Customer Reviews

Lord Of The Beasts (The Fane, Book 2)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Donal is a half-Fane vet who is able to speak to and understand animals. He runs into Cordelia, an animal lover herself, and through a mutual relationship with Ivy, a young woman Donal saves, he agrees to over see her menagerie. At this point the reader doesn't expect much, but then a plot is created that is twisted and surprising. There's jealousy, betrayal, and trickery that can all lead to a murderous end.

I don't really understand the low rating. I liked this book. It was quite a change from the paranormal romance books that I am use to. This was more of a...sweet book but it's far from sappy. Donal is a quiet hero but he faces danger with complete confidence. The bulk of the book deals with Donal's relationships with his animals and then evolves into a relationship with Cordelia. He believes that if he falls in love with a mortal then he shall lose his gift to speak with his animals, thus giving the reader an internal struggle with the main character.

I liked Donal's reserve nature. He didn't speak much but his attitude was strong. It made the moments where he did laugh and smile and joke even more meaningful for the reader.

I would recommend this book. It's an easy read worth killing time over.

Donal Fleming is part fane, part human. His father was Lord of the Forests, son of the Queen Titania of Tir Na Nog, that otherwordly place. Donal has inherited his fane blood and gift with animals from his father. Donal shuns the human World and lives with his beloved animals in the countryside working as a lowly vetinarian. He longs to escape the trap of the human World and to discover the animal kingdom.

Codelia Hardcastle is the daughter of an aristocrat but with an uncoventional upbringing. She has travelled the World with her father and like Donal has a love of animals. But she is confined to society's rules and bindings until she meets Donal Fleming in an unexpected chance meeting at the London Zoological Gardens. Donal shows her that animals cannot be kept locked up in cages no matter how much she loves them just like human emotions cannot be bound by society's propriety.

Donal is immediately captivated by the enchanting Cordelia and her passion for wild animals that she shares with him. However, can he give up his magical powers to empathise and heal animals for the woman who entrapped his heart?

This is a great sequel to the exellent Forest Lord. Donal makes a wonderful hero you can cheer for. Cordelia I found was a strong heroine although at times can be a bit annoying and not so deserving of Donal's attention. Still I found this book a fast page turner and the Fane world is well created and you can almost believe yourself being drawn into Tir Na Nog. The side plot involving another Fane halfling, Ivy, unravelled well and you found yourself hoping that Ivy would find her happy ending and it was nice to see a return of the hob, Tod, also featured in the Forest Lord. A most marvellous read indeed. Highly recommended read!

Lea Ling Tsang

In 1847 England, Donal Fleming can easily talk with the animals, but struggles to communicate in any way with humans. Donal understands what animals say and has used his talent by becoming a veterinarian to ease their aches, pains, and somewhat concerns. This need to ease the burden of the beasts places Donal in consistent trouble especially with those mortals who mistreat animals.

Cousins Theodora and Cordelia Hardcastle tour the new Zoological gardens in Regent's Park along with other Zoological Society fellows. While most visitors including Theodora are in awe, Cordelia is concerned as she has seen the animals in their natural habitat. When Cordelia calms down a rogue elephant at the same time that Donal also soothes the maligned beast, they meet for the first time. The attraction is obvious, but it their mutual love and respect for the animal kingdom that brings them together. Now Donal must choose between human love and his destiny as the LORD OF THE BEASTS.

The sequel to THE FOREST LORD, LORD OF THE BEASTS is a superb Victorian romance with some fantasy elements that delightfully enhance the prime story line of two animal lovers falling in love. Donal and Cordelia are wonderful protagonists but ironically as their love grows it brings out the beast in him forcing the hero to choose between his "powers" and his desires. Susan Krinard provides an enchanting historical with a touch of the whimsical to the delight of readers.

Harriet Klausner

'Lord of the Beasts' is a pleasant dramatic story with a mystical twist, set a few hundred years ago in England. The story centers on a man who takes in an orphaned girl, interspersed with commentaries on animal cruelty. D--, half human & half fairy, is a magical young man who loves animals and can speak to them. C-- is a well to do young lady who appreciates travel and animals. D-- takes in a troubled orphan, I--; and together they meet up with C--, who needs D--'s help for her animals.

Altogether, this novel is a pleasant tale about animals and adoption. The romance between D-- and C-- is a sub-plot, not the main focus, and does't start until well into the novel. I wanted Romance, not Drama, certainly not didactic commentaries on how poorly humans treat animals, and my low rating is strongly influenced by this difference between my expectations (from the back cover) and the book's actual plot. The "zoos are horrid" commentary particularly bothered me.

