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A review by loverofromance
The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Also my tags may have spoilers in them so be forewarned before checking out full review.
Book Evaluation:
Plot: ποΈποΈποΈποΈ
World Building:ππππ
Cover:πππππ
Hero: π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»
Heroine:π¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈ
Intimacy Level: π₯π₯π₯
Relationship Building: ππππ
Heart & Feels:πππππ
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πππ
Page Turner Level:ππππ
Narration:π§π§π§π§
Ending:π§§π§§π§§π§§π§§
Overall View: β¨β¨β¨β¨.5
Forever starts today....
First Impressions
The Beast Takes A Bride is the most recent addition to the "The Palace of Rogues" by Julie Anne Long. This is a story that features a retelling as well as a marriage in trouble and I have to say that this book was beyond beautiful and heartfelt and the best cozy vibes. If you love a good regency cozy feels, then this is a series that you must be reading. Julie Anne Long is a brilliant historical romance author, but you definitely need to be in the right mood for cozy historical or try out the audio, its superb in every way. This is also a very unique setup and I guarantee it won't be the story that you expect, but you will fall in love with Magnus and Alexandra.
Finally, she laid her head back down on his chest. She listened to the precious, steady thump, thump, thump of his battered, stubborn, vulnerable, flawed, foolish heart.
Her own foolish heart beat in time with his now.
First Line
Three of them were thieves (a silver candlestick, a half dozen handkerchiefs, a wheel of cheese, respectively), another one was a forger, and the fifth one had stabbed her husband in the leg.
The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Colonel Magnus Brightwell
The Heroine: Alexandra Bellamy
n the dark, they could be anyone: any man, any woman, any two creatures whoβd stumbled across each other and had gotten it into their heads to fornicate, rather than two people who had inadvertently ruined each otherβs lives. It neednβt have significance. It neednβt mean surrender. It didnβt change a thing.
But she might have noticed that his fingertips trembled as they slowly glided over her skin, mapping out the magical terrain of her, showing her the secret places where pleasure hid.
Summary
Alexandra and Magnus have been married for five years and its been a very lonely five years for both of them. Magnus once fell hard for Alexandra, but when he comes upon her on their wedding day in the arms of another man, his secret love for her is spurned and he leaves her in England while he becomes a war hero. Its been five years and he has returned and Alexandra has become immersed in a scandal and they retired to the Palace of Rogues for refuge while the scandal dies down. Magnus, while determined to keep her at arm's length can fall prey to love's sting once again, but will he let her go or trust that her love for him will be enough for her to be willing to fight for what they have discovered together?
Once when he lay bleeding on a battlefield, a hail of moments from his life had pelted his consciousness, cach distinct as a portrait. The first time he saw The Honorable Alexandra Bellamy was a bit like that: a few thousand simultaneous convictions and desires assailed him.
He would kill for her.
or die for her.
Whatever she required of him, he would do it.
What I Loved
This book packed such a punch straight to the heart and you just know that this author is so capable of doing and what a strike. Man I still am left breathless while writing this review and I still don't know if this review will bring this book justice. I will warn you that there are flashbacks a bit but its in the first half of the book and doesn't drag on but the flashbacks are done in a way that just fits so smoothly with the story so it won't be too hard to adjust to them because it tells the backstory and you do need to read these scenes or the story will not make sense at all. Its just the way in which this author has written this story and I found it so fascinating the way that she went about it.
This is a story of pining love, and betrayal and learning to forgive and a marriage in trouble. Because when Magnus returns he gives Alexandra a ultimatum, she either retires to America on one of his estates, or she will be forced to return to live with her father and have such the minimum of funds. Alexandra has ached to atone for past mistakes and not fighting for her marriage harder. Magnus was an abandoned baby, and learned to work hard at a young age, but never had someone truly love him in return, he always had to fight with everything to get any respect. And Alexandra hurt him on the one day when he had so much hope for the future for them.
But Magnus is tortured and hurt and keeps a shield of ice around his heart and doesn't want to let anyone in. But the more time that Magnus and Alexandra spend time together in the Palace of Rogues, the forced proximity, only brings to the surface the feelings of desire and love that was once deeply buried for them both. The greatest test of love though will be for Magnus, because he will have to risk being hurt again to have the kind of future that he dreams to have for Alexandra. And from the sweet moments they have together, to the ways in which Alexandra has to fight for Magnus, it melted my heart. I loved that the author wrote a story of a heroine that has to prove her love to the hero. And I adored every single moment.
