This was a fun read with just the right amount of mystery and romance. Delightful for a cold winter evening when you need a good book!

A Touch Wicked is a prequel to A Private Arrangement series.

There was a lot to like with this story. The story was interesting and kept me entertained with a heavier lean on the romance than the mystery. The Masquerade was fun and helped move the story along. It also let the MC to get to know one another on equal footing and also have some really passionate scenes.

One of my favorite parts of the story is the friendship that develops between Emma and James’ sister, Alexandra. It was good to see their camaraderie and having their own adventures.

I thought Emma was protesting too much by the end and wanted to their decision to be together play out a bit differently but overall really enjoyed it.

There are five plus encounters and I stopped counting them as the scenes got shorter after the first few. It’s a fast burn and they’re all steamy with lots of passion.

This was a new to me author and also a republished and expanded story from the original novella.

I received an advanced reader copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

CW: on page violence to heroine (by villain)

I enjoyed this historical romance. I thought James and Emma had great chemistry and it was a fun read.

I did find it hard to believe that the characters are apparently having weekly sex (which is described as relatively rough), and she's wearing a wig the entire time to conceal her identity. Did he really never try to pull her hair? I thought it could have been fun if it became part of their sexual play--since they were playing with power dynamics she could have instituted a rule that he was never to touch her hair, no matter how he begged.

Also, there were a few instances of repetitive words or phrases within a scene or over multiple scenes that caught my attention (I think "fractured" is one of this author's favorite words). I know this is an ARC so perhaps those little things will be resolved in the final edit!

Overall would recommend to fans of steamy historical romance!

Thank you NetGalley and Aria for the arc.

I enjoyed this story about Emma Dumont and James, the Earl of Kent, rating it a 3.75 stars. The story begins with Emma frantically searching for her sister in Paris, almost killed by a man who's also looking for her sister, and traveling to London because of clues that her sister may have landed there. She takes on the role of a lady's maid to James' sister, Lady Alexandra. Both Emma and James feel an attraction to each other, but their class difference negates any possibility of a relationship between them. Emma, under an alias, attends a club in search of her sister, and James attends the same club, in search of meeting someone to assuage the passion he feels towards Emma. Emma instantly recognizes James, even though he's masked, but James has no clue that Emma is under the wig and mask she dons to go to the club. From there, they find passion, and danger, as Emma inadvertently gets closer to finding her sister.

I thought the passion and the thriller aspect of the book worked well, but I didn't really feel the romance between Emma and James. There was a lot of attraction and lust, but there really weren't many scenes where we see a true relationship build between the two of them, especially since there was a sizable class difference. I wish there were more pages devoted to that.

I do want to read the rest of the series because the story was engaging.

This is a new to me author, and this book is great. I love strong female main characters, that who rebel against the standards of the time and fight for changes. And another weakness of mine is obsessed heroes, so yeah, this book was perfect for my tastes

Love to discover new fantastic authors and i hope i cam read more of her books in the future.

What an exciting, original, and well written love story. The characters were interesting and strong-willed with complexities. It had action, drama, intrigue, suspense, murder, mystery, espionage, and so much more adventure and excitement thar kept me engaged and needing to know what would happen next, and how everything would turn out. I enjoyed the intense romance with such delicious passion. I highly recommend reading!

This is a wonderfully crafted historical romance with a twisted mystery thrown in. I could totally see all this playing out in this time period. America is a relatively new nation. The aristocratic ways are still being followed in Europe. Two bastard daughters of an English Duke thrown out of their home when their mother becomes ill and is no longer desired by said Duke. All the makings of a gothic tale ... well, without the "gothicness" of it all....

I enjoyed this story immensely. There are great characters with great character. The story is so intriguing; involving the main female characters sister and even the hero's sister; such parallels were a wonderful addition to the story. Clandestine affairs and spies add to the juicy story. It is a total delight.

As a mood reader, I forgot how much I love getting swept away by a good, steamy historical romance—and *A Touch Wicked* hit the spot perfectly! The combination of high-stakes espionage, mystery, and romance kept me hooked from start to finish.

