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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
While not my favorite of the series, I love this world and MacLean’s writing. I missed seeing the characters falling in love - since they’ve known and loved each other forever, we didn’t have that sequence, we're just told how much the love each other. That didn't have the same magic for me. Also, yes, we get it, they’re not blood siblings!!
It’s wonderful how we hate Ewan in previous books and suddenly we are feeling for him. Love that MacLeans ladies have a passion for something or just their own identity and still get the guy!
I did find that some sentences in the beginning were very repetitive which is stopping it from getting 5 stars. It’s been a while since I’ve read a historical romance, so I had to get back into the mindset. This book was a perfect ending to the Bareknuckle Bastard series. Honestly, I will read anything that Sarah MacLean writes. And I’m really looking forward to her next series and everything she plans to write in the future.
emotional
medium-paced
Throughout the Bareknuckle Bastards series we have slowly become acquainted with "The Mad Duke Marwick" as well as his relationship with Grace. We knew that Grace, Whit, Devil and Ewan spent some years together and that the three brothers battled it out over which one was to become Duke. Grace although rightfully the heir to the dukedom was never considered because of her gender.
Well now Grace and Ewan are finally face to face and Grace has had enough of Ewan and his antics. She's made her own in Covent Garden and is considered a queen in her own right. Ewan can take his dukedom and leave for all she cares.
I love a second chance and Sarah MacLean definitely delivered in Daring and the Duke. I love the backstory of Grace and Ewan and how they grew up together. The Bareknuckle Bastards were inseparable and grew up together, so what happened? What made them split apart and why did Ewan hate Grace, Whit and Devil so much?
This story had the perfect combination of intrigue intertwined with the past and current love stories. I absolutely LOVED Ewan and I can't believe I just wrote that because I had the opposite feelings in the previous books in the series. His love for Grace was just so damn sweet!
Grace was absolutely amazing! I loved her character as soon as I met her in Wicked and the Wallflower, but she was just so amazing in Daring and The Duke. I love her independence and her relationship with her girl gang. She is so strong even when it's so hard to be strong and I absolutely love that about her.
This was a great conclusion to the series! And I hope this isn't the last time we get to visit with The Bareknuckle Bastards
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
Well now Grace and Ewan are finally face to face and Grace has had enough of Ewan and his antics. She's made her own in Covent Garden and is considered a queen in her own right. Ewan can take his dukedom and leave for all she cares.
I love a second chance and Sarah MacLean definitely delivered in Daring and the Duke. I love the backstory of Grace and Ewan and how they grew up together. The Bareknuckle Bastards were inseparable and grew up together, so what happened? What made them split apart and why did Ewan hate Grace, Whit and Devil so much?
This story had the perfect combination of intrigue intertwined with the past and current love stories. I absolutely LOVED Ewan and I can't believe I just wrote that because I had the opposite feelings in the previous books in the series. His love for Grace was just so damn sweet!
Grace was absolutely amazing! I loved her character as soon as I met her in Wicked and the Wallflower, but she was just so amazing in Daring and The Duke. I love her independence and her relationship with her girl gang. She is so strong even when it's so hard to be strong and I absolutely love that about her.
This was a great conclusion to the series! And I hope this isn't the last time we get to visit with The Bareknuckle Bastards
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay.
With this conclusion of The Bareknuckle Bastards, it is confirmed to me that this is not my favourite series by this author. I thought Devil’s book was fine, I really did not like Whit’s book, and with this third installment finally telling Grace and traitorous brother, Ewan’s story, I’m more ambivalent- I feel like there was a lot of grovel as everyone who’s read the previous books in the series expected, but the way the author framed the back story, there probably didn’t need to be as much grovel and there could have been a bit more communication and understanding.
