Beast

Rating:
Summary: Strong start very weak finish
Review: I found the scenes on board ship very good, I thought that Charles and Louise would have some explosive interaction once they reached land. However, he turned into a wimp and she never got over herself. They had promise, but they didn't deliver.

Rating:
Summary: Whatever happend to Judy Cuevas
Review: I found this novel somewhat lacking. It seemed to be missing the beautiful prose found in her books written under the name of Judy Cuevas. Furthermore, I did not find the characters in this book attractive. It seams all of Night/Cuevas' characters are flawed, yet I usually find this endearing. These characters, however are not very endearing, nor memorable. Perhaps, it is the lack of careful self analysis that is found in some of here other books, such as Dance and Black Silk.

Rating:
Summary: Ivory Is An Exceptional Author
Review: I have now read all three of Ms. Ivory's books, and I'm totally impressed. Her books are intelligent (not a common acholade for this genre), entertaining, and convincing. The situation where the hero paints himself into a corner through his own "cleverness" is terrific, and the heroine's faithfulness to her "mystery" lover is perfect irony, and there's the bonus of Ms. Ivory's prose, which is almost lyrical.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but could have been better...
Review: I love Beauty and the Beast/Phantom of the Opera type romances, so this one was an automatic buy to read. This novel was also somewhat similar to Kathleen Woodiwiss' A ROSE IN WINTER. However, I preferred A ROSE IN WINTER because Woodiwiss kept the identity of the husband and secret lover (and naive young thing I was at the time, I actually did think they were two separate men when I read the book). Perhaps Louise comes off as more spoiled and silly because we are on the side of Charles, so we know what is going on which it makes it harder to identify with her. So many people in the previous reviews ranted about her behavior, but I wonder if Charles' joke on her was any more acceptable really. Both of them were equally stupid when it came to starting off the marriage on the right foot.

However, character flaws aside, I did enjoy the dialogue of the characters. And I thought Charles Harcourt was fascinating for a romantic hero. I agree that once they get off the boat and face reality, the book slows down and becomes predictable and all I could do was wait for the secret to be revealed. Perhaps part of my impatience with this section of the book also concerns that I really don't like marriage-for-convenience stories. Maybe because I've read so many over the years, and they're never really new, just the characters' names change. A physically disabled romantic hero is at least a new slant on things from the typical romance, but the marriage-for-convenience stuff bores me belong belief.

It was a good book, but with the interesting beginning, it could have been better throughout.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but could have been better...
Review: I love Beauty and the Beast/Phantom of the Opera type romances, so this one was an automatic buy to read. This novel was also somewhat similar to Kathleen Woodiwiss' A ROSE IN WINTER. However, I preferred A ROSE IN WINTER because Woodiwiss kept the identity of the husband and secret lover (and naive young thing I was at the time, I actually did think they were two separate men when I read the book). Perhaps Louise comes off as more spoiled and silly because we are on the side of Charles, so we know what is going on which it makes it harder to identify with her. So many people in the previous reviews ranted about her behavior, but I wonder if Charles' joke on her was any more acceptable really. Both of them were equally stupid when it came to starting off the marriage on the right foot.

However, character flaws aside, I did enjoy the dialogue of the characters. And I thought Charles Harcourt was fascinating for a romantic hero. I agree that once they get off the boat and face reality, the book slows down and becomes predictable and all I could do was wait for the secret to be revealed. Perhaps part of my impatience with this section of the book also concerns that I really don't like marriage-for-convenience stories. Maybe because I've read so many over the years, and they're never really new, just the characters' names change. A physically disabled romantic hero is at least a new slant on things from the typical romance, but the marriage-for-convenience stuff bores me belong belief.

It was a good book, but with the interesting beginning, it could have been better throughout.

Rating:
Summary: A Definite Keeper
Review: I loved this book the first time I read it, and I enjoy it just as much every time I reread it. Ms. Ivory has created wonderfully complex characters that do not fit the standard romantic "formula". I believe this is the reason readers either love or hate this book.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent Beauty and the Beast story
Review: I loved this book--it's sexy, smart, and very satisfying. A keeper

Rating:
Summary: a delightful adult [read "hot"] twist on the old fairytale
Review: I read Ivory's new one, THE PROPOSITION, and thought it was hilarious and sexy with great dialog, so I bought BEAST and SLEEPING BEAUTY. I wasn't disappointed a bit, even though I liked THE PROPOSITION best. Don't miss the other two though. What I liked best about BEAST was that half of it takes place on a dark ship that might sink, sort of like Titanic, and you really feel you are there till you almost are seasick. I liked the contrast of the dark half with the second half of the book in daylight, where the heroine is so beautiful she scares people, and the hero is so "ugly" he does too, including the heroine. My heart broke for him when the young girl he's married, who he has fallen in love with on the ship, sees him and is repulsed. Louise is an immature, rich 18-year-old who grows up when she falls in love with an eccentric hero who is much older. Traditional romance stuff but not like you have read it before. I was up all night enjoying this beastly good tale.

Rating:
Summary: Really tried to give it a chance but...
Review: I read this book after hearing some good things about it, but now I wished I never bothered. I was both bored and frustrated early into the book--and it only gets worse as it goes along. This is supposed to be a story about loving people for who they are on the inside...but when does that happen? I would argue that Louise never loves anybody, and Charles loves Louise because of her beauty--which is mentioned ad nauseum--and for no other reason. How can he when there is nothing remotely likable about her? I have never read a book where the herione was so unlikable. She's mean, conceited, vain, and BORING. As for Charles--well, he is inconsistent, insipid, and annoying. If I read one more line about his olfactory glands, I was going to throw the book across the room.

To be honest, I found nothing romantic about this romance novel. The couple's relationship actually left me feeling sad and somewhat disturbed...and with a certain feeling that in five years Louise will run off with a young and beautiful lover to explore the world while Charles is left home making perfume and taking care of the children. If you must read this book, borrow it. Oh, and if you want a good book that retells the tale of Beauty and the Beast, try "The Bride and the Beast" by Teresa Medeiros or "Beauty" by Susan Wilson.

Rating:
Summary: Forced myself to finish it. . .
Review: I read this book after hearing some good things about it, but now I wished I never bothered. I was both bored and frustrated early into the book--and it only gets worse as it goes along. This is supposed to be a story about loving people for who they are on the inside...but when does that happen? I would argue that Louise never loves anybody, and Charles loves Louise because of her beauty--which is mentioned ad nauseum--and for no other reason. How can he when there is nothing remotely likable about her? I have never read a book where the herione was so unlikable. She's mean, conceited, vain, and BORING. As for Charles--well, he is inconsistent, insipid, and annoying. If I read one more line about his olfactory glands, I was going to throw the book across the room.

To be honest, I found nothing romantic about this romance novel. The couple's relationship actually left me feeling sad and somewhat disturbed...and with a certain feeling that in five years Louise will run off with a young and beautiful lover to explore the world while Charles is left home making perfume and taking care of the children. If you must read this book, borrow it. Oh, and if you want a good book that retells the tale of Beauty and the Beast, try "The Bride and the Beast" by Teresa Medeiros or "Beauty" by Susan Wilson.