He falls.
I love how the interplay between them draws Alistair in, despite himself.
Awesome quote #1:
Are you threatening to put toads in my bed, madam?”
“Perhaps,” she said loftily, but her eyes laughted at him.
His gaze dropped to her mouth, lush and wet, and he felt his loins turn to iron. He said low so no one else could overhear, “I would pay more attention to the threat were it something else you placed in my bed.”
“Don’t,” she whispered.
“Don’t what?”
“You know.” Those harebell-blue eyes met his, wide and vulnerable. “Don’t tease.”
Her murmured words should’ve made him feel ashamed. But, like the basest cad, it only heightened his interest. Careful, a voice whispered. Don’t let the woman seduce you into thinking you can give her what she wants. He should listen to that voice. Should obey and turn away from Mrs. Halifax before it was too late. Instead, he leaned forward, beguiled despite himself.
Quiet moment of revelation.
Elizabeth Hoyt does these moments so well. One of my all time favorite scenes in an historical, is the his/her scenes in EH’s To Seduce a Sinner. (See my post here.) Nothing is said, not much action takes place, but all is revealed. Helen also has one of these revelatory moments.
Awesome quote #2:
She looked up. He still talked to Miss McDonald, his face in profile to her. His scars were all hidden from this angle. His nose was straight and long, his chin firm and somewhat pronounced. His cheek was lean, his eye heavy-lidded. He looked like a handsome, clever man. Perhaps a bit weary this late in the evening. He must’ve felt her gaze. He turned, fully revealing his scars now, welted and red and ugly. His eye patch hid his missing eye, but the cheek under it sagged.
She stared at his face, at him, seeing both the handsome, clever man, and the scarred, sardonic recluse. The air felt thin in her lungs, and her chest labored to take in more, but still she stared, forcing herself to see all of him. All of Sir Alistair. What she saw should have repelled her, but instead she felt an attraction so intense it was all she could do not to rise and go to him at once.
He slowly raised his glass of brandy and saluted her before drinking, stil watching her over the rim.
Only then could she tear her gaze away, gasping to fill her lungs with air. Something had happened in those few seconds when she’d held his eyes. It was as if she’d seen into his soul.
And perhaps as if he’d seen into hers.
That sense of homecoming.
I’ve heard mixed reviews about the 3rd pov in this book, which is Helen’s daughter, Abigail. I actually quite liked it, though it’s true that this an unconventional thing to do in a romance, where the focus is usually squarely on the h/h. (Also, “the cute kid” thing is hard to pull off without being saccharine.)
One thing that was so satisfying was Abigail’s relationship with Alistair. They brought things out in each other that wouldn’t have been possible to understand without her perspective. This passage is one of those “show, don’t tell” moments that illustrate their relationship.
Awesome quote #3:
He stood by himself, watching them with a small smile on his face, and her heart gave a happy hop at the sight of him, too. Abigail stepped back from Mama.
She dried her eyes and walked slowly to Sir Alistair. “I’m glad to see you again.”
“I’m glad to see you, too.” His voice was deep and gruff, but his brown eye smiled at her.
. . .
He held out his hand. “Forgive me?”
For some reason, her eyes filled with tears again. She took his hand. It was hard and warm and large, and when she held it, she felt safe.
Safe and as if she were home.
It’s such a touching scene yet, it never devolves into over the top maudlin drama.
This book wasn’t perfect: I felt that some of Sir Alistair’s issues were resolved a little too quickly at the end. But, overall, it was a wonderful story, and Elizabeth Hoyt did some really inventive things with the Beauty and the Beast fairytale.
Book 4 of The Legend of the Four Soldiers series, To Desire a Devil, will be released November 1, 2009.
- Elizabeth Hoyt’s site.
- Excerpt for To Beguile a Beast on author’s site. (Scroll down page.)
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1.
Kati | May 13, 2009 at 7:23 am
I regret over and over that Hoyt’s work just doesn’t ever work for me. I’ve bought four of her books and three of them were DNFs for me.
And I never seem to be able to put my finger exactly on why it is that her writing style doesn’t hold my interest. But I keep hearing things about this book. I may have to see if I can find it in a UBS.
2.
Lori | May 13, 2009 at 8:52 am
I really liked this one, too. Something about the story and the voice seemed different enough that it reminded me more of the Raven Prince, which is my favorite of all her books. There was one scene (I forget which one without the book in front of me) where they are interrupted at a crucial moment and Alistair says some sort of curse that totally reminded me of that fabulous scene in Raven Prince where Edward and Anna are about to kiss and the dog interrupts them and he mumbles Shit. It was perfect. And I loved that.
3.
Renee | May 13, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Kati: Wow. I’d be interested to know which one did work for you?
Her writing style is different than other writers. To me the books tend to move more slowly, and there is a lot more internal action than external.
While I really liked this one, I don’t think it’s her strongest book. That, for me is To Seduce a Sinner. It’s funny, cause not all of her books have been winners for me –I’ve even dnf’d 1 or 2, but the ones I did like, I REALLY liked.
Lori: I really enjoyed the originality of Helen’s character and her pov. She is similar to Anna in that she’s an older, wiser heroine, not a virginal miss. I really like that.
I think that was the scene by the pond, when they were fishing? The scene that stands out for me in Raven is the chair scene in the brothel. Lordy!
4.
Kati | May 13, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Renee – IIRC, The Raven Prince worked OK for me. I think it was the cranky as all get out hero. But her subsequent books haven’t worked at all for me. It depresses me, because everyone seems to love her work. I feel like the fat kid in high school who doesn’t get invited to parties. I keep trying though. I’m just no longer going to buy her books new. If I see one in a UBS, I’ll buy one.
5.
orannia | May 13, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Thank you Renee – love the quotes. I still have To Seduce a Sinner to look forward too…but I have to read Broken Wing first
BTW, your reviews aren’t long-winded!
6.
Barbara | May 18, 2009 at 5:51 am
Hi, Renee. I just wanted to let you know that you won that Evangeline Collins giveaway.
~Barbara
7.
Renee | May 18, 2009 at 11:55 am
Barbara: Thanks, again! mwah!
8.
Renee | May 18, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Kati: I totally understand. ::whispers:: I have the same feeling about a contemporary author. coughnorarobertscough. Some books/authors are like that. It sounds like a ubs is the way to go.
orannia: Thanks! I think TSaS is her best one so far, but this one was really enjoyable. I’ve got to get my copy of BW from my friend!
lol. I always cringe when I see how much I need to scroll down for my reviews, but as it is, I try to cut things down. (I’m the same way irl. lol)
9.
May 2009 reads « Renee’s Book Addiction | June 5, 2009 at 6:06 am
[...] To read more about this book, check out my post. [...]
10.
Elizabeth Hoyt’s new series « Renee’s Book Addiction | June 14, 2009 at 1:22 pm
[...] Just finished reading . . . To Beguile a Beast [...]