A great start. I can't wait to read the rest. A good idea that manages to entertain but also to delight.

I'm not familiar with Katy Moran so this collection of chapters was a nice little introduction. However, I think I'll understand her writing style better by just picking up a book. Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is my first time reading something by this author. I only had a chapter sampler to read, so my review is not based on the entire book. The characters are being introduced and you get a feel for the story about to take place. Set in the time of when the Duke of Wellington lost the battle of Waterloo, the storyline and setting seemed interesting. It does take a while to get into the story, so I'm hoping the rest of the book picks up more.

I received a complimentary sampler copy from Netgalley and am providing my honest review.

⭐️⭐️/5 Stars

This was an okay chapter sampler, that left a lot to be desired. The six chapters were slow and hard to get into for me. The rest of the book could be better, but the first six chapters did not make me want to read more.

A bit of a mess, I'm sorry to say. This is another historical fiction try that falls short of the greats. There were too many viewpoints that switched too often, went back and forth in time and setting, in such a way that made this book extremely hard to follow. While the setting was very interesting and different [which I did enjoy], the flaws in this book and the clunkiness were too distracting to get lost in this book. 2 apologetic stars, and a thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This sampler of the first six chapters shows the beginnings of a regency romance, set in an alternative history world where Bonaparte, not Wellington, won the Battle of Waterloo.

This has potential, as I instantly liked Hester, our female lead. But the biggest issue I had with these chapters is a lot of characters are thrown at you and I did get confused on several occasions.

This was a chapter sampler of this book. It starts out pretty good. You can see the adventures. The characters are about to begin. I think I will pick the whole book and see how it end. Check out the sampler to see if this book is a good fit to you. Also, there may be some triggering moments in the story. I didn’t see many in the few chapters I read but the storyline and the time period elude to it.
May rating is based on these chapters and not the book in its entirety.

So I enjoyed the idea behind this, an alternate history where Wellington lost at Waterloo. Now, I don't know much about this history at the time but I thought Moran did a wonderful job of explaining without being too heavy handed with the details.

Hester is already showing herself to be a resilient heroine and I'm interested to see where the story takes her.

What lost me a bit was the amount of characters inotruded in a short period of time and, I was expecting more of a historical romance whereas this more reminder me of a straight up historical fiction novel.

Overall although this was a well written introduction it just wasn't for me. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for a chance to sample the writing.

Having read the other two books in this trilogy, I enjoyed reading the six chapters of the first book in the series. Set in 1817 in an alternative history world where Bonaparte, not Wellington, won the Battle of Waterloo. The story introduces the main characters and hints at what motivates them. An intricate historical is vividly described,.and Hester and Crow's chemistry is evident. This is a tempting sample of Game of Hearts.

I received a sample of this book from 'Head of Zeus via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This sneak peek is quite fast-paced, so I assume that more exposition will come later in the story to flesh out the characters are their identities more. These first few chapters definitely piqued my interest, though the descriptions are a bit long-winded. I find it interesting that the author explores an avenue of history where the black daughter of a sailor and an English earl could cross paths.

This is the beginning of a really good regency romance story, which leaves the reader wanting to get the next instalment.

What if the British and their allies lost the war at Waterloo. Imagine the French invading England and Wellington is a prisoner. Josephine is at Carlton House and Napoleon's brother is on the throne. The Earl of Lamorna known as Crow, is working both sides as a spy. He marries Hester, the daughter of his mentor who was murdered, to protect her from the French. Her father was black and her mother white. Crow has a fourteen year old brother setting off bombs in London and if captured by the French will be hung. To add to his stress, Crow suffers from PTSD and has a stepmother who is very angry when he breaks off their relationship as lovers when he marries Hester. It was difficult for me to grasp the concept of the turn around of the British losing. It just felt weird, but I managed to work my way through the concept. The love story of Hester and Crow is very tumultuous. One reference to explicit sex, but otherwise it is left up to your imagination. This is only the first few chapters, but I waited to review until I read the complete book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Hello this book was okay, it's not a favorite. I was confused in the beginning and I just couldn't get into the story .

This book has a promising start. It took me a little bit to figure out who the characters were, but by the end of the sample, I had become interested in the story.

Set in 1817 between Cornwall and London, ‘Game of hearts’ follows an interesting set of characters, including a heir of an aristocratic family who is also a spy, and a heiress who is on the run from the men who killed her father...

I was lucky enough to recieve a sample of the first six chapters of this book, and it’s safe to say they set up the story and cast of characters and their different perspectives well!

I’m not overly familiar with this period of history - my only knowledge of it being based on Bridgerton! - so it was fun to delve a little into another fictional story set during these years. Also, as someone who has spent a lot of time in Cornwall I really appreciated the location references, which were frequent!

I personally found the changing perspectives between the characters a little confusing to begin with, and there seemed to be quite a few characters being introduced in a short space of time. However, as this was only a sample I’m sure that the characters would’ve become easier to keep a track of as the book progressed!

I definitely think the characters and premise was interesting, and I liked how chapter 6 (sadly the last chapter in this sample!) brought the different parts of the story together - this chapter felt like the real beginning of the story!

I’m definitely intrigued by this world and would recommend it if you are a Bridgerton fan! Thank you to the publishers for sending me this sample!