Adelaide is the invisible one amongst the hells belles. Imagine her surprise when she finds that one person has been watching her and seeing her. Of course he's the one person she finds immensely fascinating but clearly given her background and his they are fated never to come together. Then a kiss on the bank of Thames fans the flames and there's no going back for either of them.
Adelaide is always on her game operating in the shadows. When she realizes that her hero the Duke of Clayborn actually sees her she's thrown off her game but not for long.  When fate sends them both chasing after his brother and her protégé to Gretna Green things get complicated.  The Duke finds that he has seriously under estimated Adelaide and her network of women especially since Adelaide comes to his rescue more times than one can count despite his blue blood and money which he's always thought was a superior advantage.  This road trip from hell is quite fun from a reader perspective.
It doesn't take long for Henry to figure out Adelaide's background which is so far from his that a match between them should be impossible but our Duke hasn't heard the word impossible. Will he win the girl despite all the barriers in his way? read the book and find out
.I love Ms. Maclean's writing style and her way of sweeping her readers into her stories. This series is definitely dear to my heart given the role the women play. Can't wait to see the next chapter in this series.

I loved every single thing about this book. Every minute spent reading it was a minute well spent. Sarah Maclean completely understood the assignment when writing this delightful, sensual, undeniable enemies-to-loves. The chemistry between Adelaide and Henry scorches through every page, they attraction to each other is so clear, even as it infuriates them to admit it. Literally could not put this book down.

Will I ever not read a Sarah Maclean novel? No.

Heartbreaker picks up with Adelaide, one of the Duchess's girls. She has broken into her estranged father's warehouse to retrieve something - she's not sure what it is, but knows it is important to one of the cases they are working on. While there she runs into Clayborn, who definitely should not be there. What starts as a dramatic chase across the docks, ends with Clayborn and Adelaide on an adventure that will change their lives.

9/18/22
wow this is my favorite Sarah MacLean by FAR. I absolutely adored this. First of all, everyone loves a road trip romance and an only one bed trope, so this already started off great. Second of all, the Duke of Clayborn is ABSOLUTELY everything!! He is protective and so freaking caring. All I want in this world is for someone to care for me the way that Clayborn cares for Adelaide. Wow. Highly recommend this one.

i screamed when i got this arc!!!! i can’t wait

Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean is book Two in the Hell's Belles Series. This is the story of Adelaide Frampton and Henry the Duke of Clayborn. Adelaide is a matchmaker who is out to save/help a Lady eloping which has put her on a merry chase along with Henry who is the brother of other person running away. Enjoyed their story and I hope to read more books from this author.

Heartbreaker is her MOST ROMANTIC book yet. Yes, it's enemies to lovers, and yes she crams so many amazingly perfect romance tropes into one tight lovely book. The "thing" keeping them apart.... OMG I sobbed and sobbed, it was sooo good, so well done. The love scenes were incredible, including *winks* you know the one. If you have never read a Sarah M book before, Heartbreaker is the perfect place to start. If you'll a life, then welcome to the pleasure babes.

Like the first book, I really enjoy Sarah McLean's writing! Charming, badass, and strong heroines who also still feminine and unapologetically themselves? Yes 🥺! She delivered with Bombshell and she's again, also delivered with Heartbreaker. She's on her way to be one of my favorite historical romance author, I think.

I Loved the first book in the hells belles series and was so excited to read the second. Adeline was such a fun character and I loved that the book started with her being a bad ass at her own thrwarted wedding. Highly recommend.

I absolutely LOVED this book, it's MacLean at the top of her game. I've been a smidge disappointed by a few of MacLean's recent few books, which I think have been a bit messy and have included plot choices or incongruous character motivations that didn't work for me. So I was thrilled with this book. It's everything I love in a good Sarah MacLean book: a strong heroine, a hero who *sees* her, a romance of equals where both have to find their path to accepting love, and the romance intertwined with the two main characters pushing back on injustice and the aristocracy (even as one of them is an aristo), all wrapped in a very swoony, sexy story.

