Swoon! This was my first time reading a Sarah MacLean title, after having been told by MANY friends that I must. And guess what! It lived up to the hype! Steamy, swoony, lots of witty banter and interesting historical detail. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one in the series!

I'm admittedly not much of a historical romance reader but my book friends rave sho I gave it a whirl. It was enjoyable, intense, a bit addictive if I'm being honest. It definitely whet the appetite for more of the genre.

The second book in this series, MacLean has a very strong heroine to match her very strong hero. It was a good all round story.

I'm a heroine-centric reader so this book was pretty much made for me, Hattie enters the book with SUCH FORCE. And with a plan, (a woman after my own heart 😍), for The Year of Hattie:

Body. Business. Home. Fortune. Future.

And plans on losing her virginity (this plan is revealed in like chapter 1 so not much of a spoiler I swear).

How can you not 💜 her!?
I mean, Whitt is pretty great! He's had a crap past but has an amazing found family and has loyalty but Hattie is EVERYTHING.

(Although Nora came super close to stealing the show and if Sarah ever wants to write novellas I'd do for one about Nora!!)
Their chemistry is 🔥🔥🔥🔥

"I have never been an equal. Even as I fought for all the things I wanted I never had a choice. Not really. I always had a father or a brother or friends to tell me what I should choose. What I could have. Who I am."
"...from the start you offered me a choice. You never told me what I should want. What I could and could not have. You made me your equal."

....

"I have never been more certain of anything."
"Ruin me."
I just loved Hattie and everything about her. Hands down my favorite Sarah MacLean book. It was like a love story to every woman who has never felt enough and wanted to be seen. 😭

"Oh my." Indeed! "The man had the most beautiful face Hattie had ever seen. The most beautiful face anyone had ever seen. She leaned closer, taking in his warm, bronze skin, the high cheekbones, the long straight nose, the dark slashes of his brows, and the impossibly long lashes that lay like sin against his cheeks." Sigh... So that is Hattie's first glimpse of Whit, or rather known as Beast, a king of Covent Gardens. He and his brother Devil (scrumptious book 1) are known as the Bareknucke Bastards. He ends up trussed up in Lady Henrietta's carriage somehow and she just pushes him out so she can go on with her planned night since it is her 29th birthday. Oh yes, she has plans, but we all know how those often go?
Sarah MacLean has written a wonderful story with all the amazing ingredients of a heroine who knows her own mind and is determined, an unexpected meeting that led to all kinds of adventure, a sigh worthy hero, some suspense, an attraction off the charts, betrayal, emotions off the scales, good and bad, and a journey to a happy ever after fraught with a few challenges!
To say I adored this book and know you will love it too is my recommendation! Thank you NetGallery and the publisher for allowing me to read and review!

Beauty and the Beast? No, thank you, I’ll take Warrior and the Beast!

Where do I even start with how much I loved this book?! From the Year of Hattie, to Whit the protector, to Nik and Nora (I’m going to need that story Sarah MacLean!) everything just hit with the right note for me.

I know some readers had issues with Hattie’s weight being an issue, but for me it was so real. I’ve been Plus-size my whole life and while I’m extremely confident in who I am, I still have moments of doubt and hurt that get in my head and impact the way I see myself, others, and certain situations. So thank you, Sarah, for making that a part of the story.

I absolutely adored how much and how fast Whit loved his Warrior Hattie and how she was the hero of not only her story but his as well! As I was drooling over the cover of this book, I asked myself why Sarah’s books never have the hero on the cover. After reading Brazen and the Beast I would say that this book unequivocally featured the hero of this story on the cover in a stunning teal dress with a full bosom and hips!!!

I love it! It's not the best book by Sarah I've ever read and if the timing was different I wouldn't give it such a high rating, but it made me laugh and cry and cry that's why The Brazen and the Beast gets 4.5 stars.

Hattie is strong-willed and admirable in her determination to claim the year for herself amidst all the restrictions of her gender and social status. Her insecurities about her weight and looks balance things out to make her sympathetic and, in some ways, relatable. She is well-matched by Whit, who is physical perfection, a fighter, and, wow, a reader. For some reason, his savior-complex didn't turn me off too much, primarily because he is held in check by his family and by Hattie herself.

