This title was more character driven than plot driven, but I enjoyed it regardless and will be reading the next title in the series.

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean 4 stars

This is Book #2 of the Bareknuckle Bastards series. I bought Book #1 Wicked and the Wallflower and thought it was OK. This book was. much better. The Beast "Whit" is the hero of this book. The book begins with him unconscious and bound in a carriage and discovered by Lady Henrietta Sedley "Hattie". She is leaving her home with her friend Lady Nora for a night of adventure. When he wakes up she questions him and figures out who he is. She throws him out near Covent Garden and resumes her trip. This begins a dance of attraction, banter and flirting. Both have a great deal to overcome. Hattie wants to achieve freedom and run her father's shipping business - to prove she is a worthy heir despite her being born a female. Whit is a caretaker/protector who is trying to overcome the trauma he experienced when he was a child. All of the Bareknucle Bastards experienced trauma and abuse at the hands of the Duke of Marwick. I won't spoil the story but there is hint at who will be featured in the next book.. Beacuse this book was so good, I am now looking forward to the third one.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Avon for this ARC

I received an advance copy of this title from the publisher. All comments/opinions are my own.

Ooooh this book. This poor poor book. Where does one even begin...

Let’s just jump right to it and state I am not a fan. If you’ve read the first book in this series, then you’ve read this already.

Three brothers, bastards. All born on the same day. At the same time. To three separate women. Two brothers are living in the seedy underbelly of London. One is running about as a Duke and trying to kill the other two. That is the meat of this series. I kid you not. That ridiculous spoof is the basis of our plot.

This series is heavy in hero’s who don’t use their words to communicate. They lend heavily toward such sexy plot crutches like grunting and lonnng heavy stares. Lucky for these gents, the women of their choosing have come equipped with grunt ciphers and understand all of this non-communication to a T.

Essentially books one and two in this series are just buying time to move us along to the next which will be Ewan (our badass Duke who is actually just a shitty person) and Grace (their sister/non sister- yes you read that correctly). Ewan has tried multiple times to kill his brothers in an attempt to squirrel out his non-sister who he has a major “love” vibe for. Stalker. Possessive. Toxic obsession. Those are the adjectives I would choose to describe their bizarre “relationship”.

Let me get to some problematic AF moments that I have with this series. Mind you, the authors previous works I have been a fan of. However now we have a series that I feel is putting forth some really off messages. The anti-hero is a fine line. You cannot make someone a lunatic that is bent on MURDER and reform that into a romantic hero. This is presenting obsession, possessive tendencies, violence out of “love” as ROMANCE. What the ever loving fill in the blank. At this point it is irresponsible to present Ewan as the love interest in the coming book(s) of this series. My fingers are figuratively crossed that he gets killed off and some shiny new character swoops in and saves this mess.

Authors. STOP ROMANTACIZING TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS.

My other problematic issue. This giant elephant in the room that we’ll label: Whit’s Unwrapped Penis. You mean to tell me, that this man is a “King” of the underworld, he rolls with all of the unsavory types, his sister is a madam of her own brothel ................. and he could not get his hands on a crinkly sheep skin condom that?!?!!? Please. Do better by your readers.

Authors. STOP ROMANTICIZING UNSAFE SEX PRACTICES.

Everyone is raving about the power they feel from a full figured heroine. I’m sorry but that moment is overshadowed by UNHEALTHY THEMES.

Lady Henrietta Sedley reached her 29th birthday and is firmly established as a spinster with just one hope in life; to run her father’s shipping business. She is confident in her goal and declares it to be the year of Hattie. The year starts off unexpectedly when a handsome man is left unconscious and tied up in her carriage.

After coming to, Savior Whittington (aka Beast or Whit), one of the Bareknuckled Bastards of Covent Garden is in awe of the woman that Society finds lacking.

A threat from the past can easily destroy this couple. It is up to Hattie to proclaim her year and win her business and the Beast.

Sarah Maclean always writes an enchanting story with strong, often overlooked heroines. This was no different. After both books in the series I am on pins and needles for Ewan and Grace’s story. I almost dread thinking about what led him to do what he had to do to keep Grace safe.

