I have been looking forward to Imogen and Tommy's story since their first clash early in the series, and I was not disappointed. Word of advice: read the first two books in the series before diving into this one, or you will miss out on the buildup, and that would be a shame. It is easy to be intrigued by a Victorian lady with a penchant for explosives and chaos. Pair her with a by-the-book Scotland Yard Detective Inspector, and you have an explosive combination.

Imogen is incredibly intelligent, fiercely loyal, and utterly fearless. She also has deep-seated insecurities that affect how she sees herself and her appeal to others. In fact, she has written off the possibility of finding the same happiness as her friends. She is determined to get to the bottom of the suspicious explosions that seem to be targeted at specific businesses.

Thomas Peck started life as a street sweeper's son and has worked his way up the ladder at Scotland Yard. He's law and order and logic, and he's like a dog with a bone when he's investigating something.

I loved watching the relationship between Tommy and Imogen develop. They got under each other's skins from the moment they encountered each other at a crime scene. Imogen delights in teasing the man, and you can frequently feel the waves of frustration rolling off him. But after one too many publicly questionable actions bring her perilously close to ruin, Tommy ends up assigned to watch over her. With that much time spent together, the sparks of attraction continue to build. He fights his feelings for her, always conscious of the disparity between their worlds. At the same time, Imogen falls hard for him and doesn't give a hoot about their differences. One of my favorite things about Tommy is how he sees the vibrant, caring, wonderful woman that Imogen is behind the chaos that surrounds her. His tunnel vision about his worthiness nearly ended things between them, but fortunately, a kick in the pants opened his eyes to his mistake before it was too late. I loved the emotional ending.

The suspense of the story was great. Imogen and the other Belles are determined to discover who is behind the explosions endangering their plans. Because of who they are (women, and therefore easily overlooked) and their myriad of contacts, they have a good idea of who they are looking for, but they need more proof. Their methods of acquiring that proof are unusual and sometimes dangerous. Tommy is investigating the same explosions and is aware that they know things he doesn't, but he can't get them to share (they have their reasons). The danger intensifies when that trust is finally given, and Tommy and Imogen get closer to the truth. The scene at the river had me glued to the pages until it was all over, while the following scene at the brothel had me laughing out loud. The final confrontation was a nail-biter, and I loved how it all went down. I especially enjoyed seeing the resolution of the investigation.

I loved the secondary characters. The dinner with Tommy's family was terrific. I ached for Imogen and how welcome and accepted she felt by them. Her complete ease with them said much about who she was and what she found important. As always, I loved the other Belles. Their tight bond exhibits itself in many ways, from their unwavering support for each other to the teasing none of them can resist. I loved their inclusion in this book, not just as fellow conspirators but also as examples of the type of relationship that Imogen craves. The epilogue was terrific, and the lead in to Duchess's book has me champing at the bit to read it. ( )

I loved this story and these characters completely. One of the things I love most about Sarah MacLean's books is her deep dives into history. She brought to life real 19th century women outlaws while weaving in themes of reproductive choice, women's autonomy, and abolition of police (in this case the earliest iteration of Scotland Yard, created to shut down the corrupt Bow Street Runners, but almost immediately as corrupt as the Runners had been.) I would expect no less from a Smith College history major. For a little extra fun we learn in the acknowledgements that Sarah was helped along in the study of explosives in the 19th century by fellow romance novel star Elena Armas, who was a chemical engineer before making it big in the romance world with Spanish Love Deception and other books. How cool is that?! According to the acknowledgements she also had help from other romance writers I love, people like Kennedy Ryan (my go to for heart rending stories with ties to my old hometown of Atlanta) and Adriana Herrera (my go to for social responsibility and Latinx and queer rep in romance and erotica.) The thought that this community thrives in Romanclandia gives me so much pleasure.

As mentioned the book was a delight. Tommy and Imogen are the best. We know Imogen from previous books, and she is still using her genius for chemistry to make the world a better place through vigilante justice. We have also met Thomas Peck before. A good and honest and brilliant cop plucked from the streets and near the top of his profession because he works hard and wants to make safer the parts of the city where the working class Londoners live. A bit of a hero he is. The other Hell's Belles are less in evidence here than in some other books, but we see them enough and it is fun to revisit. Imogen and Tommy are made for each other, but issues of class and rank stand between them and happiness. They have wonderful conversations, they love saving each other's lives, and they have swoony kisses and hot sex (which is very sexy, and while not super detailed or at all smutty, not closed door at all.)

If it was not for a prose issue this would be a 5-star, but that prose issue kept me from sinking into the story. I raised this with the last book, but I apparently need to raise it again. Sarah MacLean cannot abide a solo adjective. Everything is soft and slick or hard and glistening or long and lush, unless of course, Sarah decides that the adjectives need to be trebled so things are warm and soft and slick or hard and insistent and glistening or long and lush and perfect. It is freaking maddening. Put down the adjectives Sarah! It just takes all the power out of the words, except of course the power to annoy the hell out of me. A linked issue is use of the word "lush." Again, I complained about this with the last book, and I feel like the author read my review and thought, "Screw you, Bonnie G! If I want to use the word 'lush' 4 times in a paragraph I will, and just because you complained I will use it 6 times in a paragraph and at least once every two pages! Take that BG!" And so I am chastened. If anyone who knows Sarah sees this, please tell her I am vanquished and beg her to completely omit the word "lush" from future books just to show me she can do it. ( )

I feel as though this is a major betrayal to Sarah MacLean (since I listen to her podcast every week and know she works hard on her writing), but I wasn’t really feeling this very much and now am completely reconsidering all my past reads and thoughts. Imogen and Tommy have been endgame since they met a few books ago (this definitely edges the line of actually reading as a standalone in this quartet), so I’m glad that they finally got together. It’s just I realized that it didn’t feel as though there was much character development here in all the action which doesn’t work for me anymore (especially after waiting a year between books).

I gorged on MacLean at the beginning of my romance reading renewal five years ago but have only now had them one by one annually; my reading tastes have changed with character development now as my jam way more than plot (although the plot here had a ton of filler in it without much momentum until the very end which was oddly wrapped up). Anyway I’m pretty bummed here and now am wondering if I want to ever reread any of her novels. I’m still going to finish this series out (I don’t think the Duchess reveal at the end was as shocking to me as it seemed to be to others), but honestly I have no problem waiting and am not feeling the must-read aspect anymore. ( )

This is the third Hell's Belles book, which centers around Imogen, the scientist Belle who loves explosives. Her love interest is Detective Tommy Peck, who we've met in the previous books, so this is a slow-burn romance that is finally culminating as they investigate a series of explosions in the East End of London.
Imogen is an earl's sister and is considered on the shelf because of her scientific bent and the chaos she invokes with her experiments. She and Tommy are aware of each other from back in the first book, but he regards her as too far above him in class and an impediment to his investigations, even when she provides him with needed evidence. Imogen doesn't plan on marrying anyway, but she's fascinated with Tommy.
The plot is somewhat predictable with corruption in both Scotland Yard and the House of Lords, but it's a good read. However, I'm looking forward to the next book as I want to know what's going to happen with Duchess and her mysterious absent Duke. ( )