AUGUST 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Justine Eyre amplifies the drama in a steamy historical romance featuring two strong-willed characters. Lady Henrietta (Hattie) Sedley is exceedingly frustrated when she sets off on a year-long journey to claim herself only to find an unconscious—albeit handsome—man tied up in her carriage. He is Saviour “Beast” Whittington, one of the “Bareknuckle Bastards” who protect and rule over Covent Garden. As Hattie grows ever more bold, Eyre highlights her spirited nature in bright tones. Portraying Whittington in a gruff voice, Eyre memorably captures his brooding personality. Throughout, Hattie proves herself to be a formidable woman who won’t let society’s expectations get in the way of her nautical business ventures, or her romance. Listeners who loved WICKED AND THE WALLFLOWER will adore this sequel. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
06/24/2019
MacLean’s second Bareknuckle Bastards Regency veers away from the typical Regency romance focus on the nobility to explore the lives of London’s ordinary folk, populating Covent Garden with delightful recurring characters. Lady Henrietta “Hattie” Sedley is 29 and heartily tired of being seen as “just” a woman. She longs to take over her father’s shipping company, but she’s hampered by her gender and her ne’er-do-well brother, Augie. While embarking on a plan to enjoy some sensual pleasures in the seedier parts of town, she’s dismayed to find that Augie has left Beast, a smuggler and one of the infamous Bareknuckle Bastards, tied up and unconscious in her carriage. She wakes up Beast, kisses him, and tosses him out the door while the carriage is moving, ensuring he’ll come looking for her—en route to taking revenge on Augie. Hattie finds Beast’s good looks and confidence impossibly appealing, and her independence and determination pique his interest. Soon their business fortunes are as entwined as their bodies. The imaginative plot carries readers along in this deliciously sexy story filled with heart. Agent: Steven Axelrod, Axelrod Agency. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
Last year, we declared her the intoxicating queen of historical romance, and her latest...keeps that crown firmly atop her brilliantly erotic, feminist head. MacLean consistently elevates romance to high art, besting herself nearly every time she puts pen to paper, and Brazen and the Beast is no exception.” — Entertainment Weekly
“Strong female protagonists are the rule in genre romance, but Hattie stands out for the clarity of her goals and the intelligence with which she goes about achieving them. Classic MacLean: smoking hot, emotionally rich, thrilling, and unforgettable.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“The imaginative plot carries readers along in this deliciously sexy story filled with heart.” — Publishers Weekly
“When it comes to crafting unforgettable romances that are both emotionally and thematically complex, nobody does it quite like RITA award-winning MacLean, and the latest brilliantly written and boldly sensual addition to her Bareknuckle Bastards series is another exquisitely constructed and exceptionally entertaining celebration of the power of love...” — Booklist (starred review)
“MacLean is not called the intoxicating queen of historical romance for nothing! She’s a master of intelligent dialogue, which adds to the tension, as several moments for a possible tryst pass the couple by...A fun, sexy read!” — Historical Novel Society
“Combining dark humor and plenty of heat between our brazen leads, and offering intriguing glimpses of the next installment, MacLean (Wicked and the Wallflower) once again gives us an independent-minded heroine discovering the possibilities of a future with a dangerous leader of Covent Garden’s underbelly.” — Library Journal
“Funny, playful and vivid, Sarah MacLean’s latest romance samples the best of both worlds with the earthy vigor of the slum’s crafty, loyal lower classes and the juicy intrigue of high society scandal.” — BookPage
“Brazen and the Beast is filled with lush sensuality, charming characters, witty dialogue and heart-stopping actiona tale that is certain to delight romance readers.” — Shelf Awareness
“This book is funny, sexy, and empathetic towards its characters.” — Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
“She’s my absolute go-to author for clever, sexy and fun historical romances.” — Jennifer L. Armentrout, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Here [MacLean] kicks off a new series, The Bareknuckle Bastards, that promises her darkest take yet. But even when MacLean goes dark… the sparkling wit and essential goodness of her characters shine through.” — New York Times Book Review
“MacLean’s books should be required reading...She is, without question, the elegantly fuming, utterly intoxicating queen of historical romance.” — Entertainment Weekly
“The devil is in the delightful details for MacLean’s first Bareknuckle Bastards Regency romance. MacLean (The Day of the Duchess) intersperses hints of mystery and intrigue with plentiful humor, crafting a touching story filled with charming characters readers will be eager to meet again.” — Publishers Weekly
“The romance is intensely passionate, the heroine is clever and perceptive...and the hero is the wickedest in his corner of the world... He’s also the perfect antidote to the ton – the world in which our heroine lives. When these opposites attract, the chemistry is combustible.” — All About Romance
BookPage
Funny, playful and vivid, Sarah MacLean’s latest romance samples the best of both worlds with the earthy vigor of the slum’s crafty, loyal lower classes and the juicy intrigue of high society scandal.
