To Beguile a Beast (Legend of the Four Soldiers Series #3)

To Beguile A Beast is a delightful, romantic read!

Synopsis:

Beautiful Helen Fitzwilliam escapes London with her two young children and heads to Lord Alistair Munroe's castle in Scotland. Armed with a letter from Lady Vale but knowing little about Alistair, Helen Fitzwilliam arrives in the middle of night and introduces herself as the new housekeeper. From the start, Helen wonders whether she's made the right decision. The castle is filthy, neglected, and without servants. Alistair is gruff, irritable and horribly scarred, but this may be the safest place for them to hide, so Helen sets about learning to keep house and make herself indispensable. Though Alistair seems scarred and irritable, she starts to notice his patience, kindness, and tall lean body.

Reclusive Alistair Munroe is puzzled by Helen Fitzwilliam and her children. Helen is too beautiful and well dressed to be a housekeeper, though she might be a member of the ton on a dare. Her horror at his scars convinced him that she hadn't known about him or his history. He had gotten used to avoiding human contact and wasn't looking forward to having to see the horrified looks of these newcomers. When he inadvertently learns that Helen is hiding from someone, he takes sympathy and welcomes them to his home.

Meanwhile, Helen's lover is determined to find her and teach her never to run from him again.

Review:

I thoroughly enjoyed To Beguile A Beast. It's a light romantic read with just the right mix of suspense, romance, and humor. I liked Helen and her children. The children and their interaction with Alistair Munroe added another dimension to the story.

If you're looking for a historical romance and a quick read, I recommend giving Elizabeth Hoyt's To Beguile A Beast a read.

Publisher: Forever (May 1, 2009), 368 pages.
Courtesy of the publisher.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Third Time is as Charming as the first two!

Helen Fitzwilliam became a mistress because she believed in love and thought the Duke of Lister would come to love her. Helen became a housemaid for a surly, disagreeable man because she needed an escape from the Duke who did not want to love her but own her like any of his other possessions.

What Helen finds at Castle Greaves with Sir Alistair Munroe is nothing she expected and everything she could have hoped for. He did not want her there despite the fact that his castle was suffering from years of neglect and misuse and did everything possible to drive her from his home. But Helen knew that this was the only place she had to go to and her desire to protect her daughter and son from their father's cruelty was the only objective she had in mind. Helen knew that cleaning the castle and drawing Alistair into her life could happen and she would make it happen because this was a woman with a mission to care for her children and make a life without the fear from Duke Lister.

Alistair is a victim of torture at Spinner's Fall during the war in the colonies which caused more than physical scars on his body. He was aged beyond his years and left with nightmares he was unable to conquer and loneliness he was unable to find relief from. While he was there not as a soldier but a naturalist that did not stop him from having his body brutalized and the soldiers he traveled with die at the hands of a traitor. He has kept to himself at Castle Greaves and written and illustrated his books on flora and fauna even though this was not the life he wanted to lead. When Helen and her children come to live in his home he finds that the small space he has allowed himself to function in is not enough and he experiences everyday they are there a warming of his long gone cold heart.

Even with one eye left to see her with Alistair knows that Helen is more than she appears to be and when all her secrets are revealed to him he believes not that he is her salvation but instead she is his. Helen knew love had been her undoing but could it be possible that Alistair can help her find that which she has always wanted but had been unable to have - love.

This book was highly anticipated and in no respect does it disappoint. While the first two were action packed and had numerous activities going on at several fronts this book focuses on these two people who have so much grief between them you are not sure they will be able to find the love that is right in front of them. But Helen has enough love for him to help him overcome his fear that she will do what everyone has done and leave him. Alistair shows in some many levels what he is capable of on larger scale when he helps rescue her children and with a tiny action of getting a new puppy for her children. Helen needed what Alistair was able to provide - the desire to love her for what she was not what she might have become.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Loved it...

I absolutely enjoyed this book from the minute it began to the moment it ended. I think I enjoyed it more so than I did Jasper's story. The author does a good job explaining the background info of the series so if you haven't read the first two you won't be lost. Pick it up and enjoy!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Can't Wait for Book Four

I loved this book. It was my favorite of the series (so far). Don't know why I liked it so much, but I did!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great book in a series!

