emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This was such a a fun time omg 

Absolutely loved it!!! Reread. Read first time through May 5-7th 2015.

I really liked the first half, but then it hit some oh no buttons. I'm happy to read a book where the characters are very believable products of their environment/historical period. I'm equally happy to read a book where the characters are blatantly anachronistic/out of place. I'll even forgive mixtures of the two. But if, in the midst of some "physical action," the heroine (or hero, for that matter) says "No... please... stop." And "stop" does not happen? That's going to be the stand out memory of your otherwise lovely book.

Rating~ 5 stars.

I saw the series recommendation on a book blog or some article somewhere and I'm so glad I chose to heed their advise because I loved this series. The author writes wonderful and emotion evoking romances.
emotional funny lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

[Original review, 2012] Surprisingly enjoyable! I liked Callie's rebellious spirit, and Mariana and Juliana were fun companions. This was my first "real" romance novel, after being dismissive of the genre for most of my reading history. If I can find more like this, with personable heroines and good dialogue, I might be tempted to give more of the genre a try.

UPDATE, April 2017 - oh, baby Claire's first romance novel!! Definitely raising the rating on this one - MacLean is such a great author, and does a series starter so well.

This was the alternate pick for the VF Hangout in July. I'm not normally into straight historical romances and while I loved our first pick of the month for it's air of theatrical comedy, I was convinced I would not enjoy this book as much.

I was wrong.

At first glance the heroine, Callie, seems to be a stereotypical caged bird trying to spread her wings. What's different about her journey is that its purely for her own self-realization. The gender rules she aims to break are not meant to be boisterous rebellions against society and she doesn't go boasting around the town - she merely wants to prove to herself that she can do it.

The hero, Gabriel St. John, also breaks the mold. He is a refreshingly subdued alpha male with more legitimate reasons to not fall in love and a good sense of honor.

We find out early on that Callie has been lusting after Gabriel for some time, but we don't get that gushy teenage girl love-at-first-sight vibe - which I greatly appreciated!

I'm not chomping at the bit to read the next books in this series - but once my TBR gets down to a more manageable level I might try to pick up more by this author.

It was cute.

Not fabulous, but cute.

Las machistadas se camuflan con el contexto histórico y la historia tiene una trama, sorprendentemente. Aun así solo me han gustado las partes en las que Callie hacia cosas.