Review: The Bastard's Bargain

The Bastard's Bargain by Katee Robert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having read the latter half of the O’Malleys series, I really need to go back and read the first three books. Jumping into the series in book four was all well and good, but as I’ve continued to read the books I’ve realised I would have had even more enjoyment if I’d started with book one. Forbidden Promises was wonderful as a standalone novel, but there were a few references that left me wanting to know more. Undercover Attractive did not work as well as a standalone novel, in fact it relied rather heavily upon prior events, but I had fun. The Bastard’s Bargain is best enjoyed if you have knowledge of the series – you do not need to know it all, as I do not, but you do need to understand how events ended in Undercover Attraction.

Despite how I have only read the latter half of the series, I was excited for the final book in the series. In the two books I have read, we’ve been given glimpses into the romance brewing between the two main characters in this book. It is something that has been building for quite some time, waiting for the events to come together. Add in the fact the series is being brought to an end, and you go in expecting big things.

Did this book deliver the necessary big things for a series finale? Mostly.

The book was a lot of fun, sucking you in very quickly. There are plenty of things playing out throughout this one, many things come together, and almost every page keeps you sucked in. There were a couple of points where my interest waned slightly, but for the majority of the book I was sucked in.

Mainly, it was the romance. It was on fire. The relationship between the two was amazing. I loved watching how things grew throughout the book, loved the chemistry between the two, and enjoyed all of their interactions. I really enjoyed our couple in Forbidden Promises, but I think I enjoyed our couple in this one even more. They were wonderful together, and I’m sure those who have been watching the romance build between them will adore how their story played out.

However, I had expected a wee bit more in terms of action. This was the final book in the series, and I expected lots of big events in relation to the crime element of the series. This book focuses a lot more on the romance, meaning I was somewhat let down by the action side of things. It felt to me as though it was always hovering in the background, and when it did take centre stage it was all very anticlimactic. I wanted huge scenes, but everything was over much too quick. When compared to how hard the romance scenes hit, the action seemed rather dull.

Overall, though, this was another great O’Malley book. Well worth the read for fans of the series.

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