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A review by reading_historical_romance
The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
SIX STARS! I don't even think it's possible at this point for Julie Anne Long to write anything other than a stellar swooner that'll have me all in the feels for days.
The Beast Takes a Bride, the latest entry in the author's Palace of Rogues series, is a delight from beginning to end. The tale of an arranged marriage between a legendary British soldier, and a sheltered society debutante offered up to the highest bidder to save her family from financial ruin, is plotted to perfection. Despite some emotionally weighty material, the novel never feels heavy because of its brisk pacing and bright, soaring prose.
The novel is a celebration of all of the seasons that make a love story, told through the eyes of the two main characters, as well as the supporting cast of permanent residents of The Grand Palace on the Thames -- the boarding house of elegant proportions located right in the middle of the rough and ready London docks. The reader experiences that first thrill of infatuation, bitter disappointments, flirtatious meet-cutes, madly hot for one another physical encounters, and the intense vulnerabilities of deepening intimacy. We enjoy the honeymoon phase, the settling-in to real-life phase, and the being comfortable and secure in enduring love phase. But there are also the moments of paralyzing insecurity, fears of an unknown future, errors in judgment, hypocritical actions, harsh words thoughtlessly spoken, and devastating misunderstandings. There is the ultimate finality of the decision to stay or to let go.
There are so many precious things to love in this novel, that no review I could possibly write would do this thoughtful and fun read the justice that it really deserves. Julie Anne Long's ability to communicate the emotions of every high and every low, through profoundly beautiful prose and laugh-out-loud humor, is unmatched. There is an understated level of highly emotional intelligence woven through this book that truly deserves all of the critical recognition it has already and will undoubtedly continue to receive.
Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager, NetGalley, and Julie Anne Long for the opportunity to read and review this novel before its release. It was my honor and pleasure!
The Beast Takes a Bride, the latest entry in the author's Palace of Rogues series, is a delight from beginning to end. The tale of an arranged marriage between a legendary British soldier, and a sheltered society debutante offered up to the highest bidder to save her family from financial ruin, is plotted to perfection. Despite some emotionally weighty material, the novel never feels heavy because of its brisk pacing and bright, soaring prose.
The novel is a celebration of all of the seasons that make a love story, told through the eyes of the two main characters, as well as the supporting cast of permanent residents of The Grand Palace on the Thames -- the boarding house of elegant proportions located right in the middle of the rough and ready London docks. The reader experiences that first thrill of infatuation, bitter disappointments, flirtatious meet-cutes, madly hot for one another physical encounters, and the intense vulnerabilities of deepening intimacy. We enjoy the honeymoon phase, the settling-in to real-life phase, and the being comfortable and secure in enduring love phase. But there are also the moments of paralyzing insecurity, fears of an unknown future, errors in judgment, hypocritical actions, harsh words thoughtlessly spoken, and devastating misunderstandings. There is the ultimate finality of the decision to stay or to let go.
There are so many precious things to love in this novel, that no review I could possibly write would do this thoughtful and fun read the justice that it really deserves. Julie Anne Long's ability to communicate the emotions of every high and every low, through profoundly beautiful prose and laugh-out-loud humor, is unmatched. There is an understated level of highly emotional intelligence woven through this book that truly deserves all of the critical recognition it has already and will undoubtedly continue to receive.
Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager, NetGalley, and Julie Anne Long for the opportunity to read and review this novel before its release. It was my honor and pleasure!