Imogen Loveless is no ordinary lady. She has a knack for experiments and explosives, which often have her coming into contact with detective Thomas Peck. Tommy fought his way off the streets and into a promising career, but some assignments are too explosive. Tommy and Imogen have become entwined in a dangerous investigation and the trouble is coming from within their worlds.

This is the third book in the Hell's Belles series, which focuses on a female group of vigilantes and their underground network. I think it's helpful to read the previous books, as Imogen and Tommy have already been introduced and previous plot points are mentioned.

Lady Imogen is the chemical explosives expert of the Belles and Tommy is often frustrated to find her at "his" crime scenes, collecting her own evidence. There is a bit of a Miss Scarlett and The Duke (PBS series) feeling to the start of this book. The characters have wonderful banter throughout the book, and I loved how they all seemed to have clear voices that I could hear in my head as I was reading. There are great themes of friendship, being yourself, and hurt/comfort that worked beautifully throughout the story. 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

Tropes: Class Difference, Bluestocking, Curvy Heroine, Protector, Forced Proximity, Ruined

Steam: 4

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Hell’s Belles series. Lady Imogen is the chemical explosives expert of the Belles and is often spotted at the scene of the crime collecting her own evidence, much to the dismay of Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector Tommy. While these two aren’t exactly teaming up, they’re both trying to solve the same crimes and keep running into each other. At some point, Tommy is tasked with finding an earl’s missing sister to keep himself in line with a promotion. That sister is of course Imogen and she’s not really missing at all. Throughout the book, Imogen is the pursuant and Tommy is the one who hesitates due to his social station (or lacktherof), but Imogen’s self-esteem takes the rejection much differently. Once they do finally team up, the sparks are well worth it, though Tommy will have to decide whether to trust Imogen and the Belles or the side of police authority. Another excellent book in this series, with women fighting for themselves and their rights.

I love Sarah MacLean and I love this series so I was very excited to read this book! The chemistry (hah!) between Imogen and Tommy was perfect and the banter between the two was so fun to read. Sarah MacLean is such a great writer and created such interesting, well-rounded characters. I can't wait for the next book!

I’m a big Sarah MacLean fan and I really enjoy this series from her and I really liked this book. I think they are my favorite couple and everything about it was great. And also the cover is so good!

When I tell you I have been waiting for ages for this book since we got the smallest hint of Imogen and Tommy in Bombshell? Understatement.

I'm not sure where to start because of course, LOVED this book. I am a big fan of MacLean's writing and Knockout had me giggling and kicking my feet. Imogen is a scientist who specializes in explosions, and Thomas is the Detective Inspector who always finds her at the crime scenes. At the beginning of the book they already have an established "working" relationship with each other and it just builds from there.

Apologies for the double puns, but the chemistry between Imogen and Tommy is incendiary 🔥🔥🔥 I could read just 100 pages of them *talking* to each other.

If you loved Hattie and Beast, you will love Imogen and Tommy.

Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, bodyguard, class difference, women in STEM, plus size heroine

Side note: Love that the cover has a bigger woman on it to reflect Imogen, BUT the book mentions her deep brown eyes many times and the cover model has bright blue eyes lol

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC

I was absolutely grinning like an idiot the entire time I was reading this book. I am a fool for Imogen and Tommy. Sarah MacLean’s writing is a master class in romance and I want to be able to read this book for the first time again. She brilliantly weaved together their story so well, that I was hanging on their every word. Tommy fell for Imogen in the best way possible. This is a story for every woman that has been told they were too much and the brilliant people that fall for them.

I have been waiting for this one! I don't think Sarah MacLean ever misses but with this latest installment of the Hell's Belles series, she has knocked it out of the park (pun fully intended).

From the first time I saw Tommy and Imogen on page all the way back in Bombshell I knew I would love them forever and I was absolutely correct.

In Knockout we follow Thomas Peck, a beautiful detective who always goes by the rules, and Imogen Loveless, a rebellious Lady who has always been told she is a little bit too much, as the reluctantly team up to investigate a series of explosions (Imogen's point of expertise) that have been taking out businesses known for helping women in need.

One thing I will always love about Sarah MacLean's characters is her ability to make them so real. Both of them have such wonderful moments of vulnerability but also strength that really brings them to life. One thing I have to mention is I was a bit nervous about how the fact that Tommy is a part of the police force would be handled. I personally think there was a great conversation around police corruption that didn't take away from the romance at all and added just that much more depth to Tommy's character.

And of course, the chemistry between Imogen and Tommy is off the charts. They have so much fun banter, with a dash of hurt/comfort and heaps of she fell first/he fell harder. If you are looking for a book where the hero who would do anything and everything to help the heroine and looks at her as if she hung the moon while also slowly recognizing how she is fully capable to saving herself, and a heroine who is smart but also feminine, and when people tell her she's too much she shows them just how much more she can be, than this one is for you.

Once again Sarah MacLean has written a romance that I will be thinking about for a while, and I cannot wait for the final book in the Hell's Belles series, ESPECIALLY with that ending!

