I honestly don’t remember which is my first Sarah MacLean but I know that every single one I have read from her has made me laugh, cry, ache and burn.
If you have not heard of the Incomparable Ms. MacLean let me list the reasons and ways that I love her.
1. She has tough issues in her books.
Body efficacy, body image, unwed motherhood (in the nineteenth century), and the general violence of the time are all over these books. These are not pretty stories with glittering balls on every page. Grit is deeply ingrained in Ms. MacLean’s books - which for me - makes them sparkle even brighter.
2. Her heroines make me happy - not a victim among them.
I don’t love that a lot of romance novels don’t have Heroines they have Victims. Now you can have been a victim (little v) and not have that define you but I notice a lot of women in books are Victims (Big V) to give the male lead a moment to shine and I… kinda hate it? (I mean… nope… not going there right now… check back for more on this later.) But Ms. MacLean doesn’t do that. Her women stand on their own two feet and fight their battles and sometimes ask for help but they aren’t waiting in the wings for a Knight in Shining Armor to save them from their lives. They wear pants, run gambling dens and don’t apologize for loving themselves just the way they are.
3. Her heroes tend towards my favorites: dark and tortured
on the outside absolute goo on the inside.
I love a lot of kinds of heroes but I am a sucker for marshmallow of love wrapped in Death and Destruction. And you can take your pick in Ms. MacLean’s universe. We have tall and scarred, we have rough and tumble and we have large and out of place. But they all tend to turn to goo (or another amorphous form of matter) when their favorite human walks in the room.
4. They aren’t all lordlings.
As much as I love me some historical fiction - I am a socialist at heart and get really weirded out when everyone has titles… like a lot of titles. And Ms. MacLean has plenty of titles but more often than not talks about gilded cages and those people that actually make the city function.
5. Side characters to write home about.
I am a sucker for a good side character and Sarah Maclean has some of my favorites: tall and descended from Vikings; lesbian ride or die besties; men of color courting English ladies? We got them all. And they all make me so happy! (She also has great book hopping characters and you get to go - “Oh hey I know you!” - a lot.)
Bonus: Did I mention hot and consensual is all over these books?
I mean it should go without saying - but hot and consensual sex is a favorite of mine. And this lady does it right. In a pool? On a roof? In a carriage? Take your pick! Always burning hot and open and honest communication to preface it.
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