In A Touch Wicked, we meet James, the Earl of Kent, London's most eligible bachelor, who’s handsome, wealthy, and looking for a bride. But everything changes when he encounters a masked beauty at the city’s most illicit club—sparking an irresistible intrigue.

Meanwhile, Emma Dumont, driven by desperation to save her sister, infiltrates the earl's household under false pretenses. As her secrets begin to unravel, the danger intensifies, forcing her to navigate a tangled web of lies, espionage, and forbidden passion.

The book offers the perfect blend of tension, sizzling chemistry, and a masquerade full of mystery. Katrina Kendrick masterfully brings these characters to life, making you root for them while keeping you on the edge of your seat.

I really wanted to like this story, but it just missed the mark for me. I felt like the mmc and mfc hit it off way too quickly to be convincing that they truly had feelings for each other outside of infatuation. I did enjoy some of their banter, but it felt like the flirtatious tension was forced and escalated very quickly, and most of their time spent together was just having sex. However, I did love he characters and enjoy their relationships. The teasing banter was fun to read.

The story got a little repetitive about halfway through the book, but then a lot of things happened at once towards the end, leaving very important components of the story unexplained. I think this could have had a lot of potential and more depth, such as expanding the political intrigue, developing better character arcs, etc. but it just wasn't quite there.

--> 2.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Head of Zues for the arc!

A Touch Wicked by Katrina Kendrick
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This story follows Emma Dumont as she searches for her missing sister in a mysterious masquerade society. After discovering her sister's criminalistic tendencies, Emma is forced to go undercover and form an alias at the home of the Earl of Kent. On the search for her sister, Emma entangles herself in the English court's most eligible bachelor as well as an 1800s-esc mafia.

I'm fairly new to the historical romance genre and this novel was a wonderful start! I enjoyed the light intermixing of thriller and crime as it kept the plotline interesting. The writing style has a great flow and is plentiful of vivid imagery. The first chapter had me immediately hooked as I was curious and concerned for the FMC's well-being while also wondering what got her to that situation.

In terms of the romance, 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5!!! This is definitely on the more graphic side of romance novels. At times I did feel like some scenes were unnecessary as it took away from plot development. I did feel like the relationship between the characters could have been explored in another sense other than through romantic scenes.

🌹Historical romance meets thriller
🌹1800s London
🌹Earl x Servent dynamic
🌹Assertive and confident FMC

Overall, I enjoyed the experience of this book and would recommend it, especially to a Bridgerton fan!

High stakes and hot.

A Touch Wicked by Katarina Kendrick isn't your average regency romance. Sure, it has many of the classic features:

- An Earl in need of a practical marriage.
- A sassy commoner who steals his heart.
- An exploration of the ugly side of high society.
- And the work that brave women did to undermine limitations to their freedom during this time.

And, yet, the novella also has more mystery and crime/violence than the typical regency reader might be used to or expecting.

Abandoned by their derelict Duke father, two sisters do what they must to survive the harsh realities of Paris after the death of their mother (the Duke's former mistress). The story begins when our FMC, Emma, relocates to London in order to solve the mystery of her sister's disappearance. Emma soon learns how little she knew of her sister's activity and acquaintances -- more specifically, she discovers Isabel's involvement with international crime rings and the immediate danger everyone in her orbit now faces. In her quest to reunite the only family she has left, Emma must blackmail her father to gain employment with a respectable house to stay in, and search in, London.

Perhaps predictably, the head of said house where she's installed - James, the Earl of Kent - develops an immediate attraction to quick-witted and loyal Emma. The narrative follows Emma as she sets out to locate her sister by whatever means necessary -- including deception, blackmail, and clandestine evenings (with the Earl!) at a masquerade parlor - and the bonds she quickly forms with James and his own sister, Alexandra.

For fans of Historical Romance with a bit of spice and HEA, A Touch Wicked delivers. Add in a plucky heroine, her delightfully audacious charge, spies and witty repartee, a mystery club, and Katrina Kendrick has conjured a delightfully fun and fast read.

