A solid story but I was expecting a little more because it's Sarah MacLean. Love the premise of the series. ( )

This book! I loved every page of Sesily and Caleb's story. My only complaint was that it didn't last longer and that I will have to wait for the next installment in the Hell's Belles series. If someone is looking for a smart, swoony historical romance with strong women and the men who love them, definitely check out the first book in Sarah MacLean's new series ( )

3.5 stars - my main issue with this book is the same issue I have with other MacLean books is that it’s a little too long and a little too repetitive. I didn’t mind the contemporary feel to this historical romance I just found myself almost skim-reading parts of the book of Sesily and Caleb’s dialogue as it was the same arguments throughout. A bit more editing and this would have been a 4 star read no problem. Overall I do enjoy MacLean’s writings so I’ll be continuing with this series. ( )

We meet Sesily in this first book in the Hell's Belles series. Also known as Sexily. Mmmm.

This is another version of the over-the-top, irreverent, silly, promiscuous historical romance that authors are writing these days. It's meant to be feminist, like the myth of the Amazons. Didn't work for me.

Can't say this version of rampant tampering with the HR works at all. Perhaps it gets better, but I "put it on hold" after 2/9 parts of the way through.

Yet I've enjoyed Sarah MacLean in the past. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Love by Numbers Book 1) was a favourite. But was that MacLean's first novel? ...apparently her debut romance novel, published in 2010.

In July 2022, Bombshell is her most recent publication, published last year.

Narrator Mary Jane Wells reads the novel at such a pace that I'm going to try putting it on half speed, so I can catch all the dialogue. The words fly at me like hard rain! ( )

I've read all of MacLean's HR, and have liked the vast majority of it well above average. I've been looking forward to this, and really expected to like it a lot, but this one ended up just kinda okay for me.

The interactions between the main couple when they were just being straight with each other were good, whether talking or, uh, not talking... =D But those parts kind of seemed to come few and far between with all the schemes and secrets and adventures taking place. I don't hate those things inherently, but I just couldn't become invested in them here. I like stories with strong female friendships, but this girl squad almost seemed like caricatures of super-can-do-anything-women. If you needed to rig a bomb, or forge a document, or impersonate an official, or take on a gang of ruffians, etc. etc. at least one of these woman would probably have you covered. And really, are they self taught? They haven't worked for the Home Office or anything. I like capable characters, but this felt a little like Nancy Drew, who was always like 'good thing I just happened to study ancient Arabic for those three weeks last summer! It's really come in handy!' lol. Hasn't it just? =D

Usually I could read this almost straight through, but I would read for a while, and it wasn't *bad*, but I would find myself thinking 'well, that's probably enough for now, what other books do I have'. Which is quite a disappointment of my hopes for it. But, like I said, it was okay. ( )