This is a book for those of us who read the first 2 books in the series, otherwise this is not going to make much sense or give you much context. To really feel why Ewan, the hero of this book, is seen as such a big villain, definitely check out the first 2 books in order- this is not a series to jump around with and certainly, this is not the book to start with. The premise of this is that Ewan, after many attempts to kill off his brothers as revenge, is captured by Grace, his childhood love whom he’s been led to believe had died, and was the source of his revenge. But Grace has changed and now goes by Dahlia, a Queen of Covent Garden, mistress of pleasure and completely and utterly never going to be betrayed by Ewan again. If only they didn’t have those feelings between them.
Overall, I thought this was okay. I had no strong feelings either way towards it. I’ve never really cared for this premise of four siblings being born on the same exact day and in some kind of Survivor-style battle to be the duke. In this book, we find out about Ewan’s much-mentioned betrayal and get the grovel we were all expecting, but I feel like that plot angle didn’t have to drag for so long. It was one of those where you’re like one 30-second conversation from sorting out past misunderstandings and then you can focus on if you want to be mad or not for the right reasons. I hate when the hero or heroine has the key to unlocking the central conflict, has the answer to the “why” and just keeps silent and discusses love. I’m baffled whenever I see it and I was baffled here. Why would you be poetically professing love and worship to someone who thinks you’re a traitor and has no reason to forgive you because you’ve presented them with none and then getting surprised when they don’t reciprocate??! Even the point at which Ewan is finally able to tell his part of the story, he explains what happens in such a tedious and circuitous manner that you’re wondering if he purposely wants to be distrusted and disliked.
For me, this book suffers a little from something I’ve noticed sometimes from some feminist romance novels. A lot of time is spent on the character growth and development and mindset change and realizations of the hero and barely any character development is given to the heroine. It’s like the heroine becomes a shell, perfect character- everything she says or does is perfectly right, she’s never wrong, never has any mistakes to acknowledge, has no need to apologize and thus, has no need to grow or develop as a character, like she’s not human- she was born perfect and strong and all-knowing and always right. For me as a reader, not only is this unrealistic, it’s also as boring as the old days of the Pollyanna-perfect, too good to be true, lacking in agency and efficacy heroines. I love these feminist historical romances that are based around real historical events and pivotal points in women’s history, that feature strong feminist heroines and I’ve read quite a few that were done beautifully and that show strength and power and agency in the heroines but also vulnerability and growth. In fairness, in this book, neither character shows much growth. Ewan arrives on the scene ready to support Grace and “be her throne” and is already on board with everything she is. For me, Grace is more a standard-bearer for a theme and a message than she is a human character allowed to have faults and doubts- we are frequently TOLD she cares about her people but I didn’t see that exemplified. It’s like any show of love or emotion is seen as a weakness by her and you don’t really see that addressed in the book. I mean the only fault she had more or less was the job interview flaw of “working too hard” which I suppose goes hand in hand with Ewan’s flaw of “loving Grace too obsessively.” I was looking for more emotional depth and I feel like this was a story where the message and the desire to write an uncompromisingly strong feminist hero superseded the storytelling, plot and the heart of the book.
With this conclusion of The Bareknuckle Bastards, it is confirmed to me that this is not my favourite series by this author. I thought Devil’s book was fine, I really did not like Whit’s book, and with this third installment finally telling Grace and traitorous brother, Ewan’s story, I’m more ambivalent- I feel like there was a lot of grovel as everyone who’s read the previous books in the series expected, but the way the author framed the back story, there probably didn’t need to be as much grovel and there could have been a bit more communication and understanding.
This is a book for those of us who read the first 2 books in the series, otherwise this is not going to make much sense or give you much context. To really feel why Ewan, the hero of this book, is seen as such a big villain, definitely check out the first 2 books in order- this is not a series to jump around with and certainly, this is not the book to start with. The premise of this is that Ewan, after many attempts to kill off his brothers as revenge, is captured by Grace, his childhood love whom he’s been led to believe had died, and was the source of his revenge. But Grace has changed and now goes by Dahlia, a Queen of Covent Garden, mistress of pleasure and completely and utterly never going to be betrayed by Ewan again. If only they didn’t have those feelings between them.
