Review - - Daring and the Duke

Daring and the Duke

by Sarah MacLean

The Bareknuckle Bastards - Book 3

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: June 30, 2020

Reviewed by PJ

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. 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.

PJ's Thoughts:

Sarah MacLean wraps up her Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy with an unapologetically feminist, romantically swoon-worthy, triumphant masterpiece featuring unforgettable characters, one of my all-time favorite hero redemptions, a strong and powerful heroine who is also one of my all-time favorites, and a second-chance journey to love that is sheer perfection. 

After reading the first two books in MacLean's Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy, I was still so conflicted about Ewan. On the one hand, I felt sure there had to be a good reason for what he had done to Grace before she, Devil, and Whit fled their father's home as children. On the other hand, I couldn't imagine how in the world Grace would ever forgive him after that, and following his actions as an adult during the first two books of the trilogy. She does, of course she does, but wow, does she ever make him work for it. Grace and Ewan put me through an emotional wringer, kept me reading half the night, and left me brimming with joy, and wiping away tears, at the end. Their journey is one of the best grovel and forgiveness stories I've ever read.

Daring and the Duke is my favorite of all the books I've read so far this year. I can’t wait to read it again...and again...and again. This is not a book that should be read as a standalone. To fully appreciate how Grace and Ewan got to this point, what needs to happen for forgiveness to occur, and how they are able to move forward together, I strongly recommend reading the three Bareknuckle Bastards books in order. They are Wicked and the Wallflower, Brazen and the Beast (read PJ's Top Dish review), and Daring and the Duke.  

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Have you read the Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy? Do you have a favorite BB story/couple?

Who is your favorite romance villain turned hero?

One randomly chosen person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, July 10, will receive a signed copy of Daring and the Duke. 

*Must be 18

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