Book Review: To Steal a Heart by Kate Bateman

Format: ebook
Published: February 23rd, 2016
Age: Adult
Genre: Historical Romance – Regency
Goodreads

Rating: 5/5 Stars

To get an idea of how much I really enjoyed this: before I’d even finished, I purchased book 2. Actually, by coincidence, I picked that up shortly after we were introduced to the couple who are the focus of book 2, so that was an additional delight.

To keep her sister safe, Marianne is forced to use her tightrope skills to act as a thief for a corrupt government minister. As she attempts to plant evidence in the offices of France’s notorious spymaster, she’s caught by spymaster Nicolas Valette himself. Witnessing her ability and from seeing her at the Cirque Olympique, Nicolas knows Marianne has extraordinary skills, and he ropes her into a dangerous mission by purchasing her at an auction for her virginity.

This is a regency romance with a very slightly darker edge than we usually see. Yes, there’s still aristocrats, but they’re very much under threat, and both Marianne and Nicolas have experienced pretty dark things in their lives. Right from the moment they work together, you can feel the chemistry on the page, and Bateman does an excellent job of increasing the tension as the novel progresses. I was completely captured by this story, invested fully in the couple and the mission they were setting out on, and loved the way they interacted with one another. There’s a love/hate element, as Nicolas pushes Marianne physically and mentally to prepare her, and both characters struggle to identify how the other one really feels. It’s got all the elements you want in this kind of book!

They balance each other out really well, too, and you can see how they can so easily entice one another. Nicolas is the type of man who can be utterly charming when he absolutely wants to be, and he rarely wants to be, but he manages to push all Marianne’s buttons – positively, negatively, metaphorically and of course literally. I don’t think there’s many writers who can make a dingy, dirty dungeon a very sexy setting, but Bateman manages it here with these two.

If you like romances and are looking for something with a bit of actual danger for the main characters, and a story that’ll have you really hooked with a sexy couple at its core, I highly recommend To Steal a Heart.  

Reading Challenge
Avengers Challenge!
Prompt: Black Widow – spies, espionage, torture, women breaking barriers, or something with a strong female who is a good fighter

Progress: 6/6 Completed + 20% Bonus Prompts