MacLean fans have been asking for Sesily’s book and MacLean delivers the story we have all been waiting for! Sesily has carved out her place in society, making friends with a group of women who have taken it upon themselves to take down the men who deserve it. When Caleb witnesses Sesily’s takedown of a prominent earl, he knows she has found trouble. Her sister tasks Caleb to watch out for Sesily, putting him in her path regularly, which is something he has avoided. The chemistry between them becomes undeniable after two years of denial!

Bombshell is passionate, sexy, and thrilling to read! I think it is brilliant that MacLean started a brand new series with a well-loved secondary character from the magnificent world she has created. The longing between Caleb and Sesily will make your heart ache and the delivery of their happy ending after years of yearning is perfection. Sarah MacLean is a wordsmith and crafts sentences that can only be described as art throughout the book (it is SO romantic).

There is nothing better than reading a book set in a world you want to be a part of and my only question is: where do I sign up to be a member of the Hell’s Belles? The female friendship in this book is outstanding and what we all wish to have! If you are a fan of kick ass women, who are capable of managing themselves in societal games AND bar brawls, look no further, this is the book for you!

This book is feminist as hell and I love it for that!!!

Sesily was the star of this show and Caleb complimented her so well. They had fantastic banter and I felt the chemistry from the very beginning. This is definitely one of the most unique books I've read in a while. It has a clever and engaging plot that keeps women at the front of the story.

The middle slowed down a little and I think that could be because of a bit of an excessive inner monologue and narrative. I wish that the middle had that same spark that the beginning and end did.

I want to go back now and read her other books so that I see the rest of Sesily's sisters' stories. I already can't wait for the next book in the series.

Whew! Whew! JUST WHEW!!!! Slow burn, buildup to a sizzzzzzzzling romance that is hotter than the temperatures outside!!!! I love a "in love with your friends sibling" book. It's just tooooo good!! I haven't read any of Sarah MacLean's books before this but now that is going to change!!

This is an explosive start to what promises to be a phenomenal new series. Sesily is exactly the kind of heroine I love in a historical romance — brash, unapologetic, and confident, but not afraid to be vulnerable either. And don't even get me started on the chemistry between her and Caleb, gah! That third act dark moment almost made weep, it was so lovely and angsty. This was a book I wanted to devour but almost forced myself to take my time in getting through it because I didn't want it to be over either. And I remain continually delighted by how often characters from previous series are tied into new ones, which makes it all interconnected in a wonderful sort of way; this is the Sarah MacLean Cinematic Universe if I've ever read one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a huge fan of Sarah MacLean’s books. I enjoy them so much, I couldn’t wait to read the first book in a new series, Bombshell.

This was a great start to the series with the sexy couple Caleb and Sesily. Lady Sesily is a bold and unapologetic heroine who stands up for others. Caleb is a man with a mysterious past who is trying to fight his attraction to Sesily. Alas, their chemistry is off the charts and the results are inevitable!

All in all, an excellent start to the Hells Belles series! I can’t wait or Adelaide’s story which is up next.

Sarah has been a favorite author for a while and Bombshell delivered in spades.

Some of my favorite banter, sexual tension and story. I can not wait for the next hells belle's book!

I honestly was not sure walking into this one following the last Talbot sister in Victorian times? As soon as we got the tension on page between Sesily and Caleb though I was sold. It was un putdownable. Definitely a favorite of the year.

Sarah MacLean is tied with Courtney Milan as my favorite historical romance author, and Bombshell is a shining example of why. It is full of complex, fully realized women fighting for a place in an oppressive society, lots of romantic tension, and an absolute firecracker of a lead. Sesily is exquisite, bold, strong willed, and as her sister observes, loves with her whole heart.

This is a spin-off of one of Sarah’s other series that i haven’t read yet, but it didn’t ruin the book for me. I don’t mind knowing that her sisters are all happily settled because they are romances, so it’s not like I will be going into those books wondering if they get their happily ever afters. That being said, I’m sure reading the other series first would make this even more lovely as we spend small amounts of time with Sesily’s sisters and SOs.