This author is fantastic! This is her second series - this is the third book in the series. It is a quick, escapist read!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Missed the mark

Wish I had listened to one reviewer who said it wasn't worth it. This could have been a great book but it seemed that the author was trying to meet a deadline. The female love interest fell into bed with the "beast" so soon. I mean, there wasn't enough buildup. Not enough conflict leading up to the love scene. I finished it just to make sure I wouldn't misjudge it but it was just very lightweight "fluff".

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Another Great in the Soliers Series

Author Elizabeth Hoyt is a USA Today best-selling author of historical romance. She also writes contemporary romance under the pen name, Julia Harper. This book follows her other titles: The Serpent Prince, To Taste Temptation, To Seduce A Sinner, The Leopard Prince, and The Raven Prince. Elizabeth Hoyt resides in central Illinois with her husband, two children, and three dogs.
Book Three in The Legend of the Four Soldiers Series, To Beguile A Beast follows Helen Fitzwilliam from the luxury of the ton in England to a crumbling Scottish Castle where she finds reclusive Sir Alistair Munroe. Running from her past as the mistress of the Duke of Lister, Helen takes her two young children to what was supposed to be the safety of the castle with a job as a housekeeper. She wasn't expecting to find a horribly scarred man from the Colonies with a surly demeanor determined to scare all away. Nor was she expecting a gentle side to the man who was beginning to invoke a passion inside her she thought long dead. He was not going to scare her away, scars and all, for this was her last chance at a new life. But just as they both begin to believe in true love again, Helen's past threatens to tear it all apart. Now, both Beauty and Beast must fight for a happily ever after neither thought they could ever have.
Lovers of historical romance and fans of Elizabeth Hoyt will not be let down by this book. This is the best in the series so far, and the last book, To Desire A Devil, proves to be another hit. Not only steamy and sweet, this story will also play on your own insecurities and heartstrings. I stated this in my review for To Seduce A Sinner, but this book, though a historical, can be reflective of modern times and how war can affect us afterwards. The plot flowed well and was well paced. The secondary characters were as delightful as the main ones. The setting was superb and the dialog spot on. It had just enough secrets to keep you glued and a climax that built from page one. This is one of those books that you just didn't want to end. You'll smile, you'll cry, and rest assured, you'll growl with frustration.
To Beguile A Beast, by Elizabeth Hoyt, is another poignant and piquing tale of love and loss and beginnings again.

Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent storytelling

In 1765 needing escape from the Ton and her overly protective guardian, Widow Helen Fitzwilliam accompanied by her two children nine year old Abigail and five year old Jamie flee London to dilapidated Castle Greaves in Scotland. Hiding behind the falling down walls is Sir Alistair Munroe, who has not recovered emotionally from his physical and mental ordeals as a soldier fighting in the colonies. His scarred face and sunken pit instead of a left eye serves as a reminder. The recluse learns Lady Vale, wife to brother in arms Jasper Renshaw (see TO SEDUCE A SINNER), hired Helen Halifax, the name she gives him, as his new housekeeper.--------------------

Alistair may be damaged but he can see clearly that Helen is remarkably beautiful. However, it is her caring for her kids and him that begins to bring him out of his shell. As they fall in love and he likewise also with her children, her "protector" is coming to demand she return with him to London.------------------

The third Legend of the Four Soldiers (see TO TASTE TEMPTATION) Georgian romance continues the saga of the few survivors of a Regiment who were slaughtered at the battle of Spinner's Falls by the Wyandot tribe due to an apparent betrayal. Although the overarching theme of finding out who the traitor is does not go forward much, Elizabeth Hoyt is three for three with a beguiling tale starting with Abigail's scream upon seeing Alistair's face and never misses a beat until the final confrontation.------------

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Held my interest.

Good book, held my interest, my kind of book, a good story plus hot and steamy! My first by this author definitely not my last. I normally don't read books with children involved but her two were precious and made the story!

Fantastic Love story

I love stories of the this time period and Hoyt does a fantastic job building a plot of a mistress of a duke into a love story with a man who has had a tragic life. She clearly demonstrates to the reader that love can see beyond the tragedies of a man who has lost all hope of love. Well written, and sexy to.

