AUGUST 2022 - AudioFile
Mary Jane Wells charms and delights as she narrates MacLean’s adventurous historical romance. Adelaide Frampton grew up among London’s most dangerous criminals, destined for a life of thievery until she was rescued and drawn into the secret world of the Hell’s Belles. Now she uses her meek, unassuming demeanor; quick fingers; and fighting skills to right society's wrongs and help women in need of escaping dangerous marital arrangements. But she hasn’t escaped the notice of the growly voiced Henry, Duke of Clayborn. When the two find themselves racing across Britain to stop a wedding, sparks fly. Wells’s timid voice for Adelaide grows stronger as she shows her true fierce nature, which Clayborn comes to adore. A romantic and thrilling listen for MacLean’s many fans. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Sarah MacLean’s books are fierce.” — Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series
"Heartbreaker is MacLean in top form, a rip-roaring, sensual adventure that manages to turn a series of small rooms in coaching inns into sexy, exciting spaces...MacLean's latest is fun with a capital F, a spectacular, near-cinematic adventure with the stakes and enjoyment of an Indiana Jones movie...Heartbreaker is a full-hearted, deeply romantic reminder that romance novels can and should be dangerous and fun in equal measure." — Entertainment Weekly
“Get ready for regency romance and badassery! MacLean returns to England, and this time pairs up an unlikely couple: a secret thief masquerading as a wallflower and a spoiled duke. Hijinks and heat ensue as they race across Britain to stop a wedding.” — Book Riot
“Bestselling author Sarah MacLean's Regency romance novels are always worth getting excited about, and Heartbreaker is no different.” — Popsugar
“Romance readers can always rely on Sarah MacLean to bring the summer heat.” — Bookish
"...filled with intimate thoughts, delicious yearning, and many sighworthy romantic moments... Subplots regarding the Hell’s Belles’ clients and targets add great tension to the book, while the women’s friendship brings levity and humor. But it’s the quiet, vulnerable moments between the central couple, who embrace each other as true equals, that will ensnare reader’s hearts. Sublimely sensual and passionate.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Everything MacLean does is perfectly on point.” — Booklist
"MacLean gathered accolades for the first in her “Hell’s Belles” series (LJ star–earner Bombshell), and this book continues on that high note with a great deal of wit, heart, and heat. Smart writing, deep characterizations, and a zippy pace will keep readers immersed while MacLean’s deft hand at a number of romance tropes simply delights. An essential title from a key author, buy in droves and share with fans of Erica Ridley." — Library Journal (starred review)
Booklist
With the splendidly conceived launch to her new Hell’s Belles series, RITA award–winning MacLean aptly demonstrates that her literary magic never loses its allure by gifting readers with both an extraordinarily memorable cast of characters and a fiercely feminist storyline powered by ample measures of intense sensuality and sharp wit.
Booklist
With the splendidly conceived launch to her new Hell’s Belles series, RITA award–winning MacLean aptly demonstrates that her literary magic never loses its allure by gifting readers with both an extraordinarily memorable cast of characters and a fiercely feminist storyline powered by ample measures of intense sensuality and sharp wit.
Julia Quinn
Sarah MacLean’s books are fierce.
Entertainment Weekly
She is, without question, the elegantly fuming, utterly intoxicating queen of historical romance.”
Library Journal - Audio
★ 12/01/2022
Adelaide Frampton lives unnoticed in the bright ballrooms of Mayfair, her wallflower status hiding her former life as London's best cutpurse and the daughter of dangerous criminal Alfie Trumball. In her new life, plain Adelaide has a secret identity as the Matchbreaker, helping brides avoid the altar and allowing her access to the most powerful men's secrets. When the impeccably handsome and stern Duke of Clayborn realizes that the woman he's always noticed is now racing to Gretna Green to break his own brother's match, he must follow to ensure his brother's happiness and to prevent his family's legacy from being upended in the wake of Miss Adelaide, agent of eternal frustration, chaos, and beauty. VERDICT This cinematic, road-trip historical is brought to impeccable and swoon-worthy life by skilled romance narrator, Mary Jane Wells. Wells's deft characterizations and range are on full display with Adelaide and the Duke's banter, making this audio the perfect way to experience the second book (following Bombshell) in MacLean's best-selling "Hell's Belles" series.—Elizabeth Gabriel
Library Journal
★ 07/01/2022
A brilliant cutpurse and a crusading duke star in this Victorian-set romp. Adelaide Frampton is the daughter of London's most dreaded criminal. No surprise then that she's developed keen skills, a repertoire highly useful to those devoted to punishing the untouchable men of London's elite. The Duke of Clayborn has been watching Addie in ballrooms for years, wondering why he seems to be only one to notice her quick fingers, among other attributes. When they cross paths far outside the social scene, Addie wonders why she has not paid more attention to the duke. Warriors both, they are pulled into the same case, crossing swords and England as they race to save the day. MacLean gathered accolades for the first in her "Hell's Belles" series (LJ star-earner Bombshell), and this book continues on that high note with a great deal of wit, heart, and heat. Smart writing, deep characterizations, and a zippy pace will keep readers immersed while MacLean's deft hand at a number of romance tropes simply delights. VERDICT An essential title from a key author, buy in droves and share with fans of Erica Ridley.—Neal Wyatt
AUGUST 2022 - AudioFile
Mary Jane Wells charms and delights as she narrates MacLean’s adventurous historical romance. Adelaide Frampton grew up among London’s most dangerous criminals, destined for a life of thievery until she was rescued and drawn into the secret world of the Hell’s Belles. Now she uses her meek, unassuming demeanor; quick fingers; and fighting skills to right society's wrongs and help women in need of escaping dangerous marital arrangements. But she hasn’t escaped the notice of the growly voiced Henry, Duke of Clayborn. When the two find themselves racing across Britain to stop a wedding, sparks fly. Wells’s timid voice for Adelaide grows stronger as she shows her true fierce nature, which Clayborn comes to adore. A romantic and thrilling listen for MacLean’s many fans. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-06-08
A thief and a duke fall in love in MacLean’s second Hell's Belles romance.
In the north part of London, she’s Adelaide Frampton, unassuming wallflower and distant cousin to a duchess. In the south, where she grew up, she was Addie Trumbull, skilled cutpurse and daughter of a notorious criminal. Now, she has a hidden identity as the Matchbreaker, exposing the secrets of “less than ideal” potential grooms so women don't have to marry them, and she's teamed up with three other women to form the Hell’s Belles, a girl gang dedicated to taking down evil, powerful men. Henry Carrington, Duke of Clayborn, hasn’t stopped noticing Adelaide since they first met and knows there’s more to her than meets the eye. When they wind up in a race to intercept his brother’s elopement—she apparently to stop it, he to stop her—Henry finds himself in continual awe of this fierce woman, even when she frustrates him. Between a carriage accident, fights, and an only-one-bed situation, the pair are thrown together again and again and soon find they don’t want to be apart. Though there are some action-packed scenes, much of the story revels in a languid pace filled with intimate thoughts, delicious yearning, and many sighworthy romantic moments. A man with a rough upbringing and hardened view of love is a common trope, so it’s refreshing for that role to be filled by the woman—but there’s still a softness and sweetness to Adelaide that make her a nuanced character. Subplots regarding the Hell’s Belles’ clients and targets add great tension to the book, while the women’s friendship brings levity and humor. But it’s the quiet, vulnerable moments between the central couple, who embrace each other as true equals, that will ensnare reader’s hearts.
Sublimely sensual and passionate.