Highlights:

Sesily is absolutely uninterested in falling into line in society, and instead uses her beauty, wit, wealth and independence to live exactly as she pleases, which delightfully means she spends her time with the rest of the Hell’s Belle’s taking down the worst of the powerful men in their circles.

Caleb and Sesily have incredible chemistry, and watching Sesily try to snare Caleb over and over until he finally gives in is delicious. Just incredibly romantic, sexy, and fun.

Caleb has a secret, and it creates a lot of great tension between our leads, as he fights to stay away from Sesily to keep her safe, and she tries to show him she doesn’t care, and absolutely schemes around him in circles.

The Belle’s are fantastic, and I can’t wait to see the rest of them get their HEA’s. A wallflower thief, an heiress obsessed with explosives, and a Duchess who does what she pleases with her absent husband’s resources, all work with Sesily to right as many small wrongs as they can for the women in their sphere of influence.

Overall, I not only loved this book, it makes me hungry to finish reading Sarah’s backlist and then starting over at the beginning. So, so great.

I’m a big Sarah MacLean fan and I really loved this book. I loved the relationship between all the women and how they worked together to take down powerful men, and I really loved the central love story between Sesily and Caleb. They were great together and I really enjoyed their bangsr and back and forth.

Even though I haven’t read the companion series for these characters, there’s no way I’m going to pass up a new Sarah MacLean book and this one was fantastic.

I love love loved Sesily. She’s clever and knows her worth and so full of heart. Caleb is stand off-ish and stern and absolutely smitten. Together they’re all sorts of flirting disguised as banter-jabs and so much longing, it was delicious. Oh, and I am loving this new set of ladies.

Plot wise, it was great. There are a few layers and threads, but it’s such a great set up for the other books. I loved that Sesily spoke her mind and stood up for what she wanted and while Caleb tried to protect her, he realized she didn’t need it.

Overall, I devoured this story and loved these characters and hate that there’s going to be year until the next one.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


I knew, I just KNEW, when we first met Sesily Talbot that we were going to be gifted with the perfect Sarah MacLean story, and I was👏🏻not👏🏻disappointed 👏🏻.

We first met Sesily Talbot in the Scandal & Scoundrel series where she makes an appearance in all three books. While a reader could enjoy this new novel/series without reading those books, it would be a disservice to the character development. You should at least read book 3 of the prior set (The Day of the Duchess) for your initial introduction to Sesily & Caleb, but do yourself a favor and read all three—I promise you won’t regret it 😘

As for Bombshell, we are introduced to quite the merry band of aristocratic marauders Sesily has become a part of, with the mission of bringing down the villains of the ton, be it abusive husbands, lecherous employers, or anyone else who’s power lets them escape the rest of society’s judgment. As we watch this group of women in action, Sesily’s path keeps crossing with Caleb Calhoun, the bar owner that only ~seems~ like he is immune to her charms. But as Caleb begins digging in to Sesily’s secrets, she brings uncovering his secrets as well…

I adored this book. Sesily is a firecracker, and there was just the right amount of angst between these will-they-or-won’t-they-lovers, but what made it even more exciting was the entire group Ms. Maclean has built—my only complaints that I don’t have the patience to wait for the rest of the books in this series!

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! I actually haven't read many Sarah MacLean books, but this definitely made me want to read more of her work. Sesily Talbot is a kickass woman protecting other women with her group of other powerful and smart women. I loved the other women in the group and I'm really looking forward to reading their stories. Feminists galore! It's a slow burn romance with a honorable and respectable hero. I loved their banter and the mutual pinning. Highly recommend!

