“MacLean crafts a masterpiece.” – The New York Times on Daring and the Duke 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 … 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.
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ssentially Grace’s story. This is a love story for her. I was concerned about how Sarah MacLean would redeem Ewan after the harm he did in the previous books but I should have known better. This was less a story of Grace and Ewan falling in love but rather a path of redemption for Ewan to earning Grace. Grace is, simply put, epic. She is a badass queen and I absolutely adore her. Ewan completely and totally worships her and always had. He has to find a way to earn her trust again and really becomes a better man for her. The past binds Ewan and Grace together in an unbreakable way but Grace needs to decide whether Ewan is healthy for her, worthy of her. This is an epic love story and I positively adored every minute of it!
This was a wonderful story! Since meeting Grace and Ewan, I have wanted to know all the nitty-gritty about their history and I really enjoyed learning all the ends and outs as the layers were peeled back. It was passionate and intense and I loved the build to it all.
Daring and the Duke is my favorite book in this series. Sassy and tough, Grace Condry is now the queen of London’s pleasure house for women. Her mother’s bastard. baptized as placeholder for the Duke of Marwick”s, Grace became expendable as the old Duke brought in his bastard sons to fight for the place to be Duke. The half-brothers and Grace became family but for Grace and Ewan the feelings ran deeper until Ewan betrayed them all. Grace is hard as iron and content with the life she now has but Ewan wants her back. Intense, a little mad, and whole lot of sexy, Ewan will not stop until Grace is his once again. Steamy with an unconventional heroine, the story is everything I love about historical romance with some of the best characters I have ever read in the genre. I am sad to see the end of the series but it has been a pleasurable ride. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.
The cast of characters portrayed here had one complicated hot mess of a past and present connection, folks. Even with that said, it doesn’t adequately relay the love to hate back to love again, explosive, emotional roller coaster angst laden relationship between Grace and Ewan, the main couple. As a newbie to this series, I wasn’t previously acquainted with any of this posse of former compadres so went in blind. In fact, this is my very first book by this particular author. She did a good job of not making me feel the odd person out though by scripting in enough narrative I quickly caught on to the gist of things.
Not surprisingly and thankfully, things turn out not be quite what they seemed, and now new assessments/judgments/punishments/atonements must be made. What is for certain is Ewan loved with a passion and vengeance that would not be denied! He was also willing to take whatever was thrown at him to get Grace back. Woo-eee! That man’s thirst for retribution and love for Grace burned brighter than the sun! It somehow seemed fitting, though reckless and completely crazy, he did what he did in the past. I must say Grace gave in quicker than I thought she would when they both found out the truth and he started coming around again.
The one element I wasn’t wild about was Grace running a brothel for wealthy women as a living. That’s just a personal preference, folks. She didn’t partake of the services, but like Ewan, did not remain celibate during their long, unwanted, strange, estrangement separation.
If you dare, start with page one and venture down this second chance road to this main couple’s long overdue HEA. I must say I guessed one of the two secret events that set into motion turmoil that tore these lovebirds apart years ago. It just seemed logical considering the conditions/circumstances being held over their head at the time.
Title: Daring and the Duke, Series: The Bareknuckle Bastards (Book 3), Author: Sarah MacLean, Pages: 384, stand-alone but part of a series, some steamy scenes, some violence, not celibate during long, unwelcome separation, no OW/OM drama.
Book 1 – Wicked and the Wall Flower
Book 2 – Brazen and the Beast
Book 3 – Daring and the Duke
(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review. There is no affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)
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. 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.
This is the third book in the series & whilst it could, just, be read on its own I’d recommend reading the earlier books to fully appreciate it. Very well written & it flowed effortlessly. Well portrayed characters with plenty of depth. It took me some time to like both Ewan & Grace but the more I read the more I grew to like them. I loved the road to their HEA & all the obstacles they encountered.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
I’ve been waiting for this third book for what feels like forever. I liked the first one quite a bit (Wicked & The Wallflower) and LOVED the second one (Brazen & The Beast).
Series – Book 3 of Bareknuckle Bastards Series
Heat Level – 8/10
Tropes – Enemies to Lovers, Masquerade, Strong Heroine, Redemption
Premise – Can Grace punish Ewan for the horrors he’s perpetrated on her and their family for years, without falling for him again?
