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soniajoy98's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Alcohol, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Rape
mcmizzie's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.75
I love a bisexual queen who fights for justice in regency regalia! Caleb was pretty dreamy too. I tend to prefer the conclusion of McLean’s series’ as I think the first does a lot of world building BUT she’s still top of the genre game IMO. So fun to finally read Sesily’s story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Gun violence and Sexual content
thefatpaperback's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.5
This is my first historical romance read, and I honestly enjoyed it more than I thought I would. If you like stories of women taking down men who go unpunished for their crimes and abuse, you’ll likely enjoy this read! It wasn’t 5 stars for me because while this is the first book in the “hell’s belles” series, there is a lot of focus on Sera and Mal’s characters and relationship, and having not read that book from a separate series I felt like I was missing vital information about the relationship between Sera and this book’s hero, Caleb. That could be viewed as my fault for not researching before picking out this book, but I thought I’d be good to dive in since this is a separate series. There was a learning curve for me in reading historical for the first time, and having this extra level of confusion just made some parts of the book seem slow and unnecessary. But still, a GREAT read. And while I don’t know if I’ll go back and read books from that other series, I’ll definitely continue the Hell’s Belle’s series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Body horror, Grief, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Minor: Infidelity and Classism
stardust_heidi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Okay, okay, okay. I LOVED Sesily Talbot and her band of utterly bad ass women. I mean, like, Sesily is GOALS. I really loved her character and how she was written as a strong, independent woman of 30 years old. AND ONE WHO HAS A FRANK TALK WITH HER SIGNIFICANT OTHER ABOUT NOT WANTING CHILDREN. HOW I NEEDED THIS. GIVE ME MORE BOOKS WITH WOMEN NOT WANTING CHILDREN.</spoiler) I loved the feminist-centric angle of this book and how all the women's worked together to take down the shit men of London. Like, F*CK YES. I NEED MORE.
I must note that I docked 1/2 point each for two things. #1 --Mary Jane Wells was a fantastic narrator for all the characters, <i>especially</i> Sesily. HOWEVER. However. I almost gave up on the audiobook, because the narration of Caleb Calhoun was so <i>cringe</i>. Honestly, British people trying to do American accents is painful on a good day, but this was... Lawd. I just.It definitely improved once it was revealed that Caleb is actually British, but it was excruciating before then. The voices for the other men were fine, and I especially liked DI Peck's voice. Anyway, for me, a narrator excels when they manage to nail all the voices, and Caleb's American voice fell short.
#2 -- I've come to realize that in romance novels there's the inevitable conflict and something that temporarily divides our main pairing. Which if fine. I understand. There needs to be some sort of drama to keep the plot going, and this helps our faves grow and evolve. Mmmkay.Caleb's savior instinct was excruciating at times. So much so that I literally threw my head back and shouted, "LAWD, make it stop." The dude was relentless. I mean, thank F*ck for Sesily and her reasonable faculties, because Caleb brought the drama. I DID love how it was resolved, with Sesily and her gang hustling in to save his sorry ass and him realizing that he and Sesily could be amazing TOGETHER. I appreciated how he finally and truly allowed her to save him and recognized her bad-assery in the process.
All in all, it was a great book. I tried reading the physical book but decided I wanted to experience the audio first. Obviously, that went well except for one character's voice. But the spice was diviiiiiiiine, and the PINING....lord almighty.....the pining. A+++++++ if that's your thing.ALSO, CONFINED SPACE, HOLY HOTNESS. YOWZA.
Mmmkay, if you like bad ass female characters and historical romances, read this.
I must note that I docked 1/2 point each for two things. #1 --Mary Jane Wells was a fantastic narrator for all the characters, <i>especially</i> Sesily. HOWEVER. However. I almost gave up on the audiobook, because the narration of Caleb Calhoun was so <i>cringe</i>. Honestly, British people trying to do American accents is painful on a good day, but this was... Lawd. I just.
#2 -- I've come to realize that in romance novels there's the inevitable conflict and something that temporarily divides our main pairing. Which if fine. I understand. There needs to be some sort of drama to keep the plot going, and this helps our faves grow and evolve. Mmmkay.
All in all, it was a great book. I tried reading the physical book but decided I wanted to experience the audio first. Obviously, that went well except for one character's voice. But the spice was diviiiiiiiine, and the PINING....lord almighty.....the pining. A+++++++ if that's your thing.
Mmmkay, if you like bad ass female characters and historical romances, read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Gun violence
ticktock's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Sexism
aqtbenz's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Death, Murder, and Sexual assault
millennia's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Gun violence, and Violence
sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
** while this is a standalone novel, and the start of a new series, is best to read, or be familiar with Sarah Maclean's Scandals and Scoundrels series first, particularly Day off the Duchess**
Squee!! So much to enjoy. Worth the wait for this story. I highlighted so many different pages of my ARC (thanks Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review).
If you are a fan of author Sarah MacLean, you won't be disappointed. The longing. The girl hang. Time with Sesily and her sisters. Easter eggs everywhere.
More detailed review after release date.
(Reminder for self: Athena)
Squee!! So much to enjoy. Worth the wait for this story. I highlighted so many different pages of my ARC (thanks Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review).
If you are a fan of author Sarah MacLean, you won't be disappointed. The longing. The girl hang. Time with Sesily and her sisters. Easter eggs everywhere.
More detailed review after release date.
(Reminder for self: Athena)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexism
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