The plot is crazy-pants, the secondary characters are diverse and wacky (especially Nora), and the writing is evocative. I like this better than the first, but the one I'm looking forward to the most is Ewan and Grace's book. Ewan is unhinged but strangely compelling. And Grace, from what we've been teased so far, looks a complete bad-ass. So, yeah I want Daring and the Duke NOW.

At twenty nine Lady Henrietta Sedley decides to find a little pleasure before she commits to being a confirmed spinster. She’s been running her father’s business and has had little time for pleasures. She out to prove she can run her father’s business and make her own fortune. Before she can put her plan into action she discovers the most beautiful man she’s ever seen tied up in her carriage and all her plans are in jeopardy until she discovers he’s willing to bring her dreams to life. Saviour Whittington, aka Whit, a king of Covent Garden known to all the world as Beast is lying at Hattie’s feet and becomes quite intrigued by her, she unties him, kisses him and then throws him out of her carriage. When he discover who she is and what she’s wanting a night of pleasure he strike a bargain with her. What man can turn down a beautiful woman wanting all the wicked desires he can fulfill. I love their witty banter and independent natures as the two tango with their desires, passion and romance. An excellent story and one I voluntarily read and reviewed.

Brazen and the Beast is vintage Sarah MacLean. Which is, for me, a good thing. I was completely absorbed in the romance, which is perfectly paced and gets off to a good start, but unfortunately, not everything else is as good and the villains (except one, who features in the next book) are underdeveloped, underutilized, and not very villainous. These factors detract from this entertaining and romantic story featuring a non-traditional heroine you can’t help but like. Brazen and the Beast is an enjoyable and entertaining continuation of The Bareknuckle Bastards series, but like its predecessor, it failed to live up to my (admittedly high) expectations.

On the eve of her twenty-ninth birthday, Lady Henrietta Sedley is looking forward to The Year of Hattie. She’s traded her dreams of finding true love or marrying and having children, for a much different future altogether – a four point plan to captain her own fate. Business: Owning/running Sedley Shipping (despite her father’s plan for older brother August to inherit); Home (one of her own – although, she seems to have complete freedom to come and go from the one she currently inhabits); Fortune (presumably from said shipping business); Future (to live life on her own terms). Oh, and a fifth – Body. Before she can undertake The Year of Hattie, she’s made arrangements to remove one last possible obstacle to her plans – marriage – by ruining herself. Pleasurably. When Brazen and the Beast begins, Hattie is ready to depart for a rendezvous at a discreet and upscale bordello wherein she will lose her virginity and with it, the possibility of marriage. Her co-conspirator and driver for this adventure is her best friend Lady Eleanora Madewell (Nora). Unfortunately, the clandestine plan hits a snag when Hattie steps into the carriage and discovers a strange man, bound and unconscious, within.

They’d left the hitched – and most definitely empty – carriage in the dark rear drive of Sedley house not three quarters of an hour earlier, before hiking upstairs to exchange carriage-hitching dresses for attire more appropriate for their evening plans.

Hattie isn’t willing to let three months of planning for this night go to waste. After confirming he’s still alive (and that he’s beautiful), Hattie tells Nora to carry on – they’ll drop him off somewhere along the way. (As one does.)

After the last three Bareknuckle Bastard shipments of smuggled goods were ambushed, Beast (brother of Devil, Wicked and the Wallflower), is determined to find out who dares to challenge them. Expecting an ambush, he accompanied the shipment – but he isn’t sure how he wound up trussed in a luxurious carriage with a sweet smelling woman muttering to herself. He remembers hearing a shot and then a shout from one of his injured outriders, stepping outside the carriage to check on the boy, and then everything went black after he was hit from behind. Few would dare to cross Beast or his brother Devil, but he suspects Ewan, Duke of Marwick, is behind the attacks. If he is, then who is the woman holding him hostage in the carriage?

