Ex-thief and daughter of one of London’s most notorious gangs, Adelaide Frampton has found herself a peer in society, living on the fringes as a wallflower in the most elite ballrooms. Using skills from her past she now deals in information and as the Matchbreaker she helps women escape from being sold into marriage. The Duke of Clayburn, Henry Carrington, finds himself on the receiving end of the Matchbreakers scheme when she tries to break up the love match between his brother and the woman he loves. They must work together to find the two lovebirds before the bride to be’s father catches up to them.

Adelaide had never been a wallflower in Henry’s eyes. He has noticed her every time their paths have crossed and he has bided his time before making an approach. He never figures that they would be on opposing sides, and works together with her in a race to find the bride and groom. As they spend time with each other, they of course discover an incredible chemistry. Nothing unusual in that except for the fact that Adelaide’s secret also become revealed making her even more interesting to the Duke.

I’m a big fan of Sarah MacLean’s historical romances. I like how she always chooses a subject, in this case how young women were used as chattel and bargaining tools for their families. Marrying them off to better the family but often putting them in the hands of men who abuse them. As a bit of a feminist myself, I find this subject appalling and fascinating and looked forward to reading how her character was fighting this in a unique and interesting way. Usually in a historical romance the plot might revolve around a woman in jeopardy but this was a woman who knew how to fight her own battles leaving Henry to find his place beside her instead of taking the lead. I enjoyed this twist in the plot. Henry had his own back story that was quite interesting and had to re-work his plans on what he had wanted his future to look like. This added a little additional tension to the story and appealed to me quite a bit. I enjoyed the direction this author took with this novel!

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Grace Condry, along with her adopted brothers, lived on London’s streets as children after running away from their abusive father. They toughed it out, fighting for money and eventually becoming powerful on their own and as adults fight for a different cause. The betterment of their neighborhood. When Ewan, the Duke of Marwick terrorizes their home, the brothers band together to protect Grace, his one time love. They’ve never forgiven Ewan for his betrayal, but Grace never forgot their long ago love. Can she forgive Ewan for her broken heart?

I’ve really enjoyed this series about these bastard children of a Duke and the hardships they’ve overcome to build a life in one of the deadlier neighborhoods in London. The first two novels told the story of the brothers, and Grace only had a small part in those so I never felt I really got to know her. In Daring and the Duke we finally see the culmination of this hatred between the three brothers who were ripped apart while fighting for a Dukedom. They’ve hated Ewan pretty viciously so I didn’t really know what to think about this love interest for Grace and was really only mildly curious. I was intrigued with how Sarah MacLean would tell their story and make me care for a heroine who had always lived in the darkness.

Grace was not your typical regency heroine. She is a madame of a brothel where the roles are flipped. This is a place where gentile women can go to live out their fantasies choosing from a bevy of men. Kind of an interesting job for a heroine of a novel, right? The author did a good job of portraying her role in a female empowerment kind of way so that it felt different but not disreputable. Well, maybe only slightly. Who was this woman who wore pants, managed a brothel, and held a sword as well as a man? It turns out, she was a pretty interesting one! My question was, what would this Duke be like and how would he hold her interest?

Secrets were finally revealed about the truth behind Ewan’s role in their betrayal and it turns out he had a very good reason for his behavior when they were children. Don’t worry I won’t spoil the plot, but needless to say when Grace hear’s it she doesn’t find it difficult to forgive Ewan. How though, does a brothel owner and a Duke maintain a relationship? For me, that was the real conflict in this novel and one I would think would be a doozy! The author creates a very interesting and surprising resolution! Is it realistic? Nope! But, this is a historical romance so realism kind of gets thrown out the window.

I had never read a Sarah Maclean novel prior to reading this series and I have to say I was impressed. The characters are very non traditional and feel real because they weren’t a complete fantasy. Their situations didn’t feel as real, but like I said above you kind of have to let reality slide when you choose to read a historical romance. She created a great fantasy world and is an author I’d turn to when wanting to escape my own bit of reality.

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