The redemption story didn't pan out for me. ( )

Daring and the Duke
2 Stars

Unfortunately, the final installment in The Bareknuckle Bastards does not live up to its potential. Strangely enough, it is not even Ewan, whose behavior is so egregious in the first two books, who fails to resonate, but rather Grace who come across as truly selfish and unlikable.

While MacLean does manage to successfully redeem Ewan's character, the actual explanation for his actions 20 years earlier is so obvious as to be completely trite. Neverthless, his clear contrition, determined desire to make amends and willingness to work hard for forgiveness go a long way toward his redemption. Thus, he is ultimately a worthy hero.

The same, however, cannot be said of Grace. The mysterious, powerful and fiercely independent Dahlia is nothing more than a superficial facade for an immature, self-absorbed and capricious woman who constantly draws the hero in only to reject him time and time again. Her eventual realization that she can retain her position as Queen of Covent Garden and also have the man who loves her beyond reason only serves to highlight her condescension.

The powerful chemistry between Ewan and Grace hinted at in the previous books devolves into a serious of mechanical sex scenes lacking true intimacy and affection. Moreover, the repetitious phrasing and rehashing of plot points slows the pacing and makes it difficult to care about the characters eventual HEA. Finally, the attempt at social criticism with regard to the treatment of the poor, in general, and women, in particular, is perfunctory and utterly meaningless.

Overall, a disappointing end to an OK series. Book #2 is definitely the best of the three. ( )

Grace is an incredible character, as is Ewan, and I like how this book did such a great job of tying up all the BB’s stories. I am very excited for the new Hell’s Belles series!!! ( )

3.5 stars - Grace and Ewan’s story never really gripped me throughout the other books even though theirs is the foundation of the series. The plot itself was fine but it just felt a bit dull. ( )

I liked both of these characters and had been really interested in them since the very start of the series. The hero's love was impressive which was a lot of fun to read. This felt like it got a little bit bogged down though. (Yet still it feels like some considerable threads were left loose. Perhaps I blinked and I missed it, but I never saw confirmation whether or not the hero killed their evil father, or if he had anything to do with orchestrating the raid. He's accused or questioned about both, but I'm not sure there was ever a definitive answer. ? ) It's also one of those that could have been a pretty short story if people had just come out with their secrets already. Sometimes characters have good reason to keep them, but here, any excuse they might have had rapidly got weaker as it went along. That said, pretty much all the scenes, taken individually, were good and enjoyable. MacLean can write witty banter and nice descriptions and steamy scenes and all that no problem. I just wish the book as a whole had been edited a bit more. The series overall is fantastic, I've already read the first two twice and I'm sure I'll read this one again at some point too. I rank book one as 4.5 stars rounded up to 5, book two as an easy 5 stars, and this book 4 stars.

2nd read- Pretty much everything I said the first time still stands. I think the hero is treated unjustly, and things should have been cleared up much, much earlier (or given us a better reason for why they weren't). Another thing not clarified one way or the other There seems to be a pretty strong case that the hero is a virgin, (he has zero interest in other women, he's been in love and pining after the heroine since they were children, he doesn't seem practiced, and maybe even a little hesitant, when the moment arrives), but it's not confirmed one way or the other. But overall I really like the hero. It just feels like he loves her so much. ( )