Perfect ending to a perfect series! Ewan got the most satisfying redemption arc and I loved following his and Grace’s love story. There was some excellent groveling, so many romantic moments, the most perfect grand gestures—really, everything I could have hoped for as a fan of this series, this book had. Always impressed by Sarah MacLean and looking forward to whatever she writes next!

I think this is a solid 3.5 stars for me because I really liked the previous two books and did enjoy this one as well. I liked the chemistry of Grace and Ewan and the steamy scenes were, well, quite steamy. I did have a couple issues, one with the writing, which I'll discuss, and one with the plot, which I won't because of spoilers.
The writing issue I had was the repetitive use of certain words and phrases. It got so bad it was bringing me out of the story constantly. There was also a lot of repetitive explaining, like reminding the reader of Ewan's sins a million times over, and even two descriptions of the same outfit in the same scene. I'm hoping these issues are cleared up in the final edition.
Overall, I really enjoyed the whole series and loved how it all came together. I've found a new author I will definitely be following from now on.

Where to start.

Ewan is one of three bastard sons of the dastardly Duke of Marwick. And the one who claimed the title, losing his found family in the process.

The others ran and lost themselves in Covent Garden, and built themselves an empire.

Ewan did awful things in his search for Grace. Unforgivable things. But now he’s back, asking to pay penance for his sins.

If anyone can redeem the unredeemable, it is Sarah MacLean. And she did it masterfully. My heart broke into a billion pieces, and she put it all back together with gold thread.

We learned all the dark secrets Ewan kept for 20 years. Why he claimed the dukedom over Grace and his brothers. And ultimately, what he was willing to do to get them back.

This gets 5 brilliant gold stars. Brava, Sarah.

This book is perfection! It is definitely my favorite romance book I have read to date and in the very top of the list of the best books I have ever read. The third in an amazing trilogy, Daring and the Duke tells the story of Grace and Ewan. The two have a long, troubled history with one another. Grace is exactly what I want to read in a female character today. She is a fighter, literally and figuratively. She is strong. She stands up not just for herself but for those around her. In the first two books we learn of the horrid things that Ewan has done in the past to both Grace and others around her. MacLean brings him to this book with the reader thinking there is almost no way he can redeem himself. In addition, one cannot imagine a hero deserving of and equal to the power that is Grace. However, because this author is so masterful, Ewan not only finds his redemption, he has become the very best hero I have ever read. He is the hero I never knew I wanted and definitely needed.

The writing is so good. MacLean just improves upon herself throughout each book of this trilogy with this final book showing what a master she is at her craft. There are so many lines and scenes and even little nuances that just make this story so much more than it could have been on the surface. It is a book that will stay with me for a long time and is sure to be a consistent re-read for me. While the book can surely stand alone, it is so much better for having read the first two in this trilogy so I would definitely recommend starting with the beginning. MacLean has outdone herself here and you would be wise to go purchase the first two books in preparation for this one to come out as it's a must read you do not want to miss.

Of course this is brilliant. Sarah is such an amazing author, she’s an auto buy for us, but I think she outdid herself with this one. So so so good!

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 fiction 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.

3.5 stars

Daring and the Duke is the final book in a trilogy, the Bareknuckled Bastards, a historical romance featuring the seamier side of London. I've read the previous book, and if you haven't read any of the prior novels, you might be confused. Ms. MacLean assumes that the reader already knows the backstory between the heroine, Grace/Dahlia and Ewan, the Earl of Marwick, along with their brothers.

If you've already bought into the series and like Sarah MacLean, you'll probably enjoy this childhood sweethearts to enemies to lovers story, though apparently Ewan is quite the villain in previous installments. For me, there were too many frustrating moments to really settle into enjoy the novel. First, the assumption from the first chapters that reader already know things before MacLean gives context; Grace/Dahlia, who is so OTT (amazing fighter! enlightened brothel owner! <---not my jam) that she's a caricature to me--she never felt real to the time period; Ewan withholding reasons for his originating villainy that would have likely reduced this novel significantly if he had just freaking told Grace/his brothers. Instead, he keeps thinking about it, until I was completely annoyed. But if he did, the book might had to wrap up at the half way point (though the author could have created a different obstacle, like had he really atoned for his more up to date real villainy?)