A Touch Wicked is a lovely forbidden romance, with a smidge of spice, that includes a bond between sisters that is unmatched. The secrets and the banter between siblings were top of the class. If I had to choose a favorite character it is without a doubt Alexandra, that mischievous young lady that almost caused The Earl to make a big mistake.

I loved this book! I couldn’t help falling in love with James. The banter between James and Emma was just chefs kiss. Will definitely be reading more of this authors books!

A Touch Wicked by Katrina Kendrick is a part of the Private Arrangements series and if you haven't picked this one up, I highly recommend it. This was a re-read for me because when I read the summary on Netgalley, it noted that there were some rewrites so I wanted to check it out. To be honest, it had been a while since I originally read it so I couldn't tell you what changed but really, I don't care. I really enjoy this series and it makes me wish Kendrick had more books in this genre.

Our main characters in this book are James, the Earl of Kent, and Emma Dumont, his employee who happens to be working in his household under false pretenses and keeping some pretty big secrets. I actually enjoy a good class difference story and Kendrick does a great job of bringing these two characters together via the Masquerade club. James is using it to escape his duties as Earl and Emma is trying to find her sister there...or at least clues to find her and instead they find what they need in each other. The thing is, while James has no clue who Emma is, she knows exactly who he is and she also knows what they have at the club can never last, no matter what James says in the heat of passion.

I loved these characters and this story. It actually makes me want to do a re-read of the full series because I forgot all about James' brother and sister's stories until I read this one and they all have some interesting things going on. As a matter of fact, they are some of my favorite side characters (Richard and Alex) as they truly help James and Emma figure themselves out.

If you're looking for a historical romance series to pick up that has a bit of angst, some sexy times, a great story and solid character development, consider picking this book (and the series) up. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Intrigue and secrets carry the day in this novella. Emma Dumont and her sister are illegitimate French children of a SOB British duke, known for being a miserable excuse for a human being. When their mother became ill, the Duke discarded them. Now Maman is dead and Isabel is missing. While trying to find her, Emma is almost murdered. It seems her little sister is in trouble with some criminals. The only clue she finds is a fancy business card from The Masquerade in London. She flees to England with her only valuable possession, her mother's diary, which she uses to blackmail her father to write her a letter of recommendation, so she can find a job as a lady's maid. She is fortunate to interview with James, the Earl of Kent for the position with his sister, Alexandra. He is quickly approaching the age of 30, when he had decided he must marry for the good of the Earldom. His brother gives him a card to The Masquerade, to have his last hurrah, where he meets a woman he can't forget. Emma goes there to look for her sister and is drawn to James, who does not recognize her because of her mask.

This story does not make sense to me. Considering how she, her mother and sister were treated, why would she risk the chance of getting pregnant by having an illicit affair with James? After he declared himself in love with her, knowing every inch of her body, how could he not recognize Emma's eyes and smile? And how would people not recognize her by the change of her accent? I am intrigued though, to read brother Richard's story.

I read an Advanced Reader's Copy gifted to me by the publisher via NetGalley.com. This is my honest, unbiased and voluntary review.

I loved every minute of this great romantic suspense story. The characters were well fleshed out and made me want to read more about all their back stories, especially Isabel, Alexandra and her handsome spy.. I’ll definitely be reading more books by this Author.

Interesting and not bad but there were parts that didn't sit well or felt a bit juvenile. Overall it was just okay for me.

Note: This is republished expanded edition of a previously published novella of the same name.

Emma's sister goes missing and all she finds is an invitation to a masquerade ball in London. She decides to head that way and try to find her. This leads her to landing a job as a lady's maid to the sister of an Earl. This leads to a spicy romance - only James, the Earl, doesn't realize that his new employee and the masked seductress at the Masquerade Club are the same. Super spicy, strong female characters and a nicely crafted story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

I requested this because A) the cover and blurb both promised heat and B) the idea of the Masquerade sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, the Masquerade is more than 20% into the book and I had to bow out around there, mostly due to the writing style. Just not a fan. It felt padded out for length and lacked the wit I prefer in historical romance. The dialogue was similarly... there. I didn't get the sense from what I read that either lead had much of a personality.

I see that others have enjoyed this book but it wasn't for me.