Brazen And The Beast (Bareknuckle Bastards, #2)

by Sarah MacLean

'I loved it' Eloisa James
'Smart, sexy, and always romantic' Julia Quinn
'For a smart, witty and passionate historical romance, I recommend anything by Sarah MacLean' Lisa Kleypas

The Lady's Plan . . .

When Lady Henrietta Sedley declares her twenty-ninth year 'The Year of Hattie', she has plans. Plans to inherit her father's business, to make her own fortune and finally to experience a taste of the pleasure she'll forgo as a confirmed spinster. She does not, however, plan to find the most beautiful man she's ever seen tied up in her carriage and threatening to ruin The Year of Hattie before it's even begun.

The Bastard's Proposal . . .

After waking in a carriage at Hattie's feet, Whit - a king of Covent Garden known to all the world as Beast - can't help but wonder about the strange woman who frees him, especially when he discovers her plans for a night of pleasure. He is more than happy to offer Hattie all she desires . . . for a price.

An Unexpected Passion . . .

Soon, Hattie and Whit find themselves rivals in business and pleasure: she won't give up her plans; he won't give up his power . . . but if they're not careful, they'll have no choice but to give up everything, including their hearts.

xxx

Praise for Sarah MacLean:

'My absolute go-to author for clever, sexy and fun historical romances' Jennifer L. Armentrout

'Sarah MacLean has reignited the romance genre with a bolder edge' The New Yorker

'Funny, smart, feminist and roastingly hot' BookRiot

'Do yourself a favor and discover the compelling magic of Sarah MacLean' Amanda Quick

'MacLean writes with an entirely unique blend of elegance and ferocity that bursts from every page' Entertainment Weekly

xxx

THE BAREKNUCKLE BASTARDS

Three brothers, bound by a secret they cannot escape . . .

The Devil, all vengeance and vice
The Beast, all fists and fury
The Duke, all power and past

. . . and the women who bring them to their knees.

• ISBN10: 0062912976
• ISBN13: 9780062912978
• Publish Date: 30 July 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 7 July 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Avon Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

Much like the first book in the series, this was fantastic. It wasn't without issues but I did really enjoy it. Hattie was smart and daring and determined to take control of her future and it made for a vibrant character. My only complaint with Hattie was that her self esteem sucked when it came to her looks. I would've liked her to have a bit more confidence. But she's got less issues than Beast who's had a hard upbringing and been left conflicted about well, everything. I felt a bit of deja vu reading, the conflict and emotional distress felt very similar to the first book and I still just wanted to slap them both upside the head to get them to figure their shit out. The deja vu didn't bother me too much though, I adored the first book, it wasn't hard to read a similar one - especially since it's been long enough since I read the first one the details are slightly fuzzy.

Hattie and Beast together were on fire once they could both get over their issues. It wasn't as action packed as the first, the plot was rather tame in that respect focusing more on emotional drama. Frankly I would've liked to see a lot more of their smuggling business and way more interaction between them and Devil and Felicity and Nora and Nik (and OMG Nik and Nora!!! I want there book! Maybe a novella Sarah Maclean?) but obviously as a romance it's not about secondary characters. But minor issues.

Regardless of the drama it was just a fun, steamy read with strong characters and an interesting world. 4 stars.

[nitzan_schwarz]

I've read two historical romances back to back, from two different authors, with similar themes. I am not complaining, I just find it interesting. Both Brazen and the Beast and [b:The Wallflower Wager|40972652|The Wallflower Wager (Girl Meets Duke, #3)|Tessa Dare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552950403l/40972652._SY75_.jpg|63928422] have:

- A strong and strong-willed main female character who takes life and pleasure at her own hands, never letting the men in her life decisions for her or bowing down to them. These women are fierce and know what they want and it's your head on the line if you choose to mess with them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- Self-made men of darkness. These men are not from the ton. They are not shiny and covered in gold, but they are rich, and they made their fortune in the dark, being ruthless-but not unkind-and doing whatever it takes to meet their goals. And so, naturally, both feel inadequate and undeserving of their female counterparts. Good thing these women are not really willing to go down without a fight.

- Dance related trauma. This was the first moment I paused and went 'huh', because even though they are different and come from different directions, both feature abuse that is revealed via and is related to dancing. I found it such an odd little detail to be in both!

- Found family. While the guys in TBB are connected by blood, they are more connected by heart and choice than anything else. The same goes for the cast of TWFW.

What is not the same:

- Ewan. This book made me so, so curious about him. I wondered, how MacLean will make this character, projected mostly as the villain, as a hero. And I happy to say that I think this book definitely gave up a hint of that. Here's my theory: Ewan did not care about the dukedom when he 'betrayed' his siblings. This whole time he has been saying he 'gave' the brothers Grace, etc etc... and I think he means it literally. I think Ewan realized the only way to protect his family was to 'betray' them--convince his father he had him, so he did not need to focus on his siblings. To make them run away and never look back, never let their father close.

Whit says something really important throughout this novel, which I think is foreshadowing for this exact thing; 'we learned quickly how to throw a punch and make it look like it would hurt, but pull it at the last moment so we never did real damage. Ewan was better at that than all of us.... you'd see it coming like a boulder, and it would land like a feather.' I feel like this is what he did, again, at that moment in time. He came at them like boulders--at the girl he loves and the boys he made brothers--but it landed like a feather. They all survived! They ran away, far from the abuser. They made something of themselves!

