Spectacular! Powered by MacLean's brilliant prose and perfect pacing, Daring and the Duke is a locomotive from the start that keeps gaining steam and barreling forward to the heart-breaking, heart-mending end. Ground-breaking, idea-shaking, this series upends what has always been typical of historical romance while keeping all we love about the genre, all that is possible, at the core. This story was at turns fierce and tender and poignant and funny, and I gladly lost myself in this world of MacLeans's careful making."

The culmination of the Bareknuckled Bastards series does not disappoint. As expected, the villain of the first two books is redeemed, with a satisfying resolution to the book and to the series about the power of love to overcome traumatic pasts.
     Grace, queen of the Gardens, is used to fulfilling desire. Ewan is an angsty duke looking for a second chance with his childhood love. Their reunion is steamy and immediate, but complicated by their complex past. 
     The book is the last in a series; the first two are Wicked and the Wallflower and Brazen and the Beast.

I was a huge fan of the previous book in this series (Brazen and the Beast) -- it might be one of my favorite Sarah MacLean books -- so I had very high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I don't think it hit the mark for me. Truthfully, I think the hero was set up as way too much of a villain in previous books, and he doesn't adequately atone for his past transgressions in this book. The romance was sweet, and I'm a sucker for second chances, but honestly, this one just fell sort of flat. The writing grew very repetitive, and the relationship between Grace and Ewan seemed to lose tension around the halfway point. Overall, it was not unpleasant, but it definitely is not one of my favorites of the author's books.

I am a huge Sarah MacLean fan and I was waiting for the ending for this series, however, I felt bored and disinterested while reading. I love the premise of the series, the Bareknuckle Bastards and as a precurser, reread Wicked and the Wallflower and Brazen and the Beast.  However, I.felt that it was a forgone conclusion that Grace and Ewan would end up together so the plot just didn't do it for me. I enjoyed the glimpses of their shared past and those of the other brothers but it seemed like the central conflict could have been solved if the characters just talked to each other!

The third book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series reunites Grace and Ewan after years apart.   The end was satisfying.  ARC from NetGalley.

Daring and the Duke was the book from this series I anticipated the most. After Ewan was the villain for the first two books I was so curious how MacLean was going to end the series. The first part of this starts with such a bang, I honestly could not put it down and read 50% in one sitting. But the second half fell flat? I lost interest in Ewan and Grace at some point and put the book down for almost a month. I did enjoy the ending but I was hoping the pacing would be as good as the first half. Seriously I loved the first half so much. 

I did really enjoy how Ewan’s character evolved. I love a redeemed groveling hero and Ewan gave great grovel. Grace was a fantastic character throughout the series and I loved her in this book. This would have been a five star read if the second half held my interest more.

Love this book! Thank you so much to Avon for sharing it with me.
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Review posted on BookBub.

This was an amazing conclusion to The Bareknuckle Bastards series! This book has it all - childhood sweethearts, second chances, enemies to lovers, a bit of mistaken identities (sort of), redeemed hero...

Ewan has been an antagonist in the past two books in the series, so I was really looking forward to seeing how Sarah MacLean would turn him into a romance-worthy hero. Wow, am I ever impressed at what an amazing job she did getting me on board the Ewan Express right from the get-go. I really can't say more without spoilers, but this book had my clutching my chest trying to keep my heart from hurting so much, and it was mostly because of Ewan's sections. I love a good anti-hero/redeemed villain story and wow, Ewan. *fans self*

Grace is also amazing. The previous books had her sort of flirting around the edges of the stories, and it was awesome to finally get to really know her as a character. My only regret is that the cover of the book shows her in some floofy yellow dress. I really wish we'd gotten her in one of her gorgeous tailored jacket with brightly colored silk lining to match the corset underneath and tailored trousers. She wears a dress literally like ONCE in the book, come on. Grace is this amazing, strong, independent woman with this deep well of strength, and I adore her.

