Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Beast

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 692 ratings · 73 reviews

American heiress Louise Vandermeer has agreed to marry a European aristocrat. Her intended is rumored to be a hideously ugly man, a prospect that propels her into a reckless shipboard affair with a compelling stranger she never sees in the light of day. Unbeknownst to Louise, her mystery man is actually her betrothed, Charles d'Harcourt, whose romantic prank backfires when...more

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Published April 1st 1997 by Avon Books

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Beauty and the Beast

29th out of 187 books — 584 voters

My Favorite Romance Authors

163rd out of 813 books — 608 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,385)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jul 29, 2010 Fani rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: devil-in-disguise, disabled-or-scarred, romance-historical, angsty, hero-is-besotted, beauty-and-the-beast, unrequited-love, keepers-romance, marriage-forced-or-convenience, 6-stars, secrets-and-misunderstandings, hero-is-shy-or-vulnerable, belle-of-the-ball, he-did-a-bad-bad-thing, hero-falls-in-love-first

When you keep wishing your husband who's been abroad for 3 days will delay coming home at least 3 or 4 hours more so you can manage to finish the book, you know the book's a keeper. If anyone told me two days ago that I would come to love a book by Ivory whose book The Proposition was a huge disappointment for me, I would have laughed at them; yet here I am. This book not only turned a keeper, but one of my top 20 books ever.

This book had everything: witty dialogues, clever humor, a wicked, sexy...more

25 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2013 Jacqueline rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jacqueline by: Lovers of historical romance

Shelves: historical-romance, scarred-hero-heroine, edwardian, owned, masquerade-or-mistaken-identity

Very nice Edwardian romance. The hero, Charles, was quite different and most of the book was written from his POV. He was scarred and hyper aware of it but rather than secluding himself and brooding about it, he instead made himself confident (at least on the surface) and flamboyant and vain. He starts his incognito relationship with the heroine, his fiance whom he's never met, out of pricked pride.