The new Sarah Maclean introduces Hattie and Whit (aka Beast). Hattie is a strong, bold, hard-working woman, aspiring to take over her father’s shipping business. She is deeply involved already, running rings around her brother, and learning the business from the ground up. She meets Whit, one of the Bareknuckle Bastards, and the ruler of Covent Garden, when her idiot brother tries to rob him.

The plot twists come early and fast in this novel, and although some of them are a bit over the top, I was willing to roll with them, and thoroughly enjoyed the read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Magnificent work Sarah McLean! It was so good I read it in one shot without putting it down. Hattie is marvelous! She is fierce and feisty and makes a great heroine. Whit or “Beast” never stood a chance once he met her. Whit is trying hard to hide all the sweetness he holds inside from everyone, but Hattie pulls it all out of him. This series is not be missed. As Whit fulfills all of Hattie’s desire. The story is filled with witty banter and steamy encounters between the two. As the two trade banter and make deals it becomes clear that they are perfect for each other.

I really enjoy Sarah Maclean's writing style. This is the second book in the series and was just as good as the first cant wait for the next one

Is there a good time to find a man bound and unconscious in one's carriage? There certainly is a bad time as Hattie would attest especially when she has place to be and a birthday to celebrate? It's the year of Hattie and Whit is raining on Hattie's parade with his impeccable sense of timing. What an unexpected and charming start to the story?
Hattie has a solid plan to win in the man's world that she lives in. Meeting the stranger in her carriage gives her a momentary pause but soon she's given him a shove out of her carriage and proceeding with the rest of her evening except even as she's having second choices on her preferences Whit shows up. Soon it seems that Hattie can't make a move without running into him so she takes the bull by it's horns and invades his turf dangerous as it might be.
Whit and his brother are hunting down the person who's out to hurt their business only Hattie's brother has put her square in the sights of the bareknuckle bastards. I really enjoyed the cut and thrust between the two protagonists as they both vied to win even as they fall in love. I definitely applauded when Hattie routs Whit by demonstrating her power at the docks when he challenges her by buying her father's business from under her feet.
This is a solid middle book in the trilogy setting the stage for the final book though I'm not sure how it will come about but I can assure you given the way this trilogy has been so far it will be women's ingenuity and love that will win the day. Can't wait to see it play out.

I picked up Wicked and the Wallflower earlier this year for the Romanceopoly reading challenge and completely fell in love with the world of the Bareknuckle Bastards. I didn’t even think I liked Historical Romance until I discovered Sarah MacLean!

Brazen is my fifth of her books and hits the feminist themes the hardest of any I’ve read with its heroine trying to take over the family business. I loved the way that Beast supports her though. He’s really the perfect Book Boyfriend! That storyline or Hattie’s struggles with body image could have come off as heavy handed or anachronistic but MacLean handles them masterfully.

I continue to be in love with this world and am eagerly awaiting the next book.

I love Sarah’s writing and her heroines. Those were the standouts in this book. However, I felt like the story lagged for large parts and the hero wasn’t fully drawn out. He was only painted in conjunction with his brother and I didn’t get a good picture. I would have liked leas of vague feelings and the constant mention of the ache each MC had for the other. . Which sucks because the heroine was lost within those feelings when she was trying to push boundaries and taking down the patriarchy. This felt like a bridge to the next book and set the story to continue.

Reading a new book by Sarah Maclean is a pure joy. She weaves humor, history, and romance into a very satisfying read. Her new series, the Barenuckle Bastard series, tackles the more seedy aspects of Victorian England which is hardly covered in the historical romances I've read before.

I really loved Hattie as a heroine. For once we get a real life size woman who is insecure of her body because she does not fall under the beauty requirements of her time. She is repeatedly told she is just "too much", but her struggle to tell herself she is enough is very relatable and real even in the 21st century. I am glad there was a nod to body diversity in this book and the fact that the author didn't overly physically describe her. I also loved that her feminist viewpoints and claiming her life was Hattie's driving motive. Again these issues feel very real in our current society where women are constantly put on the back burner and ignored when it comes to promotions.

I thought Whit/Beast was a really good match for Hattie. He too struggled with his worth, more so in the context that he could not save everyone he loved, but also like Hattie's inability to think that he too is worth loving. His banter with his brother Devil was a highlight. Is it clear that Whit is the mastermind behind the Bastard's financial success.

