Wednesday, April 10, 2013

[Review]: "When Beauty Tamed the Beast"






When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James
Publisher: Avon (January 25, 2011)
Series: Fairy Tales, 2
Genre: Historical Romance

Miss Linnet Berry Thrynne is a Beauty . . . Naturally, she's betrothed to a Beast.

Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant, lives in a castle in Wales where, it is rumored, his bad temper flays everyone he crosses. And rumor also has it that a wound has left the earl immune to the charms of any woman.

Linnet is not just any woman.

She is more than merely lovely: her wit and charm brought a prince to his knees. She estimates the earl will fall madly in love--in just two weeks.

Yet Linnet has no idea of the danger posed to her own heart by a man who may never love her in return.

If she decides to be very wicked indeed . . . what price will she pay for taming his wild heart?

 


  
Where to Buy*:
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My Review:

Oh my...there simply are not enough words to properly describe how I loved this book. I could sum up my reason for loving it by saying that it's a Beauty and the Beast tale, and I so love B+B. But that's not the only reason. I could say it's because of the House like hero, but that's not enough. I could say it is because Eloisa James is a very talented writer, but, while that is true as well, my love of this book is much deeper than that. I love this book for all these reasons and many more!


Linnet is simply wonderful. A beauty with wit and strength, she could have easily been one who relied only on her looks. But as the story goes on, it's clear that this is not the case. She knows how beautiful she is, she knows how her charms affect others, especially men. But she does not let it go to her head. I loved the fact that she stood up to Piers. He needed a woman who would give as good as she gets, and that's what he got! :D




"A barking-mad doctor---that's me---and a wickedly conniving beauty--that's you--limping along together in a lifetime of happiness? I hardly think so. You've been reading too many fairy stories."


"Who says I can read? I can barely count, remember?"


He glanced at her and decided, once again, to withhold the family smile. "I'm starting to think I may have been wrong about your abilities. You can probably count all the way to ten and back."


"That just warms my heart," she cooed. "Since it comes from the great doctor and all."




Piers...ah, how I loved him! Such a unique hero, very different from most romance heroes. He's not perfect, he's not smooth and charming. He's harsh, sarcastic, and crude at times, but I loved him all the more for it. He made me laugh, he made me smile, and in the end I fell for him just as hard as Linnet. What's more, he fell for her, even though it took some time for him to admit to it and take the next step in their relationship--a happily ever after worthy of a true fairy tale.



Just before he opened the door, he stopped and dropped a kiss on her nose. "If I were to marry anyone, Linnet, it would be you."

"I always knew these breasts would come in handy," she said with satisfaction.





Some of the secondary characters were a riot, as well. I think my favorite, hands down, was Prufrock. He, too, knew how to handle House--er, Piers. :D

Besides the great characters and wit, I also enjoyed the sexy parts. And may I applaud James' on her writing skills. She turned her love scenes into something very different from most romances out there. They were filled with conversation and wit, yet still managed to make me very happy! :) Such well done love scenes, as I think in the hands of any other author they would have turned out, well, boring.




"You know?" She glanced at him, and a little flare of color rose in her cheeks.


"What?" he said, rearranging himself discreetly and then rewrapping the towel more tightly.


"You're going to laugh, being a doctor and all, but my mother said something one..."


"What?" He had always had control over his body. Always. This was an aberration.


"She told me once that men hung."


"Hung?" he repeated. If he looked just at her face, then he wouldn't see the way thin lines clung to her breasts, to her hips. He wouldn't think about the deep hunger flaring in his groins. It was just a biological urge, nothing more.


"Hung," she said, giggling again. "In front. You don't hang, do you?" She waved a hand in the general vicinity of his waist. "You don't mind my saying that, do you? I formed this disgusting vision of--of a hanging thing and--well, you don't hang at all. You stand straight up."


He burst out laughing.


"I know," she said, laughing too. "I'm a fool."


But he had an uneasy feeling that he was the fool.


Also:

"This"--he said, running his hand down himself--"is an erection. And I, by the way, am not incapable, as you should have known the moment you saw me standing up rather than flopping around."

Linnet's throat tightened. She would rather like to touch him that way herself.

"A man gets an erection only when he would like to bed a woman. If not, he hangs."
\
\"Oh. My mother was correct, then. Can you make yours hang, so I see what it looks like?"

He ran a slow hand over himself again. "No. Impossible."

"It's not within your control?"

"Not at the moment and rarely around you, to my surprise."



5 STARS! Overall a fantastic historical, and one that will stand out in my mind for years to come! This novel reminded me of why I love this genre. If you want something new to read, a book that will have you laughing and thoroughly enjoying yourself on every page, this is it!



~ * ~ * ~

I received this book in one of my Avon Addicts package in exchange for my honest review.

 
*Note: All quotes used belong to Eloisa James; TBQ's Book Palace does not claim them.

~ * ~ * ~

 
Truly a wonderful book, I had a great time reading this one! :) Have you read any of Eloisa's books? What's your favorite?




Enjoy! 




Until Next Time,


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*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

6 comments :

Adria said...

I haven't been by here in a while! I read Eloisa's Duchess Quartet and Essex Sisters series a while ago. Your review has me desperate to find my copies and re-read them ASAP. I'll add this book to my TBR too.

The_Book_Queen said...

Welcome back! :) I've been horrible lately, I've fallen way behind on visiting everyone's blog--must get back to it this week! :D
I hope you enjoy this one, Adria! :)
Enjoy,
TBQ

Lover Of Romance said...

awesome review!! I really need to pick it up and read it soon. The quotes made me laugh. I need a good entertaining read.

Anna@herding cats said...

Oh it sounds so good! I just was given three of her books by a friend but haven't had the chance to read them yet. I'll have to look this one up now. That last quote was kinda cute :)

Great review :)

~Anna
herding cats & burning soup

The_Book_Queen said...

Thanks--yes, I think you will really like this one!
Enjoy,
TBQ

The_Book_Queen said...

It was, Anna--I think you'd like it! If you do read it, let me know what you think of it. Thanks for stopping by!
Enjoy,
TBQ