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.

Gosh, that was so good.

I'm just going to sit here with my feelings.

Words are not adequate for what I feel for this book, nay, the entire series. A perfectly tempestuous grovel novel featuring a hero more than happy on his knees for his queen. Love to read it.

This was an absolutely fantastic conclusion to this series. I was swept away with Grace and Ewans love and am completely in awe of Sarah’s skill. I will read this again and again.

Overall, if you’re a fan of historical romance and like it happening outside of ballrooms, this series might be up your alley entirely. It takes place amongst the back alleys of the poorer sections of the city, and the character and flavor that Ms. MacLean gives to the setting is excellent. If you’re coming to this series fresh, I’m not sure I’d start here – since you really need more of the emotional connections from the previous works to get the most out of this one.

This was such an enjoyable book - not the laugh out loud enjoyable as some of MS. Macleans's previous books. But strong characters that you root for and feel their pain and their love. great series. Will be hand selling in store.

The Bareknuckled Bastards series is one of my favorites from this author, so I've been looking forward to this book for a long time and I nearly fell off my chair when I received an early copy.

I've been looking forward to Ewan and Grace's story since the first book and I feel like this was done on purpose. It definitely was worth the wait and I will read anything this woman writes. Period.

Ewan has been looking for Grace for a long time and because of past decisions, his brothers have been purposely keeping him away from her for her protection. They feel that he is bad news when it comes to Grace and so it sets up an interesting family dynamic for sure. Ewan hasn't forgotten Grace though and will do anything to get her back.

Grace is a strong character and you see great character progression. She finds out that the past she knows isn't the whole truth and it really opens her eyes and it was so entertaining to read about.

This whole series was 5 stars from start to stop and I'm sad that it's over, but I can't wait to see what Sarah MacLean does next!

The Story in 4 Sentences or Less: A risky decision caused the future Duke of Marwick to lose the only family he had, including the girl he loved, and years later as the present Duke, Ewan is determined to find her again. But Grace Condry doesn't want to be found, Ewan's betrayal forced her to spend her life on the run and when he finally finds her, Grace wants revenge. But Grace's plans include having to stay in close proximity to Ewan, and the more time they spend together the more Grace starts thinking that maybe Ewan's past actions weren't so much a betrayal as an act of love.









Like It? Hate it? Love it? Why? This book was a difficult one to be honest, I wasn't sure about Ewan, the "hero" of the book because the previous books in the Bareknuckle Bastards series have shown him in the worst possible light. I could overlook the ruthlessness in his personality, he did what he had to in order to survive a sadistic father. He made huge sacrifices to protect his family including letting them think for years that he was just as big of a monster as their father. That's a huge sacrifice for Ewan to have made, and it left him very lonely. That gave him more depth than the usual male character but it was his almost manic obsession with Grace that made me a little uneasy. He was so obsessed with her that he caused, in my opinion, irreparable damages to his half brother's lives and put the women they loved at risk. All those choices Ewan made had me questioning whether Daring and the Duke was a healthy romance or one that romanticized obsession. I'm still undecided about that.



Grace wasn't exactly my favorite either though. My problem with her was that I didn't feel like she lived up to the hype that was built up in the previous books. The series built her up to be this badass queen of the London underworld but the Grace that was delivered in this book was a dull version of the woman readers were promised. She's more of a damsel pining away for her lost love one moment, then raging at him in another. She's back and forth with her emotions rather than a force to be reckoned with which was so disappointing. And surprising because I've never met a MacLean heroine that let me down like this. I felt that Grace's entire identity was wrapped up in Ewan, I felt like she wasn't much of anyone without him. Her thoughts, actions, and emotions were influenced by him both directly and indirectly.


While Daring and the Duke had a solid start to it, the middle of the book was bogged down by repetitiveness and a lack of real direction. The time spent repeating Ewan and Grace's history would have been better spent showing them as individuals and developing them as such before throwing them together in a second chance romance. As it is that second chance romance didn't completely have me sold. It's deeply rooted in the past instead of the present and I felt that in the end Ewan and Grace were in love with the past versions of each other and didn't take the time to really get to know each other in the present.


