The Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard (Website, Twitter, Goodreads)Published by Entangled Publishing, LLC on November 26th 2019
Genres: Fiction, General, Historical, Regency, Romance
Pages: 384
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare meets Taming of the Shrew in the start to a new Regency series from award-winning author Amalie Howard.
Lord Nathaniel Harte, the disagreeable Duke of Beswick, spends his days smashing porcelain, antagonizing his servants, and snarling at anyone who gets too close. With a ruined face like his, it's hard to like much about the world. Especially smart-mouthed harpies―with lips better suited to kissing than speaking―who brave his castle with indecent proposals.
But Lady Astrid Everleigh will stop at nothing to see her younger sister safe from a notorious scoundrel, even if it means offering herself up on a silver platter to the forbidding Beast of Beswick himself. And by offer, she means what no highborn lady of sound and sensible mind would ever dream of―a tender of marriage with her as his bride.
The Beast of Beswick is the first historical romance I’ve read by Amalie Howard but it will definitely not be the last. I grabbed this one because the summary caught my interest. I love Beauty and the Beast and this story won me over with it’s interesting and engaging characters.
Astrid is our heroine and she is in a situation that she can’t solve on her own.  When the man who essentially ruined her, sets his sights on her younger sister, Astrid decides to do whatever she can to protect her, even if it means going to the beast of Beswick to get the help she needs. I loved Astrid. She is smart and protective of those she loves. She isn’t afraid to stand up for herself either and she is the perfect balance for Thane.
Thane is another great character. He’s grumpy and has a history that we get to learn along with Astrid. I loved how we were introduced to him and while he is rough around the edges, he definitely needs someone who will hold onto him and not just cave to what he thinks. The scars Thane carries are more than just on the surface with him and I love how Astrid (with the help of Thane’s aunt) pushed him to realize he is worth having love and affection. On top of that, the banter between these two characters kept me turning the pages.
As these two work to protect Astrid’s younger sister we get to see how they figure out how to be married when both were convinced they would never be in that situation.  I thought Howard did a great job of building the relationship between Astrid and Thane and the secondary characters only added to the story. If you are looking for a historical romance that will keep you interested and wanting to know more, consider checking this one out.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.
About Amalie Howard
AMALIE HOWARD is the author of several young adult novels critically acclaimed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, and Booklist, including Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Spring 2014 Kid’s INDIE NEXT title. Her debut novel, Bloodspell, was a #1 Amazon bestseller and a Seventeen Magazine Summer Read. The sequel, Bloodcraft, was a silver IPPY medalist and a Children's Moonbeam award winner. She is also the co-author of the adult historical romance series, THE LORDS OF ESSEX, written with her good friend and fellow author, Angie Morgan.
As an author of color and a proud supporter of diversity in fiction, her articles on multicultural fiction have appeared in The Portland Book Review and on the popular Diversity in YA blog. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband and three children. Visit her at amaliehoward.com.
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