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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
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
Oh my god I am yearning so much my heart is so full there’s too much feelings right now.
Daring and the Duke is the last book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series, centering on Grace and Ewan, the Duke of Marwick.
I enjoyed the plot of this so much. Grace and Ewan just dancing around each other made me ache. This also gives the vibe of childhood love to enemies to lovers except he loved her all this time and was searching for her for years and even when she hated him she still loved him too. Oh it’s too much.
I love Grace so much. I adored the snippets we got of her in the first two books so I was so excited to read her book and I was not disappointed at all. She is everything to me. And Ewan! Oh my god he grew on me so much. The way he absolutely loves Grace with his entire being?? Fuck me. Their relationship is filled with angst and longing and it makes me ache! They’re each other’s first and last loves! Both of them deserve the fucking world.
Much like the first two books in the series, the writing was immaculate. It pulled me in from the start and not to mention the yearning it evokes. Also the sex scenes were so good I was horny and aching.
Sarah MacLean officially has me in a chokehold. I am in love.
Overall 4.5 Stars. I loved Grace and her alter ego Dahlia. Ewan was a great villain the previous books but I think makes up for it here. The subplot of a raid to Dahlia's club is such a minor plot point it almost isn't needed. The last 'fight' they h/H has is a little weak (like obviously he tried to get her to the previous party - duh). When the full story of what Ewan did comes out its not a huge surprise, but its sad to hear his POV after the previous 2 books.
I was very interested to see how Maclean was going to turn the villain into the romantic hero to wrap up her Bareknuckle BastardS series. I’m not totally convinced I completely bought the turn around but the plot was well-paced and balanced enough that it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book. Also present was the author’s signature sharp dialogue and humor. A good end to a fun series.
medium-paced
I wish I loved this book more than I did, but it was... fine. Just... fine. I was kinda bored for most of it, and can’t say I believed in Ewan’s redemption arc (he was essentially the villain of the first two books in the series). Meh.
What a brilliant conclusion to an epic and wonderfully feisty series!
*shrugs*
I just didn't like it. I struggled to really get into it and it just seemed to drag on and on. Kind of a disappointment.
I just didn't like it. I struggled to really get into it and it just seemed to drag on and on. Kind of a disappointment.
This trilogy has been just what I needed this year, and I've enjoyed every step of the journey. I loved this as a conclusion and I definitely felt like Ewan got the redemption that they all deserved.
The Bareknuckle Bastards was my first time reading Sarah MacLean, but it won't be my last.
The Bareknuckle Bastards was my first time reading Sarah MacLean, but it won't be my last.
I admittedly didn't read the first two books in this series, but to my own credit I've read enough HR to have thought that you don't really need to read these books in series order. Here, however, I think you do. (And I will eventually go back and read them!)
This was still a fun romance, but the plot is doing a lot of heavy lifting here and since I was playing catch-up, that definitely hindered my experience. I could tell that Ewan had done some dastardly deeds he needed to redeem himself for, but since I didn't actually see these deeds, I can't really say if the redemption was plausible or not. I will say that it seemed Grace forgave him in record time, lol.
The middle portion of this book was fairly repetitive, and I wanted to see more of Grace's bordello than we do here. But MacLean can certainly write the hell out of a sexy scene, so overall it was a good time and it did make me want to go back and read the rest of the series.
Thank you to NetGallery for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was still a fun romance, but the plot is doing a lot of heavy lifting here and since I was playing catch-up, that definitely hindered my experience. I could tell that Ewan had done some dastardly deeds he needed to redeem himself for, but since I didn't actually see these deeds, I can't really say if the redemption was plausible or not. I will say that it seemed Grace forgave him in record time, lol.
The middle portion of this book was fairly repetitive, and I wanted to see more of Grace's bordello than we do here. But MacLean can certainly write the hell out of a sexy scene, so overall it was a good time and it did make me want to go back and read the rest of the series.
Thank you to NetGallery for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.