Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific historical romance, April 26, 2000
This book features something new (at least to me): a hero who isn't drop dead gorgeous and is insecure because of it.Thayer thought he was about to attend his cousin William's wedding & soon discovers he is the bridegroom of the beautiful Gytha (ugh, what a name) due to a twist of fate. Thayer is appalled at this news. Years earlier his heart was severely broken by a beautiful but heartless well-bred woman and he promised himself he would never become that vulnerable again. Gytha slowly breaks through the barriers he's constructed around his heart with her innocence and loving ways. But deep down Thayer still isn't convinced she is as pure as she seems and dreads the day when he will find her in bed with another man. Because of Thayer's mistrust, a greedy uncle & Thayer's ex-love Elizabeth (who decides she wants him back in her bed) he and Gytha have a very rocky road ahead of them. I really enjoyed this delightful Beauty & The Beast retelling! It was refreshing to read about a heroine who had no care for looks and although she was physically perfect she didn't feel it was an important part of who she was. This book was very funny in parts, while still being emotionally intense and the chemistry between the h/h was smoldering. This one teared me up & had me smiling at the same time. I hated to see their story come to an end. Track this book down & move it to top of the TBR [to be read] pile.
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beauty and the Beast, December 4, 2003
I would give this a 3 and a half if I could. The characters are likeable and engaging. The story is good, but it lacks a certain suspense. There's no real feeling of urgency to pick it up and nothing that really stops you from putting it down.
Gytha is immediately drawn to him and is soon in love with him. The same is true for him. She won't tell him of her love because she fears he won't believe her. He won't tell her because he's afraid she can never love him.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
didn't care for it, May 10, 2007
This is not Howell's best work, I would borrow it or get it used. To be honest it was a waste of a yummy yummy cover. That was basically the best part of the book.
My biggest issue with this book is how stupid the hero is. I found that extremely unattractive and it had nothing to do with how he was described `cause FYI I love red heads. The first misunderstanding between Gytha & Thayer was worse than what a normal human being could just overlook, especially in a chapter or two. Now I realize I can be sensitive about certain things so maybe everyone would not agree with me. As you can see by the other reviews, some really liked this book.
It's a taste thing and only my opinion, so no offense. Without telling what happened I would like to point out that this man is a warrior. A knight. He is a trained solider, worked as a solider for hire. They call him the Red Devil. THE RED DEVIL. Been in a few battles y'all is what I'm saying. She's telling us "shock" would have kept him still? Yeah maybe for like 3 seconds. And just because of some tramp from the past hurt his little feelings? Give me a break. What a candy a**. And by the way, just because you are not the most beautiful person in the world and have low self-esteem is not an excuse for being a moron. And I never thought he accepted himself. It was all about how she didn't mind him being "ugly" even though she was unbelievably beautiful.
Nothing wrong with having an issue or two about they way you look... this I understand. And I think we all like to see character growth in our heroes and heroines but at what point do you say, wow will you ever learn? Isn't the basic premise behind Beauty and the Beast stories about inner beauty and self-worth blah blah blah? Did I watch the wrong Disney movie?
Gytha's reaction was dead on yet when it was time for Thayer to pay pay pay and suffer suffer suffer, she felt guilty because she thought she was being tricky or manipulative?!!? And on top of it Gytha never saw the groveling the situation called for. And it called for GROVELING! She lets him off the hook when nothing has really been settled. And that was typical of the entire book, he would do something really dumb and it was a huge deal, she would be furious and hurt but then not a lot would come out of it. He would say in his head how horrible he felt but that she just didn't understand.
I never was convinced that he really got it regardless of the last 3 pages of the book. Some of Howell's books are good; she is someone I like to read. Her Highlander books are light, entertaining, and perfect for escapism. I own every single one of them. Yet there are a few of her books that are so irritating (Wild Roses is another waste of good paper) because the men are weak, stupid, or selfish and there is little to sympathize with or make you want to root for them. I could barely make myself care if they ended up happy ever after or not and had to force myself to finish the book even when I had like 2 or 3 chapters to go. This is not the worse book I've read, that dubious honor goes to Lynn Kurland's Another Chance to Dream, but now I'm hesitant to read her other books.
Wow, what a rant. Okay maybe I take romance books a little too seriously but when I'm spending my time and my money, I have high expectations.
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