The Beast of Beswick

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.

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale, because it is the one where the couple’s love doesn’t happen at first sight. I am always interested in reading an author’s take on the classic tale and how they see the couple coming together. I read several glowing recommendations for this book and was excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, my only thought as I closed the book was, “What a waste of potential.”

Read my full review: https://rebeccasreadingcorner.blog/review-amalie-howard-the-beast-of-beswick/

I liked this “Beauty and the Beast” retelling about Lady Astrid who needs to save her sister from a marriage to a Lord who did Amelia wrong and ruined her reputation when she was her sisters age.
Her uncle wishes the marriage to happen so she sees no other choice than to turn to the reclusive Beast of Beswick to save them and propose marriage.
Thane has excluded himself from society because of his scars. He is very moody and angry over his situation but when Lady Astrid suddenly shows up like a whirlwind and invades his life he can’t help but be intrigued by this beauty and he slowly starts opening up wishing to be the person she can fall for and save.

I really love the transformation Thane goes through and you can’t help falling for this beautiful man with a great and loving mind. He just needed an amazing stubborn loving woman to help him think differently about his life and appearance and know that he was worth the fight for a beautiful loving life.
Astrid is this woman and she doesn’t give up on him.

I was really annoyed with Astrids sister who almost ruined everything. She was really naive and stubborn.
The story was also a little to long. But the ending was great and the villains were really great villains.

I can definitely recommend this book.

I got this book from Entangled Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Easily one of my favorite reads of 2019! A delightful twist on the standard “beauty and the beast” trope. I adored the strong heroine.

The Beast of Beswick was a historical romance with a modern day feel. There was no old English language to get caught up in so readers could instead get lost in the fabulous story of Thane and Astrid’s romance.

Lord Nathaniel Harte has vowed to never marry and to live out the rest of his life doing as he pleases at his estate. Left scarred from his wartime service, he’s not much into appearances or what others think and would rather rely on his own devices.

Lady Astrid Everleigh may have been compromised by a scoundrel, but she’ll do anything to keep her sister from making the same mistake, including offer herself up to the Beast of Beswick as his bride to gain protection for her sister.

While neither wanted marriage, they find they may be better suited than first thought and their marriage of convenience turns into so much more.

Thane truly acts the beast when we first meet him. His physical scars cause him to hide away from society, letting no one in other than a few trusted servants and his beloved aunt. He doesn’t want a wife. Honestly, he doesn’t want anything except to be left alone. But, when Astrid shows up asking for a marriage of convenience, he can’t let her walk away.

I adored Astrid. She’s so unlike the typical lady of the time period, being strong willed, intelligent, outspoken and extremely witty. She knows her mind and doesn’t love that a woman really has no say in her own future and is willing to do anything to protect her sister. Her outspokenness is refreshing and I love that she’s willing to go after what she wants.

I truly loved the dance of this couple. Thane pushes Astrid away due to his fears and insecurities. Astrid loves Thane but is afraid to give her whole heart. Yet, they fit together and enjoy the banter and company they provide to each other. Their chemistry is off the charts. And, while a lady, Astrid is anything but a prude.

The Beast of Beswick was a gorgeous love story with smokin’ hot romance, fabulous characters and witty dialogue. 5 Stars.

I loved this book! Astrid and Thane’s love story is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and I really enjoyed the author’s writing. Her prose is vivid and the characters jumped off the page. The highlight for me was the laugh out loud dialogue between the hero and heroine. If you’re looking for a quick, fast-paced read, check this one out.

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.

This Regency Romance was my first, yep I said it, MY FIRST! But now I’m intrigued with the genre. I got a sample of the first few chapters and knew I had to read this Beauty and The Beast retelling.

Thane’s Alpha personality, his protectiveness and the vulnerability he held deep inside had me in love with him in no time. And as infatuated as he and Astrid became with each other, it took breaking down a few walks for them to fall in love. I loved experiencing as every layer was peeled back, as this couple fell in love. And they both had layers to peel back and walls to break down. It was so beautifully executed.

I will definitely be checking out more titles from this author, as her writing is absolutely amazing.

This is the first book that I have read form this author and now am eagerly awaiting to read the sequel. It is an English spin on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. The characters are fascinating and the story masterfully written.

Lady Astrid Everleigh is the beauty. Nine years ago as an innocent 16 year old, she became engaged to Edmund Cain, but when he tried to take her, before their wedding, she found his advanced repulsive and cried off. Revengeful, he lied and claimed that he called off the wedding, because she lacked virtue. Her family was shamed and left society and a year later after their parents died from an illness, she and her younger sister Isobel were left in the care of their aunt and uncle, who had spent through most of their fortune. However, their father had gifted them each a fortune, only to be released upon marriage or their 26 birthdays. For further revenge, Cain, now the Earl of Beaumont is sniffing after young Isobel and their uncle is ready to sell her to him. Astrid can think of only person who might help her- The Beast of Beswick, aka, the Duke of Beswick, Lord Nathaniel Harte.

Nataniel Harte was the second son, the spare. His father was a cold hearted man, so he secured himself a captain’s commission and head off to war. Cain was a deserter who abandoned his post resulting in his men being ambushed. Nataniel managed to save only four of his men while he was stabbed by bayonets, almost costing him his life and leaving him mutilated with hideous scars. While Cain somehow manage to lie about the engagement and make himself a hero, the ton and everyone he cared about, his father, brother and fiancee, turned their backs on him instead of recognizing him for the real hero. Everyone except his beloved Aunt Mabel. After the deaths of both his brother and father, he becomes the Duke of Beswick. With both visible and emotional scars, he has locked himself away at Beswick Park, with a few faithful retainers that he has known most of his life (and who will call him when he is self destructing), and a swinging door of others, who had no empathy for this fractured soul. One of the few pleasures he has is destroying his father’s priceless porcelain vase collection.

Astride offers herself up as a bride, but he has no interest in marrying or producing children, who would be scorned by their peers and eventually leave him. But after she returns home and finds that her aunt and uncle had deliberately arranged for Isobel to be compromised by Beaumont, she packs them up quickly and with a few loyal staff, returns to Beswick Park to offer herself as a housekeeper and to inventory the vases, as her father had given her a superior education. He agrees to give the ladies safe haven and asks his aunt to chaparon. And thus, Astrid and Thane (Nathaniel) become verbal sparring partners and gradually develop and tender for each other. But can Astrid convince him that he is the only man that she wants and needs?

Wonderful characters, entertaining repartee, lush descriptions and intrigue make this a very entertaining book.

Loved it!