This was a well-written, enjoyable book with good characters and good plot. The ending was fairly predictable, but held my interest.

Helena Montgomery is determined to earn money for her and her siblings, so she joins a group of her closest friends on their escapades to rob coaches. But once she meets Sebastian, an earl, Helena's plans become more complicated.I adored Helena: she was resilient and loving and did everything she could to support her family.

I found Sebastian a bit dull compared to her, but I appreciated how devoted he was to her. The Lawless Ladies were also great, and I would love to read more about them — there are already several potential heroes in the series!The climax and resolution of the story occurred too quickly for my liking; however, I was glad that Sebastian recognized his privilege throughout the story.

Overall, th

This is the first book in the Lawless Ladies series. I loved that the cover featured a plus size woman. Add in that Helena Montgomery was an amazing character who was intelligent and strong. She is working to save her family. I did enjoy the relationship between Helena and Sebastian. I am always a fan of dialogue that is interesting and funny.

I was intrigued by the concept of lady highwaymen. I think it really makes you think about the options available to women in this time period. There was only a few options open to Helena without losing her place in society. A place she needed to continue to be in to get her sister married and her brother through his schooling.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy Mary Lancaster and Tracy Sumner.

I was provided an ARC of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

this checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read. Historical fiction oh yeah. Love me some of this.

Very cool book! Enjoy the plot and the characters. Easy reading with a great story development. Highly recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Unlike many other historical romance novels, this one had a strong cast of women at the forefront and they were doing the best they could to turn the tide against fortune.
Of course there is romance thrown in. A refreshing read and I look forward in reading more books from Elise Marion, especially when the writing is a refreshing new turn in the genre!

A fantastic romance, and so lovely to have a plus size heroine to read about for once! Seems like I enjoyed it just as much as everyone else did!

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. This book was just amazing. I just lost myself in this story and didn’t want it to end. It was really well written and just drew in you into these characters lives. I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

Where has this plus-sized heroine been all my life?!? What a beautiful love story. The MCs were amazing, and the plot was tidy and detailed.

I was not as intrigued as I thought in the beginning, however as the plot began to thicken I really couldn’t stop reading!

I loved Helena‘s character and her way of handling her siblings. Also Sebastian was a Great ML, who had a nice character growth!

I really want to know how the other characters in the story are going to end up so I hope to be able to read books about them soon!

This is hopefully a start to a great series, I need to know more about the sisters and some of the side characters. Helena is what I would be, when you are at the end of your rope and need food/ clothing you do what you have to do even if it's illegal. She never thought she would meet Sebastian at her "age" and the challenges they face throughout the book. The scenes are super steamy and I fully enjoyed this story.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review,

This is the first book in the Lawless Ladies series and, if this story is any indication, it promises to be an exciting one.

We start with 5 friends who are in dire straits and have taken to a life of crime in order to make ends meet. Helena has two siblings to support after the sudden death of her parents and she is penniless. She needs to marry her beautiful and charming sister off to a rich member of the tonne, but when the Duke of Stratford takes and interest, Helena is not convinced he is appropriate for her sister ... her on the other hand ....

What I loved about this book is the diversity amongst the characters, the positive body image messages and the smoking hot chemistry between the Duke (Sebastian) and Helena. There are no stereotypical villains - everyone is human and choices are not black/white or good/evil.

It's a deeply emotional romance as well as being a lot of fun to read. The sparks that fly between Helena and Sebastian are spectacular.

Cannot wait for the next one.

This was well written and the characters were well developed albeit a little shallow. Helena and her siblings have fallen upon hard times after the tragic death of her parents. She and some of her other friends who are also having trouble making ends meet decide to rob carriages. It’s a very far fetched and drastic thing to do. I assumed their highway robbery would take up the bulk of the story because of the uniqueness of it all but it is barely mentioned. I think that is a missed opportunity. Instead, the story drags along as we are beaten over the head by Helena’s self deprecation. Sebastian is no better in his musings about marriage, women and societal issues. The love story and romance was very superficial and not really believable. This would have been much more interesting if there were more about the female band of robbers. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars

The writing is good. The set of characters diverse, including two biracial future hero/heroine for the rest of the series. There's people suffering arthritis and dementia, there's an impoverished widow and her son, but I just don't like the idea of turning to armed robery when in a financial hole. This heroine is on the volumptous, chubby side and the hero at the beginning is a bit staid. There's fairly graphic sex scenes when they get together and I disliked the fact that she didn't tell Sebastian about being on of the band of brigands before they 'made love'. IMO it was self centered and maniplulative.

