Bateman (the Bow Street Bachelors series) launches a Regency trilogy with this pitch-perfect enemies-to-lovers romance centered on the feuding Montgomery and Davies families. Despite generations of bad blood, the two clans jointly own the land between their estates, and a fragile truce requires that representatives from each family shake hands once annually. This year, it's aspiring archaeologist Maddie Montgomery and former soldier Gryff Davies who reunite for the handshake ritual--but Gryff surprises Maddie with a kiss instead, reigniting their long unspoken mutual attraction. Maddie's feelings for Gryff aren't her only secret: the Montgomery family is facing financial ruin, leading Maddie to consider a marriage proposal from the detestable Mostyn Drake, who's offering £2,000 for her hand. Bateman further ratchets up the tension when Maddie falls into a cave on the shared Davies-Montgomery land and discovers a brandy-smuggling operation. She and Gryff hatch a plan to foil the smugglers, catapulting the two into danger and fanning the flames of passion between them. It's tropey in the best of ways, with a palpable charge between the lovers and a good balance of darkness and light. Brimming with intrigue, passion, and humor, this is sure to win the author new fans. (Sept.)

The first in Bateman's Ruthless Rivals Regency romance series offers an enjoyable and sexy romp with all the verisimilitude of the Bridgerton television series. Due to a royal decree centuries in the past, representatives of the feuding Davies and Montgomery families must meet each year in the middle of lands they jointly own and shake hands. Failure would invoke forfeiture of the property. Maddie Montgomery is elated to think Gryff Davies, the new Earl of Powys, her childhood nemesis, won't show up and that the strip of land between the two families' estates will become solely the Montgomerys'. But Gryff not only shows up, he also goes beyond the handshake to a searing kiss. There is so much to enjoy in Bateman's feel-good, enemies-in-love tale, including a heroine passionate about archaeology, a kind hero with a sense of humor, secret tunnels, caves hiding smugglers' caches, and an underwater lake near a wishing well. Heroic adventures and good deeds add to the fun, while secondary characters foreshadow delightful romances of their own in future installments.

A new series from Bateman ("Bow Street Bachelors") featuring the centuries-long feud between the Montgomery and Davies families. Madeline Montgomery and the new Earl of Powys, Gryffud "Gryff" Davies, are doing their parts to keep the battle going. Madeline thinks she's solved her family's financial hardship, until Gryff's inconvenient return to the area forces her to change tack. The neutral territory between the families' properties provides unexpected and dangerous opportunities, but only if they can work together. Gryff's military past and Madeline's archaeological and local knowledge serve them well as they encounter smugglers, violence, and secrets on the property they share, but Madeline's only option to save her family might be to accept an arranged marriage. The time they spend together causes Madeline and Gryff to examine whether the animosity between their families is covering up a deeper connection between them. VERDICT Historical romance readers will love this steamy, star-crossed enemies-to-lovers adventure featuring a strong, intelligent heroine and a hero who learns to support her.--Jenna Harmison, Champaign Cty. Lib., OH