The heroine, Louise, is 18 and for once was written as an 18 year old. She is polished and refine...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jan 19, 2009 Sherry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beast by Judith Ivory is one of my two all-time favorite romance books and also simply one of the best books I have ever read. When I read books or watch movies, afterwards I have a certain feel for them, a textural sensation. Beast has left me with one of the richest, most voluptuous "feels" ever.
The story is set around the turn of the 20th century. The first half of the book takes place on the ocean liner Concordia; the second half takes place in Provence, France.
The plot is fairly simple. I...more Beast by Judith Ivory is one of my two all-time favorite romance books and also simply one of the best books I have ever read. When I read books or watch movies, afterwards I have a certain feel for them, a textural sensation. Beast has left me with one of the richest, most voluptuous "feels" ever.
The story is set around the turn of the 20th century. The first half of the book takes place on the ocean liner Concordia; the second half takes place in Provence, France.
The plot is fairly simple. It combines an unknown lover theme with a beauty-and-beast theme. Louise Vandermeer is an heiress and beautiful beyond mere mortal imagination. Her fiancé, Charles Harcourt, is sophisticated, successful, and well-admired, the perfect man if you will, except for a couple of unfortunate defects. He is blind in one eye from a childhood ailment. That eye is further distorted by a scar. He also has a bad knee and limps a bit when the weather is unfavorable. In other words, he is not pretty.
Louise agreed to marry Charles sight unseen because she wanted the freedom of a married woman. While she is on the Concordia traveling to Nice for the wedding, Charles, unbeknownst to her, happens to be on the same ship. He seduces her in complete darkness. But the prank backfires. Charles falls hard for Louise, but she is in love only with her shipboard lover, unaware that it was Charles Harcourt all along.
One of the reasons I love this book is because of its characters. One doesn't see a heroine like Louise everyday. In fact, I've never read another one like her. She is not what one would label immediately sympathetic. She is eighteen, raised in the lap of luxury, more beautiful than Helen of Troy, completely aware of her power over the opposite sex, bored with her life, and annoyed with her parents and relatives.
Sounds like somebody you and I could detest? But Judith Ivory made her so much more than a spoiled darling. Louise is excruciatingly intelligent. I can hardly think of any heroine from any other book who is sharper or more observant. As a result, Louise is painfully aware of how circumscribed her life is, both by her wealth and her beauty. People are struck dumb by her looks. They have no idea who the real Louise Vandermeer truly is or wants to be. She adroitly fends off open-mouthed admiration from men and jealousy from women while longing to be someone kinder, wiser, someone more open, someone who was in fact, the real Louise Vandermeer.
You don't have to be beautiful. You only need to have been eighteen, confused, aimless, misunderstood and feeling like an outsider to sympathize with Louise.
Charles Harcourt, on the opposite end of the spectrum, is also a victim of his appearance. With him, Ivory has succeeded in creating a man who pays a great deal of attention to and agonizes over his looks, yet who is never diminished by this seemingly less-than-manly concern. Charles is mature, understanding, generous, and open-minded. He is the person with whom Louise could be completely open. And while he is awed and flabbergasted and flustered by her beauty, we are never in doubt of what he really fell in love with: her strength, her perspicacity, her desire to improve herself, and the force of her will.
Louise, to her great credit, realizes and admires the less-than-sightly Charles for all his wonderful qualities. In time, she falls in love with this Charles and we know they've both found the one person they needed.
As if such complex, human, flesh-and-blood characters aren't enough, Ms. Ivory wows me with her exquisite command of language. There is something inimitable about her writing. (I know - I've tried and failed.) Not only do lovely similes, metaphors, adjectives, and adverbs cascade freely from her pen without ever degenerating into verbosity, she writes with an energy, an enthusiasm - almost a glee - that I have not seen anywhere else except perhaps in Isabel Allende's book Aphrodite.
Her writing is tactile, visual, olfactory, gustatory. When she describes pearls, you feel their cool smooth roundness. When she describes food, you are hungry. And when she describes scenery, by God, you are there. Provence comes alive in her pen just as it does in Peter Mayle's books.
And when she writes a love scene, you need a cold shower.
Sometimes after reading a romance, one sighs and is satisfied. I was not only satisfied, I was astounded by Beast. Judith Ivory is one of the best writers writing today, period. And Beast, in my opinion is Judith Ivory at her best.

Note: I wrote this back in 2002 as a reader-submitted Desert Isle Keeper review for All About Romance.(less)

18 likes · like · see review

Sep 09, 2012 Zumbagirl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, amazing-dialogue, beautifully-written, beauty-and-the-beast, captain-colonel-soldier-hero, hidden-identity, humorous, kindle-own, older-man-younger-woman, scarred-disfigured, secrets, steamy, unlikely-husband, arranged-marriage-tricked-into-marr, rake, dandy

4.5 stars
This is truly amazing - when a book makes you feel such a range of emotions and sensations. The way Ms. Ivory writes is very sensual - she appeals to all of the senses, especially smell in this one. How is that possible? Well, it starts out because the hero, Charles, is in the business to make perfumes - or grows the key ingredients for them like lavender and jasmine. The descriptions are beautiful and clear - I really felt like I could smell them! Much of the story takes places on a sh...more

8 likes · like · see review

Feb 18, 2013 Lucille rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: oh-god-please-no

Again, another arranged marriage. A disappointing one. I think I need to a stop on this arranged-marriage-addiction of mine.

Beast was basically about two vain people, Louise Vandermeer who is on her way to meet her fiance and Charles d'Harcourt who was in the ship with his mistress (I forgot her name, but whatever). Charles decided to play a prank on Louise, but he fell head over heels in love with his fiancee. The two decided to meet in secret at night and had an affair. Little did Louise know...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 31, 2013 Bookswithbenefits rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ivory creates an effect that lasts in this retelling of a classic fairytale.

