The Beast of Beswick (Regency Rogues, #1) (Everleigh Sisters, #1)

by Amalie Howard

• ISBN13: 9781640637412
• Publish Date: 1 December 2019 (first published 26 November 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Entangled: Amara
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: http://melia.co.uk/page/detail/?k=9781640637412

Reviews

[scarr]

3.75 stars
Who am I to resist a Beauty and the Beast retelling? I enjoyed the writing and the premise, however like many “enemies to lovers” books one of the characters is a wee bit too angsty and it’s like OK ALREADY just tell each other, “I love you”. To be fair, that is why folks tend to enjoy this genre - the angst! So this may be perfect for you if you love a good old angst-fest.

[EBookObsessed]

A wonderful story of love despite adversity.

Lady Astrid Everleigh was wronged by her fiance, the Earl of Beaumont. He showed drunk at a party and insisted she go with him to find a bedroom since they were engaged anyway. She refused to sleep with him and realizing she definitely didn't want to sleep with him ever, she broke off their engagement. Since he was a dashing and rich ass, he told everyone he broke off the engagement since Astrid was a slut which of course required no proof. So Astrid and her family were shunned by the ton for her shameful behavior. Shocking this makes Astrid a bit of bitter and angry.

Forward a few years, her parents have died leaving her in the loving care of an uncle and aunt who have pissed away their own fortune and in order to supplement their own failings agrees to an engagement of Astrid's younger sister, Isobel, to the same Earl of Beaumont. Apparently he is still harboring a crushed ego at Astrid's refusal to sleep with his awesomeness so he plans to be a brutal husband to her little sister, and he happily tells her all about his plans of revenge. Astrid is almost old enough to inherit her fortune and be guardian to her sister so the Uncle and the Earl are working extra hard to make this wedding happen before that time.

Since Astrid can't speed up time, her only other option would be to find a man willing to marry her--an old decrepit spinster of 24 with a shady reputation--but she thinks she has just the candidate. Nathaniel Harte is the Duke of Beswick, but the ton refers to him as The Beast because he was horribly disfigured fighting in the war when he saved all his men by taking a group of French soldiers single-handedly. While he did win the fight, Thane was mauled by their bayonets, taking out chunks of his face and his body. Astrid arrives at his home and demands to see him and makes him an offer of marriage. She will produce him heirs and he will protect her and her sister.  Astrid is rather shocked when he turns her down as he has no interest in fathering children or being burdened with a wife and her sister.

After a good slap down, Thane believes he has heard the last of that ballsy shrew, but Astrid is determined to save her sister so she returns with another proposal.  Astrid will help him appraise and catalog all of the art Thane inherited so he can have an auction and donate the money. This will give Astrid and Isobel a safe place to live until Astrid reaches her majority and can take care of them without a husband.

This plans is working great until Isobel gets cabin fever and insists it would be perfectly safe if she and Astrid can go to town.   By this time, we are all sick of whiny Isobel and of course, they are noticed in Town, sending, the Aunt, Uncle and the Earl fast on their heels to Beswick's door. This leaves Astrid and Thane no choice but to get married to save Isobel.

At this point, no one realizes that Astrid and Thane are fighting a serious attraction for each other and while they pretend to be reluctant, they are anything but. Of course, stupid Isobel decides she needs to save Astrid from a marriage to a monster and runs off leaving a note which requires everyone to stop what they are doing to run after her before she does something stupid. By this time, I am so sick of Isobel, I would have just let her go ruin her life. Sorry. Sometimes it is Survival of the Fittest and the stupid must go.

What I like most about this story is that it was the first actual Beast story that had a Beast aspect to it instead of just a scar and a sad backstory. Thane was brutalized during the battle and managed to find a doctor, not a battle surgeon, who sewed him back together but not expecting him to actual survive. Thane has horrible Frankenstein scars on his face and chunks missing from his body. He deserves to snarl and be cranky since people stare at him, point and runaway. Astrid does flinch the first time she sees him, which is part of why he turns down her proposal originally, but after spending time with him, she becomes immune to the horror of his scars and focuses on his snappy personality and eventually how attracted she is to him.   Of course, they both fear that they are the one in too deep and want to protect their vulnerable heart so it takes a lot of time to get them to admit their feelings.

I loved the scene after Isobel first meets Thane and is horrified and wants to leave and Astrid gives her one hell of a firm slap-down that Thane is an injured war hero who has kindly taken them in off the street, he should be respected and Isobel needs to grow up and get over herself.  Loved it!

This was noted as a Beauty and the Beast/Taming of the Shrew story but I felt that was harsh to call Astrid a shrew. Astrid had her life turned upside down by this spoiled jackass. She had to give up all dreams of a family of her own because he slandered her and yet she still couldn't stop this ass from ruining her and her sister's lives further just because he was vindictive. She wasn't shrewish so much as jaded and determined not to be further trampled on since she was fighting for her and her sister's futures.

The only plot point I felt was brushed over was how the hell Astrid picked out Thane to solve all her problems. He wasn't a neighbor since they were hiding somewhere no one would look for them but he wasn't that far that it would have taken them days to get there. She just showed up saying she knew he needed a wife to give him an heir. How did she know this? Gossip columns? Obviously, the fragile debutantes of the ton were not knocking down his door no matter his title and his wealth, but how did she pick Thane. Why not some old guy or poor Lord who would have married a scorned woman for her fortune? I don't know if he was injured before or after her engagement was called off. Did she hear of his plight and kept him as a Plan B in the back of her mind? I just thought it was odd that we never discussed why she came knocking on Thane's door.  He couldn't have been the only wounded soldier who the ladies were ignoring.  Sorry but that missing piece irked me a bit.

