MacLean was born in Lincoln, Rhode Island to an Italian father and a British mother. MacLean's website reports that her mother was a spy, and worked for MI6. MacLean started reading romance because her older sister read the books, and she has wanted to be a romance novelist since she was a teenager. In 2000, MacLean received a BA in American Studies from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. While at Smith, MacLean and her friends read hundreds of romance novels. MacLean moved to New York City in 2000, and worked as a literary publicist until she attended graduate school at Harvard University, receiving a master's degree in education. Upon returning to New York City, she wrote her first book, a young adult novel, The Season, after a friend suggested she try her hand at writing for teens. The book, set in Regency England, received numerous awards, and was named to the 2010 Lone Star Reading List of the Texas Library Association. After The Season, MacLean wrote her first adult romance novel, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, a Regency historical. The book debuted on the USA Today Bestseller List and the New York Times Bestseller List, where it stayed for four weeks, and was the first recipient of the Romantic Times Magazine Seal of Excellence. MacLean is a self-proclaimed feminist and speaks widely on the intersection of feminism and the romance genre. She is a vocal defender of the literary merit of the romance novel and the skill it takes to write it well. In February 2014, MacLean began writing a monthly romance review column for The Washington Post. In July 2019, she hosted the Romance Writers of America RITA Awards. In 2018, she started the podcast with critic Jen Prokop featuring long form analysis of tropes and books from the genre. She and her husband live in Brooklyn, New York. She is extremely active in social media, and often discusses her daily life on Twitter and Instagram.
2010 - Romantic Times Magazine Seal of Excellence for Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake
2013 - Romance Writers of America, RITA Award for Best Historical Romance for A Rogue By Any Other Name
2014 - Romance Writers of America, RITA Award for Best Historical Romance for No Good Duke Goes Unpunished
MacLean has hit the New York Times Bestseller List and USA Today Bestseller List with all nine of her romance novels. She has received starred reviews for several titles from Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly, and Library Journal.
