Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean
Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Bareknuckle Bastards #2

Release Date: July 30, 2019

Lady Henrietta “Hattie” Sedley is preparing for a very special night out, but her plans are derailed even before they begin when she finds a gorgeous, unconscious man tied up in her carriage. Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of the “Year of Hattie”, this her 29th year will be the year she finally made her dreams come true and she refuses to let this man ruin it! She wakes him up and asks why he is in her carriage (even though she has a pretty good idea who put him there) – when he is less than cooperative, she unties him, he steals a kiss and she pushes him out of the carriage – problem solved and she can carry on with her night! Hattie wants nothing more than to take over her father’s shipping business, but her father wants her to marry and for her brother Augie to run the business, so she forms a plan to change his mind, Hattie is not opposed to marriage, but she has spent many seasons on the marriage mart and has never had an offer, she knows she is not what men consider attractive, she is too tall, too plump and too outspoken, but her father just refuses to believe it, so she will make herself unmarriageable and for that she needs to be ruined.

Saviour “Whit” Whittington AKA the Beast is revered in Covent Gardens, he along with his brother Devil are known as the Bareknuckle Bastards and there is nothing that happens in Covent Gardens that they don’t know about – so when he wakes in a carriage and remembers that he was driving a shipment of goods and was attacked, he wants answers and he is pretty sure the intriguing woman who just pushed him out of her carriage is the key to discovering who robbed him.

He finds her in a brothel for women and strikes a deal – she will find and return his goods and he will help her set her plan in motion by bedding her. Hattie knows her brother Augie stole Whit’s property and fears for his life, she returns home and finds her brother, stabbed and whining – she learns why he stole from the Bareknuckle Bastards and the staggering amount that he has taken.
Hattie figures out a way to repay Whit and can’t wait for him to find her, instead she goes looking for him in Covent Gardens. He learns she is looking for him and tails her for a bit, he only intervenes when he believes she is in dangers, but much to his surprise, Hattie isn’t the one who needs saving! Who is this goddess and why does he want her so badly?

I really loved this book, it is a well written, fast paced story with lots of emotion, action, great secondary characters, a heroine who can hold her own and doesn’t need saving, steamy love scenes, a bit of heartache, betrayal and dreams coming true! This is the second book in the series, but it can definitely be read as a stand-alone with no problem and I am happy to recommend it!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected e-ARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher. *