What I did enjoy about this final Bareknuckle Bastards book was how many scenes Devil and Beast had. I loved those two characters and being able to see how far they've come was a special treat. Their interactions with Grace and Ewan were vastly different and I'm glad that MacLean brought them full circle with Ewan as well and that their relationship with him wasn't pushed to the side.


Click It or Skip It? Click it. Daring and the Duke isn't the best book by MacLean but if you enjoyed the previous books in the series, this one is worth the read just to see how things wrap up.

Sarah Maclean picks up where she left off in the Bareknuckle Bastards series. Grace has been in hiding from the duke, her first love, for 20 years. Her discovery reveals more than anyone anticipated.

Ewan wormed his way into my heart with his clear determination to finally be understood. Grace refused to settle for less than her due, even if that means rejecting the dreams of her youth. They make for an exciting pairing in a touching love story. Best read as part of the series, but also works as a standalone title.

This novel ensures that both characters grow, find middle ground, but never compromise what matters most. It’s a story of both letting go and holding on. The balance so beautifully crafted that it gave me chills.

This book stuck with me.

I absolutely adore the Bareknuckle Bastard series. Last year we featured Sarah MacLean’s Wicked and the Wallflower in a Deluxe Quarterly Box (sold out). Her books always grab me for the first chapter and refuses to let go until I’ve been emotionally wrung dry. Not to mention her sex scenes–they are mega hot.

If you prefer to listen to your books, I highly recommend the audiobook versions of Bareknuckle Bastards. Justine Eyre brings the books to life. In fact, I plan on listening to Daring and the Duke since I received an e-galley. I like the narrator that much!

Since we literally paired the first book with a sex toy, it’s appropriate to pair Daring and the Duke with a toy befitting our goddess Grace.

(Rest of review on our blog)

Finally! The last book of the Bareknuckle Bastards series by Sarah MacLean. This book is Grace and Ewan’s story. We saw glimpses of Grace in the first two books and only “heard” about Ewan. I have to confess, he did not sound like a very redeemable character. Devil and Whit were keeping Grace safe by telling Ewan that she had died. She remade herself into Dahlia and she ran the swankiest brothel in London for women. I did not look up the historical accuracy of this, but I love the twist. Why not have rich women pay for sex? The men in Victorian times always do. Well, Ewan was out for vengeance, and this is woven throughout the story. He was known as the Mad Duke of Marwick because he was so eccentric. It seemed that he had been in mourning for his only true love.

This is definitely a story of redemption. I was convinced that I would not like Ewan, but the back story helped. It was rather sinister that Ewan had a lot to gain from Grace’s death, but knowing there is a happily ever after...this had to resolve itself.

I think it’s rare that Victorian Historical Romances take place in the darkest, smelliest parts of London. It is unique to see Covent Garden instead of Mayfair as the setting. I also like that the characters are a bit freer from social constraints. There is a moral code, but totally different than society visits. There are a lot of flashbacks in this story that fill in all the holes from the previous two books. The twist at the end was satisfying and somewhat unexpected. I also really love the beautiful cover. The yellow (gold) dress was the perfect complement to Grace’s personality.

3 Wanted this to be better stars

Where to start...? Well, it is best if you have read the other two books before this one because the story builds and finally comes to a resolution with this final installment of The Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy.