I am eager to read the next book and would love a book on Nik and Nora's relationship which we saw budding in this book along with finding out the real story behind Grace and Ewan. Whichever route Maclean takes, I will be eagerly anticipating her book.

3.5 stars rounded up. I find Sarah MacLean to a be a pretty reliable writer of satisfying HR with take-charge heroines and zippy dialogue (really, some of the best dialogue) and this installment in her latest series does not disappoint. If you like her, you'll like this; if you don't, you probably won't. I'm also very interested to see what happens in Grace's book, which is the next one. It's not clear to me if she's going to try to redeem Ewan or not, but there's no other obvious hero she's setting up. He seems so terrible, but she might be able to sell it. I also appreciated that the bestie in this instance is a lesbian, and finds a love interest. A Nora novella seems like it would be great.

I received an e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was not a winner for me. I really can't stand weight and being plus-sized as a plot driver of conflict. Can we please get a plus-size heroine that has body confidence and simply IS plus-sized without it being a conflict? The writing also felt verbose to me and the plot convoluted. There was a great deal of repetition too that made the flow a bit stilted.
As a personal opinion, I'm not a huge fan of plotlines where every page, chapter, dialogue, scene, etc. between characters indicates that they are attracted to each other, love each other, are invested, etc. and yet the characters don't believe the other's feelings. It doesn't make sense to me that the hero can say over and over and over how badly he wants to have sex with her and then does have sex with her and she still doesn't believe he wanted to have sex with her.

Brazen and the Beast is the second book in Sarah MacLean's The Bareknuckle Bastards series. Though I believe I would have been better served by reading the first book - references to the prior story were made and I feel like I missed important stuff - I didn't really care, because I LOVED this book!

Lady Henrietta Sedley was the daughter of an Earl who owned a shipping company. Her father was not born to the title, so his son would not inherit the shipping company by right. Hattie wanted it; she loved it, and it was her dream to take over the company. She was turning 29, and that dream was part of the "Year of Hattie". She decided that if she lost her virginity, her father would realize that marriage was not in her future and he would grant her wish. When her best friend Nora went to drive her to a brothel, they found a beautiful, unconscious man in their carriage. This man turned out to be Whit, known as "Beast"; he was a king of Covent Garden. He discovers that she was on her way to lose her innocence. When she cuts him loose and pushes him out of the carriage, he decides to follow her and cut a deal....with him agreeing to give her the pleasure she wishes to experience.

I cannot express how much I absolutely loved Hattie and Whit! Hattie is one of my favorite heroines ever! She was older and plump and had physical self-esteem issues. She thought no man would find her attractive. She did, though, have great self-confidence as a businesswoman. She knew the shipping business and had no doubt that she could run it successfully by herself. She was also very talkative and funny. Then there's our Beast. ~SIGH~ He was not talkative and communicated oftentimes with grunts. Though a king in the underground with his brother Devil, he was a good man who truly cared about his men and women in Covent Garden. Whit found Hattie wildly attractive and found her brazen behavior exciting; he thought of her as his Warrior. (I feel another SIGH coming on!). Their chemistry was off the charts, and their steamy times together were beyond sensual. And he didn't mind if she wanted to be in charge... This story was absolutely amazing!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

Sarah MacLean writes such wonderful heroines and heroes. While there may be some trifling details in her historical accuracy you will be swept away on her tide of fully realized characters, steamy lovemaking and references to her other books you will never get enough of these smart and feisty heroines! I am a die hard fan of MacLean!

Hattie Sedley is 29, a soon-to-be confirmed spinster, and plans to live life by her own rules. She’s going to take over her father’s business that she has practically been running single-handedly and make her own money. Before the “Year of Hattie” begins, however, she plans to have a night of pleasure.

Saviour Whittington, known as Beast has found himself all tied up, literally! He wakes to find himself in the carriage of Hattie Sedley as she is headed to a night of pleasure at his business. She intrigues him. She is attracted. They have chemistry and they also plans of their own and their independence may get in the way of their hearts.

