Review(s) & a Giveaway!

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase (Scoundrels #3)
Publisher: Avon
January 1995
Buy the book! Amazon (only .99!! for the Kindle)

They call him many names, but Angelic isn't one of them . . .

Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain, is big, bad, and dangerous to know. No respectable woman would have anything to do with the "Bane and Blight of the Ballisters"—and he wants nothing to do with respectable women. He's determined to continue doing what he does best—sin and sin again—and all that's going swimmingly, thank you . . . until the day a shop door opens and she walks in.
She's too intelligent to fall for the worst man in the world . . .
Jessica Trent is a determined young woman, and she's going to drag her imbecile brother off the road to ruin, no matter what it takes. If saving him—and with him, her family and future—means taking on the devil himself, she won't back down. The trouble is, the devil in question is so shockingly irresistible, and the person who needs the most saving is—herself!

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James
Source: Free copy from BEA
Publisher: Avon
February 1, 2011
Buy the book! When Beauty Tamed the Beast

Miss Linnet Berry Thrynne is a Beauty . . . Naturally, she's betrothed to a Beast. Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant, lives in a castle in Wales where, it is rumored, his bad temper flays everyone he crosses. And rumor also has it that a wound has left the earl immune to the charms of any woman.
Linnet is not just any woman.

She is more than merely lovely: her wit and charm brought a prince to his knees. She estimates the earl will fall madly in love—in just two weeks.

Yet Linnet has no idea of the danger posed to her own heart by a man who may never love her in return.

If she decides to be very wicked indeed . . . what price will she pay for taming his wild heart?

Review:
I recently read these two books back to back and they were so similar (in a good way) that I decided to review them as one.

Both Lord of Scoundrels and When Beauty Tamed the Beast are historical romances and are inspired by the classic Beauty and Beast faery tale. Both men are considered beastly although I would venture to say most of it is in their own minds. Both Dain (LoS) and Piers (WBTtB) have very minor physical flaws, its more their personalities that make them seem beastly. Of course a beautiful woman comes into both of their lives.

It's the heroines that made both these books stand out for me. Most recent stories of this nature feature spunky, witty, intelligent female characters that can go toe to toe with their alpha male which culminates in steamy sex but not much more. It's all about the witty banter and one upsmanship. That is present in both tales but Jessica (LoS) and Linnet (WBTtB) are so much more than the beauty that makes the former Scoundrel/Mr. Cranky Pants make declarations of true love. They both believe in their men - Dain (LoS) & Piers (WBTtB). They love them no matter what BUT they expect their love and loyalty to be justified. Both women expect the men to respect them and step up to the plate and be good human beings, not just good lovers - Piers as a Doctor and Dain as a ….(can't say - spoiler - :-)) I love how Jessica and Linnet stood up for what they believed in while still giving unwavering support to Dain and Piers.

Dain and Piers are good tortured alpha heroes, although both border on whiny at times which would be the only thing keeping me from a perfect 4 rating for either book. The sex scenes are fairly steamy without being overly explicit. I'm not a huge historical romance fan yet I did enjoy these two books.

Rating: 3.5 for both Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase & When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James.

Giveaway time!

FILL OUT THE FORM below to win a SIGNED copy of When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James.

RULES:
*Must be 18 years old to enter
*US only
*+2 if you follow but not required

Giveaway ends Sunday July 17th 11:59pm ET

This giveaway has closed.

The winner is Elisa J