Quick recap of the overarching story line: Devil (aka Devin), Whit (aka Beast), and Ewan are all bastard children of the Duke of Marwick whose wife had enough of his cheating and decided to get some outside action of her own, so she had an affair that also resulted in a child: Grace. The duchess died in childbirth after she unmanned the duke (and by "unmanned," let's just say she personally wielded a weapon to ensure he can't have anymore children - bastard or otherwise). All 3 of these children are born on the exact same day (which seems a little too coincidental, but I rolled with it). Grace was baptized the Duke of Marwick (her sex kept secret from all but a couple of very trustworthy and/or blackmailed key individuals) because there were no other relatives that the title could be handed down to, so it would revert to the throne which was something the duke could not abide. Thus, he gathered his bastard trio from various slums when they were 11 years old and brought them to his country seat to compete with one another for the dukedom. The foursome banded together and decided that they would run away and start their own lives in London removed from the duke's reach, but if that didn't work, whichever one of the boys that "won" the dukedom would never have children which would end the line and spite their father's plans to carry on the name. As it has been mentioned in the first two books in this series, when the boys reached the age of 13, the shit hit the fan one night and Ewan came after all of them - he scarred Devil's face (Devil stepped in front of Grace bc he thought Ewan was going after her); broke several of Whit's ribs, and the three (Devil, Beast, and Grace) ran as fast as they could to London - specifically, Covent Gardens. There they survived (though barely at times) and rose to become The Bareknuckle Bastards as they were known for their fierce fighting skills as they never lost (thanks to the training the duke "gave" them when he pitted them against each other). When the duke died (10 years ago), Ewan assumed the name and title: Duke of Marwick. Grace also assumed another identity: Daliah, the queen of the gardens who ran a high-end establishment of desires for women. In the first two stories, Ewan was told that Grace was dead (for her safety); thus, he attempted to kill Devil and then tried to kill Beast's fiancee while inflicting as much damage as he could on their business by detonating a bomb at the docks that killed 5 men and seriously wounded Beast's woman; however, he was caught in an explosion himself and was rescued by Grace which is where book 2 left off.

In this final installment, we learn more about Grace's life: she was completely ignored by the duke and didn't even have a name until Ewan gave her one; she fell madly in love with Ewan when they were kids; she always told Ewan that he would "win" the contest and be the duke; and she had her heart absolutely destroyed the night that Ewan came after all of them as the fled to Covent Gardens. When the story begins, Grace is tending to Ewan as he is recovering from the injuries from the blast on the docks, and he awakens to find that she is still alive. He truly believed she was dead when his brothers told him she'd died, but now that he knows she is still alive, he knows he must change his ways to win her back. Ewan leaves London when ordered to do so by Grace, but he comes back a year later a "different man." He is relentless in his pursuit of Grace, but after all that has happened, can she ever trust him again? How can he possibly explain his behavior on the night he attacked them; his attempt at murdering Devil; and his destruction of the docks including the taking of the lives of 5 men? Even if Grace can find a way to forgive him, his brothers never would.... right?

What I liked:
--- Grace's character was very likeable AND she was a kick ass, strong female who could more than take care of herself - no simpering damsel here!
--- Steamy goodness (when there was some)
--- Visiting characters from the first two books

What I didn't like as much:
--- The timeline is crazy... The terrible night when Ewan attacked the others was 20 years ago; the former duke died 10 years ago; and just now they are figuring out what all went down way back when? It would have made more sense if all of this happened when the duke died, and it would have been just as dramatic and maybe a bit more realistic for me
--- When it came down to it, I didn't think Ewan's explanations either justified or redeemed his actions ***SPOILER he tried to kill Devil and he later killed 5 people and somehow that's "okay" because he thought Grace was dead and was out of his mind with grief and directed his anger at his brothers because they were supposed to keep her safe? Really? We're all cool with it? ***END SPOILER
--- The reconciliation between the brothers ***SPOILER happened VERY quickly and was not at all believable after all that went down between them, especially for it to be a one and done "Sorry about trying to kill you and blowing up your dock and killing your workers" situation - just didn't work for me***END SPOILER
--- Steamy goodness - a couple of 3rd base hits and only one home run really left me not feeling it as much as I usually do with Ms. MacLean's stories

Overall, while I enjoyed the story in general, it lacked believe-ability and I couldn't get past all of Ewan's bad deeds to feel he really redeemed himself.