Hattie is annoyed – and curious. Clearly, her brother August and his ne’er do well valet have something to do with the beautiful man trussed up in the carriage, but since he won’t answer her questions – responding with hard questions of his own – they’re at a standstill. So Hattie gets her Year of Hattie off to an early start by kissing her surprised captive, cutting the knots at his hands and feet (with her convenient pocket knife), apologizing, and shoving him out of the carriage. After watching to see he lands more or less on his feet, she refocuses her attention on her coming appointment. Beast is less satisfied with the abrupt end to their acquaintance, and since Covent Garden (where Hattie is headed) is his territory, he promptly follows her to a surprisingly familiar address.

A fierce (and clever, sharp and sexy) re-negotiation of Hattie’s ‘Business; Home; Fortune; Future; Pleasure’ plan ensues after Beast runs his unwary quarry to ground; and although they eventually agree on a new plan, they part with very different interpretations of what they’ve mutually agreed to… and thus, Brazen and the Beast truly gets underway. Despite the absolutely ridiculous set up, I wanted to fall in love with it. Hattie and Beast have wonderful chemistry, their dialogue is sparkling and witty and sharp, and the sexual undercurrents and tension are terrifically well done. Beast has a difficult and unhappy backstory that ties into the overarching bastard storyline and it’s hard not to love him after learning about his origins. His quiet intensity and fierceness are a nice foil for Hattie’s bright light, and they’re great together. I also loved the cameos featuring Devil and Felicity (although I wish there were more of them), and the sub- plot involving Nora and an enforcer in the Barenuckle Bastards family. These things work. So what doesn’t and why isn’t this a DIK?

Hattie is (on paper) a magnificent heroine: unapologetically industrious, bright and clever, tall and voluptuous, fiercely independent, loyal, generous and confident – yet she’s still plagued with insecurities about her appearance and her appeal to the opposite sex. She’s relatable. But while MacLean mostly gives us that Hattie, she fails to deliver on the single most significant part of this characterization (and the one on which the entire story hinges): Hattie’s brilliance as a business woman. With the exception of one clever maneuver at the tail end of the book (and an earlier recitation of all the things Hattie did to prove herself to her father), Hattie never actually works or spends time at the shipping office or docks or demonstrates any aptitude for running a business during this story. She’s disappointed that her father plans to pass the business onto his only son, so she strikes a deal with her stupid brother and an underworld kingpin to circumvent him. Friends, I want to believe in these atypical feminist heroines. I do! But only in a delusional fantasy world can a woman believe these two deals equal a winning business strategy, or that spending most of the hours of your day flirting and arguing with a handsome, sexy underworld kingpin nicknamed Beast is proof you’re meant to take over the family business.

The resolution of the suspense plot (who has been hijacking the shipments) is also a mess. Right away MacLean establishes Hattie’s brother as a bad guy – and then does ABSOLUTELY nothing else with him. He (and his partner) are shunted to the periphery of the story when their relationship to the machiavellian Ewan, Duke of Marwick, is revealed. Ewan, meanwhile, is deranged by love for a character whose name I can’t reveal. Frankly, his appearances are bizarre and weird, and overly complicate this underwhelming plot. The romance works; the story – rooted in Hattie’s desire to run the family business and Beast’s desire for revenge – doesn’t.

If you’re a MacLean fan, you might be able to overlook the problems in this novel and enjoy it anyway. I did. I was entertained from start to finish, and I’m still invested in the overarching storyline. But if you aren’t, this one will be a hard sell. We still don’t know enough about Ewan or his lost love, and the suspense plot is weak. Brazen and the Beast is a solid, if problematic, second book in The Barenuckle Bastards series.

Favorite book of 2019 so far. This is an incredible story amazing characters amazing writing. Video review is on youtube here - going up 8/13

Hattie Sedley is about to celebrate her 29th birthday which she has dubbed the Year of Hattie. It's the year in which she stops living the life that her father and brother decide is best for her and in which she claims what she wants body and soul. She's going to start by losing her virginity on her terms. But her night of self-actualization is interrupted by the appearance of a handsome stranger, Saviour Whittington, more commonly known by his street name "The Beast". The Beast is part of the rough pseudo-criminal brothers known as the Bareknuckle Bastards. The bastard children of a Duke who turned them out to fend for themselves on the streets of Covent Garden London as young teens. The Bareknuckle Bastards have hewn success and respect for themselves with lots of grit and muscle. Hattie and The Beast find themselves at odds over a business proposition and also wrestling with the proposition that Beast makes to relieve Hattie of her unwanted virginity. Will the Beast "ruin" Hattie for all other men?