This book is a continuation of the story of the Hell's Belles that we were introduced to in the prior book, Bombshell, a foursome of women plus their larger network that all work together to help women stuck in bad situations and to bring down bad actors among the aristocracy. Adelaide is the supposed wallflower of the group, but we quickly learn that's a facade. She's actually a thief who escaped from life under her crime boss father and has recreated herself as adjacently related to the aristocracy and now secretly uses her thieving skills in furtherance of the Belles' missions. Her latest is to expose a lord who committed murder, and that mission also indirectly involves the brother of the Duke of Clayborn. Clayborn is an implacable, impossibly good looking lord who has no plans to marry and seems mostly focused on progressive reform, especially related to child labor. Two interesting and likeable main characters, and while the storyline sounds confusing, it actually fits together nicely and the focus of the plot is a road trip where the two are going after Clayborn's brother for different but interconnected reasons. His brother's betrothed has a secret, and Clayborn has a secret of his own, and multiple groups are after these secrets. Clayborn and Adelaide spend much of the story both chasing and being chased, and of course along the way catch lusty feelings and more. The chemistry between the two is fantastic; Clayborn is enthralled by Adelaide's skill and beauty and determination, and Adelaide can't help but be charmed by Clayborn's principles and good looks, as well as his unflappable support for her. They are in a bit of a bubble during their adventure where they can pretend their respective societal positions don't exist and the sexy escapist affair is a delight. There's a lot of "we can't be together beyond this temporary fling because *reasons*" especially from Adelaide. As is often the case, the reasons are just the main characters being in their heads too much and/or not allowing someone else to love them. Even though this is a common trope, I still enjoyed seeing how Clayborn and Adelaide figure out how to get out of their own way so they can get to the obvious resolution.

We get a further peak at the characters who will be featured in the next book, Imogen and Inspector Peck. I can't wait for their book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Just couldn’t get to this one in time! The author’s works don’t always work for me like I want them to. And I’m allergic to dukes at the moment.

I really tried to like this book. It's like it was all flash and bang with no substance behind it. I never really felt connected to the main characters and I didn't really understand their goals, their motivations, or why they even liked each other. I needed less action and more relationship-building. I was not impressed.

I enjoyed this book! Of course anything SM writes is going to be magical. I loved the spice in this book but I still feel like the best SM books are from her Casino series.

Heartbreaker is another hit from MacLean. Although a bit lacking in steam, the romance is pure perfection.

I am a huge fan of Sarah MacLean, and have never read a book that I have not liked of hers., and this one was no different! In fact, I think it was one of her best! I loved the dialogue and the chemistry between the hero and heroine, and I couldn't stop reading until I knew what would happen!

I'm officially hanging my head in "I can't believe this was my first Sarah MacLean book" shame. HEARTBREAKER was a yummy-tension-filled delight from beginning to end.

I was really hoping to love Adelaide's story more, but it just felt too modern. The characters are invigorating, but not believable in the setting. The book starts off a little slow; it feels like the same scene is repeated from inn to inn. The later part of the book moves much more quickly.

I would not recommend this book as a standalone. And despite my slight disappointment in this story, I am very much looking forward to Imogen's book.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Release Date: August 23 2022

📖📖📖📖📖

Adelaide has the perfect cover as a society wallflower during the London season. Secretly she is the matchmaker. She uses her skills as a thief to help other debutants avoid the alter should they choose. Henry, Duke of Claybourne, has lived his entire life following the rules. Impossibily, unpractically perfect. When Henry and Adelaide are forced to endure an extended carriage to stop a wedding, they can help but reveal a connection. When Henry’s secrets come to light, what will Adelaide do?

I absolutely loved this book. I have never read a @sarahmaclean book that I haven’t loved. This is the second in the #hellsbells series. Henry was such a fictional crush. I love straight laced hero’s that become unteathered over the heroine. Highly highly recommend!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#Bombshell #Heartbreaker #SarahMaclean #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #avonbooks #harpersvoyager #steamyromance #netgalleyreads #highlyrecommendedbook #regencyromance

DNF @ 15%

Thank you so much to Avon and Netgalley for providing an e-arc of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I enjoyed book 1 in this series but for some reason this installment just didn't work for me. I tried listening to this on audio and really didn't care of the narration (I found the heroines voice to be quite grating).

But it was the characters in this that made me want to put this down. I found the characters to be so bland and cliche. We have the absurdly handsome duke that's cold and hard but has a secret heart of gold. And the plain girl that everyone ignores but has so much more to her than anyone can see. Except for the duke that only has eyes for her.

I just couldn't continue to push through a book where I didn't care for or connect to the characters - despite the fun feminist plot.

This was an amazing book! I felt like the characters had so much personality I was never bored. I love how bold the female characters were and how they didn’t let society dictate how they lived. The romance was also great and I definitely recommend this book!!

Sarah MacLean is the greatest. This was such a fun, fast-paced romp of a book, with Adelaide a standout heroine, even by MacLean's high standards. Her chutzpah, vulnerability, and ingenuity made this entry in the series even better than the last!