

Rivals to lovers is a bit like enemies to lovers but with a bit more tension. That’s exactly what this was. There’s a thin line between love and hate and these two danced all over it. They were fun to watch.

A Reckless Match was a good start to this series. It definitely sets up the next few stories and I’m quite curious about a few of the couples.

3.5 stars for this new series. The Davies and Montgomery families have feuded for generations. Gryff and Maddie are thrown together after stumbling upon smuggled goods and work to stop the smugglers. Meanwhile, Maddie’s family is in financial trouble and she searches for a way to help without having to marry the horrible justice of the peace in town.

Great story and romance. I loved both Maddie and Gryff and look forward to the continuation of this series.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

I just checked my list and I still have three pending book reviews (ARC) before this year ends.😅 I'm posting them until tomorrow.

Maddie and Gryffs' family were enemies before they were even born. Yet every year, one of the members should meet in a place to continue the pledge of goodwill.

This year, it was their turn. And somehow, sparks fly as they've seen each other after how many years. But... Is Montgomery ready to fall in love with Davies? Could they be together even though their families are against each other?

Maddie has an interesting line of work, while Gryff was just appointed as an earl. The adventures through the caves were the most exciting part!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

Kate Bateman is definitely a favorite historical romance author of mine and this was another super cute hate to love romance! The hero and heroine are from rival families and are the representatives from their families sent to meet this year in order to keep up a treaty that's been going on for years. This year, though, they get into some shenanigans as they explore the land their families share. They come across some smugglers using caves to smuggle cargo and get into some sticky situations! I loved the premise of this book and how much adventure our couple experienced. This gave me Ravished by Amanda Quick vibes because the heroine is into archeology and they're trying to stop smugglers in caves. They get stuck together and I love a good forced proximity trope! This was just so much fun to read and I couldn't recommend it enough!

The first book in a brand new series the Ruthless Rivals pits two neighbouring families against each other. Families feuding for centuries, Maddie and Gryff, Earl of Powys, have been enemies since childhood, pulling pranks on one another constantly. They come together when they discover that smugglers have stashed contraband on their properties. In their efforts to discover the culprits they work together and uncover a criminal ring within their own community. After an attack they grow closer and together solve the mystery of who is leading the smugglers and fall in love in the process, mending the rift between the families.
An enemies to lovers romance full of tension, passion, excitement, and adventure. A great start to the series. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

DNF at 70% point. Really tried though.

I really tired with this one. I know this has high rating but it just didn't work for me.

I kept putting it down and coming back to it a little latter hoping it would be more engaging and I would like the characters better.

But nope, didn't work. So I finally threw in the towel.

I found the characters to be one dimensional and no depth.

I normally really enjoy this authors books but this just didn't work for me personally.

Maddie and Gryff have always been "enemies" from something that occured between their families long ago by one of their distant relatives. But when Maddie and Gryff come across illegal contraband by accident they work together to discover who the leader is. But they will need to determine if all the teasing and tricks they played on each other as children was that as enemies or if it was the beginning of deeper feelings they have been harboring for each other as children.

This was a wonderful read.

Very cute read with enough angst and romance to keep the reader interested in finding out what happens next. The main characters were likable and the plot was quick-moving. Would recommend!

This one was so much fun. I loved the characters, the charisma between them, and the spunk in the female lead. She was so much fun. The two are rivals, or at least their families are, and they both have grown up goading the other.  Now they are all grown up, he is the new Earl, and she is in desperate need of funds so she doesn't have to marry an odious man. So, enter the adventure of exploring a cave system, finding smugglers, and trying to stop them. Their plot and story line was great and entertaining. The conflict was exciting. Just everything about the story was fun, flirtatious, and entertaining. The passion was good though there could have been more, would have liked to have seen more, but the plot and banter made up for the slightly tame side in the passion department. I can’t wait for more from these characters.

This was a great Historical Romance that I would definitely recommend trying!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I really adored this romance. The strong female lead was awesome and her love was good and sexy. They had great chemistry. I can't wait to read the next book.

I don’t read many regency romances but when I do I binge them and that’s exactly what I did with this book. So this is a kind of next door neighbor / enemies to lovers trope meeting after a few years and liking what they see in each other with some playful banter and tension. This moves pretty good and not wanting to spoil anything just know that it’s a page turner.

The Montgomerys and the Davies have been like the Hatfields and McCoys. They do not get along. It all comes down to Maddie and Gryff. This was a fun read with a little light banter between the two main characters. It made for a great escape.
Many thanks to St. Martins Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am a big fan of Romance books and I found this one to be a very enjoyable read. I will be looking for more books from this author.