Overall, I thought this was okay. I had no strong feelings either way towards it. I’ve never really cared for this premise of four siblings being born on the same exact day and in some kind of Survivor-style battle to be the duke. In this book, we find out about Ewan’s much-mentioned betrayal and get the grovel we were all expecting, but I feel like that plot angle didn’t have to drag for so long. It was one of those where you’re like one 30-second conversation from sorting out past misunderstandings and then you can focus on if you want to be mad or not for the right reasons. I hate when the hero or heroine has the key to unlocking the central conflict, has the answer to the “why” and just keeps silent and discusses love. I’m baffled whenever I see it and I was baffled here. Why would you be poetically professing love and worship to someone who thinks you’re a traitor and has no reason to forgive you because you’ve presented them with none and then getting surprised when they don’t reciprocate??! Even the point at which Ewan is finally able to tell his part of the story, he explains what happens in such a tedious and circuitous manner that you’re wondering if he purposely wants to be distrusted and disliked.
For me, this book suffers a little from something I’ve noticed sometimes from some feminist romance novels. A lot of time is spent on the character growth and development and mindset change and realizations of the hero and barely any character development is given to the heroine. It’s like the heroine becomes a shell, perfect character- everything she says or does is perfectly right, she’s never wrong, never has any mistakes to acknowledge, has no need to apologize and thus, has no need to grow or develop as a character, like she’s not human- she was born perfect and strong and all-knowing and always right. For me as a reader, not only is this unrealistic, it’s also as boring as the old days of the Pollyanna-perfect, too good to be true, lacking in agency and efficacy heroines. I love these feminist historical romances that are based around real historical events and pivotal points in women’s history, that feature strong feminist heroines and I’ve read quite a few that were done beautifully and that show strength and power and agency in the heroines but also vulnerability and growth. In fairness, in this book, neither character shows much growth. Ewan arrives on the scene ready to support Grace and “be her throne” and is already on board with everything she is. For me, Grace is more a standard-bearer for a theme and a message than she is a human character allowed to have faults and doubts- we are frequently TOLD she cares about her people but I didn’t see that exemplified. It’s like any show of love or emotion is seen as a weakness by her and you don’t really see that addressed in the book. I mean the only fault she had more or less was the job interview flaw of “working too hard” which I suppose goes hand in hand with Ewan’s flaw of “loving Grace too obsessively.” I was looking for more emotional depth and I feel like this was a story where the message and the desire to write an uncompromisingly strong feminist hero superseded the storytelling, plot and the heart of the book.
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via Edelweiss. This in no way impacted on my view.
After binging the two previous books in this series, as soon as I was able to, I had to finish with my ARC of Daring and the Duke. This time around, we see Grace and Ewan's story, from their time at the country estate when they were teens, to his betrayal of his brothers, and Grace becoming one of the most feared bareknuckle fighters in Covent Garden, and owner of one of the most exclusive bordellos in London. After the explosive conclusion to Brazen and the Beast, Grace has had Ewan prisoner in her office, but can't stop herself from caring and healing him. Devil and Whit find out, and want to get their revenge, but they know the person who was hurt the most by Ewan's actions nearly 20 years ago was Grace, and leave her to it. Now that Ewan knows Grace is alive, and living in London, in Covent Garden no less, he can't keep himself away, and wants to atone for his sins in whatever way possible. But having the allusive Duke of Marwick spend time in a rookery is bound to cause attention, attention none of them need, especially when female led businesses are being targeted in the Gardens. Will Ewan ever be redeemable, or is the past too much for Grace to overcome?
