In "Brazen and the Beast," the second book in "The Bareknuckle Bastards" series by Sarah MacLean, the story revolves around the fierce and independent Lady Henrietta Sedley, also known as Hattie, and Saviour Whittington, alias Beast, one of the powerful Bareknuckle Bastards. Hattie embarks on her 'Year of Hattie' by discovering a man tied up in her carriage, setting off a chain of events that intertwines their lives in both business and pleasure. As they navigate their unlikely partnership, facing threats and challenges, a deep connection forms between them, leading to a steamy and captivating romance set against the backdrop of Covent Garden's underworld.
Sarah MacLean's writing style masterfully weaves together a tale of strong characters, intense chemistry, and intricate plot twists. The book explores themes of family loyalty, resilience, and the pursuit of one's dreams, all while delivering a captivating historical romance filled with passion and intrigue.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
There are medium triggers/content warnings related to themes of familial conflict, societal pressures, and potential violence stemming from the underworld elements in the plot.
Has Romance?
The romance is a central aspect of the story, featuring intense chemistry and significant emotional depth between the protagonists.
From The Publisher:
New York Times Bestselling Author Sarah MacLean returns with the next book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series about three brothers bound by a secret that they cannot escape-and the women who bring them to their knees.
The Lady's Plan
When Lady Henrietta Sedley declares her twenty-ninth year her own, she has plans to inherit her father's business, to make her own fortune, and to live her own life. But first, she intends to experience a taste of the pleasure she'll forgo as a confirmed spinster. Everything is going perfectly…until she discovers 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
When he wakes 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 she's headed for a night of pleasure . . . on his turf. 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 . . . and neither of them sees that if they're not careful, they'll have no choice but to give up everything . . . including their hearts.
Ratings (14)
Incredible (2) | |
Loved It (7) | |
Liked It (3) | |
It Was OK (1) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (23):
Read It (14) | |
Want To Read (5) | |
Not Interested (4) |
5 comment(s)
I LOVED THIS BOOK WHIT AND HATTIE ARE EVERYTHING !!!♥️♥️ His belief in her and her inner strength and confidence and drive ugh i loved it , i laughed and i sobbed and i felt everything for these two
2.5 stars. Not a bad book per say but not a story that I enjoyed very much. Wasn't"in love" with the romance nor found it very pleasant to read about but will pick up the next book in the series
***3.5***
I think I have a general problem with this particular series.
I love the heroines. LOVE them. And in this series so far, you have these amaaaaazing women bending over backwards to make these undeserving men love them.
To be clear, I liked this one more than book 1 - the heroine held her own through most of the book. But then the inevitable betrayal happens, and rather than saying "well, fuck that guy" in the way that you would expect such a glorious, strong woman to do, Hattie just continues to hurl herself at Beast. This book was a solid 4.5 for me until that point -
when, right after he betrays her and takes everything from her, smashing her dreams, she decides oh well, I still want to have sex with him
- but that was infuriating.
Stories like this make it seem like sex makes everything better. That it doesn't matter if you can't trust your partner, it doesn't matter if you share your deepest dreams with him, and then the very next day he destroys them. If he'll have sex with you, none of the rest of that matters.
And then he hurts her again. And it doesn't matter, because she still loves him and just goes back for more.
It is deeply disappointing to me. And I feel like we women, in fantasizing about shit like this, are training ourselves to find it acceptable. To be utterly fine with us doing all the work in a relationship, with us having all the vulnerability. With our partners making decisions for us, all under that shit umbrella of "it was for your own good" as if we are incapable of making decisions for ourselves. And while Hattie does express that - she says hey, you don't get to make decisions for me - she doesn't ever make him pay for treating her that way. She always goes back to him, always is open to any affection he wants to give her, never even holds onto a single goddamn moment of anger.
It makes me think so much less of her.
And so, while Grace seems like an amazing character, I honestly just don't want to read her book, because I'm sure that she's an amazing character who is then going to turn into an amazing doormat for the asshole she's desperate for. And I just can't even.
I didn't read this edition of this book, but the cover of the English version is so ugly I had to switch for the sake of my shelves (T o T)
Brazen and the Beast was a fun read! Based on the title alone, I thought this would be in some way a retelling of Beauty & the Beast, but they aren't related at all, which was a relief! I would've been down, but that particular fairytale has got to be one of the most re-written stories of all time, and it was nice to read something fresh.
I won't pretend that this book was some incredible work of literature, but I also won't diminish the fact that it served its purpose magnificently well—to be a fun piece of fluff to fill a quiet evening. On top of that, MacLean managed to provoke some emotional reaction in me as I was reading. My one major gripe is that Hattie forgave Whit far too easily. No amount of attraction should've compelled her to engage emotionally with a man who took away her future for reasons he was unwilling to explain. You're better than that, hon.
All in all though, it was a fun read! I didn't realize it was part of a series when I picked it up, but that became very clear as soon as we met more characters (they practically oozed first-book storyline). I don't think I'm interested enough to read previous or future installments, but this one was a good time!
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.
What can you read after
Brazen and the Beast?
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