Brazen and the Beast

June 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.

August 1, 2019

Lady Henrietta Sedley is determined to inherit the family business, regardless of society's expectations of women in Victorian England. She's certain the way to do this is to ruin herself for marriage. Declaring her 29th year the Year of Hattie, she embarks on her plans. But things go off the rails almost before they start when she encounters a strange but impossibly beautiful man bound at the wrists and ankles in the carriage she'd planned to use for her escape. Saviour Whittington may rule Covent Garden and the rest of London as Beast, one of the Bareknuckle Bastards, but he's taken aback by Hattie's frank and intelligent demeanor. Convinced she knows who orchestrated the attacks on his family's smuggling business, he proposes a trade: he'll bring about Hattie's ruin if she reveals what she knows. VERDICT 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.--Kellie Tilton, Univ. of Cincinnati Blue Ash

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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

Starred review from July 1, 2019
Before her arrival at 72 Shelton Street (a discreet establishment catering to the romantic needs of ladies), Lady Henrietta Hattie Sedley had been quite specific in what she required in a man. Saviour Whit Whittington, whom Hattie had just a few hours before tossed out of her carriage, is not that man at all. Whit, however, is positive that Hattie knows exactly who not only left him tied up in her carriage but who is also responsible for stealing something very valuable from him. While he may not be the man Hattie ordered, he is more than willing to offer his services if she will meet his price. When it comes to crafting unforgettable romances that are both emotionally and thematically complex, nobody does it quite like RITA Award-winning MacLean (Wicked and the Wallflower, 2018), 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 to transform lives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)