BRAZEN AND THE BEAST follows Hattie, a woman ready to take charge of her life and circumstances, and Whit, one of the Bareknuckle Bastards we met in the previous book.

The premise of this historical romance is fantastic, as Sarah MacLean does so well with fun concepts. Hattie is a fat character, something that is sadly less common in romance, especially historical romance, and she is written well in that regard. Her size is never a joke to the reader, and while she has self-confidence, she also understands that her appearance does not meet with what society approves as beautiful and initially believes Whit holds the same standard. I adored how Hattie begins to put less and less worth on 'society' and more on her own ambitions and dreams, like taking over her father's business. She is without doubt one of my favorite MacLean heroines.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting with other parts of the book. Whit fell a little flat for me, and the plot wasn't as much of a page-turner as I had hoped. However, I am still so happy that we have a historical romance that focuses on a fat woman taking charge, finding love, and getting a happily ever after.