Plot --- 3/5
Main Characters --- 3/5 (Ewan = 1; Grace = 5)
Supporting Cast --- 4/5
Steam Level* --- 3/5
Violence --- some fighting (boxing style mostly) and recalling past
Language --- not egregious
POV --- 3rd

*Note that steam level is not a rating so much as a how hot was it: 0/5 - clean; 1/5 - mild; 2/5 - sensual but nothing descriptive; 3/5 - now we're getting somewhere; 4/5 - yes please! (erotica territory); 5/5 - they did EVERYTHING in this one, y'all

Grace and Ewan's story! One of tragedy, cruelty, hope and love--the greatest of all!

Another fantastic addition to the series that has had us all howling for more.
What's not to love! My heart was in my mouth time and again as the story of Ewan and Grace played out. Oh, I knew it was going to be an HEA but the getting there is magnificent.
For years Ewan the ‘Mad’ Duke of Marwick has been punishing Devil and Whit (Beast) because they didn't keep Grace safe. She’d died. Except she hadn't. Her brothers-in-arms (make that bastard-brothers-in-arms) were protecting her.
Now, Ewan is the one who might need protection because he'd almost killed Whit’s wife, and had killed men they protected in his mad desire, nay focused commitment to punsihing them.
When we last saw the group, Grace Condry or rather Dahlia had taken Ewan captive, as part of a vow the three had made to take revenge on Ewan for nearly killing them and forcing them to flee so many years ago to the life they had now. A life that went from bare knuckled "Fighters. Criminals. [to] Kings of Covent Garden." And Dahlia was the Queen. Together they ruled the area around Covent Gardens providing a degree of safety for their people. All that doesn't lesson their vow by one iota.
Dahlia is now the successful owner of a Woman's Club hidden deep in the bowels of the Gardens, a place where women can do and be as they please, with lavish entertainment, surroundings, and unbidden desires met.
But now all that is being threatened by the Mad Duke and others.
Of course when Ewan and Grace begin a long slow dance towards understanding there's nothing graceful about that journey. There's a surfeit of passion, of lust, and a raging fire of desire. But how that might work out is contentious and impenetrable.
Both Grace and Ewan need hope to carry them through and the four bastards need redemption and forgiveness for and with each other. And that part is the most difficult, almost a lost cause.
A fitting conclusion to the Bastards stories.

A HarperCollins ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I received a copy of this title from the publisher for an honest review. Daring and the Duke is the third and final title in the Bare Knuckled Bastards series; although some readers may find it works OK as a stand-alone, I would read the first two books to have the Ewan and Grace's full backstory.

Falling in love when young, Ewan and Grace were far from typical. Grace was born a cuckoo to the Duke of Marwick, she was christened as a boy and her real identity kept a secret so she could be replaced by one of the Duke's bastard offspring. The three boys were brought together as very young men and forced to compete to take on Grace's identity. The foursome banded together to try and survive, but Ewan's betrayal forced Grace and the other two boys to flee to London and hide in Convent Garden, surviving by doing whatever they had to do. Fast forward many years, and Grace (aka Delilah), is the undisputed queen of the Garden as proprietress of a club that caters to wealthy women by giving them a place to indulge their desires.

Believing Grace to be dead and destroyed by this knowledge, Ewan sought revenge against his brothers who were supposed to keep her safe causing unintended collateral damage to Garden residents. Ewan's discovery that Grace is alive leads him to disappear for a year and when he comes back he is changed. Determined to prove to Grace he is worthy, he has turned his life around with only one goal - winning her back.

I know many readers were uncertain if Ms. MacLean could redeem Ewan after events in the previous two books, and for me the answer is that she more than succeeds. The flashbacks to the events leading up to Ewan's betrayal when they were young not only provided glimpses of the pair falling in love, but provides insight in to just what exactly happened all those years ago. Grace is a bad ass as one expects from a MacLean heroine; I enjoyed watching her come to terms with not only the past, but what she wants as a future. Is it more important to be happy or to deny the old Duke of Marwick his dream of a legacy? I couldn't put this one down and think it may be my favorite MacLean book to date. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!