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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Gosh, that was so good.
I'm just going to sit here with my feelings.
(April 2020)
2nd read - audio & print (my own copies) - July 4 - July 13 2020
It is truly difficult to write a coherent review for a book you adore I've discovered. Let's just mash some keys on the keyboard and call it done? No, I cannot do that! Plus I had to review the audio book for my Library Journal gig and I don't think lkjsdflkjakjl would work.
Mildly spoilery and if you haven't read the other books in this series (or this book):
Okay. So here goes. I have to admit I didn't worry about Ewan's redemption like I worried about Malcolm's from [b:The Day of the Duchess|31307650|The Day of the Duchess (Scandal & Scoundrel, #3)|Sarah MacLean|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1477616140l/31307650._SY75_.jpg|51979220]. I felt MacLean deftly showcased Ewan as cold and calculating and completely without hope until he discovered Grace's existence. I fully believed he has ulterior motivations for attacking Grace and her brothers so I could sink into this story ready for his redemption.
And oh Grace, she is so awesome. I connected with her tendency to give others the pleasure they seek without taking pleasure of her own. Her loyalty to her family, her brothers of her heart and her crew of women. I loved seeing her discover what would give her pleasure, going to seek it, but never compromising herself or her ideals. Duke was hers by right, and Duchess would never be enough, and finally seeing Ewan understand this and burn it to the ground was SO SATISFYING.
Grace and Ewan also both have a past. So often in this trope the woman often remains unkissed, a virgin, and I'm glad Grace's past was not dissected but was presented in a way we know that she has taken lovers before. She is not shamed for living her life, but instead is glorified for who she has become.
I want to revel in the world more, and will reread this series often. It is a true treasure.
I'll post the LJ audio review when it is live.
I'm just going to sit here with my feelings.
(April 2020)
2nd read - audio & print (my own copies) - July 4 - July 13 2020
It is truly difficult to write a coherent review for a book you adore I've discovered. Let's just mash some keys on the keyboard and call it done? No, I cannot do that! Plus I had to review the audio book for my Library Journal gig and I don't think lkjsdflkjakjl would work.
Mildly spoilery and if you haven't read the other books in this series (or this book):
Okay. So here goes. I have to admit I didn't worry about Ewan's redemption like I worried about Malcolm's from [b:The Day of the Duchess|31307650|The Day of the Duchess (Scandal & Scoundrel, #3)|Sarah MacLean|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1477616140l/31307650._SY75_.jpg|51979220]. I felt MacLean deftly showcased Ewan as cold and calculating and completely without hope until he discovered Grace's existence. I fully believed he has ulterior motivations for attacking Grace and her brothers so I could sink into this story ready for his redemption.
And oh Grace, she is so awesome. I connected with her tendency to give others the pleasure they seek without taking pleasure of her own. Her loyalty to her family, her brothers of her heart and her crew of women. I loved seeing her discover what would give her pleasure, going to seek it, but never compromising herself or her ideals. Duke was hers by right, and Duchess would never be enough, and finally seeing Ewan understand this and burn it to the ground was SO SATISFYING.
Grace and Ewan also both have a past. So often in this trope the woman often remains unkissed, a virgin, and I'm glad Grace's past was not dissected but was presented in a way we know that she has taken lovers before. She is not shamed for living her life, but instead is glorified for who she has become.
I want to revel in the world more, and will reread this series often. It is a true treasure.
I'll post the LJ audio review when it is live.
The perfect ending to this trilogy. I was even more captivated by this couple - and honestly, it feels like the first two books were leading up to this one. Fantastic. Smutty. Deliciously angsty and dramatic and fluffy at turns. My favorite of the bunch!
Another great piece with some excellent anti-establishment to boot! Love it!!
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The last time I felt this pumped while reading a Sarah MacLean book was during Never Judge A Lady by her Cover!
I was a little late reading The Bareknuckle Bastards series and I wasn't fond of book one! I took a chance on book two and it was cute but nothing special except for the writing! But I was still drawn in by the promise of a second chance romance that meets revenge, so I was curious about Grace and Ewan's story!
Maybe I had too many expectations, but Daring and the Duke fell a little short of them.
After the events of the previous two books, Ewan had a lot to make up for! Daring and the Duke starts off well and we get to see the change in Ewan now that he knows that Grace is alive. He had literally gone off the rails when he'd believed that she was dead, so it was quite nice to see him try to make up for the things he did. 'Try' being the operative word. Because he didn't do much except for that. I wanted more groveling and Grace to hold strong despite her feelings, but I felt as if she knew she was going to give in from the very beginning itself and so she didn't make much effort.
The reason for Ewan's betrayal was quite obvious but I guess if it had been addressed right at the beginning there wouldn't have been much conflict, so we've just got the characters going back and forth between attraction and anger due to the past.
