Sarah MacLean has been entertaining me since The Season. I was really hoping for a series from that one. No one today can write romances as well as she does!!!! Her novels are what I recommend first to new romance readers or anyone looking for a great story that will make you laugh, cheer and cry along with the characters.

I am sorry this is the last Bareknuckle Bastards story, unless we get one about Lady Nora and Annika. (crossing fingers) The Mad Duke of Marwick is back in London and he is throwing a ball of all things, a masquerade. Grace wrangles an invitation so she can confront Ewan as she had told him not to return. However the masquerade stuns Grace. Ewan has recreated their secret copse from childhood. There are trees in the ball room and the floor is covered in moss. When Ewan meets Grace in costume she assumes he does not know who she is and flirts with him. Of course Ewan knows who Grace is, he would know her anywhere. She is his "final" love. And thus begins a merry chase of cat and mouse. Ewan insists that Grace must make all the romantic moves. He is just here to earn forgiveness from the Garden for his past misdeeds. The other Bastards, Devil and Whit, are skeptical and their wives believe in love. How can the Duke ever earn forgiveness for all that has happened between them? Can this ever in happily? A thrilling conclusion to the trilogy and a must read for romance fans.

Judging by the number of people exclaiming over this book, I am going to be in the minority in my opinion of this book because, while I believe that MacLean is an incredibly talented writer who once again wrote wonderfully and developed beautiful characters, I just don't think she was able to redeem Ewan. The man has been the Big Bad in both of the first two books in the series up to and including killing several people because his half-brothers told him that his Twu Lurv was dead. I also wished there had been more of an emotional connection that showed how Grace and Ewan connected "now."
When they were children, Grace and Ewan had an unbreakable bond. Or so she thought. But when Ewan tried to kill her, she fled from their abusive caretaker with his two half-brothers. The three ended up in the slums of London but they made their way bareknuckle fighting. And Grace was the best. It's how she started the empire she has today, including a club for women where they can enjoy the company of a young man for the evening. When Ewan, now a duke, discovers that Grace is not dead as had been reported to him, he decides to risk it all to win her back.

Three stars
This book comes out June 30th
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

I went into Daring and the Duke pretty skeptical of how MacLean could earn forgiveness for her hero after all the misery he caused in the last two books of the series. I was waiting for some good groveling. I'm not sure she delivered entirely, but I still devoured this book and adored the heroine. Adequate grovel, great female lead- I will take it. 4.5 fun and very steamy stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

MacLean superceded her best, creating new heights of excellence. She can do no wrong and has brought her A++ game with this latest novel.

Daring and the Duke
Series: third book in the Bareknuckle Bastards Series
Rating: 4 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

This is the third and final book in the series where we have been following the lives of the Bareknuckle Bastards who have been ruling as queen and kings of the underworld in London.
I was really looking forwards to it because we've been getting glimpses at Grace and Ewan's past and how 20 years later they still hold a special place in each other's hearts. He, still finding a way to redeem himself to her and finally love her freely and Grace's with disappointment and broken because of his actions the last time she saw him.
This is was their story of forgiving and trusting each other and to finally be happy together. I really liked Ewan's character growth. I was wondering how the author was going to give him his "hero" status when in the previous two books he was not a very likeable guy, but I was not disappointed. I liked how he didn't give up on Grace. He showered her with beautiful words and his actions in proving himself worthy of her made it easy for her to slowly trust him again. I could see how much he loved her. I will say that I was more fan of him than Grace.
Grace was such a warrior and I loved how she dressed and how much of a badass she was. Her business and the women she surrounded herself with gave her such a queen status, but sadly you could see that she still carried that hurt from twenty years ago.
Their scenes together were so hot, but also so sweet. The masquerade ballroom decor was so beautiful and sweet. I liked how they took the time to talk about how they felt about each other and what they wanted at least for one night. He was wiling to give the world from the very beginning, sadly it just took her a little time to see that she didn't need the world she only needed him.