Synopsis: Louise Vandermeer, a young, beautiful, and sometimes shallow heiress is searching for a way to learn about herself and the world. Lost, without direction, and bored by life, Louise agrees to marry a man of her parents choosing, though she isn't above a bit of light flirtation on her trans-Atlantic travel. Scarred by a childhood illness, Charles d'Harcourt is successful, ambitious, and vain--despite his unusual...more

like · see review

Jan 19, 2013 Jane Stewart rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance-prior-to-wwll

Good plot, but lacking in development.

STORY BRIEF:
I liked the overall plot. Charles a French aristocrat has one blind eye and limps due to a bad knee. (He’s the beast.) Louise’s American parents are wealthy and arrange a marriage between Charles and Louise. Charles seduces Louise in the dark on a ship. They continue seeing each other but only in the dark. She does not know he is her fiancé. When the ship docks in France, she discovers her lover left the ship without saying goodbye. She pines for...more Good plot, but lacking in development.

STORY BRIEF:
I liked the overall plot. Charles a French aristocrat has one blind eye and limps due to a bad knee. (He’s the beast.) Louise’s American parents are wealthy and arrange a marriage between Charles and Louise. Charles seduces Louise in the dark on a ship. They continue seeing each other but only in the dark. She does not know he is her fiancé. When the ship docks in France, she discovers her lover left the ship without saying goodbye. She pines for him. She is then introduced to Charles and does not know that he is her shipboard lover. She dislikes Charles’ appearance. She will not let him touch her. Before and after they marry Louise will not give Charles a chance because she grieves for her lover.

OPINION:
The first half of the book is the romance on the ship. It was good. The second half is their time in France; it was not. Charles admires her beauty but she has no other qualities. She is conceited, mean, selfish, and bratty. I enjoyed some of the Charles parts. On the ship he realizes he is cuckolding himself. Later he wants to tell her that he was the guy on the ship, but he fears she will hate him for the dishonesty. So the big mystery is what will happen when SHE finds out and HOW will she find out. That was a huge disappointment. It was not shown. I did not see what went through her mind when she realized Charles was the lover. I did not see what event caused her to know this. All of a sudden it is a couple of days after she knew, and she is having a conversation about it. I was angry!

I also wanted to see how and why Louise fell in love with Charles. That was not developed. All of a sudden she decides to have sex with him.

After she has been cold, distant, and mean to Charles. He gives her an outrageously expensive set of jewels. He says it is because she has become such a good friend to him. Aaaack! She wasn’t a friend to him. He was nice, she was not. I did not want them to be together. In a romance book, the reader is supposed to want them to be together.

At times things were slow and drawn out. Too much pondering.

The narrator Barbara Rosenblat was excellent. She did male and female voices well. I liked her pauses. She has a pleasing British accent.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook length: 12 hrs and 40 mins. Swearing language: religious swear words used maybe twice. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: about 4. Setting: 1902 crossing the Atlantic in a ship and southern France. Book copyright: 1997. Genre: historical romance.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

May 12, 2012 Janusz added it

A Goodreads reviewer noted that Sherry Thomas' Beguiling the Beauty (which I enjoyed immensely) borrowed heavily from Judith Ivory's Beast. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to read the latter.

The similarity between the two books is, indeed, striking, though it needs to be said that Beast is itself a re-telling of the the Beauty and the Beast fable.

My reactions to the two books couldn't have been more different. I found Beast dull and uninspiring, the description of the transatlantic...more

like · see review

May 05, 2012 Blaze King rated it 4 of 5 stars

3 stars i was about to give this book until a very endearing ending jumped it to 4 stars. It had quite a few dialogues and statements in the 1st half of the book that bordered on silly lines - more so on the heroine and her parents' part. Can you believe a girl's parents asking for a man's hand in marriage by actually telling him in so many words within a letter that they thought him rich enough for her ?! Now, the author understandably mentioned the beauty and youth of Louise for the readers to...more

like · see review

Oct 23, 2011 Kagama-the Literaturevixen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, beauty-and-the-beast, heroine-i-hated

The premise seemed interesting...but failed on so many levels

I might be ignorant on how society worked at the beginning of the 20th century...but why on earth would supposedly wealthy and high class parents write a letter saying basically "OMG youre so rich! You should totally marry our daughter!" Im paraphrasing of course but thats essentially what it says.

