Review - Brazen and the Beast - Sarah MacLean

Ohhhh goodness. This book. Sarah MacLean has done it again in Brazen and the Beast, the second in the Bareknuckle Bastards series. This book focuses on Whit, a.k.a. Beast, the second of the Bareknuckle Bastards, kings of the Covent Garden rookeries, and Lady Henrietta Sedley, a.k.a. Hattie, daughter of a successful shipping merchant.

Hattie sets out to take over the course of her life in the "Year of Hattie", but her plan goes awry the very first night when she discovers a man unconscious and tied up in her carriage. Knowing it must be the work of her ne'er-do-well brother, Hattie unties the man and throws him from her carriage, but not before sharing a passionate kiss.

Beast, having been dumped out of a moving carriage, vows to find the mysterious woman, who must be connected to recent attacks on his smuggling shipments, and find out who is responsible.

The characterization of Hattie and Beast is masterfully done. In the first book in the series, Beast was the strong, silent type. While he still is, in this book we get to see that in fact his thoughts are many and myriad, even if he still doesn't say much.

Hattie is every woman who has ever been told that she's not enough, or too much, or just not. Watching her find her confidence is amazing.

This book is a must-read, mixing high-ton events with low-class Covent Garden. Would definitely recommend!