Sarah MacLean is an autobuy author for me and with the first book in the Hells Bells series she knocked it out of the park!!
I absolutely love Siselly Talbot! She is a take no prisoners, knife weilding, kick ass women who doesn't want to let people who are abusing their powers win.. Siselly and her tight knit group of friends are working in the shadows, and thats how they like it.. They are protecting women, when no one else can or will step up... When during one of their plans, things go slightly sideways when Caleb Calhoun, see her wander off and knowing that she gets herself into trouble constantly decides hes going to follow. Caleb and Siscelly have a bit of a complicated history, they both think the other arent interested but they both have some strong feelings for each other which has led to some miscommunications. It doesn't help that Caleb has a few secrets of his own, and spends most of his time in Boston.

Siscelly is the one that saves the day, while she wants someone.. namely Caleb.. to standby her side, she can absolutely take care of herself.. In fact the only time she gets into some tight spots is when she is worried about him. I could feel the chemistry between them jumping off the page, and was rooting for Caleb to get his head out of his butt, and let himself love Siscelly.

The ending was great, Siscelly and her friends are masterminds at what they do and it absolutley shows.. I absolutely can't wait for more books in this series..

Perfect for fans of Evie Dunmore's League of Extraordinary Women series! Hell's Belles is not just a fun new series from historical romance master Sarah MacLean, it's a fun new patriarchy-smashing Victorian girl-gang series that picks up where the Scandal & Scoundrel series left off. For those of you who can't remember — me, always me — or haven't picked them up yet, the Scandal & Scoundrel series tells the story of Sophie, the youngest, and Seraphina, the oldest, of the five scandalous Talbot sisters, known to Society as the Soiled S's. Because Society is awful like that.

Society is no less awful in "Bombshell," but it eventually will be if Sesily Talbot, the most scandalous of the Talbot sisters, and her group friends/vigilantes have their way. Sesily is unapologetically bold, sexy, independent, and handy with a knife. She's also inconveniently, ill-advisedly attracted to her sister Seraphina's American business partner, Caleb. The feeling is mutual — except the undeniable attraction on Caleb's side is a little more than just ill-advised and inconvenient. It's perilous and impossible. Will Sesily jeopardize her pursuit for justice to pursue the affections of the only person who has ever really seen and understood her? Will Caleb jeopardize everything he's worked his entire life to protect to be with the only person who has ever felt like home?

This is a slow-burn, mutual-yearning romance with a strong female lead and an honorable love interest. I felt like the yearning got in the way of the story and chemistry at times, but Sesily's banter is <chef's kiss>, the sex scenes are <fans self>, the action adventure is <eats popcorn, riveted>, and the cast of characters set up for the rest of the series is <add to cart>.

[Note from an indie bookseller's perspective: I do wish this series (and more feminist historical romances in general) were being made available as trade paperback originals. We sell a lot of romance, historical and contemporary, but our customers are far less likely to pick up mass market paperbacks with classic clinch covers.]

My thanks to #NetGalley and #Avon for a digital ARC.

It seems like I've been waiting for this story forever but it was all worth it. It's finally Sesily Talbot, the last of the unmarried Talbot sisters. Their father won his baron title in a card game with Prinny & the ton barely tolerates the family, The daughters are labeled The Soiled S's or The Dangerous Daughters - lock up your bachelors the girls want titles. Throughout the previous sisters books Sesily has been the one with the wicked sense of humor and devil may care attitude. At the ripe old age of 30 she's grown into her own, society be damned. I love this lady, she's a liberated thinker and has the cash to go with it. Her friends are set to be the next HEA's in the Hell's Belles series. Determined to make a difference in the world is a brave path to take even with skilled and loyal friends.

Her love interest is Caleb Calhoun who we first met in Day of the Duchess. He's a stoic American & actually leaves the country to get away from our girl. Ouch. Caleb's inner dialog was driving me crazy, he thinks about his secrets, mulls them over, but never gives us a clue what's what. He's a complicated man but in truth he and Sesily are kindred spirits and I like their HEA. There's a wonderful, crazy lead up to the actual HEA, it was so much fun. I read this book in one day, now I'll have to twiddle my thumbs until the next one comes along.

I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an advance reader copy of this story.