Daring and the Duke is the third and final book in The Bareknuckle Bastards series. While it could technically probably be read as a stand alone, you're really better off if you read this one in series order. You really won't get the full emotional punch of this one if you read it out of order.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for this advanced review copy. I love Sarah MacLean's historical romances but I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about the ability to redeem Ewan, the Duke of Marwick, after the first two books in the Barenuckle Bastards series. I shouldn't have doubted! Lesson learned, Sarah MacLean can be trusted to write some of the best and hottest historical romances on the market today. Loved it!

I have enjoyed all of Sarah MacLean's books. I enjoyed learning more about Ewan and what happened to cause the rift between him and the BareKnuckled Bastards. I also enjoyed the ties to the Fallen Angel from MacLean's other books.

I wasn’t sure how Sarah was going to make me fall in love with Ewan, but she did it! This was just the feel-good HEA book I’ve been needing.

Sarah MacLean once again gives us a story that keeps me guessing and characters I absolutely adore. This is my favorite of her series, and my favorite historical romance series ever. The tension and chemistry between these two characters sizzles on the page. I loved reading about their lost love, finding hope again, and then trying to find the courage to be vulnerable with their love again. The characters from the other two books were featured and I enjoyed seeing them again. This band of ruthless heroes is just the friendship I want in romance. I loved this book and can see myself returning to these characters again and again whenever I need their hope.

Saying goodbye to this series wasn’t easy. But as we return one last time to the dark, criminal underworld of Sarah MacLean’s nineteenth-century London with what is nothing short of a subversive feminist masterpiece that gloriously demolishes sexist tropes and stereotypes, we are reminded once more what a rare gem in the Historical Romance genre this author truly is. A rapturous tale of redemption, forgiveness, and second chances, this is the book that we’ve been waiting for from the very start of the series—the story of the villainous third bastard son of the late Duke of Marwick, and the woman he’s spent half a lifetime searching for—and it was everything I never even knew it could be.

CONTINUE READING REVIEW » https://natashaisabookjunkie.com/2020/07/03/review-daring-and-the-duke-by-sarah-maclean/

I've been a fan of Sarah MacLean for some time now. I really enjoyed the first two books in the Bareknuckle Bastards series and I've looked forward to reading Daring and The Duke, the final book in the series.  To be honest, I was anxious going into the book knowing that Ewan, the male main character and Grace's love interest has been the villain in the previous books. There was going to have to be some serious explaining and some major redemption to make this happily ever after believable for me. After reading it,  I know that I never should have doubted Sarah MacLean. I was really blown away by this book. I read it in two days. I didn't want to put it down, I was so drawn into the story.  This book isn't a stand alone. You really need to read the first two books to really get the full story, and  Daring and the Duke was a great ending to it.  
One thing that I love about Sarah MacLean is that her work is so feminist. She writes such strong female characters who take control of their own fates and she does it in ways that are believable for the time period. I love the way she unabashedly centers female pleasure. But also focuses on women working together and helping and supporting each other.  
There was truly a depth of emotion in this book.  MacLean never fails at toughing at my heartstrings with characters who have had a tragic background but find their own ways to over come. I really loved the arc of Ewan and Grace's relationship.  Friends to lovers to enemies to lovers again.  I really wanted to hate Ewan throughout this book but I found myself feeling for him most of all. Reading this book, I  felt like I could empathize with Ewan and Grace sooo much,  wanting something you know you can't have and wanting something you know you shouldn't want.  I was very happy with the way that the book ended. I loved that the characters were able to have their happy ending and stay true to who they were and what they wanted for themselves.  This was a great read and as always I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

MacLean’s concludes her Bareknuckle Bastards series with first love-t enemies-to lovers coupling of Grace and Ewan. If you’ve read the other books in the series, you’ll know that Ewan once tried to kill Grace, as well as her two brothers, over the course of this story. So, it’s interesting to see how this villain-turned-hero will be able to win back his first (and only) love. Much of the story bounces between past and present as the two characters struggle to resolve who they were with who they might become—and how to choose between Dukedom and happiness. While this wasn’t my favorite in the series (Devil and Whit are hard heroes to follow), it is a worthy conclusion to an engaging series that offers fresh insight into the class struggles of the historical period.