What a delight! I haven't actually loved this series, but this book. Won. Me. Over. I'm in love with Tommy Peck, first of all, but it seems that Maclean cut right to the, sometimes literal, chase here with a fast paced thrill of a romance.

4.5/5

This series has just been a BLAST (lol get it) from the first book. They are fun, frothy, and over the top in the best way. I don't think this one is my new fave (Heartbreaker looking at you!!), but I had such a fun time reading it and it was an excellent addition to the series.

Sarah MacLean is known for her heroines, and IMOGEN LOVELESS was the moment. She is chaotic, explosive, and committed to the cause/her friends in a way that made her feel so real. This being her book we get to explore her insecurities a bit and see her open up about being "too much".

My only critique of this book is I felt Tommy could've been a bit more developed. He is convinced that he isn't worthy of Imogen (which this is a SM novel, this is almost a requirement of her heros), but I didn't feel a lot of depth with his job and all the fallout that leads to where he ends up. It also took a bit longer to get his backstory and while I liked how it was revealed I think we should've heard some of it earlier on. That being said, this man is gone for Imogen and I love him for his good taste.

Something Sarah MacLean says on her Podcast, Fated Mates, is that certain authors "Know the Job" meaning they know what their readers want and Sarah MacLean herself, knows the job. These books are just a joy to read. Imogen and Tommy don't even hide that they are into each other and Imogen is constantly exasperating Tommy. Their internal dialogue is full of big feelings they don't know how to express and they banter like the best of them. PLUS we have the Hell's Belles in the background trying to make the world a better place.

We get some cameos from other characters in The MacLeanaverse and I would suggest reading this series in order bc Tommy and Imogen are set up so beautifully in the prior two novels.
This isn't a perfect novel, but I wanted to highlight like half of this book and there really is something about a new Sarah MacLean novel so this was still a wonderful addition to the series...and now DUCHESS?? I HAVE QUESTIONS.

I have been waiting for Imogen and Tommy's story FOREVER, and I'm so happy that it didn't disappoint. Their potential for romance had been built up so much in the first two books, and it was so satisfying to see that come to fruition. I loved getting to know them more as individuals, and I believed them as a couple. Perfect steam level, too!

I’ve been waiting for Imogene’s story since she first strode across the page with her carpet bag full of explosives.
All her life she’s been told she’s too much. Too volatile. Too brash. Too curvy.
But to Tom, she’s exactly enough.
He’s been dreaming of her from the moment she disrupted his crime scene. She challenges him and tricks him and confuses him.
When she runs into a burning building to save him and he carries her out in his arms, all the denial and the running between them leads to what’s been inevitable from the beginning.
The worlds between them don’t matter.
She’s his match, lighting up the recklessness and passion he keeps buried.
He’s her blade, protecting her and cherishing her and empowering her.
Loved it loved it loved it!
Full review to come on my blog the week of release.

I have BEEN WAITING for this one! TURN IT UP! No seriously Imogen and Tommy have been teased and I was waiting at the ready for their story. It delivered! Plus that teaser at the end!!!!!

What a blast! (Haha). This is the latest Hells Belle’s novel from Sarah MacLean. The series is about an 1840’s era group of women secretly fighting for social justice. And the men who love them. It has been such a wonderful and engrossing read. I was looking forward to Imogen’s story and it lived up to my expectations.

Part of the Hells Belles, Imogen is a maker of explosives, an aristocratic woman others call peculiar. This both depresses her because she is always alone. But it pleases her because it means society leaves her alone, never knowing what she is up to. They leave her in peace to, well, explode the peace.

Tommy, on the other hand, is a by-the-book Scotland Yard Detective who has never been able to catch Imogen in the act but quite suspects her. He just hasn’t found the evidence yet. Still, he is drawn to her in a romantic way, though his self reflection just doesn’t clue him in.

Suddenly they have a common enemy to fight.

Fraught longing and then sensual implosion ensue. Tommy is a genuine though rule-bound hunk. Watching him find out that he has fallen in love is endearing and satisfying. Imogen is fascinating and brilliant. These are multi-dimensional characters who pull you in; you root for them while finding their story gripping and fascinating, amusing and sexy.

Although part of a series this book can easily and interestingly read as a standalone. In Sarah’s notes at the back of the book you find that the Belle’s are based on another women’s vigilante group. Do read those notes!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was explosively fun. The hero was a growly beast. Yum. The heroine was as fun as expected. So ready for the next one.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

Sarah MacLean can basically do no wrong in my eyes, so I loved this. I haven't read a historical romance in a while and it was nice to get back to the genre with this one, the newest installment in the Hell's Belles series featuring Lady Imogen Loveless, a wallflower/spinster with a penchant for making things explode. She's been clashing with Inspector Thomas Peck of Scotland Yard for more than a year, and they once again find themselves at odds when Imogen is discovered at the site of a bombing that seems to be the most recent in a series. She and the Belles are investigating as well, as the places that have been bombed are all respectable businesses that serve as a front for helping women in various ways. Tommy and Imogen end up teaming up, but the stakes get even higher when it seems that someone or someones with a lot of power might be behind the bombings. I loved the banter between these two, who are both sharp-witted and easily exasperated with one another. Solid romance, great adventure with a bit of mystery wrapped up in it, and an ending that made me kind of mad that I can't read the next book in the series like, right now.