And this, this single belief, is what kept Ewan sane, or mostly sane, as he stayed behind. Fed poison day in day out. Until he couldn't take his own personal sacrifice anymore--what his family hates him and condemns him for... I don't think Ewan took it because he wanted it. I think he took it as a sacrifice.

I'm probably wrong, but hey, that's my theory and I think it will work well lol

[EBookObsessed]

Author Sarah MacLean was part of the podcast discussion at the recent RWA and they were discussing her most recent novel Brazen and the Beast. It sounded very interesting but I was too late for a review copy since it had just published. So I told myself that I had to wait for it go to on sale and then I would pick it up since I have so many books already. That lasted for about two hours and then I was online purchasing a copy. I then told myself that I needed to knock off a few review books before I read this one. That lasted until the next day when I was between books and somehow I selected Brazen and the Beast. Apparently I had no control over myself.

Brazen in this story is Lady Henrietta Sedley. Hattie is turning 29 and she is tired of everyone deciding her life for her. So she has decided that 29 was going to be the Year of Hattie. She was going to convince her father to give her the family’s shipping business since her brother was an idiot with no idea how to run the business. She would make her fortune, buy herself her own home and finally convince her father to give up any ideas of marriage. Hattie knows that at 29 she is well and truly “on the shelf” but she was also aware that even before her age became a factor, no man wanted a tall, pudgy wife with a better head for business than he does and one who isn’t going to sit back and be quiet about it.

So the first thing on Hattie’s list of things to do is ruination. Hattie has found out about a brothel which caters to female clients. She has made an appointment to lose her virginity. Once she is ruined, she can begin the Year of Hattie and move on with her life as powerful spinster.

But apparently before she can get to her appointment at the brothel, she has to do something about the man tied up in her carriage. Hattie can tell by the very badly tied knots that her brother had something to do with the man in her carriage, but since the man is not dead, it shouldn’t be wrong to ogle him just a little. He is truly handsome and once he wakes up, quite pissed off. Except pissed off or not, she still needs to get him out of her carriage…Year of Hattie and all that.

So Hattie unties him and gives him a push out the door (well, they were slowing for a turn for goodness sake), but not before she gives in to a little indulgence and gives him a kiss.

But Hattie should have put more consideration into who might be tied up in her carriage and why. Savior “Whit” Whittington is known as the Beast of Covenant Gardens for good reason. He is one of the Bareknucked Bastards and has no problem using his network to track Hattie’s carriage to take the place of her escort at the brothel. Beast wants the name of who put him in the carriage and stole his shipment of goods and Hattie wants a night of passion. Hattie won’t turn over her brother to the Bastards, even if he is an idiot, but she is willing to reimburse the Beast for his losses and if they can come to an arrangement to get rid of her virginity, all the better.

Whit’s father was a bastard, making him and his brother’s battle for his title. Anything Whit loved was used against him. He only, ever wanted to protect his brothers and his mother from his evil father. When danger comes for Hattie, he will do anything to protect her but he refuses to love her.

I liked how strong Hattie is. Part of that is because as a large girl, she was overlooked by most of the eligible bachelors and she has long since given up on any dreams of a husband and children of her own so she focused on her brains and her love for the ships that her father would let them play on as children. I also like that when she finally has a chance at that dream with Whit, she turns him down because he won’t say that he loves her (we know he does by his action and his thoughts). She could simply grab at the life with the man she loves but she decides that she deserves it all.

This is the second book of the series and we do get glimpses of what happened with Whit, his brothers. a sister, and his father but I don’t think the first book had the whole story of their youth. I think a big part of the final story will be exactly what happened between them all (just my guess). I believe this next story will feature the brother who won the Duke’s title and the sister (not a blood sister) who he fell in love with.

I liked the characters and will be on the look out for the next book.

See more at EBookObsessed.com

[Amanda]

MacLean always delivers a satisfying romance. #insixwords

[thebookdisciple]

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.

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!

 

•   POV: 3rd


•   Tears:


•   Trope: opposites attract, Regency


•   Triggers: Beast had a horrible, abusive childhood. It is not explicitly detailed in this book but he does suffer a PTSD type episode because of it


•   Series/Standalone: stand alone (although it would be helpful if you read Wicked and the Wallflower-also, its fabulous)


•   Cliffhanger: no


•   HEA: yes

authors like Tessa Dare, Lisa Kleypas, Kerrigan Bryne...then you will probably like Brazen and the Beast!

 

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah Maclean

 See full review on The Book Disciple

[kimbacaffeinate]

• First Date:  Lady Henrietta Sedley declares her twenty-ninth year the “Year of Hattie,” and she has plans! But first, to get rid of her V-card. She has the night booked at a discreet club exclusively for women but things get complicated when she finds a man tied up in her carriage. A very handsome man. Fearing her brother may have a hand in it, she heads towards her destination. When the man in question awakens. He believes the young woman to be in on the attack but before he can gather his wits, the girl has kissed him and tossed him out the door! Oh, I am all in!
  
  
• Second Date: The trussed up man, is none other than Whit, known in Covent Garden as the Beast. As Hattie waits to fulfil the first task in her five-step plan… the Beast hunts her down. Guys, I absolutely loved the back-and-forth banter and wicked chemistry between Whit, and Hattie. She is so confident with the things she wants, but sorely lacking with how desirable she is as a woman. Whit may seem all brawn, but beneath that exterior he is a fierce protector and bookworm. Be still my heart. ❤️ ♥️