Not sure I'll bother witht the rest of the series.

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

Fantastic Romance

How far would you go to protect those you love? Would you stand in the middle of the road asking the wealthy to “stand and deliver”? This is what Helena and her friends did to provide for their families.

Helena had accepted her fate as a spinster. She did not count on meeting Sebastian. After all, he was to court her sister. Yet Helena and Sebastian seem to be drawn to one another, and their hearts were unwilling to listen to any objections they made about the matter. Helena’s secret, if revealed would destroy her. Could Sebastian accept the truth about Helena? Her secret must inevitably come into the light. I loved this story and would recommend it to those who like historical romance with secrets, redemption, healing, and forgiveness. The story will make you smile and cry. It is my first read by this author, and I look forward to reading more of her writings.

I love this story of Helena and Sebastian. The secondary characters are just as wonderful. This is my first book by Elise Marion but I will definitely be looking for more of her books to read. I love how this book shows what desperation can push someone into and how love conquers all.

Spinster Sister is a great story! What would you do if you didn’t know where your next meal would come from, if your clothing was threadbare and torn, if you were unable to provide basic necessities to those you were responsible for — the better question might be, what wouldn’t you do to survive? This is what Helena Montgomery must decide as she takes on the role of head of the family and protector after her parents are killed. Helena is left to find a way to survive and launch her younger sister into society with the hope she will marry a well to do man who won’t mind helping to support a spinster sister. The plan was to gather enough money, see her sister wed, and live the rest of her life alone. Then Helena meets Lord Sebastian Radcliffe, Earl of Stratford, and all her carefully laid plans are blown to pieces.

Lord Sebastian Radcliffe, Earl of Stratford, has finally decided to find a wife so it’s off to London’s society for him where he attends event after event in search of his perfect wife. When he meets Helena at one such event he is initially drawn to Helena’s younger sister, believing she checks all the boxes on his list. However he soon finds himself drawn to Helena and his thoughts on what makes a perfect wife are quickly changed.

I loved watching Helena and Sebastian fall in love. There was a definite spark between the two characters and the author did a great job of allowing their romance to feel real and not rushed. You can’t help but wish for Helena and Sebastian to get their HEA. Yet you are left to wonder just how Sebastian will behave once he learns Selena’s secret…will he love her enough to see past previous actions? That’s something you have to find out by reading.

I cannot wait until the next book in the series!

4 Stars ⭐️ | 4 Flames 🔥

The first I’ve read from Elise Marion. An enjoyable read. Starts slow, lots of character names to remember, setting up Helena’s background, Sebastian’s background and setting up characters for their stories for the impending series.

Interesting concept to have the heroine be a criminal to support her family. It is the central conflict in this story and I really wasn’t a fan of how it all came to a head and was resolved (so quickly and with little consequences). The ending was cute but I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters actions at the climax. The story did give me feelings though and had some sweet, some maddening and some sexy moments. I’d say it was well balanced. I tend to like my reads to be a little more explicit however I really enjoyed the story. 2 steamy scenes and lots of kissing after the 50% mark. I’m looking forward to reading more of the series.

Can I please keep reading more? ... this book was so good that I want to keep reading more about these characters, I need to read what happen with the Band of Brigands?
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Helena, my heart falls for her from the first moment. The plot was incredible and very well developed in so little space that I did not see those dialogues coming where sparks flew in the air. And Sebastián is the perfect complementary galan and together they create a beautiful story.
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Those dialogues made me feel the rivalry of Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet but with a setback where the women not only made their difficult situation notice but were bold enough to take matters into their own hands and take charge of their destinies and was so good
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I look forward to seeing what is still in this series and being my first Elise Marion book I will definitely be looking for more of her books.
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Thanks to Elise Marion and Dragonblade Publishing for give me this Beautiful Book in exchange for my honest opinion

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

I found this to be a very enjoyable read. The fact that the heroine was a plus-sized was what drew me to this book. Comparing to other 'plus sized' heroines from other historical romances (or so they claimed), this was much more believable than others.

Helena and what remains of her family, suffer through financial hardship, and she becomes the breadwinner for the family. Along with her friend's moonlight has highwaymen, as a means of survival, in the aristocratic world/society.

On the other hand of the spectrum is Sebastian, who has never suffered from financial hardship. Basically born with a silver spoon. He is looking for a wife to secure his family's legacy. The person who catches his eye is Harriett (Helena's beautiful and attractive younger sister), but soon finds himself drawn to Helena.

I found this overall a very enjoyable read, and look forward to reading more in this series.