It was an enjoyable story with the exception of my desire to get rid of Isobel for being so annoyingly stupid.  Apparently there is an Isobel story coming but I am not sure I care enough about her to pick it up.

Received an ARC from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

See more at EBookObsessed.com

I really enjoyed this. Astrid was hilarious. And Thane was pretty funny himself. Both of them are intelligent and it was interesting to see Astrid outwit Thane. Isobel seemed a bit naive at times but she certainly learnt how to be a strong fierce woman from her older sister. And Astrid had that in spades.

Another Beauty and the Beast type story. I really enjoyed this. The banter is wicked - fast and fresh and funny. Astrid is a strong intelligent woman who is fiercely indepdendant and determined to look after her younger sister. Her relationship with Isobel is sweet even if Isobel herself kind of annoyed me with her judgement of Thane. Still, even though Isobel seemed rather naive she definitely picked up some of her sister's tricks and is soon forging her own path.

Thane and Astrid together is intense. They're both fiercly passionate and unbelievably stubborn. And hilarious. The banter has me cackling like mad and the romance had me breathless. It was just perfect, everything you want in your Beauty and the Beast tale.

The only thing I loved more was Aunt Mabel because seriously - "Smiling, Astrid grabbed the hoop from where it had rolled and stared at it, horrified. And then Mabel’s earlier concentration suddenly made sense. The lovingly stitched image was not a leaf motif as hers had been. Instead, it was a…phallus. A very large, very detailed specimen, complete with a pair of embroidered testicles."

Howard, Amalie. The Beast of Beswick . Entangled Publishing, LLC. Kindle Edition.

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

It has been awhile since I read a historical romance, but after reading the blurb for The Beast of Beswick, I knew I had to read it, and I am so glad got the opportunity to do so. I enjoyed Astrid and Thane’s story. It had all the feels, and it swept me away and kept me reading through the wee hours.

Astrid and her sister are under the guardianship of their aunt and uncle until they got married. Astrid’s chances of getting married were ruined when the man who had been courting her ruined her reputation. Since then, her sole focus was on protecting her sister. She was determined that her sister had the chance to marry well, but their uncle had other plans. He intends to marry Astrid’s sister to the same man who had ruined her reputation. Astrid is no fool, and she devised a strategy, which involves finding a husband to thwart her uncle’s plan. The perfect man for her plan was none other than the Duke of Beswick, Lord Nathaniel Harte.

Thane dubbed the Beast of Beswick because of scars he received while at war. The scars were so severe he rarely appears in public because of the stares, whispering and ridicule he faces. Physical scars was not his only issue. His biggest issue were the scars, which were buried deep in is heart. Scars, which led to him distancing himself from his peers and living in complete isolation. He believes no woman would want to be with him much less to marry him. So imagine his surprise when Astrid approached him with what he considered a ridiculous proposal.

I found their initial meeting fun, which led to me wanting more of these two. Their chemistry was undeniable. There may have been instant, but their love for each grew overtime. Thane fought his feelings, but with a strong, outspoken, independent and determined woman like Astrid, he didn’t stand a chance of winning that battle.

The secondary characters played an important role in driving the story. Thane’s valet, butler and aunt had me laughing throughout most of the story. Thane’s aunt had no shame, and she made no apologies for her actions. His valet and butler proved to more than mere servants. They did not fear speaking their minds especially in the face of Thane’s ire.

The author weaved an emotional and steamy tale and I enjoyed her spin on the classic Beauty and the Beast.

Conclusion/Recommendation
I have no reservations recommending this book to fans of historical romance. I enjoyed Thane and Astrid’s story and I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

[verkaskodova]

3,5

Trochu lepší styl než u té poslední červené knihovny, kterou jsem četla (je to pár dnů zpátky a já si nepamatuju ani název :D), ale ta druhá polovina to bohužel pro mě dorazila. Hl. hrdinka inkarnovaná feministka z 21. století a tvrdohlavý taneček, kde jsem měla pocit, že jsem ta stejná slova četla co deset stran zpátky. Tak do prvních 60% to bylo boží, pak už fakt ne.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Let me tell you why I love The Beast of Beswick. The story opens in the home of Lady Astrid Everleigh’s Aunt and Uncle. Astrid lives here with her sixteen year sister. Her Uncle and Aunt are their legal guardians until the girls marry or come of age. It seems her Uncle has plans to marry her younger sister off to the man that ruined Astrid. Determined to save her sister and knowing the terms of her parent’s will she sets out to marry and not just anyone. To thwart her Uncle and her enemy, she will need Lord Nathaniel Harte, the disagreeable Duke of Beswick! Intrigued?

From Thane (The Beast) and Astrid’s first encounter I was all in. I loved the sizzling chemistry, the slow-build but most of all the sharp barbs, quick wit and snarky banter. These two were a joy to read about and they simple came to life on the page.

Thane was badly wounded in battle and carries scars the mar his face, back, and legs. He suffers both physically and mentally from the wounds. Howard did a splendid job of explaining what has led him to become basically a recluse and allowed the reader to understand his gruff and explosive personality. I wanted to hug him and throttle him on more than one occasion.

Astrid is headstrong, independent and outspoken. I imagine she would have had a difficult time even if her first season wasn’t ruined. I adored her but also appreciated the growth we witnessed.

Secondary characters from Astrid’s sister to Thane’s servants added humor, interest and suspense. I adored Thane’s Aunt and would like to take tea with her. I imagine she has some stories to tell.

If you are looking for a Beauty and the Beast retelling filled with strong, loveable, snarky characters wrapped in heat and swaddled in a regency romance, I cannot help but recommend The Beast of Beswick. I, for one, loved every word. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer