The Beast of Bath: A Regency Fairytale Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

“Knowing yourself, and learning to love yourself as you are, is the beginning of beauty. I think the most important thing is to show off what’s most beautiful about you and to hide what’s less beautiful.” –Sonia RykielFirst off… that cover was simply amazing. I loved it. Second, I enjoy a good Beauty and the Beast story and this one the author knocked out of the park. I was also grateful that it was a free offering on Amazon… thank you Amazon.Rating: MA: mature audience: listen-to-me-carefully… MATURE AUDIENCE… graphic, erotic… yep. Seriously, this one will steam the wallpaper off the walls. Even my contacts steamed up. Just saying… you have been warned.Not having read this author before… I waltzed into this story fat-dumb-and-happy. Within a short time period I was completely lost in the story. All the elements for a good B&B story were present: a night shrouded in darkness, fog, a shadowy figure hidden by the night shadows, a woman screams in the darkness, running from a villain dressed only in her gown and night-rail, and a hero saving her from a fate worse than death. Yeah, it was good.This was a short story at 15-chapters. I was able to read it in one sitting. Although it moved quickly, I never felt cheated. It was as though our author made every word count. We were given just enough information to move the story along but not bog it down. Although there were questions regarding the back story between out hero and the villain; it was not the main focus of this story… yet it was a driving force. This was the relationship between the beauty and the beast. I didn’t care what ticked off the villain.Lady Thessaly was running from her wastrel step-father Archibald Fairington, who had sold her to the local abbess. Now, before you start thinking of Shakespeare’s ‘get thee to a nunnery’ speech… you have to know that saying has a double meaning. Yes, in Christian terms an abbess is the Mother Superior over a cloister of nuns… however, in this case… abbess also referred to a female brothel keeper. So dear step-father had sold her to the local whore house. Yeah, great guy… the slime-bag-rat-bastard.“Love is the beauty of the soul.” –Saint AugustineLord Victor Mayhew, Viscount Norcross, spent his days sleeping and nights walking the streets of Bath between his home and the baths. The soothing waters helped to ease the tensions in his scarred body and also soothed his soul. On one faithful night he heard a woman’s scream in the darkness and not because she had seen his face. She was running for her life.“When virtue and modesty enlighten her charms, the lustre of a beautiful woman is brighter than the stars of heaven, and the influence of her power it is in vain to resist.” –AkhenatonI loved the interactions between Lord Norcross and Lady Thessaly… OMG! From the moment they first met… the chemistry was electric. The writing was hot, sensual, and steamy. Even my contacts fogged up. This was hot, sexual and just plain erotic. I loved this couple. I loved the beauty in this relationship because she was not only beautiful on the outside but beautiful on the inside. He was ever the beast on the outside and inside due to his tortured soul. I felt for him as a betrayal of the worst sort was the cause of his scars. True to any good B&B story, this beauty helped to heal his tortured soul as well. I wanted to cry with joy as he began to trust her love. Oh, I loved the part where she slowly brought him out of the darkness and into the light. Well done.Editing: yeah, there be errors: made vs maid, fiancée when referencing the male [fiancé = male and fiancée = female], missing words and articles enough to pull me from the story. That was too bad. [4.5-stars round to 5]

This relatively short, historical, stand-alone "Beauty and the Beast romance, set in Bath in 1817, is about a vulnerable young lady named Thessaly Shade, and Lord Victor Mayhew, Viscount Norcross, who hides from the world because of his scarred appearance. The book, which moves at a fast pace, includes violence, as well as explicit sexual activity. No spoiler with this review.There are errors regarding usage of tense, paragraph and sentence structure oddity sometimes causing ambiguity regarding the person to whom the pronoun refers, and also some plot inconsistencies. The author has Winstone, after having been asked to arrange purchasing of clothing of a style for a lady of standing (Thessaly), having obtained gowns with décolletage so low that she views them as being obscene. Also, being "sold" to the abbess is spoken of as if the abbess is an evil person, rather than the superior of an Abbey of nuns. Additionally, why would Thessaly assume that she has to "give herself" to the Beast of Bath to barter for his assistance after he had just, with no apparent expectation of compensation, saved her from attack? There are quite a few little oddities of the plot that could have, and with the author's apparent other skills, should have been better addressed. Additionally, the book was too short, with events happening too quickly for a realistic plot and too quickly to enable character development.On the plus side, the story flowed well and author did provide some realism with regards to descriptions and dialogue. Additionally, whether or not the explicit sex is appreciated (and this story could easily have been or be adapted into a clean version), this author demonstrated significant skill in providing romantic descriptions of sexual intimacy. Those descriptions in this book were far more sensually described than those of many books that I have previously read. A romantic presentation injects realism and enables the reader to become affected by the story. It represents the romance, rather than just the mechanical body part movements that many authors apply to numerous and sometimes seemingly repetitious descriptions of such intimacy within their books.Despite the grammar and plot imperfections (which could easily be corrected), I find this story to be somewhat better than average for its type, thus rated it 3.5, which rounds up to a rating of 4 stars. That rating is probably a bit higher than this story deserves, but as the book is helped by the author’s skill in creating a romantic mood during descriptions of sexual intimacy, perhaps the nudge upwards to 4- star rating is not too much of a stretch. 01/30/2020 Please disregard this review statement: “ Also, being "sold" to the abbess is spoken of as if the abbess is an evil person, rather than the superior of an Abbey of nuns”. Per author comment below, abbess was used as "Regency cant for a madame" (as in owner of brothel, a procuress, etc.) and thus not in error.

Setting: 1817 Bath, EnglandTHE BEAST OF BATH is a short and sensual re-telling of the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast... Lord Victor Mayhew, Viscount Norcross, is a terribly scarred and tortured nobleman who lives his life in the dark. One night while roaming the streets of Bath, he comes across Lady Thessaly Shade, a beautiful damsel in distress who is running for her life and in need of rescuing. But it's clear to Thessaly that Victor is an honorable man with a beautiful soul who also needs rescuing. And she's determined to save him from his world of self-imposed darkness and finally allow him to live, and love, in the light again.This was a very lovely romance, but definitely an adult version with some spicy love scenes tossed in. Thessaly and Victor were both super easy to love and pretty well fleshed for just a novella too. Their romance was a unique blend of sexy and sweet and I just really adored them as a couple. I do feel like everything moved a bit fast though, especially where the villain was concerned. I also think it needed an epilogue and was disappointed to discover there wasn't one. Still, there was some action, mystery, and overall it was another enjoyable historical romance from an author who has quickly become one of my favorites =)Notes, Pages & Kindle Locations: I did notice a couple dozen typos and a discrepancy where Victor's current studio was called both a former nursery and a ballroom, so I'm not sure which is correct. As for the story itself, it contained 216 pages and ended at 94% and location 1272 of 1344 on my kindle device.

Short but sweet I loved this little book! Scarred hero, feisty heroine, lots of steamy passion and a dash of danger - what more could you ask for? First time I have read anything by this author but I'm on my way to see what else she has written - thoroughly recommend this book!

A nicely crafted tale, a little short on details of the main characters.. Considering the author is American, I'm impressed with her use of English used at the time. Not a "Gotten" in sight

A short but really pleasant read. Especially if you like regency romance. Hotter then the usual historical book. I did enjoy reading it. Very relaxing good for the beach.

This is one of my favourite books.Dark with a HEA what more do you need. I must read it 3 times now, so it's one you can go back to again and again.Highly recommend

I rather enjoyed this regency romp and the beast of bath didn't feel like much of a beast to me but a rather handsome man with scars that gave him character. Good easy reading.