On to the rest of the review

So much was made of the heroines age (18)that it felt obscene,with the narrative harping on and on about her ado...more

like · see review

Sep 30, 2011 Sadia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, mistaken-identity

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Spoiler alert >>> Read at your own Risk

Hmm, I'm not sure where to begin. I hated Charles, I liked Charles. Through out the book I couldn't decide. I felt he was a bit of a b****** for the deceiving Louise they way he did. But he proved to be such a gem later on while being a husband to Louise that I pretty much forgave him.

I know where he was coming from, wanting to get to know his bride to be without having to rely on things like outward appearances and all. But I wasn't too sure abo...more Spoiler alert >>> Read at your own Risk

Hmm, I'm not sure where to begin. I hated Charles, I liked Charles. Through out the book I couldn't decide. I felt he was a bit of a b****** for the deceiving Louise they way he did. But he proved to be such a gem later on while being a husband to Louise that I pretty much forgave him.

I know where he was coming from, wanting to get to know his bride to be without having to rely on things like outward appearances and all. But I wasn't too sure about his intentions behind the deception. Surely, he was a lot messed up then he let on - even after having so many women at his feet begging to have a chance he wasn't confident enough how his new bride would treat him. Understandable, really but he carried on his seduction too far - he was reckless. Supposed she's run off somewhere realizing she could never marry another man than her Pasha without giving him a chance to explain. Or killed herself? She was only a teenager after all, one prone to throwing tantrums as well. I didn't much like Louise, she was rich and spoiled and often immature. I liked Charles, I liked him a lot but I hated his inability to communicate with his wife and his hesitations.

Ironic how he had no trouble seducing her on the ship when she was a naught but a stranger. Yes, flings with virtual strangers are much more easier and steamy ;b

Anyways, the first half of the book was interesting but I was overly eager for Charles and Louise to start their life together and see how they book worked out their problems. It wasn't quite what I expected - I hated the dragged out scenes and forced grief on the poor couple. Louise for grieving for a man that was her husband and the husband couldn't bring himself to tell her so. Why, oh why do two wonderful people who love each other waste time by letting misunderstandings stay? Probably so that one can write a novel.

I was so sure Louise would find out soon because she was intelligent and had a good observation. But she didn't until that very end when it would have been the first thing that should have come to her mind. Really, how absurd was the pasha's insistence on not being seen in light? I wanted Charles to spit out the truth but I think he was such a coward when it comes to loving.

Towards the end I kind of lost interest. It wasn't because I didn't care whether Louise actually fell in love with the real Charles or not, I gave up the idea of reading more of the actual couple together. I wanted them to bond and have nice conversations after the misunderstanding cleared up but it was left till the last pages and only led to a hasty ending. It was a bit disappointing.

Nevertheless, it wasn't a bad read at all and I was glad to read a happy ending. (less)

like · see review

Apr 26, 2010 Jenny Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

After reading "The Propostiton" I couldn't wait to read another Judith Ivory book. I heard a lot about "Beast" so I grabbed it, started to read, and cringed. I've left my initial response below. I'd pick it up, read a bit, put it down, pick it up. Until I got about 200 pages in. Then I never set it down again until I finished it.
At first I didn't like the characters. Yet, the more I got to know them the better I liked. Judith did a fabulous job of taking two spoiled, slightly damaged characters...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 01, 2009 Rane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: victorian-romance, not-my-cuppa-tea

This is my first Judith Ivory book I’ve picked up and although it started off great, for me it fell short in the end.

