“She would just have to marry a different kind of beast than the earl to save her sister. And she knew just the man”
For as much romance as I read, I haven’t really gotten into Historical Romance, Regency, Victorian, or What-Have-You. Somehow, this book really broke through that. I had just finished a great Victorian novel so I think maybe that helped? But mainly, this book is really just that fantastic.
Think of this book as a kinda “The Taming of the Shrew” and kinda “Beauty and the Beast” that just also happens to be Regency romance for the ages. It centers of Lady Astrid Everleigh who has completely given up on love for herself and is determined to find happiness for her younger sister. When a terrible earl, who’s burned Astrid before, comes looking for her sister, she decides she’ll need a beast of a man to help her. Lord Nathaniel Harte is disagreeable at best, and anyone who doesn’t like it can leave, but then Lady Astrid comes calling and he can’t help himself. With a ruined face, he’ll always be alone, but with Lady Astrid, it’s never felt more possible.
From the moment she bursts through the doors Astrid asserts herself as a force of a woman, she’s stubborn, hilarious, and completely scandalous. I loved her immediately and loved following her narrative. She is just, such a dream heroine. She gets put into the most impossible of situations and is focused on getting her way through sheer resolve.
Thane was also the perfect beast for me, really harsh, but mush on the inside. Cute mush and a heart of gold. He was super jaded and rude, but never overly mean. And I liked his background in the military to explain why he became that way. His constant bickering with those around him and losing to their logic was an absolute joy to see and isn’t that what enemies-to-lovers is all about? I also loved him wearing and forgetting his hat all the time and his relationship with his Aunt, who was simply perfect in this book.
Lady Mabel (Thane’s Aunt) is exactly who I would want to be if I was in a Regency: rich, single, and ready for scandals. She was funny and charming and honest. Fletcher (Thane’s Servent, but basically best friend) was also a fantastic side-character. It might just be that any character that gave Thane a hard time about crushing on a girl was destined to land well in my regard, but these two side characters brought me such great entertainment.
Although at times I thought the plot to be overly simple for me, I really loved how it used its tropes in the best ways. I was only surprised once or twice in the book and never really shocked about anything, but this just wasn’t a book for that. i wouldn’t call it predictable because that implies that I was bored with it, in reality it just wasn’t a book that was out to surprise me. I am a simple woman who just was to read two characters argue with each other until they kiss and share a bed, or a bath…whatever the case may be.
The only character I wasn’t crazy about was Astrid’s sister, Isobel. I just didn’t like the way she handled stuff or how she reacts to certain things. She was also pretty dull for the majority of the book, yes she got a bit better toward the end. However, she never really did anything that made me like her. And with most of the plot revolving around keeping her safe, I had hoped to at least like her a bit.
TL;DR: An excellent swoon-worthy romance with all your favorite tropes! There’s really no reason to not get on this book immediately.
For as much romance as I read, I haven’t really gotten into Historical Romance, Regency, Victorian, or What-Have-You. Somehow, this book really broke through that. I had just finished a great Victorian novel so I think maybe that helped? But mainly, this book is really just that fantastic.
Think of this book as a kinda “The Taming of the Shrew” and kinda “Beauty and the Beast” that just also happens to be Regency romance for the ages. It centers of Lady Astrid Everleigh who has completely given up on love for herself and is determined to find happiness for her younger sister. When a terrible earl, who’s burned Astrid before, comes looking for her sister, she decides she’ll need a beast of a man to help her. Lord Nathaniel Harte is disagreeable at best, and anyone who doesn’t like it can leave, but then Lady Astrid comes calling and he can’t help himself. With a ruined face, he’ll always be alone, but with Lady Astrid, it’s never felt more possible.
From the moment she bursts through the doors Astrid asserts herself as a force of a woman, she’s stubborn, hilarious, and completely scandalous. I loved her immediately and loved following her narrative. She is just, such a dream heroine. She gets put into the most impossible of situations and is focused on getting her way through sheer resolve.
Thane was also the perfect beast for me, really harsh, but mush on the inside. Cute mush and a heart of gold. He was super jaded and rude, but never overly mean. And I liked his background in the military to explain why he became that way. His constant bickering with those around him and losing to their logic was an absolute joy to see and isn’t that what enemies-to-lovers is all about? I also loved him wearing and forgetting his hat all the time and his relationship with his Aunt, who was simply perfect in this book.
Lady Mabel (Thane’s Aunt) is exactly who I would want to be if I was in a Regency: rich, single, and ready for scandals. She was funny and charming and honest. Fletcher (Thane’s Servent, but basically best friend) was also a fantastic side-character. It might just be that any character that gave Thane a hard time about crushing on a girl was destined to land well in my regard, but these two side characters brought me such great entertainment.
Although at times I thought the plot to be overly simple for me, I really loved how it used its tropes in the best ways. I was only surprised once or twice in the book and never really shocked about anything, but this just wasn’t a book for that. i wouldn’t call it predictable because that implies that I was bored with it, in reality it just wasn’t a book that was out to surprise me. I am a simple woman who just was to read two characters argue with each other until they kiss and share a bed, or a bath…whatever the case may be.
The only character I wasn’t crazy about was Astrid’s sister, Isobel. I just didn’t like the way she handled stuff or how she reacts to certain things. She was also pretty dull for the majority of the book, yes she got a bit better toward the end. However, she never really did anything that made me like her. And with most of the plot revolving around keeping her safe, I had hoped to at least like her a bit.
TL;DR: An excellent swoon-worthy romance with all your favorite tropes! There’s really no reason to not get on this book immediately.