After spending the last fourteen years as the mistress of the Duke of Lister, Helen Fitzwilliam made the decision to leave the duke for the sake of her children Abigail and Jamie, since she doesn't want them to grow up under the Duke's bad influence. But Helen also knows that the Duke will not be inclined to let her and the children go, not because he loves them but because he thinks of them as things that belong to him. So, with the help of Lady Vale (From To Seduce a Sinner), Helen runs off to Scotland, to the very much neglected Castle Greaves where she plans to work as a housekeeper and keep a low profile.
The only problem is that the owner of Castle Greaves, Sir Alistair Munroe, does not want a housekeeper - even though everyone would agree that he NEEDS one - he doesn't like having people around, let alone a beautiful woman and her children. Still, their presence help him realize just how lonely he has been since returning from the colonies - where he lost an eye, two fingers and a big part of his pride - and he reluctantly allows them to stay.
Now, Helen doesn't know much about housekeeping but she's quite good at making lists and with the help of a newly hired staff, she slowly begins to restore the castle while she and her children begin to steal into Alistair's heart.
To Beguile a Beast is the third book of the Legend of Four Soldiers series by Elizabeth Hoyt and, as with the two previous books, the on going theme of the betrayal of the regiment the four heroes belonged to while in the colonies which was slaughtered at Spinner's Falls, continues but in a much more subdued way than in To Taste Temptation or To Seduce a Sinner. Alistair does care about what happened and he does care that they were betrayed but he doesn't let the thought consume him the way it did to Lord Vale in the previous book.
Alistair does make a wonderful hero, in my opinion, he is flawed and he wears many of his scars on his face, but he's also very gentle and in his gruff way he tries to protect the people around him and the way he is with Helen's daughter Abigail was just heartwarming. Also, he gets the kids a puppy to cheer them up! and that just gives him major points in my book.
Helen is a very worthy heroine too, she made bad choices in her life but she wants to do better for her children and in that way she's awesome.
Also, another trademark from Hoyt, the fairy tale at the beginning of each chapter is a very cleaver retelling of Beauty and the Beast - one I had personally never heard before and trust me that's hard because I'm a B&B nut - and I adored it.
For these and other things (including Puddles the puppy) I loved this book.
Grade:
The only problem is that the owner of Castle Greaves, Sir Alistair Munroe, does not want a housekeeper - even though everyone would agree that he NEEDS one - he doesn't like having people around, let alone a beautiful woman and her children. Still, their presence help him realize just how lonely he has been since returning from the colonies - where he lost an eye, two fingers and a big part of his pride - and he reluctantly allows them to stay.
Now, Helen doesn't know much about housekeeping but she's quite good at making lists and with the help of a newly hired staff, she slowly begins to restore the castle while she and her children begin to steal into Alistair's heart.
To Beguile a Beast is the third book of the Legend of Four Soldiers series by Elizabeth Hoyt and, as with the two previous books, the on going theme of the betrayal of the regiment the four heroes belonged to while in the colonies which was slaughtered at Spinner's Falls, continues but in a much more subdued way than in To Taste Temptation or To Seduce a Sinner. Alistair does care about what happened and he does care that they were betrayed but he doesn't let the thought consume him the way it did to Lord Vale in the previous book.
Alistair does make a wonderful hero, in my opinion, he is flawed and he wears many of his scars on his face, but he's also very gentle and in his gruff way he tries to protect the people around him and the way he is with Helen's daughter Abigail was just heartwarming. Also, he gets the kids a puppy to cheer them up! and that just gives him major points in my book.
Helen is a very worthy heroine too, she made bad choices in her life but she wants to do better for her children and in that way she's awesome.
Also, another trademark from Hoyt, the fairy tale at the beginning of each chapter is a very cleaver retelling of Beauty and the Beast - one I had personally never heard before and trust me that's hard because I'm a B&B nut - and I adored it.
For these and other things (including Puddles the puppy) I loved this book.
Grade:
Hi AnimeGirl! (JSuarez) *waving* found you :)
ReplyDeleteI see you and I BOTH loved this book. I cannot wait for the next one either!