Anyway, a pleasant enough novel, but certainly not Krinard's best.

I loved this book. I have read it multipal times and I find it outstanding. There are slow parts which coincides with other novels which making this book worthy to be read through its entirety. I do not understand why people didn't like it. At first I was unaware this book was part of a series, but I have every intention of purchasing all the books in hope that they even come close to the quality of this stupendous novel.

I loved that let you know what happened to the son it would be great if this was a series

I don't mind suspending disbelief for a story. In fact, I expect it at least once per book. But this book stretched my patience to the limit. I can't describe them in detail without giving away spoilers, but coincidence piled upon coincidence, just at the right moments to give this sorry excuse for a plot another leg to stand upon. It happened at least 5 times that I counted.

And excuse me, how many evil people do we need to come between the hero and heroine. One? Two? Three? Six? Is all of England and Faery secretly plotting against these two? I wouldn't have blamed the h/h for inventing aluminum sheets just so they could make their own tinfoil helmets. After all, their relationship was the subject of more conspiracies than JFK.

And oh, there was a relationship. There were in fact lots of them. The heroine with her sister, her father, her animals, her companion, her ward-to-be, the hero. He's rather down on the list. That's because he's spending so much time being holier than thou about his eco-friendly vegetarian lifestyle.

Honestly, I love a lot of Sue Krinard's earlier books, but this one jumped the shark for me. Myriad cliches and coincidences don't stand in for real plot and character development. I won't be picking up book three.

Unless you have read The Forest Lord (The Fane, Book 1)and are dying to know what happened to Donal, don't bother with Lord of the Beasts. And even if you have, you may still want to skip this one since Donal's tale is not what is should be. This is coming from a Krinard fan, I read every book and short story of hers that I could find.

While this book is pleasant enough it just plods along and isn't a very romantic romance. The characters don't even realise that they are in love until other people tell them. There is only one love scene and not much in the way of tension building scenes filled with longing for a relationship that neither of the leads is willing to commit to.

Donal is a likable, honorable and sympathetic character but so much time is spent focusing on his pain and loneliness that he is not really given a chance to shine or sizzle or do much. Also Donal really deserved a better heroine, the female lead Cordelia is an especially stilted, contained and a control freak who wants to save everyone. All in all she is very difficult to warm up to. Additonally, with this being a period romance there is all the old tedious stuff about class differences, though Donal is not really as far removed from 'Delia as she thinks.

All in all, a lukewarm effort.

This novel reads more like general fiction than romance. It's not a bad story but if you are looking for a deep romantic story this is not for you but if you like animals and fairies and such you will enjoy this novel.

Donal is a veterinarian living in Victorian England. He is no ordinary vet though; he is half fane (fairy-like) and human. He can also read the mind of animals, kind of an early Dr. Doolittle.

Cordelia is a widow who loves animals and she is quite an adventuress. She has saved many animals from horrible captive conditions and has a little menagerie set up at her estate. She wants Dolan to come to her estate because her wild animals are not faring well.

Dolan wants no part of this because he is attracted to Cordelia. But his compassion (a decidedly human trait) gets in the way. He rescues an orphan,named Ivy, in London from the hands of would be rapists and takes her to his country home. She is no ordinary orphan though and Cordelia takes her to her estate to make her a lady when she realizes that Ivy is educated and deserves her season. Donal accompanies her.

Cordelia is suffering from guilt for just about everything. This is almost a psychological drama because we see Cordelia's grapple with her guilt about her sister's death, Ivy's upbringing, her father's illness and even her husband's death. This guilt manifests itself outwardly in her great desire to save animals. This is noble and I liked her for it. She is kind of the early British version of Animal Cops and Dolan is the Pet Psychic. They are light years ahead of Animal Planet.

Codelia had an awful almost fiancé. He is truly villainous but, of course, she cannot see it. There are also Fanes from the fairy world frolicking in and out of this novel. They don't seem very nice, makes a reader rethink all the fun and light of the fairy world. The plot line is really good but the romance is really lacking. Dolan and Cordeila spend little time together and when they do, they bicker with Cordelia being overly sensitive and Dolan closing off his feelings. The animals were interesting though, especially since the reader knows what they are thinking and feeling, and it kept the story fresh for me.

I absolutely loved the first book, but this one didn't do much for me. The magic part was somewhat lacking, the romance was frustrating, and the male protaganist just wasn't as strong personality-wise as I would have liked. The overall story and romance just wasn't magical like I've come to expect from a Susan Krinard novel. I usually re-read her books every couple of years, but this one won't be one of them.