Smart Bitches
This book is funny, sexy, and empathetic towards its characters.
Booklist (starred review)
When it comes to crafting unforgettable romances that are both emotionally and thematically complex, nobody does it quite like RITA award-winning MacLean, and the latest brilliantly written and boldly sensual addition to her Bareknuckle Bastards series is another exquisitely constructed and exceptionally entertaining celebration of the power of love...
Shelf Awareness
Brazen and the Beast is filled with lush sensuality, charming characters, witty dialogue and heart-stopping actiona tale that is certain to delight romance readers.”
Historical Novel Society
MacLean is not called the intoxicating queen of historical romance for nothing! She’s a master of intelligent dialogue, which adds to the tension, as several moments for a possible tryst pass the couple by...A fun, sexy read!
Jennifer L. Armentrout
She’s my absolute go-to author for clever, sexy and fun historical romances.
Entertainment Weekly
Last year, we declared her the intoxicating queen of historical romance, and her latest...keeps that crown firmly atop her brilliantly erotic, feminist head. MacLean consistently elevates romance to high art, besting herself nearly every time she puts pen to paper, and Brazen and the Beast is no exception.
All About Romance
The romance is intensely passionate, the heroine is clever and perceptive...and the hero is the wickedest in his corner of the world... He’s also the perfect antidote to the ton – the world in which our heroine lives. When these opposites attract, the chemistry is combustible.
New York Times Book Review
Here [MacLean] kicks off a new series, The Bareknuckle Bastards, that promises her darkest take yet. But even when MacLean goes dark… the sparkling wit and essential goodness of her characters shine through.
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2019-05-27
An ambitious, smart, and outspoken earl's daughter faces off in business and pleasure against a gruff, protective, and sexy king of the London underworld who will stop at nothing to protect what is his.
Lady Henrietta "Hattie" Sedley wants to inherit the shipping business her father, an earl who won his title with bravery on the high seas, built into an empire. Instead, she is told to marry and have children while her foolish brother takes over. On the night of her 29th birthday, Hattie decides to render herself unmarriageable—while satisfying her keen sexual curiosity—by visiting a brothel, but the handsome brute of a man she finds tied up and unconscious in her carriage has other plans. Saviour Whittington is known as Beast in the slums where he and his siblings are feared and adored in equal measure. Benevolent protectors who rule with an iron fist, they run a smuggling operation to support their business enterprises in Covent Garden, "where darkness came like a promise, and brought with it all manner of malice." Hattie attempts to make a deal with Beast when she discovers that her brother has done him wrong, but he has less chaste ideas. Hattie is a tall, curvy woman whose shape does not fit Regency-era beauty standards. Beast is all too happy to show her just how desirable she is in several very explicit sex scenes: "She was brilliant and bold and strong and beautiful, and when she came, she moved against a man like sin." Beast's own self-worth was diminished by an abusive father and a violent past he fears he will never overcome. Hattie and Beast come to see their own value through each other's eyes, regardless of what society says about it. Strong female protagonists are the rule in genre romance, but Hattie stands out for the clarity of her goals and the intelligence with which she goes about achieving them.
Classic MacLean: smoking hot, emotionally rich, thrilling, and unforgettable.