The Good
Because of my love for the start of the book I thought I break it down between the good points on the book and the bad points.

The beginning was wonderful with Charles setting out to prove that looks are not everything, teaching a lesson to Louise. I didn’t care for Louise at the start, but slowly she blooms into a mature woman, someone trying to find her way and herself...more

9 likes · like · see review

Jun 13, 2010 Stacie M. Ritchie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, audio

This book starts out with the engagement of Louise Vandemeer with a European aristocrat. While everything is finalized the Vandemeer clan boards the ocean liner Concordia and heads to France. Her fiancé is on board the vessel because he is having an affair with someone else. He breaks off his affair, because the woman is demanding what he can’t give. He is intrigued by the young woman he is to marry, and finds out what she really thinks of him. He draws her into a romantic liaison as a joke, but...more

like · see review

Jun 01, 2012 Silvermist rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

When I first picked this book, I did so with a heart full of ecpectations. I had recently read another book of Judith Ivory, and quite liked it. And looking at the good reveiews that Beast had gotten, I really did expect a lot more. Im sorry to say this book was a major dissapointment for me. In the first half of the story, the plot was at times completely riddiculas, the characters going back and forth doing things that hardly made sence. The second half was better than the first, but even then...more

like · see review

Nov 14, 2012 Delicious Strawberry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, judith-ivory

One warning - this book is rife with double standards. Louise is put in an arranged marriage by her family, and she has never even seen her groom. You normally expect this kind of thing in say, Arabic family or Chinese families, but Louise and her family are American/Caucasian, and they are sailing to Europe where her groom awaits.

There's one twist - her groom is already on the ship, and he seduces Lou while in disguise. Seems rather mean to me, since he has just already had another lover, Pia (...more

like · see review

Mar 18, 2012 BookwormWithGoggles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romans-historiques-favoris

This is the first judith Ivory book i have ever read. I was so impressed by her style of writing. It was a pleasure to read. Yes the heroine was rich, beautiful and annoyingly felt sorry for herself but this was really only in the beginning of the book. It did not bother me in the least as it helped us understand Louise's character and way of thinking at the start of her journey from America to Nice.
I loved the romance as well. It was believeable and so touching. Sometimes I wanted to shake both...more

like · see review

Apr 15, 2011 Samantha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-historical-romance, trope-beauty-and-the-beast, trope-forced-to-marry

The heroine, Louise Vandermeer is gorgeous beyond belief. When she walks into a room every single man flocks to her side to bask in the brilliance of her goddess like beauty. Normally, this would annoy me, but I was fine with it since this is supposed to be a kind of B&tB retelling. Plus, Louise isn’t sugary sweet or extremely naive and this helped to take away some of the distraction of her over the top beautiful.

Louise is bored with most of the people around her, because no one gets her hu...more

like · see review

Oct 18, 2010 Lea's Audiobooks Hensley rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unabridged audiobook review from Speaking of Audiobooks column dated 3/30/10:

Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
My least favorite of Ivory’s books, I decided to give the audio version a shot, especially when I discovered it was narrated by the wonderful Barbara Rosenblat. Her narration was definitely the highlight and held my attention to the degree that I listened to an entire book that I still didn’t care for. A staggeringly beautiful, very young heroine combined with an older hero surprisingly work...more

like · see review

Mar 24, 2011 Ilze rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: judith-ivory

This book is a wild, wonderful ride - a tour de force of romance writing. Sherry Thomas' review says it all. Too bad it's out of print - it really deserves to be re-issued. But it *is* available on Kindle, thank goodness.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 13, 2012 Contessina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alpha-male-character, historical-romance, books-i-own, virgin-heroine, strong-heroine, seduction, rake, possessive-hero, obsessed-hero, noble-hero

Beni az çok tanıyanlar bilir ki gemi hikayelerini ne çok severim ... Lakin bu kez kendimi o gemiden atmak ve aksi yöne doğru arkama bakmadan yüzmek istedim .

