Sigh. I have loved Sarah MacLean’s work up until now. I was nervous about this book, because I didn't see Ewan as redeemable. The previous two books quite clearly portray him as a monster. He killed multiple people and very nearly killed Hattie. Unfortunately, my concerns were warranted. His redemption, such as it was, was quick and easy. The story that explains how/why he nearly killed Grace and his brothers was accepted far too easily by all. Not all characters can be redeemed, nor should they. The blurb for this book one seemed so promising and I had hoped I would enjoy it more. I think my problem with the series is also that the coulpe sounds more like the same people in every book. While the plot is diffrent and they aren't clear similarities, they all sound the same in the audiobooks. So I'm shelving this as DNF (I got to 80% and skimmed to the end).
Daring and the Duke is the finale of the Barenuckled Bastards trilogy by this author and I can't believe this delightful series is over already. I think I have been looking forward to Grace's story since the first book was read, she is such an iconic character that just builds the mystery and intrigue throughout the trilogy, so you just ache for her story and seeing more of her background, and there are so many facets to her character that I found fascinating and well worth the long wait for. And of course we have our anti hero(villain) who has just played the "bad guy" for the first two books and one wonders how on EARTH can MacLean redeem this soul? Well she does and its epically beautiful.
Daring and the Duke starts off with a torture session with Grace and Ewan. This is quite shortly after "Brazen and the Beast" and where Ewan is captured by the three and Grace takes out her anger and feelings of betrayal and hurt out on Ewan and Ewan shocked to find her alive, is willing to give her whatever she needs, even if it means causing him pain. He doesn't fight her at all. And then he is tossed out and we jump ahead one year later where Ewan after disappearing for a year, returns to London and to Grace and is more than willing to fight for her, no matter what it takes. Grace knows that playing with Ewan, and sharing kisses with him is dangerous, but she senses there is something redeemable about him and wants to see what is possible with this Ewan who has seemingly changed from the man he once was. But Ewan is hiding a secret from all of them, and only once the secrets are revealed, can Ewan and Grace truly find a future together.
Daring and the Duke was a delightful story that I fell so hard for and so quickly towards and I couldn't get enough of it. I was so captivated by this book and quite frankly READ these books in narration form. That is all I am going to say and you will adore them. I will be honest, I don't physically read this author anymore. I have just found it to be too slow at times and I can have the hardest time getting into them, but boy, Justine Eyre works her magic in narrating these books and probably a big reason why I have enjoyed them so much here.
You are a queen....and tonight I am your throne
I really fell in love with the story though, and even though the beginning scene is not my cup of tea (a heroine hurting the hero is NOT for me) and I almost set it aside because that scene did bother me. I understand the circumstances and why she was so angry, but it just turned my stomach seeing this scene. But then once we do the year jump, then the book turned into all that I hoped for. I loved the groveling but I also liked seeing the heroine see something more in the hero even if she doesn't fully realize it. And all the women in the family coming together and cheering her on in her pursuit of Ewan was AWESOME. We do get some good reconcilation between the brothers and even if it wasn't as much as I wanted to get, it was well done in seeing that friendship be able to rebuild its process.
The three of us could have easily been broken. Separated. Manipulated,” he said. “It wasn’t blood that kept us together against him. It was you.” She caught her breath. “We all loved you. Whit and Devil like a sister—each of them willing to protect you without hesitation. And me . . .” He trailed off, and she reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his. “Like you were a part of me.
The romance between Grace and Ewan was just beautiful. We do get some flashback to when they were younger, and seeing that bright young love blossom and then seeing what Ewan had to do to save all of them and it broke my heart seeing him make the difficult choice knowing it would make them turn against him. I found seeing that and seeing his devotion to Grace when he finds her alive and well, was stunning in its portrayal throughout the book. What he is willing to do to fight for her and support her is beautiful in every way. And seeing Grace fight for him, even if that means standing up for him against the two men that protected her all these years, was mind blowing. You see how much depth of love she contains for Ewan, despite all of his past wrongs, but sees the goodness still in him.
I do not want to be Your Grace ever again. All I want is for you to be my Grace.” He kissed her again. “It’s always been you. Every day. Every night. Every minute. Since the beginning. This is the sum of my ambition: To be worthy of you. Of your love. Of your world. To stand by your side and change it.
Overall I found Daring and the Duke to be a stunning story that won my heart with each beautiful chapter that charmed my soul in its depths of emotion and startling truths of love and growth.....STUNNINGLY EPIC
A good finish to the series just wish the ending was drawn out a little more. Overall great book. Sarah MacLean knows how to write great books and series.
A great denouement to the Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy. We were afraid that Ewan was irredeemable but we were both drawn into the fairy-tale magic of this AU Covent Garden and since Grace, Devil, and Beast forgave him, we did too. This book is HAWT and it also has a hero who doesn't make his lady do any emotional labor for him. Plus the resolution was unexpected and in character. We loved it!
44-Word Summaries:
Laine: Scars! Feuds! Secret Tattoos! Ewan finds out Grace is alive when she nurses him back to health and then beats the shit out of him and banishes him. So he comes back REALLY HOT to win back Grace and the favor of Covent Garden.
Meg: 20 years ago, Ewan and Grace fell in love. Of course (as the song goes), “the first cut is the deepest.” That’s not counting the gash Ewan cut into his brother’s face as he tried to kill Grace. This book is their second chance...
Jeg kan ikke lide at de backtrackker folks karakterer i andre bøger. Næ nej, brug deres bog til at gøre det. Jeg synes virkelig det her præmis var fedt, men deres plot var oppe og nede. Det gav meget lidt mening.
i reread the first two books in the series and loved them like before. Since a lot of people say that the third book is their favorit i decided to give this one another chance as well despite the fact that i didn't love it the first time around.
Sadly nothing has changed. Their premise is good and i liked their appearance in the other books but than i start reading their story and it just cant keep me interested at all. I fell asleep while reading it, which almost never happens. I can pinpoint why, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this book. its well written and a good story but i have to accept its not for me.
I still give this book 3 stars because i dont have a specific criticism.
