Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the book for an honest review

‘A Tough Wicked’ was a really enjoyable book and I would highly recommend it, it was really good.

Rating 4 1/2 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emma lost everything dear to her and when she finds out that her sister is in danger and missing. She sets out to search for her sister but she finds herself in the middle of train tracks. She took in false identity, fell in love, and befriended some great people.

This book is filled with great wits, sense of humor, and dark humor (my favorite).

The ending is what you expected AND is not what you expected. This depends on the reader.

4.5 Stars!

“We all have our ghosts. Would you like my help with yours?”

I was craving a regency romance, and this stood up and delivered.

I expected a Bridgerton, ‘An Offer From a Gentleman’, vibe with masquerade ball shenanigans and Cinderella-style maids into princesses but within the first few pages, we stumble on a ransacked apartment, a murder attempt and a missing sister. I was thrilled to discover that ‘A Touch Wicked’, while packing the regency romance punch, was also full of twists, thrills and mystery with a strong, sex-confident woman taking the lead.

Emma (our FMC) only has one clue to help her find her missing sister Isabel, an exclusive invitation to a masked club in England. However, when the funds run out and Isabel still missing, Emma is forced to find a respected position to earn in while she searches- in comes the Earl of Kent. Alexandra Grey; a rebellious sister and known to drive men, and previous employment, crazy (subsequently one of my favourite characters) needs a maid. Or just someone to keep her out of too much trouble? Despite slightly suspect references, Emma isn’t fazed by Alexandra and James Grey finds himself with a new member of staff. Queue masquerade balls, hidden identities, secret affairs, spies, taboo attraction and a bit of an adventure.

I’ve already hinted heavily but I loved the female characters in this story. Emma was an interesting FMC because although she was fiercely determined to find and protect her sister, she wasn’t trained in how to fight off assassins. Her past gave her some experience in the dirty underworld of regency life, but she was largely sheltered by her sister until she had to fight dirty to find Isabel. was a great emphasis on found and blood-related family and seeing Emma slowly be able to open up to others despite her past was heart-warming. This is a great time to mention again how much I love Alexandra and her banter, no-nonsense attitude and the friendship that blossomed between the two.

James and Emma also had top-tier banter and I found myself smiling whenever they interacted. The spice was fab, I liked the fact that Emma could take charge (without it coming across as cringy or unnatural) and, for still a fairly short book, it didn’t dominate. There was a sweet caring side that we got to see from James. There was a touch of ‘he falls fast and falls harder’ but still remaining slow burn with the hidden identity aspect. James does also feel rather challenged falling for both the maid and a masked woman at the club. What a dilemma! Although, it felt less fleshed out at the end, especially in terms of the romance, but I liked the fast pace of the plot itself alongside some really fun chemistry and characters.

I can’t wait to read the rest of the series, which covers the Grey sibling's own romances (I think!) and read more from this author!

My conclusion is that this book wasn't for me, for several reasons. The writing was a bit awkward and jumped from scene to scene, from chapter to chapter quite abruptly. There also wasn't enough urgency about a major mystery that is set up in the beginning.

The characters don't feel fleshed out enough. As for the romance, the leads fall in love before they even have a proper conversation. To be honest, we see this trope in many (contemporary) romance books, and I guess it just comes down to personal taste.

So basically: if you like spice, if you're okay with instalove, and you're not too concerned about writing style, then this book is for you. And to end this review on a positive note, I want to say that I absolutely love the cover. It's what drew me to the book.

Thank you for this DRC in return for an unbiased review.

I struggled to finish this book. The pacing was off, the characters were either flat or try-hards that annoyed me and missed the mark. The romance was not it, and there were a lot of inconsistencies overall. It is a quick read tho.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a great cover! I liked the mystery aspect to this story in addition to the story's romance. I will definitely pick up more books by Katrina Kendrick!

Thank you @netgalley for this arc of #atouchwicked by #katrinakendrick

This book was a page turner … think Bridgerton … think pride and prejudice … think historical romance then think of A Touch Wicked!

It’s got everything, a woman who isn’t looking for love, only her sister and in the mystery that ensues including spies, assassination attempts and a house of pleasure and unknown identities comes a fabulous standalone novel (but with more in the series if you want to visit some of your favourite characters)
The banter between the main characters was engaging, funny and a true match! It wasn’t bogged down with historical fact and period language it was a wonderful easy comfort read

If Jane Austin had tried to publish a book like this she would have been arrested. But times change and this adult book is available. The characters are fun, the narrative is witty, the masquerade club is, ……… adult, and you just know the eventual ending of the story. But that’s okay because it is entertaining reading getting there. Thank you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I enjoyed this book. Though I admit I was more invested in the mystery of Emma's sister than I was in the romance. Not that I didn't like the romance or root for them, because I did. I just wish the mystery had more of a role in things. Emma spent all that time going to the masquerade and learned nothing. I would've liked that she at least heard whispers about the last time she was that at least.

Now, I know this is complaining that there was too much romance in the romance book, but that's not what I mean. I would've liked just a little more focus on her trying to find her sister. There were moments when it didn't seem as dire to her as the dialog implied it did. That aside, I did love the romance.
The banter.
The longing.
And the spice didn't make me cringe or make me start reading it on a diagonal. Which is something that I do sometimes, usually when an author either gets too clinical or uses too many euphemisms. Which is not the case here.

My one complaint, is that when the plot line of Emma's missing sister came to a head, it all unfolded very quickly. It was just a handful of pages, then the book was over. I do wonder if any of this will come up in the rest of the series.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this ebook and this is my freely given opinion.

I am a bit confused about the sequence of this series, as here it is listed as the first in the series, and the reissue has this published after the other three. But I don't think it is of much consequence to the storyline, it would appear.

This story starts in France, where Emma Dumont is searching for her missing sister and only finds a hidden clue in Isabel's ransacked apartment, in the form of an invitation to "the Masquerade" in London. Then she herself is attacked, by a violent assailant looking for Isabel. Emma gets away and continues to search for her sister in England. But she runs out of funds and is forced to seek work. She forces an estranged family member to write references for her and seeks a position as a maid to Alexandra Grey, the eccentric, notorious sister of James Grey, the Earl of Kent.

James has a hard time fitting into his role of Earl, and wrangling his wayward siblings. He has determined that by his 30th birthday though, he would fall in line with what Society expects from him, including finding a Society bride to help him manage his household, family, and Earldom. He must also control his unseemly attraction to the charming and warm woman who is a maid in his household. His brother, Richard, scoffs at his plans, and to help loosen him up, gets him an invitation to the Masquerade. James attends, but with no real plans for a tryst, just with the hopes of distracting himself from his unseemly attraction to one of his servants.

When Emma sees the details about the Masquerade, she uses her sisters invitation and a disguise to gain entree, in the hopes of finding Isabel. Instead, in her disguise, she attracts the attention of the Earl, and the desire to give into temptation is too great for both of them and they engage in a passionate, secret affair, with Emma maintaining her disguise throughout each of their trysts, until James tries to push for more and she is forced to break things off.

James is heartbroken over the loss of his mysterious lover. But still finds himself attracted to the warmth and wit of his sister's maid. But then when the truth comes out about her identity, he feels angered and betrayed, initially not believing Emma when she tells him that all she did was in the search for her missing sister.

However, during the course of her search, she finds out that Isabel is engaged in secret, high level criminal activity, and has crossed a large, sophisticated criminal organization, and also is in the cross hairs of the British government. Because others are looking for her, Emma is also a target, and when she and James fall out, and she leaves his employ, factions searching for her sister find her and put her life at risk, and James finds that he almost loses her before he realizes how much she means to him, regardless of the secrets she kept.

I quite enjoyed the differing social class, hidden identity passionate love affair between James and Emma. They had some great steamy sex scenes at the Masquerade, and I wanted Emma to just give into the relationship with James and admit who she was to him. The Femme Nikita/secret criminal mastermind/spy intrigue storyline of the sister was a bit over the top for me. However, I will say that it did make me very curious about the dynamic between the sister Isabel and another secondary character, Callahan - they obviously have a backstory and a bit of an frenemies dynamic that could become enemies to lovers??? I also liked the characterizations of Richard and Alexandra, the siblings of James. Their relationship dynamic and dialogue with James was enjoyable and fun to read.

