Reviewer: Connie Payne
Title: My Lord Beast
Author: Mary Lennox
Publisher: Five Star
ISBN: 1-59414-328-5
Release Date: April 2005
Genre/Sub-genre: Historical Romance
Year/Setting: 1843 England
Overall rating: 4.5
Sexual content rating: Subtle/Sensual
Mary's Website:
www.marylennox.com
He’s labeled a monster, a beast, a killer. Lord Breme must face these accusations along with the fact that his cousin and heir wants him dead. Wants his title and lands. Aubrey, Lord Breme is fighting not only for his title and lands, but for his life. He’s fighting to remember the night his wife was killed, the night he was scarred. Thinking the only way to do so is to wed and beget an heir, Aubrey believes it's time to begin searching for the ideal candidate.
Lilias Merritt, a teacher and nurse, is running from her proposed betrothed. Her father is pleased with the possibility of the match and is giving her a month, while he’s off to London, to come to terms with the idea. It becomes impossible for Lilias to even think she can go through with the match. She wants love. To be loved for herself. With that in mind she finds herself at Breme castle as a hired nurse.
Thus the thrust and parry’s begin between Aubrey and Lilias, sending them on a wild ride filled with intrigue, suspense, emotions, and love.
Lord Breme seems to be an enigma. He’s struggling to hide both who he is and who he’s feared to be all because he can’t remember one night. But we get to see glimpses of his true character as the story unfolds. We see his strength, his fears, his loyalty, and his compassion. He’s a hero with many facets.
Lilias is a woman with many aspects to her as well. One moment she can be quaking in fear, the next she’ll be hiking herself up to her full height and giving Aubrey what for. Her need for acceptance and love is visible. Who doesn’t want to be loved and accepted for themself, no matter what? She has a vulnerable/spirited aura about her.
Aubrey and Lilias were well matched. They each had internal struggles to sort through while they were periodically being thrown into situations that revealed pieces of Aubrey's puzzle. The puzzle that could mean either a life together or the hangman’s noose, depending on what pieces of the puzzle are found and if they’re placed in the right spot.
In my opinion, Mary Lennox is an author of historical romance to watch for. She can paint the scene with just a few strokes of the brush. What she wants the reader to see is vivid without any extra or unnecessary word play.
My Lord Beast is a well-paced story that leaves no loose ends to tie. I truly was engrossed in the story. It was much more than I had anticipated it would be.
Unfortunately the only thing causing a kink in my reading was my mental pronunciation of Lilias’s name. Aloud I pronounced it how I thought it should be, but in reading it, it was like my mind going over a bump in the road. The flow of my reading was interrupted.
However, overall it’s my recommendation for anyone who loves historical romance to read My Lord Beast. You’ll have a most pleasurable time.
Connie
Question or comment regarding the review or the book? Let Connie know.
Author's note: Lilias is pronounced like Lillian, only with an s at the
end instead of an n. So accent and short I on the first syllable, long e on the second, and
us on the third. It's a British name, who knows from what. I read a novel
when I was a kid with a character with that name and always liked it.
~~ Mary Lennox
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