Last, I never bought into this amazing love between the mains that would have survived *twenty* years when they basically fell in love as very young teenagers over what was probably the course of a about year and change. If they had been late teens, perhaps. Even thinking of the great stress they were under at the time, I still couldn't buy it. To me, it was hard to see how such very young love in such a time period, could result in a Great Romance so many years later, when they were separated, and not connected in any way.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book. This boooooook! I absolutely loved the first two books of the Bareknuckle Bastards series but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that THIS was the story I’ve been waiting for from the beginning.

And it was pretty epic. It was bloodthirsty. And empowering and redemptive. A literal gamut of human emotions.

You’ve got Grace and Ewan who are just throbbing, visceral LoveAngst (Gawd, I love LoveAngst.) You have the reigning Queen of Covent Garden, masterfully running the show with her army of fierce female warriors. You also have a family who loves each other, fighting for each other. And there’s forgiveness and the reunification of brothers. *whimpers brokenly*

Oh. It’s hot too. Very.

And now we wait for the newly announced Sarah MacLean series, Hell’s Belles. (A Victorian Girl Gang, you guys! A Girl Gang!)

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for the chance to read an advanced copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sigh. I have loved Sarah MacLean’s work, until the Bareknuckle Bastards series. I did not care for Felicity and Devin’s book at all. I am just over revenge plots in which the woman is a pawn in the master plan of the “hero.” Hattie and Whit’s book was much better, and I had hoped Ms. McLean was returning to form; Hattie is one of my favorite heroines ever, in any series.

I was nervous about this book, because I didn’t see Ewan as redeemable. The previous two books quite clearly portray him as a monster. He killed multiple people and very nearly killed Hattie. Unfortunately, my concerns were warranted. His redemption, such as it was, was quick and easy. The story that explains how/why he nearly killed Grace and his brothers was accepted far too easily by all. Not all characters can be redeemed, nor should they.

I was really looking forward to this, as it’s the third book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series and Sarah Maclean did such a good job of building this story up in the background of the two other novels. All roads and narratives led down this path and it was the culmination of a bigger story.

Ewan, the villain from the first two novels, and Grace, a badass lady brawler who owns her own brothel are the stars in this installment and their love is, well, really twisted and obsessive. The beginning is hella dark and it’s exactly what it needs to be given the first two books. I was expecting the rest of the novel to keep up this pace of groveling, longing, and tainted love. But it really didn’t. The darkness soon gave way to ball room scenes and masquerade parties and quiet calm discussions of the past, despite the bloodshed that Ewan left in the previous pages. Granted, there are a few twists, but I felt like the Ewan and Grace I was seeing here were not the characters I had read previously. Maybe this was to show their growth? Maybe it was to show how they reached out past the darkness that consumed them? Great, but it was rather unexpected.

Ultimately though, it’s a Sarach Maclean novel through and through and her novels are always worth a read.

This is the final book in the Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy and though it can be read as a stand alone you won't want to miss the first two books. This story is full of the signature emotion and heat, tempered with humor, of the. first two books. It also manages to deftly conclude the journey of the "siblings" whose lives were manipulated by the old Duke. Bravo!!

When I received the email from Net Galley that my wish for an ARC in exchange for a fair review was granted it was all I could do to not scream out loud, so I did the next best thing and took to screaming on Twitter.

I own copies of the first two and have been waiting and waiting for this book to come out so it is safe to say that I had a lot of expectations and hopes for this book and it did not disappoint. About a quarter of the way through the book my notes switched from thoughts and written reactions to various numbers of flame emojis 🔥

I was not expecting to like Ewan as much as I did. Is he unrealistic in his painful devotion to Grace? Yes and I loved every moment of it. This book was grand gesture after grand gesture which is usually the most cringe part of a romance novel for me, but it worked my god it worked. Sarah is an incredible writer to turn a "villain" into a true Hero who literally "refused to rip her bodice" (literally the book says that).