Fun romance with a bit of bite to it. I honestly don’t ever expect much from romance stories because many follow a similar plot pattern... but I feel any person that loves romance doesn’t mind. As long as you have likeable characters and good interactions between them, it’s golden. This one did not disappoint!

I was interested to see how this book wrapped up the series but it left me cold. The flashbacks of a love affair that started when two people were 12 or 13 doesn't hit right with me. And then the glorification of violence in 2020 wasn't that much fun either.

The final book in the trilogy and it did not disappoint. I will say that while I suppose you could read it as a stand alone, it will make more sense and be more impactful if you read the two other books in the trilogy first. I wondered how they were going to redeem this villain who has killed people and is out of his mind. I think Sarah MacLean did an excellent job of showing how trauma can mess with everyone and how loyalty can look different to different people. Grace is just as badass in her story as she was in her brothers'. The flavor of the Garden is just as apparent in this story as the others and it really sets the scenes and grounds the story outside of the rarefied world of the ton. This is a satisfying end to the story and worth a read.

"New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with the much-anticipated final book in her Bareknuckle Bastards series, featuring a scoundrel duke and the powerful woman who brings him to his knees.

Grace Condry has spent a lifetime running from her past. Betrayed as a child by her only love and raised on the streets, she now hides in plain sight as queen of London’s darkest corners. Grace has a sharp mind and a powerful right hook and has never met an enemy she could not best...until the man she once loved returns.

Single-minded and ruthless, Ewan, Duke of Marwick, has spent a decade searching for the woman he never stopped loving. A long-ago gamble may have lost her forever, but Ewan will go to any lengths to win Grace back…and make her his duchess.

Reconciliation is the last thing Grace desires. Unable to forgive the past, she vows to take her revenge. But revenge requires keeping Ewan close, and soon her enemy seems to be something else altogether - something she can’t resist, even as he threatens the world she's built, the life she's claimed…and the heart she swore he'd never steal again."

See? Dukes!

Original Review posted on Forever Young Adult on 6/15/2020: http://foreveryoungadult.com/2020/06/15/daring-and-the-duke/

LET'S GET IT ON with Daring and the Duke (The Bareknuckle Bastards #3) by Sarah MacLean

You can check out our reviews of the first two books here!

First Impressions

While Grace in the novel wears more gold thread than canary yellow, I love the vibrancy of the cover, and, really, of the entire trilogy. As a life-long fan of Ariel and Anne Shirley, I yearned for red hair as a child, and this woman’s mane looks glorious. I appreciate the confident pose and look on the cover model’s face, as it really captures Grace’s take-no-prisoners attitude.

What’s Your Type?

Take A Walk On The Dark Side, Soap Opera Levels Of Drama, Betrayal And Bastards, Lost Love, Rejection Of The Rich

Dating Profile

While her “brothers” have to share the title of King of Covent Garden, Grace is undisputedly its Queen. She runs a pleasure house for women and employs the women of the Garden in order to give them options and opportunities. She’s come a long way from when she was hidden away as the illegitimate daughter of a Duchess and baptized with a boy’s name so her not-father, the Duke of Marwick, could claim, on the books, that he had a male heir.

The Duke of Marwick actually HAD sons—three, in fact—but they were all borne out of wedlock. Once they became old enough, he stole them away and orchestrated a Survivor-style competition wherein he pitted them against each other for the sole spot as heir. None of them wanted it, but there was one who seemed like a natural choice: Ewan, the smartest, the strongest, the sneakiest. He supposedly betrayed his brothers and Grace, his young love, by trying to kill them before they escaped to spend twenty years looking over their shoulders, waiting for him to return to finish the job.

Meet Cute

Grace and Ewan have a traumatic shared history they both constantly reflect on. Ewan betrayed Grace’s trust and broke her heart when he took her fake male name and sent her packing. It’s been decades, but now, as the current Duke of Marwick, he’s still looking for her so he can finish the job. OR IS HE?