I loved seeing Grace as Dahlia, the queen of Covent Garden! It was pretty nice to finally see her in her element and get a look at her club that mainly serves women! Additional points for having a non-virgin heroine! Except for these elements and a few other scenes, there was nothing much to keep me hooked. It was only Sarah's writing that kept me going.
I'm all for redeeming characters who have been villains in the previous books, and I've read it many times where it's been done well! But in this one it was just a little disappointing. It's not just Devil, Ewan and their wives who were affected because of Ewan's actions, but a few innocent workers had also paid the price. They just mention that a few times and leave it at that, because what's important is that Grace, the other two Bareknuckle Bastards and their wives have forgiven him. *shrugs* That's just a little biased. He didn't have to work much for it and most of it could have been solved with proper communication.
We do get to see a few scenes from the past and how much Ewan and Grace have both missed each other.
“I missed you too much,” he whispered, the words so soft that if they hadn’t been entwined, she wouldn’t have heard them. But she did, along with the truth in his voice.
“Every day, every hour. I missed you.” A pause, and then, “To say I have missed you—it’s not enough. The word . . . it implies a natural occurrence. It suggests that if only I’d been home the day you called . . . if only you’d been on St. James’s the last time I bought cravats . . . then I’d have had a chance not to miss you. But what do we call the aching emptiness that I feel for you? All the time? Every day?”
But I wish this could have made up for the lack of the other things in the book, but it didn't for me. Georgiana/Chase from Never Judge A Lady by her Cover still remains one of my favorite female protagonists that SM has written and that book was also a perfect conclusion to the series!
I'm hoping that I love Sarah's next series as much as I loved her older books, unlike this one. But, if you haven't had any of the problems that I did with the previous two books in this series then I think you might enjoy Daring and the Duke.
*I was provided with an ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
I was a little late reading The Bareknuckle Bastards series and I wasn't fond of book one! I took a chance on book two and it was cute but nothing special except for the writing! But I was still drawn in by the promise of a second chance romance that meets revenge, so I was curious about Grace and Ewan's story!
Maybe I had too many expectations, but Daring and the Duke fell a little short of them.
After the events of the previous two books, Ewan had a lot to make up for! Daring and the Duke starts off well and we get to see the change in Ewan now that he knows that Grace is alive. He had literally gone off the rails when he'd believed that she was dead, so it was quite nice to see him try to make up for the things he did. 'Try' being the operative word. Because he didn't do much except for that. I wanted more groveling and Grace to hold strong despite her feelings, but I felt as if she knew she was going to give in from the very beginning itself and so she didn't make much effort.
The reason for Ewan's betrayal was quite obvious but I guess if it had been addressed right at the beginning there wouldn't have been much conflict, so we've just got the characters going back and forth between attraction and anger due to the past.
I loved seeing Grace as Dahlia, the queen of Covent Garden! It was pretty nice to finally see her in her element and get a look at her club that mainly serves women! Additional points for having a non-virgin heroine! Except for these elements and a few other scenes, there was nothing much to keep me hooked. It was only Sarah's writing that kept me going.
I'm all for redeeming characters who have been villains in the previous books, and I've read it many times where it's been done well! But in this one it was just a little disappointing. It's not just Devil, Ewan and their wives who were affected because of Ewan's actions, but a few innocent workers had also paid the price. They just mention that a few times and leave it at that, because what's important is that Grace, the other two Bareknuckle Bastards and their wives have forgiven him. *shrugs* That's just a little biased. He didn't have to work much for it and most of it could have been solved with proper communication.
We do get to see a few scenes from the past and how much Ewan and Grace have both missed each other.
“I missed you too much,” he whispered, the words so soft that if they hadn’t been entwined, she wouldn’t have heard them. But she did, along with the truth in his voice.
“Every day, every hour. I missed you.” A pause, and then, “To say I have missed you—it’s not enough. The word . . . it implies a natural occurrence. It suggests that if only I’d been home the day you called . . . if only you’d been on St. James’s the last time I bought cravats . . . then I’d have had a chance not to miss you. But what do we call the aching emptiness that I feel for you? All the time? Every day?”
But I wish this could have made up for the lack of the other things in the book, but it didn't for me. Georgiana/Chase from Never Judge A Lady by her Cover still remains one of my favorite female protagonists that SM has written and that book was also a perfect conclusion to the series!
I'm hoping that I love Sarah's next series as much as I loved her older books, unlike this one. But, if you haven't had any of the problems that I did with the previous two books in this series then I think you might enjoy Daring and the Duke.
*I was provided with an ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
I don't know how Sarah MacLean made me love AND ROOT FOR the villainous Duke from books 1 and 2. MacLean is UNMATCHED.
3.5 ⭐⭐⭐ I liked the back and forth of the couple, but I think after all the build up from the other books there should have been more couple time in their story.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes