I don't typically read romance, but when I read the first look of Amalie Howard's newest romance, "The Beast of Beswick" I was intrigued. The idea of her taking elements of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and combining it with the fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast" had me sold from the start. I'm happy to say that this book did not disappoint. I absolutely loved the Astrid as the main character and heroine in large part because she was intelligent, quick to action when it came to needing to find a way to protect her sister Isobel from the clutches of a known scoundrel, and she had no idea of just how beautiful she truly was. Astrid is the kind of female character that is ahead of her time in her thinking that she is just as capable of doing things that men typically do and that her sex shouldn't be considered a hindrance or a disability.
When it came to Thane, I found myself wanting, more than once, to give him a good smack upside the head and call him out for being an idiot. Despite his drawbacks, he was a great character and I enjoyed learning more about him as Astrid slowly drew out the softer side of him, and seeing him open up to her and experience the emotional healing he needed as the book went along.
One of the things I most appreciated about this book was that unlike in the fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast" where it can be argued that Beauty falls in love with the Beast, her jailer, due to Stockholm Syndrome; Astrid is never a prisoner within Thane's house. In fact he tries numerous times to set her out only to have her insist on sticking around. The fact that Astrid insists on placing herself in this situation in order to help protect her sister and not because she's being forced to repay a debt owed by a family member made watching the developing romance of Astrid and Thane that much more enjoyable and even belieavable.
Overall, this was a delightful read that I read in a day and I know that I'll revisit it again along with recommend it to friends.
When it came to Thane, I found myself wanting, more than once, to give him a good smack upside the head and call him out for being an idiot. Despite his drawbacks, he was a great character and I enjoyed learning more about him as Astrid slowly drew out the softer side of him, and seeing him open up to her and experience the emotional healing he needed as the book went along.
One of the things I most appreciated about this book was that unlike in the fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast" where it can be argued that Beauty falls in love with the Beast, her jailer, due to Stockholm Syndrome; Astrid is never a prisoner within Thane's house. In fact he tries numerous times to set her out only to have her insist on sticking around. The fact that Astrid insists on placing herself in this situation in order to help protect her sister and not because she's being forced to repay a debt owed by a family member made watching the developing romance of Astrid and Thane that much more enjoyable and even belieavable.
Overall, this was a delightful read that I read in a day and I know that I'll revisit it again along with recommend it to friends.