Beauty and the Beast

The minute an author calls her book, Beauty and the Beast, you expect a man who is dangerous and difficult and he is. At first I was annoyed that he was a tame and gentle beast... to her. I expected him to give her trouble and make her afraid of him, but that never happens and that is not the story the author wants to tell. It is slow at times and that is the books only fault, but all is forgiven near the end. As you get toward the end of the book, how the beast sees himself and how much he sacrifices for his wife, have you nearly in tears. You realize how much he hates himself and how much he thinks himself beastly to look upon, that he'll do anything to make himself into whatever he thinks will keep her with him. He fails over and over again to see that none of it matters to her. He never believes she, a beauty, could love him and it becomes horribly pathetic to the point that he is willing to sacrifice anything to prove himself to her over and over again... when he never has to. She gives him all he could ever want, but he never sees it at all and keeps thinking he does not deserve her. She preserves to get through to him that yes, indeed, she truly loves him no matter what. She knows she is fighting an uphill battle and that he won't believe her, but in the end she makes him believe her. When he finally does, the ending is so good, that the slowness of the book is soon forgotten. The climax of the story happens at the end and so it is a slow build until then and you don't realize it, until it smacks you in the face and you can't believe how this man truly sees himself and what he is willing to do out of pride. The only fault in the book, many may feel that he's a wimp with no self esteem. He might be brave on the battlefield, but a coward in life. He does things that are wrong and he should grovel at her feet for forgiveness. He's a flawed hero, but the beast usually is.

You really begin to fill emotions for these characters. Their passion and their romance becomes yours!

If you are a fan of the "bodice ripper" genre, then you will like this story. Set in medieval England, Gytha has been promised to the heir of Saitun Manor, one of three cousins. On her wedding day, she discovers that her intended, William, has been killed in a riding accident. Since the next in line, Thayer, has reportedly been killed in France, Gytha finds that she is to wed Robert, the youngest, least regarded of the cousins. But before the nuptials can take place, Thayer rides in with his men, planning to attend William's wedding, which of course has now become his own. Although the scarred Thayer, known as the Red Devil for his flaming red hair and prowess on the battlefield, is considered ugly, Gytha is immediately drawn to him (he is, in fact, the first man in whom she has been truly interested). And Thayer is instantly taken with the lovely Gytha, but feels dread at the thought of being married to such a beautiful woman, who he is sure will eventually cuckold him. The story contains all of the elements of the "bodice ripper": misunderstandings and distrust between the thick-headed, stubborn hero and the fair, innocent heroine, the plot to separate the lovers, the seductive "other" woman, the villain intent on claiming the heroine as his own, bravery in the face of danger, and the lusty love scenes, to name a few. Some of the elements of the story could have been developed more, but overall, I found this to be a very satisfying use of my time and look forward to reading other stories by this author.

Hannah Howell best known for her "Highland" series of books wrote this book early in her career and should not be missed by fans. The story is a familiar tale of a beautiful woman and a man that only she considers handsome. What sets this tale apart from many other Beauty and the Beast stories is the deepth of the characters. The heroine is beautiful but not conceited and is annoyed and bored when people mention her looks. She is kind to everyone around her including her best friend the [...] daughter of her Uncle. Betrothed to marry a man she barely knows, she is willing to marry him and make the best of it. When he dies on the eve of their wedding she finds out that her betrothal contract requires her to marry his heir. The heir turns out to be a very large warrior who has spent his life earning a living with his sword with his men, all of whom are [...] sons of nobles, at his side. He is not eager to marry such a stunning young woman due to a past bad experience with a shallow beauty. Forced to marry her he expects her to be disappointed by his looks and is stunned when she obviously likes him very much. The story develops well and has several twists and turns. Subcharacters are also interesting. This book shows that Hannah Howell has a wonderful talent for writing romantic literature.

I enjoyed the book pretty good. As the previous person said...Gytha and Thayer automatically liked each other. Even the fact that Thayer was covered in red hair (the beast) didn't even turn Gytha off. His courage and honor seemed to outweigh the fact that he wasn't the most beautiful man she could have married. Of course, Thayer liked Gytha right away b/c she's beautiful and sweet. I don't really think the story lacked suspense. It just lacked the "love" suspense. Like in "Promised Passion" (another Hannah Howell book), the main characters always had someone out to kill them or tear them apart...so...we are kind of wondering if Gytha and Thayer will even be together in the end. I'd say...if you liked "Promised Passion"...you're more than likely going to like this book. By the way...I'd give this book 4 and 1/2 stars if I could.