Yazarın , ''hikaye '' diye kurcaladığı malzemeyi sevmedim . Karakterlerin sığlığını , iç münâkaşalarını , birbirleriyle olan çekişmelerini sevmedim . Olaylar zinciri git gide gözümdeki inandırıcılığını kaybetti . Kayda değer tek karakter de Charles'tı . Alışılmışın dışında , fizîkî görüntüsü ile ilgili problemleri olan bir erkekti . Ama Ch...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 20, 2011 Jan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, z-2011, historical-romance

I have no idea how I feel about this book.
My emotions are all over the place.
Must ponder.

I don't think I actually like this book, though I'm very glad I read it.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 16, 2010 Rosina Lippi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, best-beloved, reviewed-here

Judith Ivory is one of the romance authors I most admire. She writes beautifully at every level, and her historical detail is perfect without being overwhelming.

I'm not sure this is my favorite of her books, but it's certainly the best audiobook of hers I've listened to. The narrator turns a main character who was already alluring (Charles) into an irresistible force.

Some people are put off by the beginning of the novel, and the drawn out correspondence. I say it is well worth every word becaus...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 07, 2012 D rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, erotica, regency

3.5 stars. a very fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast. BTW: i am pro-lavender. fields of it.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 13, 2012 Hanife rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, 2011, own-a-copy, marriage-mated-bonded, 1700s-1800s-h-romance, reading-turkish, pregnant-or-children, favorite-author

Bu yorum aynı zamanda Romancekolikte yayınlanmıştır.

Kitabı alırken baya çekincedeydim. Daha önceden çevirisine dair baya yorumlar okumuştum. Okuduktan sonra bu yorumların bazılarına gerçekten hak verdim. Yorumumla çevirmenin emeğine saygısızlık etmek istemesemde gerçek ortadaydı. Başlarda sanki çevirmeyi yeni öğrenen birinin elinde çıkmış gibi kelime kelime çevirilmişti ve yorum eksiliği vardı. Yaklaşık kitabın 100 sayfasında kitapla boğuşma halindeydim. Ama hikaye oturupta heyecan kazandıkta...more

like · see review

Feb 18, 2013 Atunah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: european-historical-romance, tbr-c, historical-romance, library-kindle-book-bpl, read-2013

I am so sad that this was such a disappointment for me. It felt unpleasant to read for lack of a better word. I am just glad its over.
It started out pretty interesting. The vain, disfigured and mysterious hero, the young, pretty flirty heroine.
He is her arranged future hubby, he knows, she does not. So the games in the dark begin. She thinks he is some dark arab, he is conflicted about seducing his future wife and her being unfaithful to him, with him. Yeah.

Problem here is that the heroine is...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 10, 2010 Jill Dunlop rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you haven’t yet guessed, Beast is an adult version of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Charles d’Harcourt plays the Beast. He is blind in one eye from an infection during his infancy. The doctor lanced the eye and it left permanent scaring. The ingenuity in this tale is that Charles is actually very vain. He uses his scars and muscular physique to woo the ladies. He is quite the accomplished ladies man and is very suave and debonair. He plays them like musical instruments, making them hum...more If you haven’t yet guessed, Beast is an adult version of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Charles d’Harcourt plays the Beast. He is blind in one eye from an infection during his infancy. The doctor lanced the eye and it left permanent scaring. The ingenuity in this tale is that Charles is actually very vain. He uses his scars and muscular physique to woo the ladies. He is quite the accomplished ladies man and is very suave and debonair. He plays them like musical instruments, making them hum.

Louise Vandermeer, an American heiress plays the role of Beauty. She is exquisite; unlike anything Charles has ever seen before. Louise has grown up in a house of love. She has been cherished and above all spoiled. Surprisingly enough, she has a love/hate relationship with her beauty. She likes being beautiful, but she wonders if there is more to her than just her pretty face. Does she have worth outside of her looks? She is young, only eighteen and is trying to discover who she is.

