Taming the Beast by Heather Grothaus

http://www.heathergrothaus.com/

First, let me say, I’m a real sucker for Beauty and the Beast stories. If you’re not, you won’t adore this book nearly as much as I do. That warning aside, this book was fantastic! Roderick Cherbon has returned from the Crusades hideously disfigured. The only good news is his hated father has died, leaving him the Cherbon lands – with a condition. He must marry before his thirtieth birthday, to a lady of good family. In an effort to keep his lands, he sends out a proclamation asking marriageable ladies to the castle. Lady Michaela Fortune, also known as ‘Miss Fortune’, comes from a poor but titled family. After being rebuked harshly by the man she thought she loved, she leaves for the Cherbon lands, determined (and I do mean determined) to win the man and the fortune he’s offering to heal her damaged pride and save her family from ruins. But the ‘Cherbon Devil’ turns out to be more than Micheala bargained for at first – can she even hope to tame the beast?

The first thing that I liked, right off, was the uniqueness of the time period. There are so many Beauty and the Beast tales set in the Regency period that it was nice to see one in a different era, during 1103 and the Crusades. The dialogue was active and engaging, and I loved seeing things from Roderick and Micheala’s point of view. Both were especially poignant, and very different from the other. I liked seeing how their differences made them so compatible. I loved seeing her go from a childish, light-hearted dreamer to a more serious and mature, but still kind and caring, woman. I loved seeing her share her light with Roderick. This book actually reminded me a bit of Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase (one of my all time favorites) because of Micheala’s persistence to help Roderick see the good in himself, and his insistence to only see the worst in himself.

Roderick was a heartbreaking character. His abusive father instilled in him a sense of his own worthlessness, and he went to the Crusades hoping to prove his worth. Instead he comes back a failure in his own mind, crippled, missing a leg, and scarred beyond compare. He feels no one can love him as he is - a disgusting failure. He repulses himself, and is so filled with his own self-loathing he can’t find a way to escape it. He, just like Dain in Lord of Scoundrels, is a perfect dark, brooding, angsty hero who tries to hide his pain in his cruel words and actions to other. I loved his fear of being loved because he’d never been loved before, his child-like uncertainty. He was just so… perfect. I was piling on the empathy for this man. My heart still breaks for him.

Lady Micheala Fortune was admirable and loveable. She kept hoping even when it was hopeless, and was the right blend of patient and relentless. She never stopped loving him, or telling/showing him she loved him. I liked watching her change from a girl into a woman without losing any of her fabulous qualities. I loved her guts – how she was willing to yell at Roderick whenever he yelled at her, and how she never left. She was the only kind of heroine to help Roderick, and she made him whole again - or perhaps for the first time ever. She, just as he grew, also really blossomed in my eyes. I especially loved her motherly sentiments towards Leo, Roderick’s son, and how she brought the father and son closer together. (Again, Lord of Scoundrels, anyone?)

All in all, with the sweet little boy, Leo, the wonderful mother-figure Micheala, and the wounded hero father, Roderick, could one have a more perfect family?

Now, one short paragraph of what knocked this book from A+ position. The dialogue was a little inconsistent for the time period. Some of the sentences seemed accurate in structure but others included words or phrases that seemed too modern. Whether they were, I’m not certain, but I had to question the authenticity of the syntax for the time period. The ending was my biggest problem – it was unrealistically happy. Everyone’s friends and ***BIG BIG BIG SPOILER ALERT HERE*** Roderick’s leg that is missing gets healed-ish by some freaky ‘Justice’ man. I hate to say it, but the soldiers over in Iraq who have their legs blown off, despite the injustice of it, don’t get new legs all of a sudden. I really disliked how unrealistic that was. ***END OF BIG BIG BIG SPOILER ALERT***. I like happy endings, but this was completely unrealistic, which surprised me. The rest of the book focused on the realism of Roderick’s injuries, and the very end seemed to make all his previous struggles negligible for the sake of the perfection of the ending. It was too much a fairy tale ending, especially compared to the rest of the book. It just didn’t match and felt forced, and that definitely pulled the book down in my esteem. Finally, the villain was tots cliché. But I was expecting that.

 “Sexy”ness rating: More tender than flaming hot, but there is sex

Overall Rating: A-

Bottom Line: Sweet and beautiful, with a unique setting and good dialogue (and a fabulous cast of characters) this is def worth your time!