In the previous two books, Ewan swore revenge on his brothers, Devil and Beast, because Devil lied to Ewan and told him Grace has been dead for years. Ewan went a little nuts and tried to blow up his brothers’ smuggling business (and accidentally almost blew up Beast’s lady love, Hattie). This finally got him on Grace’s radar, as her brothers had also been lying to her about Marwick’s return to the London social scene.

At the start of this novel, Ewan is being held by Grace and her bodyguards as he convalesces from being partially blown up by his own bomb. When he realizes Grace is alive, he is overwhelmed with joy, even though she rejects him with a solid beating. Now, a year later, Ewan has returned a changed man and is determined to have Grace fall back in love with him.

The Lean

Grace and Ewan are each other’s “one that got away” so there are plenty of tortured looks, especially because Grace feels guilty for still wanting him after he tried to kill a bunch of people. Ewan is fixated on Grace to the point of obsession and has no other desires out of life. He is a cardboard cutout of a man in yearning. I was hoping for some explosive chemistry, but they were like a science experiment that didn’t turn out right.

Can we also please put a moratorium on romance novel characters constantly looking at their paramour and thinking, “Mine.”? BOTH Grace and Ewan did this at different times. It’s so cheesy!

Dirty Talk

MacLean is definitely no stranger to racy deeds, so there are plenty of moments to pick from, but I’ll leave you with this oft-referred back to imagery:

He pulled back to stare up at her, his gaze hot on her, framed by the torn fabric of her bodice. She groaned her frustration, her hips tilting towards him, and he rewarded the movement with a slow, delicious suck where she wanted him. “You are a queen,” he whispered.
She closed her eyes at the words. At the impossible promise in them.
And then he added, “Tonight, I am your throne.” The words crashed through her, leaving a trail of desire.

Ms. Perky's Prize for Purplest Prose

This passage isn’t bad, and if I was in a better mindset to care for the characters, I would probably find it more appealing. But with sadly little investment in Ewan and Grace’s happiness, these kinds of proclamations (of which there are definitely more) just felt overwrought and over-written.

It was different from the kisses the other night—when she’d been masked and wigged and kohled beyond recognition. When he’d given her private pleasure for the sake of just that—pleasure. No past, no future, just present.
Of course it was different. Because this kiss was all time. This kiss was promise and threat, history and speculation. And it was the summation of twenty years of wanting him even as she knew that she would never have him.

We Need To Talk

I was really curious about the conclusion of this trilogy after liking the first two books and wondering if Ewan was as dastardly as they claimed. How could you redeem a man who betrayed his family and killed men in the pursuit of revenge? The answer is, unsurprisingly, by having him never really betray them at all. Perhaps as the omniscient reader I have the benefit of hindsight, but, like, none of the Bareknuckle Bastards ever considered for a second that Ewan was being manipulated by their evil, manipulative father into doing his bidding? (Also, this is pure nitpick, but can you really spend “twenty years on the run” when you live in the exact same neighborhood the entire time?)

MacLean recaps, retreads, and reminds you of her plot points as if I’m an amnesiac Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates and each page is a new day in which I’ve lost all memory of what came before. It’s exhausting wading through constant reminders of what Grace and Ewan meant to each other despite things being different now, how heartbroken she was when he came at her with a knife, how she had to run from him all their lives, ad nauseam.

They’re so focused on past hurts we’ve already heard about in the first two books that nothing is really happening in the present except the lovebirds making moony eyes at one another. At least Felicity had her hunt for a rich husband complicating matters and Hattie her goal to be devirginized so she could run a shipping company. All Grace has is “should she forgive Ewan?” and a side plot about Queen Victoria’s thugs trashing illicit businesses that’s so cursory it’s not even worth speaking about.

I think maybe it was the wrong stylistic choice to have the evil Duke of Marwick dead of natural causes before the series even began. Having the threat of his unpredictable machinations hanging over the lovers would have given this book the villain and stakes it desperately needed. Without it, the book is just a very long, very boring Ewan apology tour.

Was It Good For You?