I loved the scenes of London and I loved this surprisingly sensitive bad boy hero. The emotional development of the relationship between Hattie and the Beast was also particularly well done. My only reservation about this title is that it was a little skimpy on period details for a historical romance. Instead, it fell into applying modern sensibilities and even language to a historical setting. To me it almost seemed somewhat steampunk in that it was an alternate version of historical London and there even seemed to be some very scant elements of magic or the supernatural, although I'm not sure this was the author's intention. While I enjoyed the story I wasn't sure it was entirely successful as a piece of historical fiction. If you can push past the inconsistencies with the setting, it was a fun love story and I would enjoy reading more by this author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of the book for the purpose of providing a fair and honest review.

Another great read from MacLean! I didn't like it as much as the first novel, but it was still spectacular in regards to dialogue, overall wittiness, intricacy of plot, and likeable and distinct characters. I'm EXTREMELY excited to read the next installment, Daring and the Duke, Things will presumably come to a climax, and I'm beyond thrilled to witness Grace and Ewan's meeting. I thought Hattie was a great, sassy heroine, and I'm glad we got to see little glimpses of Felicity in this book, as well as Felicity+Devil's relationship and how it's grown since they married.

I loved Hattie , she was a amazing character. I liked that she was older than the usual historical heroines so her plan didn’t seem unrealistic. Whit didn’t seem as developed as Devil in the first book. Loved the concept of year of Hattie and the fact that she was so confident
Things that I didn’t like was all the repetitive stuff from book 1 ,I like reading series in sequence but understand the need for authors to repeat main plot points so that first time readers understand what is going on but this one seemed to take too many pages for that . I struggled with the fact that how Hattie and Nora travelled all over London on their own. This could be the limited historical knowledge I have because I know that there are discussions in Romancelandia about untold stories.

Intoxicating! Absolutely re-readable!

The cover has a quote from Entrainment Weekly citing MacLean as being "the...utterly intoxicating queen of historical romance." I certainly have to agree with the "intoxicating" moniker.
I'd been feeling a bit disgruntled lately with the historical romances that had come my way. Very little new and exciting. Imagine my inner cheering when within the first pages of "Brazen and the Beast" I was hooked!
I loved Lady Henrietta Sedley (Hattie) who had determined to take her fate into her own hands. And her list! Well not many would be so decisive. Hattie had perfectly thought out requirements for the salacious appointment she had that night. What a hoot!
Beast was wonderful, despite the unusualness of their meeting. Their repartee was magnificent. The chemistry fairly zinged off the page even as they both fought it.
As events unfold, Hattie, a woman ahead of her times, fights for freedom from the path she is supposed to take. Hattie has dreams and a four point plan to captain her own fate. "Business. Home. Fortune. Future.” Now is the time to set all in motion having just reached her momentous twenty-ninth birthday, and as Hattie refers to it, the beginning of the "Year of Hattie".
Hattie grew up in the shadow of the docks, Covent Gardens and her father's shipping business. A business she's learned from the ground up, that she knows and understands intimately, better than her brother Augie. Hattie wants to take that business over. But there's the problem of heirs being the thing in business, not heiresses. August has no idea about the business and that has troublesome. So Hattie is determined to win over all protesters against her being in charge of Sedley Shipping.
And the Beast (Whit) comes to adore this woman, who thinks she's unattractive and whom he can't take his mind, his eyes, or anything else off.
Hattie and Whit strike a bargain. A bargain that turns into a war. Whit comes to see what this woman is made of even as she goes toe to toe with him.
I loved their inner voices even as their words out loud are happening, so much more goes on in their heads. And we are privy to that! Great fun!
Of course the dastardly Euan is in the background, as are the Devil and other figures we know and love. In fact, despite a reading list as "long as my arm" I'm off to reread some of their stories.
Hattie's friend (Nora) Lady Eleanora Madewell, is such wonderful character and I'm going to enjoy her's and Nik's interactions if and when they get their own story. I'm already salivating about the final Bareknuckled Bastard's story--Grace's!
I'm sure it will be as magnificent as this read has been.
Hattie takes Whit's breath away and they both took mine! What a roller coaster read! I forewent sleep time to read on. I just couldn't put this episode of the "Bastards" down until the breathtaking, rewarding end!

