A Regency re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, featuring a strong heroine and a scarred, tortured hero.Lord Victor Mayhew, Viscount Norcross, lives in the shadows, hiding his scarred face from those who would fear him… or worse, pity him. He’s become accustomed to the dark, and to the aching loneliness that is his only and constant companion. But while traversing the city in the dark of night, … traversing the city in the dark of night, he encounters a beautiful woman who is running for her life.
Lady Thessaly Shade has discovered that the prettiest of faces can hide the ugliest of hearts. While Lord Norcross keeps his face carefully concealed from her, he cannot hide the fact that he is a man of honor, a man for whom the word gentleman is a way of life and not merely an honorary title.
With no way to repay him for his kindness, for his courage in aiding her at great risk to himself, Thessaly bargains with the only thing she possesses of value… herself. Can she convince him to trust her, to believe that she can see beyond the scars he bears to the man he is? Or will he push her away out of fear and retreat into the loneliness that he knows so well?
The Beast of Bath is a 30,000 word novella previously published in the Wicked Fairytales Anthology. It features some violence and steamy, open door sex scenes.
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It’s always nice to read a book where one of the main characters aren’t perfect i looks.
Extremely well written. Very entertaining story with a great plot. Once I started I did not want to put it down. Will be reading more of her work.
Strength, kindness, honesty, and loyalty are, in my opinion, the foundation of a loving, life-long relationship. Both characters had these traits in abundance. Loved the story.
It kept you interested in the characters and the mystery of victor scarse. If victor would find love.
A great take on a tale as old as time. It could have been longer and more in depth and I would have enjoyed it even more. But as is, its a quick fun read.
The story and its’ characters could have used more development. It was predictable and ended quickly, without fanfare. Didn’t hold my interest.
While this book had good dialogue and a steamy love pairing, the villian(s -arguably) in this book were so easily overcome as to be nonexistent and the hero’s obstacles completely downgraded at the end. The whole thing was anticlimactic to the point where it was hard to take it seriously.
I love ‘Beauty & the Beast’ storylines and this book didn’t disappoint. Beast I could fall in love with & heroine that I could root for. Well done!
This story is a Beauty & the Beast variation, but also very original. I was surprised at how quickly I was drawn into the characters’ minds and stories. I’ll definitely look for her work again.
Was an interesting and enjoyable read! The book could have used a little more proofreading. A few words were missing but I still enjoyed it a lot.
This is a quick read, a version of beauty and the best. While not innovative, it is decently written.
Beautifully written story of a scarred gentleman and a very determined compassionate young woman. Each offers themselves, one in appreciation, and the other in honor. The result: love blooms.
I usually love beauty and the beast stories, but this was little more than window dressing for sex scenes.
Lord Victor Mayhew lives in the darkness and is known as the Beast of Bath. Scarred and left for dead several years ago, he now hides his face and roams the streets at night. Rescuing Lady Thessaly Shade from an abduction, she offers herself in payment for his help. Victor doesn’t want a mistress, he wants a wife. Happiness is theirs until the enemy from his past threatens her life. A swoon-worthy hero and a very compassionate lady. Open door sex
I really liked the story of the Beast of Bath. Viscount Norcross was injured by a friend (Neville) that he found was gathering information for nefarious reasons so he cut him off to having access to society engagements. Neville attacked Norcross and injured him badly. Ever since the attack Norcross kept to the darkness. On one of his nighttime excursions he came across a Lady in trouble. She agreed to “anything” if he would help her. Would she really agree to “anything” for the “beast”? You have to read this charming book to find out.
The Beast of Bath – Chasity Bowlin – I’ve decided that more ladies need to run around with the name Thessaly! This is a fun Regency BatB. Enjoy! Happy Reading!
So yeh my obsession with beauty and the beast type retellings is usually more a miss than a hit.
Happy to impart that was not the case with this particular one and I really enjoyed The Beast of Bath reading it in one complete sitting.
So lady Thessaly Shade while fleeing the clutches of her stepfather is rescued by Lord Victor Mayhew The Beast Of Bath.
Victor due to the scarring on his face hides in the shadows with only his oldest servants for company.
when Thessaly offers herself up in return for his protection instead of making her his mistress like she imagined he offers her marriage.
Right from the start, Thessaly recognises her good fortune and the gentle heart of her new husband she is also rather taken by his manly skills in the bedroom and despite not seeing his face she starts to fall for her new husband.
He still hides his face from her eyes believing she would run screaming if she saw it despite her assurances that he needs to trust in her and see her for who she really is like she does him.
So this was a very heartfelt and romantic read that left me feeling warm and fuzzy.
It also has some very sensual and sexy scenes between Thessaly and Victor.
There is also some added intrigue thrown in to further sweeten the pot.
This was all wrapped up in a heartfelt HEA really loved it.
One observation though I would have liked to see an epilogue of the two just to get a glimpse into the future
This was a lovely Beauty and the beast themed historical romance set in the early 1800s and I enjoyed it immensely.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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Since this is one of my favorite fairy tales, this version did not disappoint. Victor, Viscount Norcross, is the butt of gossip because of the scars on his face from a battle we find out later in this version. He is used to frighten children so they do not misbehave and becomes a hermit, venturing out only in the dark. But his soul is kind and gentle as Lady Thessaly discovers as she escapes from her stepfather who is going to sell her for a life as a prostitute. The story brings out the evil man is capable of – but also the goodness – compassion, loyalty, gentleness. Victor offers Thessaly marriage so he can protect her and have an heir – but falls hopelessly in love, even though he thinks he is unworthy. As for Thessaly, she sees the gentleness and caring in her husband. But the past intrudes in their lives and the final battle has an unexpected hero! Very entertaining even if you know the famous ending!
I started my journey into the world of fairytale romance with a retelling of Beauty & The Beast. This novella was a quickly paced, albeit familiar read. Bowlin stayed close, one could argue too close, to the Disney version of the tale. There was no Lumiere or Chip, but Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and a younger and more innocent Babette were included, along with the rose theme and yellow dress. Gaston has been replaced with the blackmailing Neville, and the father replaced by a villainous stepfather who is all to easily disliked.
There were grammatical and continuity errors throughout the story, and the character development and arcs could be stronger, but these things were easily overlooked by Bowlin’s writing style. I was grabbed by the first page and continued to read eagerly until I reached the end.
Normally, the errors listed above would have earned a 2 star or less rating from me, but I loved Bowlin’s version of this story too much. If other fairytale romances are like this one, I think I’ve found a new genre to enjoy.
I really enjoyed the strength of the female character having suffered through a great deal in her life but appreciating the soul of the man who saves her. I disliked greatly the number of typos throughout the book that are so distracting.