I admit it, I was beguiled

Ok, this book cinched it. I am a fan of Ms. Hoyt. This is at least the second series I've read by her and while this series started off with a whimper for me (I did not care for To Taste Temptation, the first book in the series), this installment more than made up for it.

The characters were wonderful and flawed. They made mistakes and somehow i wound up liking them more for those mistakes. Watching the characters grow and change and become better people because of their influence on each other was probably what I enjoyed most. Experiencing the story from not only Allister and Helen's perspective but also from little Abigail's perspective was really a nice touch. I'll admit when she started telling the story from Abigail's perspective I thought I would get annoyed, but it only added the the tender heart of the story.

In this series of books almost each chapter starts with the ongoing fairy tale of one of the four soldiers. I have to say I enjoyed the fairy tale very very much. Sure some aspects of it were predictable, but hey it's a fairy tale, some facets of fairy tales should never change.

The only thing missing from this book was really delving more into the myster of the Spinner Fall's Massacre, but there are tidbits there that lead to the next book, which looks more than promising. That beind said, I honestly cannot think of one thing about this book that I did not like.

Stats:
Genre: Historical Romance
Nook Pages: 236 actual story (there's 10 pages at the end of the books that has a preview)
Steam Factor: Sensual

Pleasantly Surprised

Okay the third book didn't look as promising as it ended up turning out! I loved the main guy Sir Alastair and I didn't mind the children at all. Good book!

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the beast has always been my favorite love story. So I try to read any book that is along that lines. I pleased to see that the next in the soldier series seemed to be like that. I just finished reading it. I couldn't put it down. It was great!!!! I now will have to have patience for the next in the series due out in November. I think Helen and Alistar were such great charcters. A true love story!

The compelling characters in this third book of the legend are Sir Alistair Munroe, severely scarred survivor of the Spinner's Falls Massacre and knighted naturalist and his feisty sister who appears briefly, but vividly.

Melisande Fleming, Lady Vale [To Seduce a Sinner] has sent the lonely beauty, Helen Fitzwilliam, with children Abigail and Jamie to Scotland. Helen is fleeing the possessive, cold Lord Lister whose neglected mistress she has been for years and whose children are his. In desperation and fear, she bullies herself as housekeeper into Alistair Munroe's filthy castle and into his lonely heart (The parallel story in this book is about Soldier #3, The Truth Teller, and an enchanted princess). The children take to the Scottish woods and the awkward Alistair, as does Helen. But an informant tells Lord Lister about their whereabouts, and he kidnaps the children back to London. To rescue them, Sir Alistair must overcome the stares and whispers that have led to his years of seclusion. He also has a lead about the traitorous British nobleman whose information caused the massacre, but he literally misses the boat of the man who was to give him the name. Nevertheless Alistair is able to get the children back with the help of the Vales and some adroit blackmail. He arranges reconciliation between Helen and her father, and marries Helen.
P. S. Beatrice Corning, niece of the new Earl of Blanchard - the would-be earl, charismatic Reynaud St. Aubyn was crucified in the massacre - is fascinated with his portrait (a taste of the final book?).

You will love this!

This is a very good book as are all of Elizabeth Hoyt's books. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

One of her best

Lucky for me,I discovered Elizabeth Hoyt shortly after her first book was published and was delighted to find her. The early Georgian isn't my favorite period but her style is so beguiling that I couldn't put the first book down until I finished it. I have read every one of her books since that time and this one is easily as wonderful as the first. Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorite themes and I definitely will put this on my keeper shelf.

Very Good Book

I loved the characters in this book especially Sir Alistair Munroe. He's the wounded hero you just want to love and comfort. It was a very touching story. This is Elizabeth Hoyt at her best. I thoroughly enjoyed the book as I did the other two in the Legend of Four Soldiers Series.

Mesmerizing...

This was a long awaited third book for the Legend of the Four Soldiers series. Immediately you are drawn to the hero and heroine. The death of beloved Lady Grey was so heart-wrenching that the sorrow simply lingered as you read more into the book. Can't wait for the fourth book! Highly entertaining!

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No text was provided for this review.