I've been wanting Grace and Ewan's story from meeting them for the first time in Wicked and the Wallflower. Their love affair and betrayal was so well done, that you are just hooked from the get go. Grace had to fight, quite literally, for her life after the three Bastards fled Marwick, and she was finally starting to heal. However, there had always been a hole in her heart from where Ewan hurt her, and she needed closure if she was to move forward. Collecting an unconscious Ewan and healing him in order to fight was part of the way to recovery, but she could never be free of him. I never thought I would feel sorry for Ewan, not with how awful he had been in the previous books, but this instalment definitely paints a picture that helps us to understand his actions. The power that the late Duke of Marwick had held over all four of them when they were children was immense, and once he had found out Ewan's weakness, he wasn't afraid to use it to break him, and break him he did. This book shows him healing, and trying to make amends, and just prove to Grace and his half brothers that he's not the villain they think, and his actions had a purpose previously unknown. I think that his and Grace's love story was my favourite, and the way it was concluded and resolved was perfect! I've already requested all of Sarah's other books that my library has, and will be waiting impatiently for her next book!
After binging the two previous books in this series, as soon as I was able to, I had to finish with my ARC of Daring and the Duke. This time around, we see Grace and Ewan's story, from their time at the country estate when they were teens, to his betrayal of his brothers, and Grace becoming one of the most feared bareknuckle fighters in Covent Garden, and owner of one of the most exclusive bordellos in London. After the explosive conclusion to Brazen and the Beast, Grace has had Ewan prisoner in her office, but can't stop herself from caring and healing him. Devil and Whit find out, and want to get their revenge, but they know the person who was hurt the most by Ewan's actions nearly 20 years ago was Grace, and leave her to it. Now that Ewan knows Grace is alive, and living in London, in Covent Garden no less, he can't keep himself away, and wants to atone for his sins in whatever way possible. But having the allusive Duke of Marwick spend time in a rookery is bound to cause attention, attention none of them need, especially when female led businesses are being targeted in the Gardens. Will Ewan ever be redeemable, or is the past too much for Grace to overcome?
I've been wanting Grace and Ewan's story from meeting them for the first time in Wicked and the Wallflower. Their love affair and betrayal was so well done, that you are just hooked from the get go. Grace had to fight, quite literally, for her life after the three Bastards fled Marwick, and she was finally starting to heal. However, there had always been a hole in her heart from where Ewan hurt her, and she needed closure if she was to move forward. Collecting an unconscious Ewan and healing him in order to fight was part of the way to recovery, but she could never be free of him. I never thought I would feel sorry for Ewan, not with how awful he had been in the previous books, but this instalment definitely paints a picture that helps us to understand his actions. The power that the late Duke of Marwick had held over all four of them when they were children was immense, and once he had found out Ewan's weakness, he wasn't afraid to use it to break him, and break him he did. This book shows him healing, and trying to make amends, and just prove to Grace and his half brothers that he's not the villain they think, and his actions had a purpose previously unknown. I think that his and Grace's love story was my favourite, and the way it was concluded and resolved was perfect! I've already requested all of Sarah's other books that my library has, and will be waiting impatiently for her next book!
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Edelweiss. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I have adored the Bareknuckle Bastards series and I am so happy that Daring and the Duke is from Grace's POV. I have loved every scene with Grace in it from the first two books and so a whole book of Grace is amazing. All the things I loved about Grace is only heightened as she reflects of her memories of growing up, her past with Ewan, and her own business pursuits. She's worked hard, put in blood, sweat, and tears for her own Empire. And she remains true to herself, to her ambitions, and to her past in Daring and the Duke.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/june-romance-reviews/
I have adored the Bareknuckle Bastards series and I am so happy that Daring and the Duke is from Grace's POV. I have loved every scene with Grace in it from the first two books and so a whole book of Grace is amazing. All the things I loved about Grace is only heightened as she reflects of her memories of growing up, her past with Ewan, and her own business pursuits. She's worked hard, put in blood, sweat, and tears for her own Empire. And she remains true to herself, to her ambitions, and to her past in Daring and the Duke.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/june-romance-reviews/