ARC Review: Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Brazen and the Beast
by Sarah MacLean

4.5 Stars

BOOK INFO

Released: July 30th 2019
Series: The Bareknuckle Bastards #2
Published by Avon
Format: eARC

Recommended Read!

“If you want a strong heroine, a broody, grumpy hero (and who doesn’t want that!?) and a fast paced and interesting plot then this is the book you have been craving.”
~ Under the Covers

Lady Henrietta “Hattie” Sedley has a plan. It’s to be the Year of Hattie. She has a plan and by the time she has executed it she will have everything she’s ever wanted. Point one of the plan involves visiting a notorious brothel. However, her first steps to independence are derailed when she finds an unconscious man tied up in her carriage. Determined to proceed as planned, she unties the startlingly handsome, and now conscious, man…kisses him…then kicks him out her carriage. However, Whit, more widely known as Beast, isn’t as willing to let her go.

I went into this book with some sky high expectations. One, because I already love Sarah Maclean and her books and I especially loved the first book in this series. Two, it has a curvy heroine and there’s nothing I love more than a curvy heroine. Three, did I mention it was written by Sarah Maclean and I adore her and her books? Reading Brazen and the Beast just reinforces my aforementioned points. I loved it.

Romance has changed a lot over the years, gone are the days of very young, simpering and virginal heroines. Thank goodness for that. Even though I do enjoy some of the classic romances, if romance was still written in 2019 in the same way it was in 1999 I’m not sure I would still be reading it. But, that is also part of why I love romance so much; it evolves as we do and changing attitudes are reflected almost immediately in the types of characters and books that are released. Which, is my really long winded way of saying that I really loved the heroine Hattie. She was resourceful, smart and required no man to rescue her. She had her own plan.

Then we have the hero. Beast. With a name like that there are certain expectations, he’s primal, he’s alpha, he’s kinda homely. Well as Meatloaf would say, two out of three ain’t bad. Beast aka Whit is an alpha hero and any man that grunts more than he cares to talk is definitely primal. However, homely he isn’t, in fact I would go as far as to say he was beautiful. Which makes his familiarity with violence all the more striking. You just don’t expect pretty people to punch you in the face. I loved Beast, he was a complex character and when he did speak, he spoke dirty.

If you want a strong heroine, a broody, grumpy hero (and who doesn’t want that!?) and a fast paced and interesting plot then this is the book you have been craving. It was a fantastic read, so if you haven’t started this series yet you need to bump it up your TBR.

What did you think of our review?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!

READING ORDER & BUY LINKS

Click on the covers to buy the books

Add series to GoodReads Read our reviews of this series

About Sarah MacLean

Sarah MacLean is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of YA and adult romance.

She grew up in Rhode Island, where she spent much of her free time bemoaning the fact that she was more than a century too late for own Season. Her unabashed addiction to historical fiction helped to earn her a degree in European History from Smith College before she moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. After receiving a Masters in Education from Harvard University, Sarah returned to New York, where she lives with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

♡ Don’t want to miss any of our posts? ♡

About
Latest Posts

Follow me

Suzanne

Blogger/Reviewer at Under the Covers Book Blog

Gosh, we all seem to be admitting our ages…and I hate that I am at the point in life when admitting my age is a “thing”…whodda thunk it? I was kind of hoping I would remain 21 forever. However, I have moved out of that New Adult stage of my life and am now strictly in the Contemporary Romance age zone of 28. I would prefer to be in an Urban Fantasy arena, but I don’t think I own enough black leather. However, I could probably squeeze into some PNR, I am fully prepared to give a horn job to my favourite demon, or suck on my sexy vamps…fangs and I am definitely up for some heavy petting with some fine looking shifters. Than again their’s always Sci Fi…I am fully prepared to do the right thing and help some poor alien race with more 6 packs than a supermarket repopulate their planet. Not that I am loose woman or anything.

Annnnnd I will stop myself there, before I start waxing lyrical about my love of historical romance and fantasy as well; no one needs to know about my elf fantasies. As you can tell, I adore and day dream about most romance genres, and my three big loves are 1) reading about romance 2) writing about romance and 3) talking about romance with my gals. Which, is why I love Under the Covers so much, I get all my bookish needs satisfied and don’t get judged when I talk about my favourite characters like they are real people. Which they are right?