Another stunner from a Romancelandia favorite.
MacLean kicks off an explosive new series featuring a girl gang in Victorian London.
Thirty years old and single, Lady Sesily Talbot is no wallflower. Nicknamed “Sexily,” she's known for being scandalous—and she knows how to keep a secret. Two years ago, heartbroken after having been rejected by American businessman Caleb Calhoun, Sesily was approached by the Duchess of Trevescan with a life-changing proposition. She joined a group of women collected by the Duchess who use their skills to take down evil men. Something between fixers and vigilantes, these ass-kicking women—besides the Duchess and Sesily, there are Imogen, "who came with an expertise in things both extremely useful and extremely dangerous," and Adelaide, "whose meek exterior made her a superior thief"—are fearless and are also great friends to each other. Caleb spent most of the past two years across the Atlantic, but now he’s back in London. He’s always been irresistibly drawn to Sesily, and right away he knows she’s up to something. He has his own secrets to keep, though, which preclude him from pursuing a future with her. As they protect each other in dangerous situations, their secrets unravel and passion ensues. This book is a complete pleasure as it seamlessly shifts from nail-biting action to aching romance. It’s a celebration of finding joy through living and loving with truth and authenticity. The characters are rich and complex, and the pining between Sesily and Caleb is top-notch. MacLean fans will be thrilled with this much-anticipated pairing and eat up the cameos by characters from earlier books.
Another stunner from a Romancelandia favorite.Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-305615-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
A heartfelt and hopeful read.
The brother and the fiancee of a deceased duke seek solace in each other and unexpectedly find love.
When his brother tragically dies in a fire shortly before getting married, Quinton Errington must step into his role as the Duke of Wesley. Quin preferred his job as a professor at Cambridge, but familial duty comes first. Lady Catherine Greatheart grieves for her departed betrothed, but she’s experienced the loss of loved ones before. Both her parents died when she was young, leaving Catherine to live with her beloved grandmother. When Quin and Catherine run across each other by chance in Hyde Park one day, they find comfort together because of their shared experience. They easily become friends, particularly when Catherine’s grandmother becomes ill and Catherine could use extra support. Their friendship develops into more, but the rules of society place barriers in their path. Kicking off a new series, this sweet story has short chapters of alternating perspectives and a sometimes-meandering plot. Tragedy brings the leads together, but the book’s focus on resilience and hope makes it uplifting overall. Catherine’s keen intellect and Quin’s noble heart make them winsome characters, and their banter is amusing. There are several lovable (and a few villainous) side characters as well as enticing glimpses of those sure to get their own stories in future installments. The historical setting is rich, and the conflicts are driven by the way of life specific to the time period, particularly in regard to lack of women’s rights and courtship customs.
A heartfelt and hopeful read.Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72823-431-1
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
Erotic in parts but the suspense plot lacks narrative coherence.
The obedient daughter of a Ghanaian church leader teams up with a Maryland private eye to beat a murder charge.
Normally diffident Fiona Addai wants to exact revenge on the company that stole her late brother’s tech invention. But her attempt goes awry almost immediately as the company’s owner is murdered in her vicinity and she is caught with damning evidence. Enter Maurice Bennett, an ex-cop and current private investigator who has been haunted by an unsolved case involving Fiona’s father’s megachurch. Is Maurice bailing Fiona out to help her or to find dirt on her dad? Payne’s foray into romantic suspense starts with a high-stakes tech event and a backstory about Fiona’s family dynamics and the cultish church she has been serving. Add to it Maurice’s demons about his failure to help a young woman escape that church, plus the ugly end of his police career, and the narrative feels like it’s being pulled in several different directions. The plot gets further crowded with other characters and connections between the corporate espionage plot and the religious Mafia one. Villains abound, including Fiona’s sister, her brother’s former lover, the publicist for the tech firm, a second-in-command at the church who keeps leering at Fiona, and Maurice’s ex–best friend on the force. There is also a scene at a sex party, a break-in at the tech office, a fight on a yacht, and a confrontation during a church service. The sequence and timeline of the scenes is confusing and the trail of murders, suspects, and motives hard to follow.
Erotic in parts but the suspense plot lacks narrative coherence.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9780593817360
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
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