The ending was the best part of this book. Be prepared for a story to wrap you up so deeply in poignant emotion. Literally the third act and the ending of this story put this book from a 4 star to a 4.5 star rating for me, that is how good it is. Literally this author had me dissolving into happy joyful tears and one of the most satisfying endings I have read in a long while. And that future epilogue seeing them as parents really took the cake on that one.
My heart is [β¦] yours. Iβm afraid thereβs not much I can do about that. I hope you will not view it as a burden; I shall make no demands upon it. I have no need of it anymore, for I canβt imagine giving it to anyone else ever again. [β¦]
Perhaps one day you will find forgiveness in your heart for a man who knew everything about war but nothing about love.
I loved you then. I love you now.
I love you always.
What I Struggled With
The pacing of the story is a bit slow in the beginning and this series isn't the most engaging. So if you struggle with pacing of historicals, read this in audio if you can or just be patient with it. There is also a some sideline stories features the guests of the palace of rogues location they are staying in and I didn't feel like that was needed. I think it would better if these scenes were done in some novella's.
Narration
BRILLIANT!!! You want to keep it slower though, I couldn't have it more than 1.3x speed but surprisingly I was able to stay engaged and she really handled the emotional aspect of the story very well.
Overall View
The Beast Takes A Bride is a heartwarming romance of healing, redemption, and learning to love again.
Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Era, Set in England
Character Types: Tortured Hero, Military Hero
Themes: Mutual Pining, Married Pairing, Marriage in Trouble
Tropes: Second Chance Love, Arranged Marriage, Forced Proximity
Book Perspective
3rd POV
Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Relationship Conflict
If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
Lisa Kleypas
Lorraine Heath
Elisa Braden
Song This Book Inspires
All is Fair in Love and War by Kris Bowers
Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as a standalone if needed. But I would recommend reading the first two books of the series prior to this one at least for background on the Palace of Rogues.
Steam/Spice Explanations
Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Narrators:
Justine Eyre
Book Evaluation:
Plot: ποΈποΈποΈποΈ
World Building:ππππ
Cover:πππππ
Hero: π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»
Heroine:π¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈ
Intimacy Level: π₯π₯π₯
Relationship Building: ππππ
Heart & Feels:πππππ
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πππ
Page Turner Level:ππππ
Narration:π§π§π§π§
Ending:π§§π§§π§§π§§π§§
Overall View: β¨β¨β¨β¨.5
Forever starts today....
First Impressions
The Beast Takes A Bride is the most recent addition to the "The Palace of Rogues" by Julie Anne Long. This is a story that features a retelling as well as a marriage in trouble and I have to say that this book was beyond beautiful and heartfelt and the best cozy vibes. If you love a good regency cozy feels, then this is a series that you must be reading. Julie Anne Long is a brilliant historical romance author, but you definitely need to be in the right mood for cozy historical or try out the audio, its superb in every way. This is also a very unique setup and I guarantee it won't be the story that you expect, but you will fall in love with Magnus and Alexandra.
Finally, she laid her head back down on his chest. She listened to the precious, steady thump, thump, thump of his battered, stubborn, vulnerable, flawed, foolish heart.
Her own foolish heart beat in time with his now.
First Line
Three of them were thieves (a silver candlestick, a half dozen handkerchiefs, a wheel of cheese, respectively), another one was a forger, and the fifth one had stabbed her husband in the leg.
The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Colonel Magnus Brightwell
The Heroine: Alexandra Bellamy
n the dark, they could be anyone: any man, any woman, any two creatures whoβd stumbled across each other and had gotten it into their heads to fornicate, rather than two people who had inadvertently ruined each otherβs lives. It neednβt have significance. It neednβt mean surrender. It didnβt change a thing.
But she might have noticed that his fingertips trembled as they slowly glided over her skin, mapping out the magical terrain of her, showing her the secret places where pleasure hid.