Pages: 343

Published: November 3, 2009

Genre: Historical

Impostress by Lisa Jackson

Book 1 in the Medieval Trilogy Series

www.lisajackson.com

What did I think? This book was adorable! The plot was a little silly, because if you think about it, it never would have worked in real life – but that was part of the books charm. Kiera of Lawenydd (our heroine) has an older sister Elyn, who is set to be married to the neighboring Baron, Kelan of Penbrooke. Kelan is resigned to the marriage – Elyn, however is not. She asks Kiera to stand in for her during the wedding and wedding night (with Kelan too drunk to… perform) so that Elyn can spend one last night with her love – Brock of Oak Crest. Kiera fulfills this obligation, really really grudgingly, because of a 'debt' she owes Elyn for saving her life.

There’s only one problem. After the wedding day is up, Elyn doesn’t return and Kiera is forced to continue to pretend to be her. It’s really amusing, as she digs herself deeper and deeper into the lie (and fall deeper in love with Kelan). We watch her struggle, running this way and that trying to be both Kiera and Elyn. We also get to see her fall in love with her sister’s betrothed, and he fall in love with her, despite all the mistrust in the relationship.

I really detested Elyn in this book. She was irresponsible, and didn’t think of the repercussion for her family and her poor sister. It was hard to admire Kiera, because of her silliness and naivete (I mean a responsible adult would not have continued to be Elyn), but I was still able to enjoy the story. I really found myself liking Kelan, he seemed like a good guy. He was reliable, and he wanted to make the marriage work. He wanted to trust ‘Elyn’. He stood up for her and gave her the benefit of the doubt, and he fell hard and fast from his masculine pedestal. For a bone-head he came around pretty quickly.

I wish there had been another twenty pages at the end, however. It had the capacity to be really beautiful and touching, and instead Jackson just glossed over what could have been the most beautiful moment in the story. But all is well that ends well and the rest of the book was delightfully fun.

Favorite quote:

“Some of us are not so lucky as to have been born with a royal scepter dangling between our legs.” (Morwenna)

“Sexy”ness Rating: Hot Hot Hot!

Overall Rating: B

Bottom Line: Cute and silly and pretty romantic, though a little bit lacking in the deep emotion I like to see. The end was a bit rushed, but it was a wonderful, fun, silly little romp.

Pages: 336

Published: April 1, 2003

Genre: Medieval/Historical

Temptress by Lisa Jackson

Book 2 of the Medieval Trilogy Series

www.lisajackson.com

     I have to admit that Lisa Jackson develops an excellent suspense plot and a great mystery. I was guessing almost to the end. Unfortunately, I was also guessing who the romance was supposed to be between. Without spoiling the book, I can’t tell you why, because it’s truly a very big surprise.

    

     Suffice it to say that the entire time ‘Carrick’ was injured (severely) and spent most of his time in bed. For most of the book he wasn’t able to speak or wouldn’t speak. There’s one conversation that they end up having, before their passionate lovemaking.

*****BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG SPOILER ALERT: READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL*****

Morwenna talks to him while he’s unable to lift his eyelids about how much she loved him all those years ago – and we see glimpses into her past with Carrick and how cute they were together. We believe this man in bed is Carrick, and so does she, and she talks to him about how much she still loves him… maybe three times. All of a sudden, then, we find out that he’s not actually Carrick but his older brother Thoren who had amnesia because of his injuries and the attack that left him nearly dead? WHAT? And she’s suddenly way in love with him though they’ve only had one conversation and sex? What? It’s all so sudden and… really unrealistic. I mean, who finds herself in love with the brother of a man she thought she was in love with and, in truth, knows almost nothing about? I would be repulsed that I’d had sex with him not knowing at all who he is, not suddenly in love with him.

 *****END OF BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG SPOILER ALERT*****

     Morwenna isn’t really the strong woman Jackson tries to tell us. She isn’t headstrong or slow to fall in love again. Her behavior is strange and erratic – there’s a dramatic contrast between what her actions tell us and what Jackson tells us. Not that it matters, because most of the time we don’t get to focus on her romantic behavior. In fact, there was very little romance altogether. I was sorely disappointed. After reading the much more romantic Impostress (the book that occurs first in this ‘series’ of related books) this book was second-rate. In the end, this book got a less than average rating because it wasn’t a romance book. Really. There was like, no romance. I kid you not. The only redeeming factors were that I liked the one romantic conversation they did have (ONE) and liked the suspense.

Favorite quotes:

The man who had lifted more hems than the local seamstress…

“Have you no shred of decency?” (Morwenna)

“Apparently not.” (uh… Carrick?)

Overall Rating: C –

"Sexy"ness Rating: Mildly Hot.

Bottom Line: This book is average, and was a good read – but it wasn’t a romance. Its plot is a bit confusing, though certainly suspenseful. There are some creepy moments that I wasn’t so fond of. The romance was NOT well developed at all, however.

Pages: 321

Published: October  4, 2005

Genre: Medieval/Historical/Mystery/Suspense