Grace felt like a full human. She was strong, confident, and unapologetic about who she was. She had a past, a present, and knew what she wanted for her future.

I loved that Beast and Hattie as well as Devil and Felicity were present for most of the book as well as the small nods to Sarah's The Rules of Scoundrels series. I would happily revise this world again. The side characters were well enough developed that I would love to read a novella about almost any of them.

As much as I loved the book, I don't think that it should read as a standalone. Would it still be enjoyable? Yes, but the emotional impact would have been a lot less. It very much is the third in a series with characters that have been developing across three books despite each having its own Hero and Heroine.

A few of my favorite lines with no context:

"... I realized that what I felt before you arrived had not been hope, it had been fear. And when you arrived, you were hope."

"Grace had not gone from girl to woman; she had gone from girl to goddess."

"You are a queen. I am your throne."

Sarah MacLean offers a solid ending to the Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy. I feel like MacLean is a solid and popular author and you are guaranteed some heat, some fun, and a great pairing. Grace and Ewan are no different, though I was pleasantly surprised at how the author brought round the villain in previous books. I will say that even though I am a huge fan of hers, the repetition in this book (especially when it came to describing clothing) and the very MacLean-esque way of writing with sentence fragments was slighting annoying after a while. I still enjoyed it enough to keep going, though. Great quick and easy read with appearances from characters from previous books (and some fun Easter eggs for fans of her earlier series!).

We’re spending hours immersed in the news, but when we need a break from the non-stop barrage of headlines and scary charts, reading something that takes our mind off of stressful things is one of the best mood-lifters around. To find out why, I interviewed bestselling novelist Sarah MacLean (Brazen and the Beast, Daring and the Duke) and co-host of the weekly romance novel podcast, Fated Mates.

https://www.retailmenot.com/blog/best-escapist-books.html

I've been anticipating this book since I began Sarah Maclean' Bareknuckled Bastards series, and I think it's highly likely that I'm not the only one who is super stoked for Grace's and Ewan's story. Essentially, Daring and the Duke is a childhood sweethearts, to enemies to ???? story. After Ewan betrayed her and broke her heart, Grace has never stopped running from him as she fought, bled, and fashioned herself into the queen of Covent Garden. When Ewan, AKA the Mad Duke of Marwick, realizes that Grace is alive, all he wants is to get her back. On the other hand, Grace plans a revenge that will finally banish Ewan from her life for good.

Daring and the Duke is peak Maclean; the drama, angst, stakes and pleasures are HIGH. I was personally all about escaping within its pages to bawdy rookeries, glittering ladies' brothels, and the soaring rooftops of London with a strong-minded, resourceful heroine and a devoted antihero. I appreciate that Maclean's romance explores consent, forgiveness, honesty and the harm caused by patriarchy and unchecked privilege. I'd definitely recommend this books to fans of Lisa Kleypas and Tessa Dare!

It took me a while to get a hang of this series. I can see what Sarah was trying to do and I love Ewan's redemption. I love Grace and her strength. Loved the ending.

I enjoyed this book, I enjoy all of Sarah MacLean's books, and while I wasn't sure this pairing of Grace and Evan would work out, I think the author tied all the threads together nicely. I went back and reread the previous two in the series, and as a package deal, I think it's better than her second series, the Rules of Scoundrels series.

I was a little hesitant about this book, as I could not see a good redemption for Ewan after falling in love with Devil and Whit and Grace. I should have known to have faith in Sarah MacLean always! This book is a great redemption/groveling story without compromising Grace's strength and independence. I could read a whole series about what goes on in her club, and all the characters who come through. This book delivered on everything I needed from Grace and Ewan's story.

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.

Wow! Just wow. Sarah MacLean has outdone herself with this book. The third book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series/trilogy (?) and it was definitely the best. I loved Grace, the Queen of the Garden, and the hero Ewan. This is what romance writers should aspire to write. Well done!