Summary
Alexandra and Magnus have been married for five years and its been a very lonely five years for both of them. Magnus once fell hard for Alexandra, but when he comes upon her on their wedding day in the arms of another man, his secret love for her is spurned and he leaves her in England while he becomes a war hero. Its been five years and he has returned and Alexandra has become immersed in a scandal and they retired to the Palace of Rogues for refuge while the scandal dies down. Magnus, while determined to keep her at arm's length can fall prey to love's sting once again, but will he let her go or trust that her love for him will be enough for her to be willing to fight for what they have discovered together?
Once when he lay bleeding on a battlefield, a hail of moments from his life had pelted his consciousness, cach distinct as a portrait. The first time he saw The Honorable Alexandra Bellamy was a bit like that: a few thousand simultaneous convictions and desires assailed him.
He would kill for her.
or die for her.
Whatever she required of him, he would do it.
What I Loved
This book packed such a punch straight to the heart and you just know that this author is so capable of doing and what a strike. Man I still am left breathless while writing this review and I still don't know if this review will bring this book justice. I will warn you that there are flashbacks a bit but its in the first half of the book and doesn't drag on but the flashbacks are done in a way that just fits so smoothly with the story so it won't be too hard to adjust to them because it tells the backstory and you do need to read these scenes or the story will not make sense at all. Its just the way in which this author has written this story and I found it so fascinating the way that she went about it.
This is a story of pining love, and betrayal and learning to forgive and a marriage in trouble. Because when Magnus returns he gives Alexandra a ultimatum, she either retires to America on one of his estates, or she will be forced to return to live with her father and have such the minimum of funds. Alexandra has ached to atone for past mistakes and not fighting for her marriage harder. Magnus was an abandoned baby, and learned to work hard at a young age, but never had someone truly love him in return, he always had to fight with everything to get any respect. And Alexandra hurt him on the one day when he had so much hope for the future for them.
But Magnus is tortured and hurt and keeps a shield of ice around his heart and doesn't want to let anyone in. But the more time that Magnus and Alexandra spend time together in the Palace of Rogues, the forced proximity, only brings to the surface the feelings of desire and love that was once deeply buried for them both. The greatest test of love though will be for Magnus, because he will have to risk being hurt again to have the kind of future that he dreams to have for Alexandra. And from the sweet moments they have together, to the ways in which Alexandra has to fight for Magnus, it melted my heart. I loved that the author wrote a story of a heroine that has to prove her love to the hero. And I adored every single moment.
The ending was the best part of this book. Be prepared for a story to wrap you up so deeply in poignant emotion. Literally the third act and the ending of this story put this book from a 4 star to a 4.5 star rating for me, that is how good it is. Literally this author had me dissolving into happy joyful tears and one of the most satisfying endings I have read in a long while. And that future epilogue seeing them as parents really took the cake on that one.
My heart is [β¦] yours. Iβm afraid thereβs not much I can do about that. I hope you will not view it as a burden; I shall make no demands upon it. I have no need of it anymore, for I canβt imagine giving it to anyone else ever again. [β¦]
Perhaps one day you will find forgiveness in your heart for a man who knew everything about war but nothing about love.
I loved you then. I love you now.
I love you always.
What I Struggled With
The pacing of the story is a bit slow in the beginning and this series isn't the most engaging. So if you struggle with pacing of historicals, read this in audio if you can or just be patient with it. There is also a some sideline stories features the guests of the palace of rogues location they are staying in and I didn't feel like that was needed. I think it would better if these scenes were done in some novella's.
Narration
BRILLIANT!!! You want to keep it slower though, I couldn't have it more than 1.3x speed but surprisingly I was able to stay engaged and she really handled the emotional aspect of the story very well.
Overall View
The Beast Takes A Bride is a heartwarming romance of healing, redemption, and learning to love again.
Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Era, Set in England
Character Types: Tortured Hero, Military Hero
Themes: Mutual Pining, Married Pairing, Marriage in Trouble
Tropes: Second Chance Love, Arranged Marriage, Forced Proximity
Book Perspective
3rd POV
Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Relationship Conflict
If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
Lisa Kleypas
Lorraine Heath
Elisa Braden
Song This Book Inspires
All is Fair in Love and War by Kris Bowers
Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as a standalone if needed. But I would recommend reading the first two books of the series prior to this one at least for background on the Palace of Rogues.
Steam/Spice Explanations
Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Narrators:
Justine Eyre