This book is the one everyone has been waiting for. It is the 3rd in the series but absolutely can be read as a stand-alone.
A heroine who loves explosives, is in a vigilante girl gang, on the wrong side of the law but lusts after a member of Scotland Yard? That’s what I live for. Sarah through the years has taken everything I didn’t like about historicals, and thrown them away. Her heroines are brave, beautiful, sometimes plump, always fearless, not always virgins *gasp* #pearlclutch.
Imogene fits all these but 1. (I’ll let you guess which one).
As a Chemist and younger sister of an Earl who just wants her to be someone else’s headache, she feels like she is “too much”
Tommy is straight laced, justice driven and a bit over the top on the “buttoned up”
Imogene goes undercover in the marriage market to find out who is behind a series of explosions-and keeps putting herself in what Tommy considers unnecessary danger.
He worships Imogene from the get go. Her body, her brain. Even while wanting to strangle her for not staying out of trouble. He takes on the job as her body guard.

The banter between Tommy and Imogene is top notch. Their chemistry, (also literal explosions) is over the top, in all the best ways!!
I knew there was a mystery to be solved in the background but I was so caught up in everything that was the romance, I had to read it a second time to get all the whodunnit.
(Very few books do I finish and go back to the beginning immediately.)
I love the relationship and the found family of the Belles. A group of crime fighting Victorian women is the joy everyone needs in their lives.
I love Tommy. He is growly, thicc bearded, thicc thighed and he worships Imogene’s body in a way that 🥵🔥🌶️ shew weee.
This was my favorite book in the series and I am so sad now I have to wait over a year for the Duchess’s book. Thank you Sarah MacLean for making me love Historical romances and just being an overall awesome human. ❤️
Also thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC and loving librarians.
#TommyGoesBoom

I’ve been waiting for this book since last summer. I’ve been waiting for Imogene to blow things up and I wasn’t disappointed. I wanted to see how much worse Tommy’s day could get. I wasn’t disappointed. I wanted to see these Belles back in action and man did they bring the action.
And OMG the ending! I won’t be sleeping until next year when I get Duchess’ book.
I finished this book the week that SCOTUS took a massive hit to our justice system. In fact, I finished this book on the day they had the audacity to tell this country it was okay with them to discriminate against human beings based on who they love. I felt very disheartened but then I read about the vigilantes that are Sesily, Adelaide, Imogene and Duchess and how justice is always worth fighting for. You may get knocked out but you come back stronger with your crew and those in power better watch out.
And this my friends, is why I read. Hope.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Knockout by Sarah MacLean

The sparks between Tommy, Mr. Scotland Yard Detective and Imogen, the Belles' resident explosives expert, finally had a chance to fully ignite! I was WAITING for this one and was not disappointed. The chemistry between Tommy, who had mega internal battles over being so attracted to a woman who loves to blow things up for funsies, and Imogen, who just does not give an F what the men in her life think she should do, was amazing, and the banter was on point. Spice level was perfect. In general, truly a top-shelf historical romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

To say I have been eagerly awaiting Imogen and Tommy's story is an understatement. From the moment they met at The Place in book one of the series I was captivated by their chemistry.

I am unsure I have the words to articulate just how much I loved Knockout. From MacLean's twisting plots to her Victorian era feminist girl gang whose MMCs are always lucky to be able to fight by their sides, I so enjoyed Tommy Peck joining their ranks. Imogen was a character I found myself instantly relating to in so many ways and in others wishing I could emulate her. There was such a resounding joy in Imogen especially with her teasing/chiding interactions with Tommy that became laden with all the heat when their teasing turned carnal. Sarah MacLean's sparring dialogue as always creates the most delicious witty banter.

Every book in the Hell's Belles series encapsulates so eloquently the found family that was created within their group and I highly enjoyed seeing how the previous couples so easily folded into the story. How even though they were married now, Adelaide and Sesily's characters continued to be just as essential to the group as before. And I always love seeing couples from previous books show up within the story. (I am looking at you Whit and Hattie!)

I loved how Tommy wished to protect Imogen, yet ultimately realized just how essential she was to the case. How it was truly only Imogen whose expertise could solve what was happening with the bombings. And I loved how shocked and adamant he was for her to remove herself from danger yet how easily she just continued on doing whatever she needed to do in order to save as many people as possible leaving Tommy to follow behind and do whatever was in his power at the time to aid her. Finding out more about Tommy's character and his motivations only endeared me to him more from the note written in invisible ink by his niece to his unwavering belief in justice no matter the cost he became a character to champion. Oh and a new book boyfriend of mine, but lets be honest I knew he would be one all along.

And after the epilogue I am even more excited for Duchess's story!