Daring and the Duke: The Bareknuckle Bastards Finale—A Duke Returns to Reclaim His Old Love, the Betrayed Queen

I have read the entire series and at the end of the previous books I had closure for the characters, but so many questions… Finally, I have answers and OMG, Ms. MacLean has done what I would have bet was impossible – turned the villain into the best hero of the series (maybe even the best hero she has written)!! Thirty-five years ago the Duke of Marwick set a plan in motion, when a baby girl was born to the Duchess of Marwick, but not of his blood, he christen her Robert Matthew Carrick, Earl Sumner and heir to the Duke of Marwick. Years later, he then gathered up his bastard sons – all born on the same day as the girl and hid them all away at his estate – trying to set them against each other, to decide which will be his heir. The girl was nothing, her mother died and she lived at the Duke’s mercy, but to his sons, she was everything, Whit and Devon aka Devil, loved her like a sister, but to Ewan, she was the other half of his soul, she was his Grace. Love blossomed and plans were made, they would outwit the Duke and be happy – but one night of betrayal changed everything, Ewan became the heir and Grace, Whit and Devil fled to London. They became the Bareknuckle Bastards and over the next twenty years, they fought their way to the top and ruled the “Garden”, but they were never free of Marwick and when Ewan inherited and was told Grace was dead, he made it his mission to destroy the men he entrusted her to… After an explosion on the docks, Ewan wakes and instantly knows that Whit and Devil lied to him, his Grace is not dead, she is now the queen of the Garden and known to one and all as Dahlia – the owner of the club and pleasure house at 72 Shelton Street. But his joy at learning she is alive is cut short when she fights him and tells him to leave and never come for her again. A wish he seems to grant, but a year later his name is on everyone’s lips, Mad Marwick is back and he is no longer mad, he has changed and is looking for a wife. Grace shouldn’t care, she should be happy that he has honored her wishes and stopped chasing her, but she can’t, she justifies seeing him as a chance to remind him of vows he made about not marrying and letting the line die with him – but his kisses are intoxicating and she tells herself it will just be this one time… Ewan is playing a deep game, for him there is only one woman who will be his wife – Grace and she has commanded him to stay away from her, so he will need to be get her to come to him and succeeds – but when she walks away, he just can’t let her go and is willing to do whatever it takes to gain her forgiveness and win her love. What an amazing story, I never wanted it to end and even now that it is done, I want more! More Ewan and Grace, more Devil and Felicity and more Whit and Hattie!! This was a well written, incredibly emotional story that answered all my questions, blew my mind and made me fall in love with Ewan – a feat I would have deemed impossible at the end of the last book. This book has it all, betrayal, a bit of humor (thanks to Devil and Whit), heartbreak, steamy love scenes, surprising revelations, a love that is inspiring, some of the most romantic declarations I have ever read (seriously – they gave me goosebumps and made me teary!) and finally a very hard won HEA and a sweet epilogue. This was definitely my favorite in the series and while you could read this as a stand-alone, I would highly recommend reading this series in order for the best understanding and most reader enjoyment.

This third book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series absolutely must be read in order to fully appreciate the story. The other two books, as brilliant as they were in their own right, were setting the stage for this final story in which the villain becomes the hero. Fans of the other two books were concerned about how author Sarah MacLean would pull that off. As a faithful fan, I trusted she would do it and she did not fail. The relationship between Grace and Ewan is everything you could want from a romance. They are magnificent characters with a gripping, gut-wrenching story – both past and present. Childhood sweethearts in horrible, hopeless circumstances, he turned himself into her enemy, threatening her and their two brothers for 20 years and the previous two novels. The presumption was that he did it for greed and a title, but the reality is that he did it for love. Even before you know his whole story, however, you are willing to forgive him his transgressions because it is so obvious that his whole being is devoted to her. Although he was the villain for two books, I immediately fell in love with him and wanted him to have everything. And Grace, against her better sense, cannot separate herself from him. They simply belong together for all time. It’s an amazing story full of moments to make you sigh. The heart of the story was simply brilliant. That she was able to pull this off after the hero had been the villain makes it even more remarkable. What didn’t work for me – and why I broke with tradition and gave the book only four stars – is the rest of the story. I understand that the author has taken on a seedier side of London and is trying to present something edgy, but I think it went too far with most of it gratuitous, distracting, and inappropriate. Yes, Grace owns a brothel, but I have read other books that didn’t go into so much detail about the goings-on of brothels. The sex scenes were just short of erotica and, in my opinion, not in keeping with the characters. And Grace’s outfit of choice was modern steampunk rather than something appropriate for the time period, even accounting for the idea that she was intentionally trying to be bold and different. Even the final conflict at the end seems to have been written simply to make a political point (which she follows up with in the author’s note) rather than because it was necessary to the story. It was rather anti-climactic. All-in-all, the romance was the heart of the story and it was brilliant and lovely and everything I wanted and hoped it would be. But it almost got lost in the muddle of everything else written more to assert the power of women than to support the story itself. It was definitely my least favorite of the three books, but you can’t miss it after you have invested in the other two.