I went in expecting some finesse, sexy bits, and dramatic intrigue, but ended up with a bloated, lackluster story with some sexy bits. Unfortunately, I’ve had some issues with Sarah MacLean’s books in the past, but the first two of the trilogy had me thinking maybe I was being too hasty—but Daring and the Duke was a return to form. If you’re a huge fan of MacLean’s work, you may like this more than I did. Good luck!

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Avon. I received neither money nor peanut butter cups in exchange for this review. Daring and the Duke is available June 30, 2020.

This third and final installment in the Bareknuckle Bastards series is great fun and total escapism. I haven't read the first two books and wasn't aware of Grace and Ewan's tumultuous history, but now I want to read the entire story arc to get the full impact.

This is definitely a female-empowerment romance, focused on Grace who has created a thriving business to help women, especially those of a certain social status, enjoy the carnal pleasures readily available to men. The world-building throughout historic London was well done, allowing me to momentarily escape our current reality of a pandemic, race riots, and political and financial uncertainty. The descriptions of Grace's wardrobe were especially vivid.

This novel is very 'open door.' If you read Sarah MacLean, you're likely very aware of that possibility. The sex scenes are soooo steamy and lovely. This line made me swoon every time I read it, "You are a queen. I am your throne."

Thank you Avon for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

You wait, and wait, and wait for the final book in the series (because authors just love to hold back on that couple you really want) and you finally get it and it sucks. Ever experience that? Well, it's NOT THE CASE HERE. Daring and the Duke, though going a different direction that I'd expected from the build up of the previous books, cannot be considered a disappointment in any way, shape, or form.

Grace is the bad-ass bitch of a heroine that we romance readers live for. There's no simpering or waffling or bending to any man's will. There's just an amazing woman running her kingdom and protecting her people (and her heart...aw) from harm.

We wanted to hate Ewan. We spent two books being given reason after reason for hating Ewan. And yet... we can't. A man willing to burn down the world to avenge the woman he loves is a hero worth reading about. Ewan was the most intriguing hero I've read about it a long time. I needed to know his story. I needed to know his why. And we got it. And it was magnificent.

The relationship between Grace and Ewan had captivated me from the very first mention in book one of the series and the chemistry ended up being as explosive and addicting as I could have hoped. I could almost taste Ewan's desperation to be with Grace and I could empathize with her desire to never see him again, but I could feel their love for one another more surely than that of any other hero and heroine I've ever read. I wanted nothing more than for them to be happy.

Truly an amazing end to a fabulous series full of unique and intelligent heroines, dangerous and charming heroes, and exciting plots. No one who reads this series would be disappointed by it.

Grace Condry and her two adopted brothers have been on the run from the Duke of Marwick for twenty years. The three of them now make up the Bareknuckle Bastards and have fought their way to the top of the Garden, home to London’s poorest inhabitants. In the Garden, Grace is known as Dahlia, Queen, protector, and proprietor of one of London’s most notorious and exclusive clubs catering to women’s pleasure. Although she has carved out a life for herself, Grace has never been able to forget the young boy who stole her heart and then threatened her life to become the Duke of Marwick. When the Duke returns to London in an extravagant fashion, Grace thinks only of the ways in which she can extract revenge for herself and her brothers. As she gets drawn into the Duke’s games, she has to wonder though if there is anything left of the boy she once knew?

VERDICT is that this is another satisfying read from Sarah MacLean. As a fan that has read many of her titles, this book was exactly what I would have expected. I enjoyed the banter and attraction between our two leading characters. There was nothing really surprising about this title, it follows a lot of the usual tropes of this genre, but was enjoyable because of all those things. I will definitely recommended this title to MacLean fans and other readers who enjoy historical romance novels.