#Hell'sBelles #Bombshell #SarahMacLean #AvonBooks #HarperCollins #historicalromance #Netgalley

I was a big fan of the Bareknuckle Bastards series and was glad to see elements from that series woven into this story. Sesily reminded me quite a bit of Grace, which was no bad thing. Caleb was confusing at times, but the discrepancies in his behavior are later explained by the issues with his identity. Altogether, a wonderful romance and an exciting read. Will definitely keep an eye out for the rest of this series!

It's absolutely no surprise that Sarah MacLean has knocked another one out of the park. She is the master strong female leads, multi faceted heroes that we LOVE to love and of weaving a story filled with feminism, strength and fun without a heavy hand. I appreciate so much how she drops bits and pieces from other stories into her books. The story was tension filled, but also not overly stressful. It was the perfect book for an afternoon by the beach.

let me just say: HELLS YES to Hell's Belles.

Sesily is everything. The Hell's Belle's are everything. I live for Sarah Maclean's subversive, sexy, wonderful books.

Sarah MacLean is a master at crafting strong romantic heroines who are intriguing. Her first novel in the Hell's Belle's series is no exception. Sesily captures your attention from page one as we see her enter into a mysterious world where she helps seek justice for women who had been wronged. Sesily has been rejected by society, but she uses this to further her mission to help other women, and her adventures are intriguing. Her love for Caleb is equally exhilarating from start to finish. The pacing of the book is excellent and readers will find it hard to put down as they discover how Caleb and Sesily come together for their happily ever after.

I am always a fan of Sarah MacLean and look forward to new releases. I am also a big fan of all types of historical romances and I love how the author in this particular series uses the darker, seedier parts of London in which to set the stories in. We are definitely not dealing with “refined”society, but new money and people who are willing to work, even though it’s frowned upon by high society. In the book Bombshell, the main character is Lady Sesily Talbot and she is perfectly content embracing her reputation for scandal. Caleb Calhoun is an American, who came back to England for the birth of his friend’s baby. Caleb’s friend is Sera and she just happens to be Sesily’s sister. They have a thing for each other, but try really hard to ignore it and each other.

Sesily is part of a syndicate of sorts. They work to right the wrongs done to women by men in many different ways. From fighting, public shaming and other undercover operations to help people who need to be helped or who have been unfairly targeted.

As a reader, I kept expecting Caleb to flee at any moment. You can just tell he wants to get on the next boat back to the states. He starts to get an idea of what Sesily is up to as his own secrets start to unravel and he is targeted by hired thugs. As the suspense builds, there is a lot of action and the romance is quite swoony. The sexual tension builds throughout the story and the chemistry between them sizzling. I love the resolution and the happy ending. I am really looking forward to the rest of this series and getting to know this world and the characters better. Oh, and the cover is amazing! It totally sets the mood and the tone of the book. Well done to the cover designer.

Sesily is in love with her sister Sera’s best friend and business partner Caleb, who fled England for the United States two years earlier and is back for the birth of Sera’s baby. But the minute Sesily thinks Caleb might return her feelings, he’s ready to run. While Caleb has plenty of skeletons in his closet, so does Sesily, being a member of a society of women hellbent on righting societal wrongs. Only Sesily and her friends and their wily ways can rescue Caleb from his perilous past.

This first installment in the Hell’s Belles series fits in nicely into the rich story world MacLean created in her other Regency romances, and BOMBSHELL provides a spin on the best friend’s little sister trope. Sisily’s besties provide great potential series heroines. Sisley has the brains and courage to be a great operative. Her willingness to get hands on with the bad guys highlights her fierceness.

Caleb’s need to flee feels infuriating until his secrets are revealed. The dastardly villain relies on his title and privilege while the ton suspects his heinous crimes and association with hired thugs, making him a formidable opponent.

While I throughly enjoyed Sesily and Caleb’s story, I feel the other love stories in the series have the potential to be even more fun. All in all, BOMBSHELL provides a great new series starter.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Avon Books, an imprint of Harper Collins Publisher, for providing an Advance Reader Copy.