Sarah writes the most beautiful series of books. I love how they are intertwined with each other showing us that rich bond with not just the hero and heroine but also the secondary characters. This book which ends the Bareknuckle bastards series is no different and although you may read it as a standalone, I just do not recommend it. Why would you when you get this entire series, that is so beautifully and masterfully written? Sarah is one of my favorite authors for all the strong and brave heroines that she writes and the heroes who can love and support them. Grace is absolutely amazing, strong and yes, a proper queen of Covent Garden. The love between Ewan and Grace is one that goes beyond lifetimes and it is a pleasure to read their HEA. I also think the ending was perfect and nothing else that the author could have written would have made it better considering the entire history of the main characters. The relationships are messy and complicated but the love is just perfect. Grace and Ewan burn the pages with their chemistry and sexy love scenes. I highly recommend this book and the entire series. This author is an auto-buy author for me and I have never regretted buying any of her books.

FINAL DECISION: I've liked each book in this series less. Unfortunately, this series does not live up to previous ones by this author. The romance was weak, the hero was boring after being built up as the villain in prior books, and the heroine didn't seem to actually love the hero. I've been a big fan of the author, but I was disappointed in this one. THE STORY: Grace Condry is the Queen of Covent Gardens as the owner of a women's brothel -- where women go to get their pleasure. Her past confronts her in the form of the Ewan, the Duke of Marwick, a man who was once the boy who loved her and betrayed her in order to gain the dukedom. Now a threat to Grace and her brothers, Ewan must be defeated and Grace is the only one who can do that. OPINION: There is something wrong with a romance that seems to hate the hero. Ewan is inscrutable in this book and he seems to be merely a foil for the heroine's drama. I prefer books about two (or sometimes more) people changing and growing together which respects both characters. This book doesn't care about Ewan. All of his growth and change happens off screen and is less believable for that. And, ultimately, his prior "villain" behavior is a trick. I loved redeemed characters, but here it is ultimately the heroine and her brothers who look bad. This book has a big job -- to redeem a villain. I think this book fails. Not because Ewan is not redeemed, but because the book doesn't do the hard work of redemption. Instead, Ewan is misunderstood from the beginning. Unfortunately for MacLean, there is an amazing book about the redemption of a hero who seems nonredeemable -- her own book DAY OF THE DUCHESS. Same general story arch, much better characters, plot, drama and the grovel there was amazing. This book feels like a retread that isn't as good. In fact, skip this book and read DAY OF THE DUCHESS instead. I really did love the relationship between Grace, Whit and Devil which was wonderfully loving and combative -- just as I expect siblings to be. I also thought Whit and Devil's insights into what drive Ewan was just about perfect. Two men deeply in love can recognize it in Ewan -- even if they don't want to. WORTH MENTIONING: There are little Easter eggs for fans of MacLean's other books. CONNECTED BOOKS: DARING AND THE DUKE is the third book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series. It is not necessary to read other books in the series to read this book although there is a slight overarching storyline. STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars. NOTE: I received an eARC from Netgalley. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

Loved this epic, magical, and mystical finale beyond words. The entire story was all about Ewan and Grace's deserving, happily-ever-after ending. I was half-believing that one of my favorite authors could make Ewan's cruel past action acceptable , could convince me he was a hero not a villain, and could make me a believer in this love story. I shouldn't have had any doubt! It only took me 32% into the story for me to totally get that Ewan was definitely a hero who would succeed in getting Grace's love back. What a delicious journey Ewan and Grace ended up taking together. And it was my absolute pleasure to ride along (and experience) with them. Grace and Ewan's two years of shared past in hell seemed so daunting of a task for him to convince her that they could have any future together. Grace and her two brothers, Devil and Whit, totally believed Ewan betrayed them, tried to kill all three of them, so he could win the Dukedom from the monster Old Duke of Marwick. They so believed in his murderous intention that Grace's whereabout was hidden from him for twenty years. They lied to Ewan that Grace had been dead for ten years. Once Ewan found out that Grace was still alive, he went to work! I was mesmerized by how he kept replaying, remembering the past, so that he could find new ways to act, to show Grace, to convince her, that he wasn't the boy she loved any longer. He had changed and now a man, who loved her and was worthy of her love, who could share her future. Grace was an amazing and indescribable heroine. She was a kind of character readers needed to experience on their own, not via any review! Trust me on this! Please pick up this book and begin reading and get to know her! I loved everything about this story, especially all the most stunning and most exquisite acts of love and sacrifice done by Ewan, my hero.