I wish there was an epilogue to tie up some loose ends to James and Emma's HEA, but I am glad they found their way to each other... maybe I will read more of them in the other two stories in the middle of the series, since they are about Richard and Alexandra? I hope so, as I have some questions.

Such as how is Emma and her background/history/identity explained when she and James go back to England? What about Emma's father outing her origins, especially as she had to take on a new identity because of the Isabel situation? Would she and likewise the Grey's still not be in danger because of Isabel, when she and James return to London?

Anyways, even with the over the top elements, I still enjoyed the writing and the character dynamics and dialogue.

4.25 stars out of 5

This book surprised me! I honestly didn't read much on it before diving in other than it was a historical romance and I liked the cover. It had great intrigue and just enough suspense. I also love a good masquerade which this book had in spades. The only con I had about this book was the character development for James. The author kept hinting at a darker backstory or how horrible his parents were but were shown very few examples. I also wanted more scenes between the siblings.

4 stars and 4 spicy peppers.

If you are looking for a quick read with lots of spice in historical London, then read this book!

I enjoyed the writing which sprinkles in some old words that would have been used in historical/regency era London (at least from limited knowledge). The spice is hot and I was not expecting that level of spice from the premises of the book or from a historical romance.

Plus, the element of adventure and mystery woven into the plot is really well done.

I struggled with this one. This series has been very up and down for me; I have really loved some books in the series and have found others ho-hum. Unfortunately, this one was the least appealing of the entire series (to me). I didn’t connect with the the characters, and I found the pacing to be slow. It simply didn’t catch my interest. I kept trying, but I’d read a chapter and then go to a different book. I read multiple books in the time it took me to get through this one, so I know it wasn’t just that I wasn’t in the mood to read. This one just did not click with me.

I so love how author digs deep into her characters, showing them honestly and authentically, to find what can hold a relationship together when ugly truths might threaten to pull it apart. The writing, the plot, the characters almost everything was top notch!

A quick steamy regency read!! I enjoyed it… if you love Bridgerton and want the modernized language this one is for you. Our FMC is BOLD!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy for review!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher on the ARC of this book. I will say, it has been a long time since I have read a historical romance. The book quickly sparked my interest and kept me reading with all kinds of twists and turns. I did see that it is a prequel to more books that I am already putting on my TBR list. If you like historical romance books then this one is for you!

This was cute, silly, and steamy! It interested me enough I’ll go back and read the other books and it seemed like it opens up lots of possibilities for future books as well. Definitely a good snack-sized romance!

Scandalous, adventurous, love, and steamy love scenes.

All around fun book with so many actions and I was surprised by the unexpected adventure I was taken throughout the book. It was an action-filled and love-spent book.
Add this to your TBR 2024 lists, you will not be disappointed.

Kendrick did a great job at giving depth to the characters and relationships despite the shorter read. I loved the banter between Emma and James. Also I loved both of their sisters characters who I would love to read about in future novels!

A Touch Wicked is a grump/sunshine regency romance, perfect for someone looking to get a Bridgerton-like fix.

Emma Dumont poses as Emma Clark, serving in the Earl of Kent's home as maid to the raucous and untamable Alexandra. Emma, the bastard of a Duke, is only in London to search for her missing sister at the Masquerade, a weekly masked party of debauchery. When she runs into the masked Earl of Kent, however, sparks fly. As Emma's search continues, however, a broken heart may be the least of her worries.

While the book does take quite a lot of creative liberties, the character building is lovely. Alexandra, the sister of the MMC, takes the narrative by storm, providing both comedic relief and an exceptional ally for the FMC. In general, the narrative puts an emphasis on badass female characters, from Alexandra to Emma's sister to the nameless Masquerade owner. Sadly, Emma seems to be the least badass of these, but she holds merit in her own ways.

Overall, the book is a solid introduction to an intriguing regency romance series, and I'm excited to see where the story goes next!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!