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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I'm not SURE that I enjoyed this book - like, was it good? Of course. I adored Sesily and her cohort and family. But CALEB? I HATED CALEB. At no point did it seem like he respected Sesily AT ALL even though she was terrifically competent! Like, my guy! He was obsessed with her but he didn't at any point TRUST or RESPECT HER!!! And then Sesily out here like "oh he understands me like NO ONE ELSE" GIRL SHOW ME WHERE! Anyway whatever I enjoyed it enough to keep going in the series ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Bombshell by Sarah Maclean is this summer’s historical romance that will sweep you off your feet. Maclean is always an instant buy and read for me the minute it lands on my kindle. So excited for this new series.
Lady Sesily Talbot is the only sister left unmarried in her large family. Scandal follows wherever she goes until she finds a new path. This new path has lead her to new friends that know how to fight back and cause mayhem when needed. Caleb Calhoun, an American, is Sesily’s business partner in The Sparrow (Tavern). He fled back to America two years ago after what could have been a romance with Sesily. Only he has so much more to confront than just Sesily.
What I loved so much about Bombshell is the blend of humor and heartache that Maclean writes so well with the Talbot sisters. I’m in love with this network or female gang she is setting up. It really feels like a fresh perspective we haven’t seen in a historical romance before. The romance is all consuming and what I loved so much is the deep connection these two already have. The romance is decadent, lush, consuming, passionate and you won’t be able to put it down.
Thank you so much to #Netgalley, #Avon and #HarperVoyager for the ARC. Opinions are my own. #SarahMacLean #Bombshell
Lady Sesily Talbot is the only sister left unmarried in her large family. Scandal follows wherever she goes until she finds a new path. This new path has lead her to new friends that know how to fight back and cause mayhem when needed. Caleb Calhoun, an American, is Sesily’s business partner in The Sparrow (Tavern). He fled back to America two years ago after what could have been a romance with Sesily. Only he has so much more to confront than just Sesily.
What I loved so much about Bombshell is the blend of humor and heartache that Maclean writes so well with the Talbot sisters. I’m in love with this network or female gang she is setting up. It really feels like a fresh perspective we haven’t seen in a historical romance before. The romance is all consuming and what I loved so much is the deep connection these two already have. The romance is decadent, lush, consuming, passionate and you won’t be able to put it down.
Thank you so much to #Netgalley, #Avon and #HarperVoyager for the ARC. Opinions are my own. #SarahMacLean #Bombshell
emotional
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
I loved that this author created this diverse world, using London as a base. I loved that the heroine was vocal about being bisexual and loving out loud.
I’ve been excited for Secily and Caleb’s story since Day of the Duchess and Sarah did not let me down!! I’m so excited for the other books in this series. Sarah knows how to write funny, bold heroines. And the ANGST!! It was just what I needed.
Terrific audiobook! Saucy, sexy regency romance. I’m definitely reading more in the series.
Meh. I didn’t get the chemistry between sesily and Caleb. I felt like the first 3 quarters plodded along - I just didn’t get it. I always felt like I was missing something important. It wasn’t till the last hundred pages or so that I felt it got interesting - and that was more due to seeing hells belles execute their plan than anything to do with romance. Like by smooshing together badass girl gang with historical romance the best bits about both were lost.
Finally, the story of Sesily Talbot and Caleb Calhoun, who readers first got to know in The Day of the Duchess. Bombshell is not only a romance loosely enemies-to-lovers; it’s also about 4 powerful women (and the whisper network of many more) who use their intelligence, talents, money & connections to destroy despicable men (from the aristocracy down to the lowest-born). At a time when women had no rights and men could treat their wives abominably (since they were legally considered their husband’s property), women needed subversive ways both to protect themselves and to mete out vigilante justice; thus the Hell’s Belles were born.
MacLean has masterfully written another winning romance filled with mystery, danger and intrigue. Long gone are the days of the bodice-rippers where women were passive and men were possessive. Authors like MacLean, Lisa Kleypas, Eloisa James and more have ushered in a new era of historical romance in which female protagonists wield their power and live out loud, supported by the men who love them.