Date Read: June 11, 2020 Review: 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). 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. Series: Bareknuckle Bastards #3 Type: Early Victorian Heat: 8/10 Tropes: Second Chance Romance, Redemption/Revenge, Masquerade, Strong Heroine Premise: Can Grace punish Ewan for the horrors he’s perpetrated on her and their family for years, without falling for him again? The Good: It's great to finallly know what was driving Ewan all this time. The Bad: I still cringe at scenes where any heroine kicks the snot out of the hero. Revenge, I get. Physical fist fights, eh.

The last book in a romance series holds tremendous promise. When done well, the couple’s story actually spans the length of the series, rather than just the pages of their book. As you read a series, you are anxiously anticipating that last book. You have seen how perfect the characters would be together if only they could figure out whatever is holding them apart from one another. You read with bated breath, wanting to know how the author pulls all the threads she has woven into the previous books into a beautiful love story. Usually. No one who has read the first two books in Sarah MacLean’s Bareknuckle Bastards series is opening Daring and the Duke anticipating the story of two people who just need to figure out how to get it right. After reading Wicked and the Wallflower and Brazen and the Beast, readers have wondered how MacLean was going to turn Ewan into a proper romance hero. He does horrible things in both memory and on the page. He has done unforgivable things to his heroine, Grace. He is not noble. He is not a king. Ewan is understood by both the characters in the books and the readers to be an unrepentant, irredeemable shell of a man. Not only must Ewan be redeemed, it must happen in a way that you believe that a woman as strong as Grace would be willing to join her life with his. In the first two books, Grace has been established as the toughest of the Bareknuckle Bastards and the least likely to entertain nonsense. A simple apology and romantic gesture are not going to win her heart. Ewan must earn her, and without giving spoilers, I will say that he does so with actions that far exceed mere gestures. The reader will have no doubt that these two can and should be together. MacLean is a skilled storyteller. She trusts her readers to make the journey with the characters and to see more than had been previously revealed. She does not pretend that the reprehensible things Ewan did never happened. She does not ask you to forgive him simply because it is his book and she decided to give him a happy ending. Everything is earned. And when the book reaches it’s end, you believe in the HEA for every character in the series. I came to this book as a reader who has Sarah MacLean on her auto-buy list and a subscriber to her podcast Fated Mates. I like her writing style and have seen how she has evolved with each book. The book is a great story for any reader, but those who follow MacLean on other platforms will see little nods that will delight them. Daring and the Duke is a five-star book. It tells an unlikely story of redemption and two people taking a second chance on love. The ride is a wild one, but completely entertaining. You could read it without having read the first two books in the series, but you would be depriving yourself of the full story. It is the perfect ending for the Bareknuckle Bastards series.

Well we knew it was coming, the end to the fantastic Bareknuckle Bastard's Triloy by Sarah MacLean and it didn't disappoint. The story of four children forced to fight for a title and where that journey leads them ends with Daring and the Duke. This story focuses on Grace (Dahlia) and Ewan the current Duke of Marwick and shows how they find their way back to each other through forgiveness and respect for how they have changed from the time they loved each other as youths. Fighting through misunderstandings and long festering wounds of abandonment and betrayal Grace & Ewan both eventually realize that for each of them their love will bring fulfillment to them like nothing else they have gained throughout the years could. With MacLean's usual ability to create cinematic scenes throughout the novel as well as natural well flowing dialogue and heartbreaking moments of character revelations and groveling! (along with sensual scenes of seduction) this truly is the feather in the cap of her best series to date. Long may the bareknuckle bastards live and here's to hearing from them again at some point in her next series, Helle's Belles (who we are introduced to in this novel). A one click author always.

This book the Daring and the Duke is a fantastical book. Please read this one, it's book three in the Bareknuckle Bastards series by Sarah MacLean. It's a story of redemption reunion and love. It's amazing

I loved this book. MacLean is as usual a master at depicting conflicts and difficult relationships. She had a great challenge in making us forgive and redeem Ewan, but she did it! I love how Ewan is not afraid to admit that Grace is his only weakness and how his love for her develops once he knows her as Dahlia too.

Ótimo livro, amei o desenrolar da história. Totalmente apaixonada e encantada por esse lindo casal Sarah MacLean sempre nos surpreendendo com seus livros e deixando um gostinho de quero mais

Though this story is not as formidable as the previous two in the series, it is still an excellent and enjoyable story. However, I did tire of the constant references to the past in most of the chapters. I wanted the story to move into the closer relationship between Ewan and Grace. This did happen towards the end. Overall a satisfying read.

Den letzten Teil las ich mit Wehmut. Vielleicht gibt es ja noch einen Teil mit der Geschichte von Nora und Nik?