Hell’s Belles – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Curse for True Love (#3)

Author: Stephanie Garber

Format: ebook (own

Pages: 385

Publication Date: 10/24/23

Categories: Series, Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.

Content Warning:

I had to read this one to end the series but I think I went in with higher expectations? I love the first two books in this series. But this is what I thought about this conclusion.

+ Jacks is why I read this series and I felt like he came too late into the story. But once he is there, I get the Evangeline/Jacks romance I’ve been waiting for.

+ The writing is consistent with the other books and keeps that magical, fairytale storytelling.

~ I mentioned this above but I was reading this book for more Jacks and I think there was too much Apollo! I was not expecting that ugh…I had to skim through parts of the book because I wanted Jacks and wasn’t getting enough of him early enough in the book. I didn’t want to spend my time reading about Apollo.

My Final Thoughts:

I did like the fairytale storytelling but I feel like there was too much Apollo and not enough Jacks. And it was Jacks who I was here for throughout the whole series! I actually skimmed through parts of this book because it was not holding my attention. So unfortunately I didn’t quite enjoy it – but the three stars are for the first half I did read at least and the second half which I skimmed. I didn’t feel invested in this last book unfortunately.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Ballad of Never After by. Stephanie Garber ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once Upon a Broken Heart by. Stephanie Garber ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Knockout (Hell’s Belles, #3)

Author: Sarah MacLean

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 404

Publication Date: 8/22/23

Categories: Historical Romance, Series

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with the next Hell’s Belles novel about a chaotic bluestocking and the buttoned-up detective enlisted to keep her out of trouble (spoiler: She is the trouble).

With her headful of wild curls and wilder ideas and an unabashed love of experiments and explosives, society has labeled Lady Imogen Loveless peculiar…and doesn’t know she’s one of the Hell’s Belles—a group of vigilantes operating outside the notice of most of London.

Thomas Peck is not most of London. The brilliant detective fought his way off the streets and into a promising career through sheer force of will and a keen ability to see things others miss, like the fact that Imogen isn’t peculiar…she’s pandemonium. If you ask him, she requires a keeper. When her powerful family discovers her late-night activities, they couldn’t agree more…and they know just the man for the task.

Thomas wants nothing to do with guarding Imogen. He is a grown man with a proper job and no time for the lady’s incendiary chaos, no matter how lushly it is packaged. But some assignments are too explosive to pass up, and the gruff detective is soon caught up in Imogen’s world, full of her bold smiles and burning secrets…and a fiery passion that threatens to consume them both.

Content Warning: violence

This is book three in the Hell’s Belles series and I was looking forward to Imogen’s story!

+ I love that Imogen is fearless, smart, science-minded and brave! She’s not a damsel in distress which is why I love this series – these ladies are not timid! Imogen makes and handles explosives…like that is pretty amazing!

+ I think Tommy is a great match for Imogen. He’s a big bearded man who is a detective, which automatically makes you think he’ll be the one to dominate the relationship but nope – Imogen could stand toe to toe with him and their chemistry is great in and out of the bedroom! I like that they both are inquisitive in their own ways.

~ I don’t read a lot of historical romances anymore because I was getting tired of the “formula” but I still read Sarah MacLean books. I will continue the series but even though I loved Imogen in this book I do feel like I really might have outgrown historical romances in general – it just doesn’t excite me but I was trying to hang on to my past love for it.

My Final Thoughts:

If you love historical romances and Sarah MacLean books you will really love this one because Imogen is a smart and vibrant character. Her romance with Tommy is a fun one. I think this is a great addition to the series!