Beauty and The Baron

Rating:
Summary: This Baron is no Beast
Review: Deborah Hale explores the depths of her characters with a keen sense of the human heart, and gives readers exactly what they are looking for: a romantic, feel-good journey into the lives of two fascinating, multi-layered characters. This book is a delightful escape into the Regency period. It kept me turning pages until the end, just to find out how the kind-hearted heroine was going to bring the hero out of his dark existence and into one of joy and light. I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy intelligent writing, and well-drawn characters who stay with you long after you close the book.

Rating:
Summary: Splendid!
Review: Deborah Hale has done it again. I had barely begun Beauty and the Baron when I found myself as enchanted by her characters as I once was by the princes and princesses of fairy tales. Yet in Deborah's delicately wrought story, it is the hero who must be rescued by the lady--in this case, an irrepressible beauty with a weakness for sweets and a touching empathy for those who are wounded or alone. It is this empathy that allows Angela to brave the dark world Lucius inhabits. He shows her the beauty only visible in darkness, the beauty of the stars. And, having partaken of this beauty, she determines to return the favor--she teaches him to recognize the even greater loveliness of his own soul. In Beauty and the Baron, Deborah Hale shows us just how bright a happily-ever-after can be.

Rating:
Summary: really bad...
Review: I have to say I am surprised as the 4 and 5 star ratings reviewers gave this book. Deborah Hale is not a bad writer; I have read several of her other books and thought they were okay. But this story is just, well, stupid. Yes, I know the whole beauty and the beast thing is supposedly fascinating to some women. Here, in our story, Lucius, wounded in the face (of course) and now lives like a monk and in the dark. His once famously gorgeous face is badly scared and he also has vision issues regarding daylight. So he has this black S&M mask that covers 1/2 his head. Now, an eye patch I can live with but this? It is not romantic to fall in love with someone who you can't see. Also - in this time period, the regency period, beauty was somewhat irrelevant for many. Marriages were made for practical reasons and with 1000's scared from small pox and most people with really bad teeth, especially women who averaged to lose one tooth per pregnancy, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. I could not get into a story where this silly Anglea falls for a masked man. Too gothic...

Rating:
Summary: A good story, but not a keeper
Review: If I could, I would give this novel 3 1/2 stars. It's not as bad as the one-star reviewer would have you believe, but in my opinion, it's not as good as the 4 & 5 stars would say. I love some of the characters -- Angela is a fine heroine; the old grandfather; Tibby the housekeeper. Lucius was a difficult hero to admire; I have to sort of agree with the one-star reviewer about his mask, but the author made me understand the paranoia about his scarred face that was behind his wearing it. The book just fell flat somewhere for me. I thought the book went on too long, that's it; some nonsense about Lucius trying to get Angela to love the vicar instead was just that: nonsense. So I have to give it a solid 3 1/2 stars for the mostly well-plotted writing, & some characterizations, but in the end, it's not a keeper for me.

Rating:
Summary: A good story, but not a keeper
Review: If I could, I would give this novel 3 1/2 stars. It's not as bad as the one-star reviewer would have you believe, but in my opinion, it's not as good as the 4 & 5 stars would say. I love some of the characters -- Angela is a fine heroine; the old grandfather; Tibby the housekeeper. Lucius was a difficult hero to admire; I have to sort of agree with the one-star reviewer about his mask, but the author made me understand the paranoia about his scarred face that was behind his wearing it. The book just fell flat somewhere for me. I thought the book went on too long, that's it; some nonsense about Lucius trying to get Angela to love the vicar instead was just that: nonsense. So I have to give it a solid 3 1/2 stars for the mostly well-plotted writing, & some characterizations, but in the end, it's not a keeper for me.

Rating:
Summary: A regency beauty and the beast
Review: Miss Angela Lacewood had resigned herself to a quiet, solitary life in the country before Lord Lucius (also known as Lord Lucifer for his quick temper, solitary nature, tendency to stalk around at night, and the black mask that covers most of his face) strikes a deal with her. In exchange for a much-sought after commission for her brother, Angela will pretend to be Lucius' fiancee to please his dying grandfather, of whom Angela is also quite fond. To make the old earl happy in his final months (Angela initially rejects the commission for her brother), Angela agrees to carry off the charade with the intent of breaking off the engagement after the earl has passed on. As Angela and Lucius grow to know one another, however, will they want to break off their engagement?

What can I say, I have a suddenly intense weakness for scarred heroes. I therefore liked the character of Lucius, although I wish that he would just tear off his mask once in a while if not for anything more than dramatic effect! Having never seen his wounds, I have no idea how horrible they might be, but as one reviewer mentioned, so many soldiers were returning with scars, missing limbs, etc, and non-combattants also had pock marks, missing teeth, etc. Perhaps the mask was a reflection of his vanity - after all, he had been exceptionally handsome before Waterloo, and perhaps he did not want others to see how much he had changed in regards to looks. Perhaps the mask was a way of escape - perhaps his soul was tortured enough inside to want to block out the world in any way possible, including putting on a mask. I don't know, but the mask thing gave the book a mystery about it that I enjoyed. I, for one, have no qualms about a heroine potentially falling in love with a masked man - it's rather dashing, in my opinion. If the hero is masked, then the heroine has no choice but to fall in love with the person, rather than the looks! :)

At any rate, I liked the character of Angela. She was sweet and kind, although a bit too meek for my tastes. Angela and Lucius went well together, sparring and all. In his heart, Lucius wanted Angela to find happiness, even if that meant she didn't end up with him, and that was noble, if not frustrating to some extent. For the last 50 pages, I really just felt like thwacking Lucius on the side of the head. The story could have wrapped up 50 pages or so before it did, and I would have been happy, but there was yet another subplot to rear its not-so-attractive head. Sometimes there felt as if there was too much going on at any particular time, as if additional subplots were thrown in to keep the story going.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book greatly, so much so in fact that I stayed up late to finish the book because I couldn't bear to put it down! Despite a few minor flaws, the plot was good, and I never get tired of another retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story, especially when it involves engaging characters such as Angela and Lucius. This book earned four stars in my opinion, and a place on my "keepers" shelf!

Rating:
Summary: Boring and the Blah
Review: Sorry, but this is my last attempt with this author. I've tried several times but she just doesn't do it for me. This is a shallow story, much contrived with characters that neither engage nor entertain. The beauty and the beast story and its variations can be extremely entertaining and there are countless examples in romantic and, particularly, regency fiction - too countless to name here. Any of the romantic review sites will give you long lists in this sub-genre. This one, however was just simply credulous. Angela Lacewood never aroused any sympathy in me and Lucius (and boy did the author make a mull of his title - it was given in several ways and usually wrongly) was too ill-drawn to make me at all attracted to him (a "must" with romantic fiction!). The story was not particularly well thought out and sadly, I admit I skimmed the last quarter of this in an effort to justify the expense of purchasing it.

Rating:
Summary: Boring and the Blah
Review: Sorry, but this is my last attempt with this author. I've tried several times but she just doesn't do it for me. This is a shallow story, much contrived with characters that neither engage nor entertain. The beauty and the beast story and its variations can be extremely entertaining and there are countless examples in romantic and, particularly, regency fiction - too countless to name here. Any of the romantic review sites will give you long lists in this sub-genre. This one, however was just simply credulous. Angela Lacewood never aroused any sympathy in me and Lucius (and boy did the author make a mull of his title - it was given in several ways and usually wrongly) was too ill-drawn to make me at all attracted to him (a "must" with romantic fiction!). The story was not particularly well thought out and sadly, I admit I skimmed the last quarter of this in an effort to justify the expense of purchasing it.

Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Read
Review: The familiar theme of a scarred hero rescued from his tortured past by a warm-hearted heroine has never been more riveting as they are in Deborah Hale's Beauty and The Baron. The hero, Lord Lucius Daventry, and the heroine, Angela Lacewood, are as the author tells us, as night is to day. With rich, powerful characterization, the seamless weaving of historical detail into the story, and elegant writing, Deborah Hale gives you everything you look for in a well written historical romance.

Rating:
Summary: Completely enchanting!
Review: This Beauty and the Beast tale will win you over as surely as the lovely Angela Lacewood wins the fiercely guarded heart of Lord Lucius Daventry ("Lord Lucifer"). Expect Deborah Hale's trademark graceful writing and her remarkable ability to wring emotion from the reader.