FINAL DECISION: I've liked each book in this series less. Unfortunately, this series does not live up to previous ones by this author. The romance was weak, the hero was boring after being built up as the villain in prior books, and the heroine didn't seem to actually love the hero. I've been a big fan of the author, but I was disappointed in this one.

THE STORY: Grace Condry is the Queen of Covent Gardens as the owner of a women's brothel -- where women go to get their pleasure. Her past confronts her in the form of the Ewan, the Duke of Marwick, a man who was once the boy who loved her and betrayed her in order to gain the dukedom. Now a threat to Grace and her brothers, Ewan must be defeated and Grace is the only one who can do that.

OPINION: There is something wrong with a romance that seems to hate the hero. Ewan is inscrutable in this book and he seems to be merely a foil for the heroine's drama. I prefer books about two (or sometimes more) people changing and growing together which respects both characters. This book doesn't care about Ewan. All of his growth and change happens off screen and is less believable for that. And, ultimately, his prior "villain" behavior is a trick. I loved redeemed characters, but here it is ultimately the heroine and her brothers who look bad.

This book has a big job -- to redeem a villain. I think this book fails. Not because Ewan is not redeemed, but because the book doesn't do the hard work of redemption. Instead, Ewan is misunderstood from the beginning. Unfortunately for MacLean, there is an amazing book about the redemption of a hero who seems nonredeemable -- her own book DAY OF THE DUCHESS. Same general story arch, much better characters, plot, drama and the grovel there was amazing. This book feels like a retread that isn't as good. In fact, skip this book and read DAY OF THE DUCHESS instead.

I really did love the relationship between Grace, Whit and Devil which was wonderfully loving and combative -- just as I expect siblings to be. I also thought Whit and Devil's insights into what drive Ewan was just about perfect. Two men deeply in love can recognize it in Ewan -- even if they don't want to.

WORTH MENTIONING: There are little Easter eggs for fans of MacLean's other books.

CONNECTED BOOKS: DARING AND THE DUKE is the third book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series. It is not necessary to read other books in the series to read this book although there is a slight overarching storyline.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.

NOTE: I received an eARC from Netgalley. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

*review copy provided by Netgalley and Avon

*chef's kiss* Truly, perfection. An absolutely buckwild end to a truly bananas series - think old-school romance, without the patriarchy and internalized migsoyny. The book opens with Grace, queen of Covent Gardens, nursing Ewan, Duke of Marwick, back to health; they haven't seen each other in 20 years, since he betrayed her, and she insists on being the one to exact her revenge. Ewan is a villain in the first two books of the series, and he must prove that he is trustworthy and worth loving in daring and the Duke. The story is buckwild but deftly crafted, and the characters are nuanced, and the setting is well developed.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of the conclusion to the Bareknuckle Bastards series.

*Spoilers can be found in this review*

Grace and Ewan were always an interesting, if puzzling couple to me. I always felt like the animosity between the 3 and Ewan didn't make a ton of sense.

This book is probably my least favorite of the series. It stretched my belief of the characters a bit too far. Oh you didn't think the psycho duke that literally pitted children in fist fights against each other would manipulate your perception of how things went down this one specific time? Like.... I get you were kids, but you are obviously not stupid.

I also wasn't super impressed by his "making it up to everyone" work. He got better by???? And then it was all work that was done off page. It didn't help develop him into a character I really was rooting for.

It's a fine ending for this series, but it isn't a favorite of mine.

This one was a mixed bag for me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but it had its up and downs. There were great moments and there were ho-hum moments. I liked the female protagonist, she was strong and in charge - I wanted to have more focus on her and her role in the London underworld. I felt the growth between the female and male protagonist's relationship happened on a quick turn, I don't need relationships in a happily-ever-after romance novel to be realistic but this one made such a quick turn it was like whip-lash.

Sarah MacLean does it again! Secret places, masquerade balls, bare knuckle fitting... so many great scenes and tropes. Sarah is one of the best Historical Romance writers in the business, so you can't go wrong with any of her books. Fans will not be disappointed.