by Sarah MacLean
Series: The Bareknuckle Bastards #3
Published on June 30, 2020 by Avon
ISBN: 9780062692085
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 384
Genres: Adult, Historical Romance, Romance
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 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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The Perfect Conclusion to an Amazing Series
Daring and the Duke wraps up the Bareknuckle Bastards series and is probably one of my most anticipated romance releases of the year. Going into a book with such high expectations is often dangerous but I knew MacLean would deliver and I wasn’t disappointed!
After the first two books, I was a bit worried about how Ewan, the Duke, would be handled in this story. Grace comes up in the previous stories but this is her book through and through. She’s built herself up after a devastating betrayal and heartbreak, and nothing is going to keep her from what she’s created. I loved seeing her at center stage of Daring and the Duke, especially since Ewan has been cast in a villainous light for two books. I wasn’t exactly a fan of his and if he didn’t have to work for this relationship as hard as he did, I don’t think this book would have been nearly as good.
Unlike with Devil and Whit, these two have a lot of history and the way it’s interwoven really brings the series full circle. We got bits and pieces of what happened to the four children before but it’s Grace’s story that fills in the gaps and closes things out in a way that makes this not only a highly satisfactory book to read, but also a series as a whole. It’s rare that I find a romance series that I would wholeheartedly recommend every single book but the Bareknuckle Bastards is that series.
Daring and the Duke is a bit hard to talk about without spoiling both parts of this book but also the previous ones. Just know that Grace is the fiercest female in the Garden and is ready to give women a voice when they can’t speak up themselves, and Ewan brings himself full circle from the villain who betrayed them all to a man who’s only ever sought love.
This book was the perfect conclusion to the series and I think fans returning for this couple won’t be disappointed. And if you’re looking for a new historical romance series to fall head over heels for, the Bareknuckle Bastards won’t disappoint!
About Austine
I'm a 20-something research proposal developer with a background in the life sciences and education. Reviewer of books since 2011, amateur photographer by day, and aspiring author by night. I believe animals (and books) are better than people.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one. I cannot wait to read this one, I’ve heard so many good things and Sarah MacLean has yet to disappoint me with any of her books.