There is a duality to Beast from both characters Charles and Louise, to the flow of the plot in the story. The first part of the book takes place on a ship as Louise is traveling from America to France to meet her Fiancé and marry him. On the ship Charles witnesses Louise flirting with a young lieutenant and concocts up a scheme to woo her without her knowing that he is really her intended. While on the boat Charles is smooth and mysterious, confident that he can seduce Louise. He is more than successful. Louise herself opens up to him like she has never done with another living soul before. At the end of the affair she still doesn’t know who he his and has fallen madly in love with him.

In the second half of the book after Charles and Louise have been formerly introduced the whole tone of the story changes completely. Now Charles has this secret hanging over his head and his sweet loving Louise has become cold and distant. Charles himself changes too. He becomes unsure of himself and vulnerable to Louise. Does she find his scarring repulsive? He looses his confidence and can’t seem to get on even footing with her. At this point since Charles won’t tell his secret, he will have to woo her all over again and that is exactly what he sets out to do.

Judith Ivory has taken a well loved classic and made it fresh and unique. There are so many hidden messages and metaphors that just show the time and effort Ms. Ivory put into crafting this story. The focus is completely on Charles and Louise and their relationship with relatively little outside influence from anything else. There is no mystery. All the conflict revolves around Charles and Louise and how they have affected each other. This was a brilliant story and one that I am sure if reread would reveal hidden meanings I missed the first time through.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Aug 17, 2012 Henar Hellow rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a good and light read. I enjoyed the story, and getting to know both hero and heroine. I found it to be one of the best romance novels I've read, with a very playful and sweet relationship between Louise and Charles. Though I thought Louise's stubbornness was drawn out a bit too long and (spoiler!!!!!) the plot resolving and the couple coming together in literally the last two pages was dissatisfying. Would have liked to have seen them together for a bit longer post resolution.

like · see review

May 20, 2013 Limau Nipis rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads, on-nook, historical-romance, wasting-my-time

How would I rate this book? It really deserve the 1-star rating.

I know that most readers might swoon over Charles d'Harcourt, but for me, he is just too scared to tell Louise Vandermeer, his own wife, that he is the seductive midnight lover who seduced her on a ship.

So by the end of the story that Charles admitted he is actually the mysterious Arabian lover.. and I think I want to smack his head because he seems to be fickle minded on exposing his identity. Why don't you just tell Louise from th...more

like · see review

Sep 11, 2007 Catherine rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone who loves romance and excellent writing

Shelves: favoritebooksofalltime

This is my favorite Judith Ivory book ever, and that's saying a lot since she has several incredible ones. This one, though, just really got me. Its premise--a young woman sailing to Britain to marry her intended, whom she's never met, and the liaison she engages in aboard the boat with the mysterious older man; then her subsequent marriage to a stranger, and slowly falling in love with him--is pretty unique for a historical romance novel. Plus it's set in I think 1895? Somewhere in there--maybe...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 46 47 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (7)

More editions...

Genres

Romance > Historical Romance

93 users

Romance

76 users

Fairy Tales > Beauty And The Beast

14 users

Regency

5 users

Fantasy > Fairy Tales

4 users

Historical Fiction

4 users

Historical Romance > Victorian Romance

4 users

Retellings

2 users

Marriage

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Judith Ivory

Judith Ivory "accidentally" acquired two degrees in mathematics, then sold her first novel in 1987 and closed up the math books for good. She lives in Miami Florida, with her two children, two cats and a dog.

"Judith Ivory" is the pseudonym of author Judy Cuevas (real name).

More about Judith Ivory...

Books by Judith Ivory

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Beast

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Beast
avg rating	preview: Beast Goodreads rating: 3.59 (692 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1130878.Beast?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266725722l/1130878.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1130878.Beast?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Beast by Judith Ivory[/url]

Beast

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website