The Beast of Beswick

A beautiful retelling! The Beast of Beswick is a new take on a tale as old as time, featuring a delightfully crude duke and an impassioned, independent lady who refuses to take no for an answer. It's hard not to be inspired by the love and loyalty Astrid exhibits as she fights to keep her younger sister, beauteous and innocent Isobel, from the dastardly clutches of the same earl who had smeared her name during her first Season several years before. Although rough around the edges, Nathaniel "Thane" Harte is more than he seems and even his damaged body and often foul temper won't dissuade Astrid from winning him over and looking beyond his "beastly" appearance. The Beast of Beswick gives readers a glimpse into the world of the ton and introduces several strong female characters who seek to move beyond the constraints of their stations. Astrid and Duchess Mabel, Thane's eccentric aunt, are wonderful examples of female empowerment and the latter provides more than her fair share of comedic moments bolstered by her unapologetic lust for life (and other things). Thane and Astrid's strong personalities create a riveting push and pull relationship that keeps the reader invested and their passion is off the charts! I can't wait to see Isobel's own temerity take center stage in The Rakehell of Roth. I would definitely recommend this book!

I think I have stumbled across a magnificent author. Amalie Howard has written a beautiful and powerful Regency romance with a hero who is scarred from the inside out. This isn’t just a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Howard steps into deeper issues in this story- examining the treatment of women and the disabled in Britain in the early 1800’s. I thought she did an amazing job of character development. Each person just comes to life, leaping off the page with energy and vulnerability. “Astrid blushed, but his mouth sought hers again, and she pushed herself up on tiptoe to meet him, greedy for more of the sensations bursting like wildfire inside. When he licked deep, ribbons of pleasure unraveled in her veins, making her gasp against his mouth. She clutched at him, at those broad shoulders, winding urgent fingers into fabric and slanting her mouth on his, desperate to match the delicious, decadent flex of his tongue.” There are a number of steamy sex scenes. I am looking forward to reading more from Ms. Howard. I was given a copy of this book.

The title alone would have lured me to read this book, but I love this author's stories and knew it would be great. My favorite trope of all is the scarred, wounded hero or heroine because I think a lot of us have had hardships of some type and to see the love and happy ever after always warms my heart. There are a lot of reviews going back over the story, so I want to just keep it short and say Amalie Howard has taken the beloved tale of Beauty and the Beast and put her excellent prose to work and created a well written, emotionally satisfying rendiditon that will go on my keeper shelf. A man who is wounded, physically and emotionally and a beautiful strong woman who is determined to save her sister from a blackguard she knows of too well. Desperate times call for desperate measures and she insinuates herself in his life and what a journey that take to that happy ending! Just perfect.