A HarperCollins ARC via NetGalley

I’m an avid reader of historical romances, but few authors continue to amaze me with the way they engage so purposefully with female identity, body norms, and sexuality in their stories, rather than merely accept the traditionally accepted. And Sarah MacLean is one of those authors. There is so much to adore about her writing—from her elegant but sharp prose, to the intense chemistry between her characters—but to me, her true gift in this genre lies in the way she refocuses history on the perspective of the woman by giving us fierce, trailblazing heroines and the men who champion them, rather than push them to the back. I can confidently say that stories like these are THE reason I will never stop reading romance novels.

Keep reading review » https://natashaisabookjunkie.com/2019/08/01/review-brazen-and-the-beast-by-sarah-maclean/

I didn’t think it was possible to love a book more than I loved Wicked and the Wallflower, and yet here we are with the second installment in the Bareknuckle Bastards series and now I keep thinking how perhaps *this* is my new favorite in this fun and incredibly sexy series.

Wicked and the Wallflower gave readers the barest of introductions of the brother known as Beast, and even with that small glimpse it was apparent that he was going to be a phenomenon. And my, was he ever. Beast finds himself in a most unusual position when he awakes, bound, in a carriage belonging to Henrietta Sedley. Hattie has some idea of how he got there, though she has no clue who she’s dealing with. Nobody willingly interferes in the business of the Bastards, yet that’s exactly the position Hattie finds herself in. She has to somehow, someway get herself and her family’s business untangled from Beast, all without giving away her brother’s involvement. The Bastards don’t take lightly to having things stolen from them and anyone who’s stupid enough to do so usually doesn’t survive.

Hattie and Beast’s relationship begins almost immediately, and it’s a joy from the start. Not only are they equally matched as far as bantering goes, but they’re equally matched in pretty much everything, even down to their penchant for running a successful business. Although in Hattie’s case, her family’s business is all she ever wanted, yet it’s something she’ll never be handed since she was born with a vagina. Beast needed someone like Hattie to finally calm his inner demons, and that’s exactly what he got and more with Hattie.

Now that I’ve finished the first two in this trilogy, I’m super anxious about the third book in this series, which will star the third Bastard, Grace. I adore Grace, but not so much her love interest. Although I have a feeling it’ll be a tale of hero’s redemption, which certainly adds a layer of interest. But who am I kidding, it’s the Bareknuckle Bastards, so of course I’ll read it. But I’m still nervous.

Bottom line — so yourself a favor and read this series. It’s steamy, it’s funny, the ladies are self-sufficient badasses, the men are amazingly dark and broody. But the best part is the incredible witty banter than runs throughout. I started this book at 11 last night, intending to read a couple chapters. At 4 am, I finished because I couldn’t get enough. Highly recommended and I’m going to read everything Sarah Maclean ASAP.

The line “this is the year of Hattie” is where I started falling in love with this book. I mean how cool is that! The heroine actually has the guts to claim an entire year for herself. I loved loved loved Hattie after this point. Before I get into the rest of the book, I want to give credit to the art department of the book who, thank the stars, have finally found a gorgeous model that is curvy and depicts the character in the book. So to the publisher, I want to say, thank you so much for this gorgeous cover and step back!

Let's talk about the main characters, Henrietta a.k.a Hattie and Whit a.k.a Beast. Hattie has a full plan for the year ahead. It is going to be the "Year of Hattie" and she wants to run her father's business. She knows she is great at it and is willing to take all the steps needed to be successful. Oh how I loved that confidence in her and the lengths she was willing to go to get it. The chemistry between Hattie and Whit is intense and hot and oh so dang sexy. I loved the dialogues between them which I felt made the love scenes even better. I loved all the side characters in this book too and felt like the author did a fantastic job of weaving them into the story without taking the focus away from the main characters. I read this book through the night and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a book with a strong, independent and badass heroine, a hero who is the king of the underworld and a complete softie inside and their sexy romance.