Grace and Ewan's story is one that readers can't help salivating over. If for no other reason than that of there having been so much effort in villianizing the now Duke of Marwick and deifying of Grace in previous books. That one is almost compelled to read this third story in the Bareknuckle Bastards series. Just to see if the reality of Grace and Ewan stands up to their legends. Both separately, and as a couple.
Queries which, in the estimations of this reviewer may be answered with a resounding...
YES!
Ewan is the perfect tortured soul. Coming to do penance for all the wrongs that he has committed against both Grace and his brothers. While under the influence of his now dead father. The former Duke of Marwick.
And though Devil, Beast, and Dahlia, as Grace is now known. Are a far cry form the small, frightened children forced to flee their father's tyranny with nothing but their lives.
Old hurts still sting
And there are a great many questions that need answers.
And he plans to answer each one.
If he can manage to stay alive long enough. that is.

As for Grace.
She has managed to make quite the name for herself on the streets and rooftops of Covent Gardens.
First, as a child fighter. And now as the proprietress of an exclusive women's cub and brothel.
In effect crowning her Queen of Covent Garden.
And a warrior queen to boot.
But one look, one touch, and one stolen night of passion with the one man that her heart could never manage to forget. Could be enough to destroy all that she has built?
Or could it?

This second chance love story was in essence one long trip down memory lane. With Ewan returning to the place where he was born. A duke.
To find the girl who was raised the heir apparent to the self same dukedom. A reigning queen of its underworld ruling in concert with his brothers.
Leaving him the unwanted outsider to their self-made lives.

Admittedly, the grudges and forays into the past used to justify the present on all counts do get a bit tedious. But only just. Because there is enough going on in the present. With Grace's business, raids, and the 'cat and mouse' romance between Grace and Ewan. That there was a sort of balance between past and preset that came into being over time.
Ewan just seemed to go through a lot more than seemed necessary to prove himself worth of being accepted by Grace and his brothers.
A fact that becomes glaringly obvious to readers and everyone else in to book long before it does to Grace and Ewan.
But we will just chalk that up to the "nothing like watching the worm squirm" school of thought that seems to rule the day here.
The sex was a little juvenile here too. With there being a lot more manual and oral sex than one would expect from two people who supposedly had all that unspent passion built up for each other for so many years.
And the ending "solution" / "white knight styled grand gesture" was bizarre. To say the least.
But hey...
It worked for them.
Right?
All things considered though...
Daring And The Duke only offers a good ending to an otherwise great series.

I loved the book, and thought it was a great final to a great series. It was interesting to see Ewan redeem himself, and explain what exactly happened to make him the villain (or seem so). The writing is very lyrical and poetic, and the scenes leap from the page.

Ok,I have always loved Sarah Maclean’s books but this one just didn’t do much for me, it was just OK. I think it was because I knew what would happen before it happened. I knew that Grace and Ewan would get together and that’s pretty much the whole story. I kept looking for something that would intrigue or surprise me but that was never the case. 3 stars for a well written love story.

Grace has been forced into hiding all her life. Born a woman and deemed a mistake, her father hid her existence and forced his male bastards to fight for her title. After 20 years in hiding Grace, now known as Dahlia, is now able to live freely, or so she thought. Now her childhood love turned adversary, Ewan posing as the rightful heir of Marwick, has returned to London, and is searching for a wife. Grace must decide what to do with the maelstrom of emotions she still has for Ewan, all while her empire in Covent Gardens is under threat of attack.

In the third book of the Bareknuckle Bastards series, we get a good look at Grace/Dahlia and Ewan/the Duke of Marwick. Sarah MacLean does a great job of drawing the reading in and utilizing her well-developed characters from previous series. Every time I pick up a new book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series, I find myself wishing I had re-read all the previous books so I can lose myself in the series. Like the other books in this series, this is bound to be the historical romance pick for the summer of 2020.

The ARC is provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.

Having devoured the first 2 books in Sarah MacLean's Bareknuckle Bastard's series in a week, I was desperate for this third & final one. While I definitely enjoyed it, for me personally it was my least favorite of the three. Not to say I didn't like it - it's still a 4-star read for me!

I definitely felt the most emotionally invested in Grace & Ewan's story; unsurprising considering their history was flirted with in the first 2 books, so I already had an interest in learning more and actually finally hearing from their points of view. And those moments chalk-full of history and love and undeniable aching were absolutely exquisite. It was very clear how much they meant to each other. I really loved reading about their devotion... mostly. Until it got incredibly repetitive.