In Bombshell, readers will see parallels with the toxic masculinity of today in which men resort to violence when they feel their position and power being threatened by classes of people they feel are beneath them. In this case, the biggest villain, Viscount Coleford, has spent 18 years seeking vengeance, and Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne was the further excuse he needed to escalate his attacks on women. Sesily and her gang’s plans to expose his nefarious deeds take on an urgency when she realizes that both she and Caleb are in his crosshairs.
MacLean’s fans, who have long awaited this couple’s story, will be thrilled to see their romance blossom while learning about a past Caleb has closely guarded and the lengths he’s gone to protect Sesily. Theirs is truly a partnership of equals who play to their strengths while allowing themselves to expose their personal fears and weaknesses without judgement. The other Talbot sisters feature prominently, and it’s wonderful to catch up on their lives and growing families. Although this can be read as a standalone, reading The Rogue Not Taken and The Day of the Duchess first will provide the Talbot sisters’ background. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Avon Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
MacLean has masterfully written another winning romance filled with mystery, danger and intrigue. Long gone are the days of the bodice-rippers where women were passive and men were possessive. Authors like MacLean, Lisa Kleypas, Eloisa James and more have ushered in a new era of historical romance in which female protagonists wield their power and live out loud, supported by the men who love them.
In Bombshell, readers will see parallels with the toxic masculinity of today in which men resort to violence when they feel their position and power being threatened by classes of people they feel are beneath them. In this case, the biggest villain, Viscount Coleford, has spent 18 years seeking vengeance, and Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne was the further excuse he needed to escalate his attacks on women. Sesily and her gang’s plans to expose his nefarious deeds take on an urgency when she realizes that both she and Caleb are in his crosshairs.
MacLean’s fans, who have long awaited this couple’s story, will be thrilled to see their romance blossom while learning about a past Caleb has closely guarded and the lengths he’s gone to protect Sesily. Theirs is truly a partnership of equals who play to their strengths while allowing themselves to expose their personal fears and weaknesses without judgement. The other Talbot sisters feature prominently, and it’s wonderful to catch up on their lives and growing families. Although this can be read as a standalone, reading The Rogue Not Taken and The Day of the Duchess first will provide the Talbot sisters’ background. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Avon Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
I spent most of this book annoyed. This was my fourth Sarah Maclean book in a row, and every single one of them involved pairings with one partner thinking they didn’t deserve the other and constantly leaving them. I hate that trope, because it takes consent away from the other partner.
Sesily is a fantastic main character, and the end of the book is fantastic, and Caleb did end up doing right by her. It eventually became clear that he really saw all of her, and I love that for Sesily. But in the beginning, it seemed to be only lust between the two of them, and I wish we’d seen more of an emotional connection between them.
The secondary characters are all fantastic, and I really hope the next books in the series do not involve that trope of the unwilling love. I loved how they all came together to solve a problem at the end.
For most of this book I’d pretty much decided Sarah Maclean wasn’t for me. But I think I need to see the rest of this series through. For all the men irritate me, the women are pretty great.
Sesily is a fantastic main character, and the end of the book is fantastic, and Caleb did end up doing right by her. It eventually became clear that he really saw all of her, and I love that for Sesily. But in the beginning, it seemed to be only lust between the two of them, and I wish we’d seen more of an emotional connection between them.
The secondary characters are all fantastic, and I really hope the next books in the series do not involve that trope of the unwilling love. I loved how they all came together to solve a problem at the end.
For most of this book I’d pretty much decided Sarah Maclean wasn’t for me. But I think I need to see the rest of this series through. For all the men irritate me, the women are pretty great.
3.5 stars rounded
I didn't love this, but I didn't hate it either. It was a good novel, but really didn't stand out from any other novel. I see other women in this group that I am excited to read, but Sesily was just kind of meh a lot of the time for me.
I didn't love this, but I didn't hate it either. It was a good novel, but really didn't stand out from any other novel. I see other women in this group that I am excited to read, but Sesily was just kind of meh a lot of the time for me.