This is book two in the Bareknuckle Bastards series and I would recommend reading it as a part of the series.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah Maclean delivers the "Year of Hattie" and I am here for it!! Hattie is magnificent. She wants to be her own person in a time when women didn't have that option. She has a plan and that plan starts with "ruination" by way of losing her virginity. Then, she can't be used as dowry by a man she doesn't love. Then she can have business and fortune. I loved that Hattie was smart and hard working. She has been working in the family business and she is good at it. Hattie's best friend Nora is perfect for her as well. They support and compliment each other brilliantly.

Beast (AKA Whit) is as different from Hattie as night and day. He and his brother, Devil, are the infamous Bareknuckle Bastards. Whit and his brother are ruthless and determined to defeat their other brother and stop the stealing of their shipments. Hattie is now tied to Whit by her involvement and their deal. I loved these two together. Hattie is the perfect match for Whit because she isn't scared. She is bold and brave and goes toe to toe with him. I will say, Hattie is much nicer to her brother than I would have been. I would have taken more of the approach Nora suggested frequently. Or you know, made sure his wounds got infected or something! 

Brazen and the Beast Sarah Maclean will make you fall in love with the underdogs and root for the unlikely. Maclean writes brilliant characters with such depth you will feel you truly know them and as such, you will care about them. Hattie and Beast are #relationshipgoals!

It’s the Year of Hattie. Or rather, the Year of Hattie Eve.

Lady Henrietta Sedley has a 4 stage plan to take control of her own life: Business. Home. Fortune. Future. But first...ruination.On the eve of her 29th birthday, Hattie has an appointment at a Covent Garden bordello, to do away with the main thing that still makes her marriageable; her virginity. But how is she supposed to get to her appointment when there’s an unknown, unconscious man tied up in her carriage? A gorgeous unconscious man.

And that’s how Hattie and Whit meet. Unfortunately, despite their attraction, they find themselves on opposite sides. Whit is going after Hattie’s brother for *reasons*, and Hattie will protect her family no matter what (even if her brother is a major douche). Whit is bent on revenge and righting wrongs, Hattie is determined to take over her family business and be her own woman, which is all threatened by Whit’s actions. Their goals are constantly at odds, but their attraction burns fierce. Who will submit?

What I liked: I loved that Hattie was full figured and TALL! I vomit a little bit in my mouth every time a romance heroine is described as tiny, waif-like, and delicate whose bones are “fragile as a sparrows”. Like...these upper class girls were not missing meals. They weren’t going to SoulCycle. They probably had some flesh on their bones. She was a great character. Strong, motivated, goal-oriented.

I also loved the glimpses of Ewan and Grace. Some people are screaming about “toxic relationships” and stuff, but I live for messed up, dark romances, and theirs looks like a doozy. But at the same time, I was way more interested in their tiny story arc than in Whit and Hattie’s, which leads me to...

What I didn’t like: I just did not connect with this couple. There was great dialogue between other characters (like Hattie and Nora) but whenever Whit and Hattie were together I was bored. Maybe it’s because all of their actual dialogue is separated by long, drawn out inner dialogue about the other’s appearance, lusty thoughts of what they want to do to each other, half-assed arguments to convince themselves they aren’t too attached, constantly doubting the other’s feelings. There’s no subtlety and lots of repetition.Although, this has seemed to be the trend with all the romance I've read lately. I was also irritated by the choppy, melodramatic writing style.

Overall, the first two books in this series have been “meh” for me. And I love SM so that is so hard to write! And like I said I’m really excited for Ewan and Grace, but I hope SM can really give it the authentic, gritty tone it deserves and not a cheesy, angst-ridden one.

So I've come to realize I'm not the biggest Historical Romance fan, I really need to be in the right mood to read it. That being said, I still did enjoy this one. The banter and wit made me really enjoy Hattie and Beast. The journey of their relationship and the chemistry was just so enjoyable. I'm also a sucker for a woman, especially in a historical, that wants to take charge of her own life. So when Hattie started that train of thought I was all in. Overall, I think this book was a fun historical romance that most readers will enjoy!

Thank you to Avon for the free eARC in exchange for a honest review!