What was disappointing was that the author kept delivering the same thing over and over again, and didn't introduce anything that new. They bicker and avoid talking about their feelings, they both feel guilt, she hates him. blah blah blah. But there were so many promises of fights with Ewan that never freaking happened. I wanted to see all 3 Bareknuckle Bastards properly have their go at him!

There was a new dynamic in this one that wasn't in the previous 2 - the fact that they already knew each other. There is a more believable chemistry between these 2 because of their past and love. This is a second chance romance, and kind of a hero/villain one. Unlike the other 2. And I really liked that new trope/relationship.

My favorite thing about this book, and all 3 books in the series, is MacLean's writing. She writes incredibly intelligently; her words are careful and well-crafted and gorgeous, which was a surprise considering this is like a stereotypical historical romance book! But found myself highlighting so many passages! Because despite the plot being kind of redundant and predictable, the way the characters thought was just beautiful. I wish I had better words to describe it.

I still would highly recommend this book, and the whole trilogy, to romance readers!

Readers of this series will be anxiously awaiting the third and final book. Ewan and Grace are in some ways the linchpins of the entire series. Ewan is the looming villain and Grace the queen of the Garden. Their story has been building over two books already. However, the conclusion was sadly lacking.

Ewan was built up to be this monster that betrayed them and tried to kill them in unspecified ways. When it is finally revealed, the reality of what happened makes the characters fear of him seem like an overreaction.

Grace’s characterization was not handled with Maclean’s usual finesse. There was more “telling” rather than “showing” and the showing that was done seemed unrealistic.

Despite its flaws, this will be a popular book with fans of Maclean, of the series, and of grovel novels. A definite purchase for any library with adult romance.

The last book in a romance series holds tremendous promise. When done well, the couple’s story actually spans the length of the series, rather than just the pages of their book. As you read a series, you are anxiously anticipating that last book. You have seen how perfect the characters would be together if only they could figure out whatever is holding them apart from one another. You read with bated breath, wanting to know how the author pulls all the threads she has woven into the previous books into a beautiful love story. Usually.

No one who has read the first two books in Sarah MacLean’s Bareknuckle Bastards series is opening Daring and the Duke anticipating the story of two people who just need to figure out how to get it right. After reading Wicked and the Wallflower and Brazen and the Beast, readers have wondered how MacLean was going to turn Ewan into a proper romance hero. He does horrible things in both memory and on the page. He has done unforgivable things to his heroine, Grace. He is not noble. He is not a king. Ewan is understood by both the characters in the books and the readers to be an unrepentant, irredeemable shell of a man.

Not only must Ewan be redeemed, it must happen in a way that you believe that a woman as strong as Grace would be willing to join her life with his. In the first two books, Grace has been established as the toughest of the Bareknuckle Bastards and the least likely to entertain nonsense. A simple apology and romantic gesture are not going to win her heart. Ewan must earn her, and without giving spoilers, I will say that he does so with actions that far exceed mere gestures. The reader will have no doubt that these two can and should be together.

MacLean is a skilled storyteller. She trusts her readers to make the journey with the characters and to see more than had been previously revealed. She does not pretend that the reprehensible things Ewan did never happened. She does not ask you to forgive him simply because it is his book and she decided to give him a happy ending. Everything is earned. And when the book reaches it’s end, you believe in the HEA for every character in the series.

I came to this book as a reader who has Sarah MacLean on her auto-buy list and a subscriber to her podcast Fated Mates. I like her writing style and have seen how she has evolved with each book. The book is a great story for any reader, but those who follow MacLean on other platforms will see little nods that will delight them.

Daring and the Duke is a five-star book. It tells an unlikely story of redemption and two people taking a second chance on love. The ride is a wild one, but completely entertaining. You could read it without having read the first two books in the series, but you would be depriving yourself of the full story. It is the perfect ending for the Bareknuckle Bastards series.