Review: Bombshell by Sarah MacLean
I am so delighted to find that I loved this book. I have been doing a dive into the romance genre with very mixed success. But reading this really feels like a foothold I have found that will allow me to find other books I will also love.
Bombshell follows Lady Sesily Talbot, a delightful walking scandal, as Caleb Calhoon returns from Boston. The American very embarrassingly left London two years prior after Sesily made an advance on him. Now he is back, and he very much is interested in what Sesily and her friend are up to. As what they are up to is enacting revenge on powerful men, Sesily must try to keep her secrets from Caleb while also trying to find his own secrets out.
This book is dramatic and romantic, and incredibly fun. Also, I cried. It absolutely had all the things I love about romance novels—secrets and lies and apologizing and building up a partnership. I also really liked that MacLean set this book in a familiar place and time for historical romance, but that she is clearly broadening the kinds of people who are represented in her books. The aristocracy is a fun place to set a romance novel, but quite often, there is no dealing with any of the exploitation that leads to and comes with the aristocracy. This series had a Dutchess, I am assuming two Dukes, and a few daughters of titled men, but the cast of characters come from many other places as well. I am so eager to see where MacLean goes with these characters in the future.
Throughout this book, we are building to up the reveal of a big secret. I loved the tension; I loved the reveal; I was exactly as emotionally devastated as I wanted to be. It was delightfully done.
I had a tremendous time reading this book. I look forward to reading this again, continuing the series, and diving into MacLean's backlog. I might refine my thoughts at a later time be more analytical about what I loved about this book, but I haven't eaten in hours because I was ensorcelled by this book, so I must go do that now.
I gave this book five stars.