This is not the kind of historical romance I’m used to. That’s not a bad thing, but the anti-hero doesn’t usually work for me. I need to really like and feel connected to the characters in a romance novel. I liked the spitfire independence from Hattie, but alpha-male grunting of Beast isn’t my favorite.

Overall, it was good read - one that I think I will enjoy more in a re-read once the series is complete. This is book 2 in the Bareknuckle Bastards series.

Last month I read Wicked and the Wallflower, my first book by Sarah MacLean and absolutely fell in love with everything about that book. After reading Devil's story, I couldn't wait to get to Whit's (aka Beast) story. Sarah MacLean knows exactly how to set the tone of her books and learning about the Covent Garden and the London Docklands was almost as fun as the story between Whit and Hattie.

Let's take a moment to talk about everything that is Hattie. Hattie is amazing and I hope that we all learn a thing or two from her. She is brazen (no doubt), but also a warrior (swoon) and is so brave, even though her world is trying its hardest to push her out and tell her she can not do it because she is a woman. So when on her 29th birthday Hattie devises a plan to take what she wants: Business. Home. Fortune. Future. She needs a final part of her plan to be completed in order to start on all of the others. Body. This is where the story becomes deliciously complicated and the story of Hatti and Whit begins.

If an author can make you feel so much angst and then also make you feel the "aaahhh" finally moment, but then turn around and rip your heart out - to me that is the perfect combination and you have won me over. There are so many wonderful, sweet, and caring moments in Brazen that made me feel this way. Moments that had my heart racing and then moments that had tears streaming down my face. These two characters are so well suited and I was dying for more interactions between the two of them. Their verbal sparring (aka foreplay - hot hot hot) was so much fun to read!

I am loving this series so much and am anticipating the follow up and final book in the series. Thank you Sarah MacLean for writing such a wonderful follow up to Wicked and the Wallflower. I can't wait to read everything else that you've written.

**Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review**

An independent heroine who’s unstoppable and the fierce Bareknuckle Bastard who finds her “fucking glorious” heralds the Year of Hattie in MacLean’s delightful Brazen and the Beast, the second in the Bareknuckle Bastards series. The story picks up where The Wicked and the Wallflower (the first in the series) left off, when Whit meets his match in the headstrong Hattie, a 28-year-old spinster determined to free herself from societal constraints and live a life on her own terms. The characters’ immediate chemistry and strong wills make for delicious banter in a book that is just plain fun to read. Readers who love strong heroines and kisses that last four pages, this is your book.

Hattie is determined to takeover her father's prosperous shipping business and knows the person to help make that happen is Beast, a member of the Bareknuckle Bastards quartet. Seeing this strong woman and strong man clash in a wonderful battle of wits was so fun! As much as I enjoyed this, I'm even more excited to see the next edition featuring Grace and Ewan.

Actual Rating: 3.75 stars

Brazen and the Beast is the second book in MacLean's Bareknuckle Bastards series. I went into this book without reading the first, and it read perfectly fine as a standalone despite the main characters from Wicked and the Wallflower making a few appearances.

Lady Henrietta "Hattie" Sedley has a plan for her 29th year of life: take control of her future in many ways, and that includes her father's shipping business. Fate, however, has other plans when Whit (aka Beast), a 'king' of Covent Garden, is stashed, unconscious and restrained, inside her carriage.

The "Year of Hattie" is off to a poor start, but she isn't about to allow a man to get in the way of her goals.

I enjoyed both Hattie and Whit in Brazen and the Beast—they were full of life, their motivations are clear, and their interactions were fun and engaging. Good characters can be hard to find, so it's refreshing to find two likeable (though imperfect) main characters.

What dragged this story down for me wasn't the romance, but rather the subplot. There's dishonesty and betrayal, and the situation devolves into ridiculousness. What should have been clear-cut becomes convoluted, and the antagonist's reasoning is pretty weak. The plot seems to have been devised simply to set up the next book.

I'd love to see the clever writing we got from MacLean's Rules of Scoundrels series, which gave us relevant-yet-building plot and a great romance in each story. While Brazen and the Beast is a fun romantic read, and I recommend it for anyone looking for an engaging historical summer romance, it's missing the magic of MacLean's early-2010s writing. I hope the next entry in this series finds it again.