The set up – Grace was born a Duke, named as a male heir that never was. The daughter of the Duchess and her lover. Born on the same day as 3 sons (Devon, Whit, and Ewan) the Duke had with his mistresses. None of them legitimate. As they grew, the Duke plotted to teach them all the ways of the aristocracy and had them compete with each other for his title. Grace and Ewan fell in love as young teenagers but then disaster struck, Ewan became a monster, tried to kill Grace and everyone else in order to win. Or so we think. He did become Duke. His brothers told him Grace was dead and he’s been trying to kill and destroy the others since. But Grace isn’t dead, only trying to stay hidden from him. Grace is the owner of a brothel for women. Ladies can spend the night seeking their pleasure in all different ways and she, as Dahlia, and her staff cater to them. “Dahlia” also has the best network of spies in London and rules Covent Garden as it’s Queen – along with her brothers, now known as the Bareknuckled Bastards.
After Ewan blew up the pier, Hattie, and the shipments the BB had (in the second book)– Grace took him back to her club. She personally nursed him back to health, and I loved these scenes of her caressing him and not understanding why. Her brothers aren’t so happy with her, especially Whit who nearly lost Hattie because of Ewan. But Ewan comes to and realizes that Grace has cared for him and now nothing will stop him – except Grace. She challenges him to fight, but he won’t so she ends up beating him up quite a bit. Him taking his punishment trying to redeem himself in her eyes – but it’s not enough. She finally convinces him that the girl he knew is dead and Dahlia is who she is now and she hates him. Eventually, he leaves, understanding.
Next year we see him back in town, holding a masquerade ball looking for a wife. Grace can’t resist and asks a mutual friend for an invite. Loved this scene where both of them “pretend” to not know each other and get to flirt and have a very passionate rendezvous at the gazebo. He’s built the wooded area inside the Ducal home, the area where he first kissed Grace. It’s intoxicating. They can’t keep their hands off each other. But she leaves him. Then he comes to the Garden for penance and the brothers put him to work on the docks, knowing the crowds will come for him. He’s a duke and the citizens there don’t take kindly to that. The crowd picks a fight and he penitently lets them. The brothers enjoy watching all this from the rooftops, but Whit knew Grace wouldn’t stand for it. She puts a stop for it and there’s another lovely “dance” between Grace and Ewan as he tries to follow her to her lair, interacting with washerwomen and eventually stealing a kiss.
There’s more cat and mouse, some twisty revelations, and eventually we all find out the gamble Ewan took that lead everyone to believe he tried to kill them for the title and it’s satisfying for those who have been reading the series. Glad to see these two crazy kids finally make peace and have their HEA.
The Good: It’s great to finally know what was driving Ewan all this time.
The Bad: I still cringe at scenes where any heroine kicks the crap out of the hero. Revenge, I get. Physical fist fights, eh.
NB: I was given an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
“What Do You Need?” This, this book is exactly what I needed.
The Bareknuckle Bastards series has been building to what promised to be an explosive and emotional ending. Daring and the Duke sooooo delivered!
Ewan and Grace fell in love as little more than children in truly terrible circumstances, so how could it be expected to last? Now twenty years later, despite everything her head is, and has been, telling her, Grace finds herself intrigued by and desperate for Ewan. Now that he knows she’s alive, Ewan’s sole purpose is to give Grace everything she needs.
This grovel novel is epic and heart-wrenching but it’s also feminist as hell! From Ewan’s ability to love and support Grace so completely regardless of how she wants to live her life and the choices she’s had to make to survive, to Grace’s need to be sure that their love won’t be the end of her freedom or her goal to provide the women of London with the same outlets and pleasures as the men, Daring and the Duke is everything I needed from Ewan to forgive and entrust him with Grace, the Covenant Garden Queen.
And that EPILOGUE!!! Thank you, Sarah MacLean!
Side note: I highly recommend that you read this series in order in order to truly enjoy the perfection that is Daring and the Duke.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book but all opinions are my own.
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.
Review originally published at Romancing Romances.
I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.
I can’t express how happy I am to have received this book, and just before my birthday. What a wonderful gift.
If you’ve read any of Sarah MacLean’s books, you know she’s great at turning a villain around. And this book is testament to that. Although I’ll say, I liked Ewan from the first book, even though I didn’t like what he did.
