Beast

Very nice Edwardian romance. The hero, Charles, was quite different and most of the book was written from his POV. He was scarred and hyper aware of it but rather than secluding himself and brooding about it, he instead made himself confident (at least on the surface) and flamboyant and vain. He starts his incognito relationship with the heroine, his fiance whom he's never met, out of pricked pride.

The heroine, Louise, is 18 and for once was written as an 18 year old. She is polished and refined, after all she is very wealthy and was brought up to be a high society lady. But she is a bit adrift. She is not real kind and she knows it. She also is aware that she is drifting and lonely and not sure who she is or what she wants to do with show more her life. She falls hard for the mysterious man she meets. Generally this isn't a type of heroine that I like but JI totally made her work for me. I think probably because Louise was aware of her own faults.

They both change and grow through the course of the book. I liked the way that once he was in love, he was so in love. He was indulgent and mesmerized by her. When she wouldn't sleep with him after they married because to her he was a stranger, he dealt with it, didn't force her, but showed his unhappiness in a startling way but he didn't get on his high horse and leave or any nonsense like that. Throughout the first part of their marriage Louise kept being continually surprised by him, his kindness, his understanding and his whimsy. The scenes where he tries to get her into bed after their marriage were extremely hot.

Very well written with a good feel of the times. I loved picturing her dresses as they were described. I also learned quite a bit about ambergris. Too bad I'd have to kill a whale to smell it. I totally would except I live in the midwest and the ocean is a very long way away. ;-) show less

Ivory/Cuevas is always a treat, and always a challenge.

I did not mind the pace of this book, but I do not like identity deception. However, I did think Ivory made choices here that actually served the story, but because this is going to be a speed review, I will say that my main issue with the book is that I identified w/ the hero, and Ivory made me feel like he could adore anyone.

Still, typical Ivory, and I missed more than I picked up and it's a joy to read her writing.

Buddy read w/ Gaufre & Whiskey-Thanks!

This book was so disappointing. I have always liked Judith Ivory so I expected a fun read with a strong, independent and smart hero and heroine. What I got was a book with a spoiled obnoxious 18 year old society girl who was placed in an arranged marriage to a duplicitous man in his late 30's. Ivory tells us all about how smart this girl is (she really is a girl, not yet a woman) but there is no real evidence other than a facility for language. Ivory tells us that the hero and heroine are having deep and intellectually stimulating conversations, but we are never privy to those conversations. Ivory tells us that the dirty old man is in love with this girl's mind, but the only thing he ever responds to is her youth and beauty. He never show more works hard to get her to chat, he only works hard to get her into bed. Also, both characters lie to each other about things central to their existence (his is the bigger lie by a country mile, but both lie) and there is little consequence for this once they come clean. Add to all this the fact that I was bored by the book. Really bored. I put the book down for weeks and did not feel compelled to pick it up again. That never happens to me with romances, even bad ones. I can't recommend this at all. show less

This book is loosely based on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale and Ivory's writing is just incredible. Charles d'Harcourt's eye was injured and scarred at birth so he is blind in one eye. He suffered another injury to his knee when he was younger and it sometimes swells up and cripples him for days. Louise Vandermeer is a stunning beauty from a wealthy family. H/h meet on an ocean liner in the Atlantic around 1889. I loved the opening scene where Charles is thrown out of his cabin when rough seas toss the ship about. He is naked and in the middle of an argument with his mistress and she won't let him back in the room :) I liked the hero but I could never quite warm up to the heroine. She seemed to have the "don't hate because I'm show more beautiful" attitude at first, although I liked her better toward the end. Ivory writes with absolute sensuality. The reader feels as though they are right there inside every scene because she describes all five senses so completely; you taste, touch, see, hear and smell everything in each scene in luscious detail. Louise never actually sees Charles on the ship. They conduct a hot, steamy affair completely in the dark. When they eventually meet on land in the light she is turned off by his deformities, but they marry as planned by her family. There is a famous scene when he kisses her hand that sent shivers up my spine. How Louise comes to love him and figures out that Charles was her lover from the ship is amazing and beautiful. (Grade: A show less

3.5 stars

I did a buddy read for this, so for all of my thoughts, comments, and quotes: Beast buddy read

"With him, I became aloud the person I had always been silently inside myself."

This quote right here is what I want to read about and feel when I pick up a romance book.

Beast is obviously a play on the Beauty and the Beast story and while you'll get a true feel for it, the heroine does think the hero is ugly with his scarring for a good while, this almost had more of a Phantom of the Opera vibe.

I'm not sure if it is due to the coincidence of reading about young, spoiled, gorgeous heroines lately but Louise annoyed and lost my interest a fair amount of times. She does show growth towards the end but she got tiring to read about.

The show more hero was uber vulnerable and this caused him to be prideful and scheming at times. I kind of wanted more of his background instead of the total absorption he had with the heroine. It was hard in the beginning and some middle to feel good about his attraction to the heroine because it was based on her looks, as he didn't know her yet; felt like he wanted her because she was so pretty and prove his looks weren't so bad.

Even with these weaker characters, the story in the hands of this author is worth reading because of beautiful her writing can be. I thought she did a better job in Bliss of showing us the characters' deeper emotions instead of having the characters straight tell us as she did more so here.

Definitely still worth your time but Bliss still holds the crown for me. show less

A Goodreads reviewer noted that Sherry Thomas' [b:Beguiling the Beauty|11990937|Beguiling the Beauty (Fitzhugh Trilogy, #1)|Sherry Thomas|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1318999928s/11990937.jpg|16954866] (which I enjoyed immensely) borrowed heavily from Judith Ivory's [b:Beast|1130878|Beast|Judith Ivory|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266725722s/1130878.jpg|1350944]. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to read the latter.

The similarity between the two books is, indeed, striking, though it needs to be said that [b:Beast|1130878|Beast|Judith Ivory|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266725722s/1130878.jpg|1350944] is itself a re-telling of the the Beauty and the Beast fable.

My reactions to the two books couldn't have been more show more different. I found [b:Beast|1130878|Beast|Judith Ivory|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266725722s/1130878.jpg|1350944] dull and uninspiring, the description of the transatlantic liner arousing more interest than the personalities of the two main characters.

I also found Ms Ivory's prose style difficult to digest. By way of example, the cacophonous and careless repetition of 'staticky' suggests that either the author writes in short bursts without bothering to back up and read earlier text, or she has a poor ear for rhythm and euphony. Or perhaps her editors were less than diligent.

I abandoned this book during the scene in which Beauty and the Beast are breathlessly copulating in a pitch-dark room. I found myself caring not a whit what happens to them on the rest of the voyage, or after they disembark in England.

Did not finish; did not rate. show less

One warning - this book is rife with double standards. Louise is put in an arranged marriage by her family, and she has never even seen her groom. You normally expect this kind of thing in say, Arabic family or Chinese families, but Louise and her family are American/Caucasian, and they are sailing to Europe where her groom awaits.

There's one twist - her groom is already on the ship, and he seduces Lou while in disguise. Seems rather mean to me, since he has just already had another lover, Pia (a jealous, catty woman) The 'Beast' takes advantage of Lou's innocence to have his way with her, justifying it with the fact that he will marry her soon enough. Oh boy.

The ending is a bit predictable and cliched, but this is a easy, guilty show more pleasure to read at the beach or whatever. show less