The Bareknuckle Bastards series follows the life of four siblings. Three boys (Devil, Whit, and Ewan) born of the same man, but different women, and a girl with no blood connection to either of them, but family nonetheless. Devil and Whit’s stories are the previous books in the series, and this one is the story of the girl. The girl whose name was given by Ewan, the fourth boy. Because she didn’t even have that.
Grace loved Devil and Whit as brothers, but with Ewan it was always different. And that’s why it hurt so much when Ewan behaved in a way that made the Bareknuckle Bastards run away from him, scared and feeling as betrayed as possible. Their pain prevented them from seeing what was really happening.
I absolutely loved this book. I read it in just a few hours. Sarah MacLean’s writing is so compelling, and so sexy! Her characters come to life before your eyes and just amaze you with their behaviours and actions.
Grace is this strong, independent woman. A queen in her turf. Covent Garden was her home, even though she was not born there. She knew it from Ewan’s stories, and when the time came, Grace, Devil, and Whit all ran to it. And when Ewan could, the first thing he did was chase Grace and track her down. No, not chase. Search for her. And his heart and mind couldn’t take it when his brothers told him she was dead. Because he knew he could feel her. And when he started to believe them, nothing could stand in his path to destruction for they had let the woman he loved die. Which is something Whit and Devil ended up admitting they would have probably done, if their loved ones had died in the same way.
I loved the heart to heart talks between Grace and Ewan, and how their trust starts to rebuild, and how Ewan realizes it has to be Grace’s choice. It could not be in any different way.
The one thing I missed in the book was a reunion of the brothers at the end. Ewan told Grace what happened, but I would have liked a talk between the brothers. Devil and Whit learn the truth just as Grace, but if only we had a scene with the brothers being closer, or at least that open door…
The way Ewan suffered broke my heart. And I have to admit I shed a tear or two when Ewan made his confession of what his dreams were: ““You, and me, here [Covent Garden]. With a collection of flame-haired babes.” She closed her eyes. “My brothers. Their children. A family.””.
I am usually not a fan of second-chance romances, but this one… it’s golden!
In short, read this book. You won’t regret it, and you’ll love the Bareknuckle Bastards.
Sarah MacLean
I knew it! Ewan compelled me right from the start and I believed in him from the get-go. Mostly, I believe in Sarah MacLean.
This book is not perfect. There were times the narrative became repetitive and the introspection a tad too long. But, it had me wiping tears from all the emotions Ewan and Grace evoke whenever they talk. And they talked and spoke their truths a lot. I always give the highest rating to books that moved me and this one certainly did that.
An incredibly satisfying ending to an outstanding series. I hope to see these characters again in the next set.
Going into this book, I despised Ewan for what he had done and honestly? I didn’t think there was anything MacLean could write to make me like him… and then-
Daring and the Duke was sheer perfection. There’s absolute groveling, possibly a good chance at redemption, and OMG!!! the best second chance romance I’ve read in years!
Ewan and Grace’s story was everything I didn’t know I wanted and then some!
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley and Avon books. This is my honest review.
He’s daring, she’s the…
The Queen. Of Covent Gardens, that is. Grace Condry/Dahlia/+ Secret Name rules the gardens. She and her two brothers, Devil and Whit built their empire with their fists, fighting to survive, then thrive. But her story starts with her legal father, an evil duke and his three bastards, they were all born on the same day. Her story really began twenty years earlier, when she and Devil and Whit were forced to flee with their lives from Ewan, now the Duke of Marwick.
Ewan is the Duke of Marwick. He’s daring, hopeful, loyal and steadfast. He’s the perfect book boyfriend. He’s every woman’s fantasy. Now, twenty years later, plus a year, he and Grace are physically together. Like magnets, they are immediately drawn to each other the moment they are in each other’s presence.
What I loved? This book flips their roles in a lovely twist. It is unapologetically a revisionist historical, one we desperately need. Daring and the Duke is every woman’s fantasy of want and need and hope and not one bit a man’s fantasy (thank god). She’s the queen and he’s her throne. This is Sarah MacLean’s most sensual book to date and with complete and fully realized characters. A fitting end to the Barenuckle Bastards series.
Highly recommend.
I’d give it a ten.