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The Spinster & The Beast - A Regency Novella
Elizabeth Wicklow is a confirmed spinster, content to chaperone her lovely nieces on their hunt for husbands. While she has no foolish notions about her own martial state, her heart quakes at the sight of Major Rutledge, a man from her past. Unfortunately, Major Rutledge is enamored by one of her nieces! What could possibly be more devastating?
Elizabeth decides to vent her frustrations in a letter. Thinking no one will read it, she spares no details.
However, her deepest secrets are about to be discovered... by the elusive “Mr. Nobody.”
Sensuality Level : Sweet
Word Count: 20,000
Elizabeth decides to vent her frustrations in a letter. Thinking no one will read it, she spares no details.
However, her deepest secrets are about to be discovered... by the elusive “Mr. Nobody.”
Sensuality Level : Sweet
Word Count: 20,000
Nook
First published October 1, 2011
22 people are currently reading
254 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 24, 2016
You know I understand wanting to put a little reality in your book, but snot running down the lip and wiping ear wax on the couch was a bit much for me. I enjoyed the book up until those two incidents. Had to make myself finish the book after that.
April 1, 2020
This was a lovely short story on a reimaging of beauty and the beast, my favourite! I love, love how the two characters came together. The only real downfall to this book is I wish it was a bit longer and that it dove into the side characters a bit more to bring more depth. A great read overall!
September 23, 2017
This was pretty bad. I rarely finish a book and then give it one star, but I'm making an exception. I've finished so few books recently that I really needed something short, and I've been aching for a Beauty and the Beast retelling so why not this??
Okay so I'll start with what was good in this:
-Letter format. I wish the whole book had been this and all the narration cut out. I am now looking for epistolary format books of any kind because I was reminded that I really like this.
-It was super short and a quick read (78 pages on Kindle)
- Nan. I liked her for the most part.
Well, here goes all the rest of it.
-While it was a novella, it could have easily been a short story. There wasn't any additional development and there was a lot of repetition.
-So much wallowing and self-pity.
-Terrible female character. She only gets over a man (from 10 years ago) when she "meets" a new man?? :|
- SO much wallowing.
So now I'm motivated to read something great. I didn't have very high expectations to start and I started up a trial of Kindle Unlimited so I could read this (and a few others) for free so I didn't drop actual dollars on it.
Maybe the author has some other good books, but this was just really not what I wanted to be the one to break my non-reading streak.
Okay so I'll start with what was good in this:
-Letter format. I wish the whole book had been this and all the narration cut out. I am now looking for epistolary format books of any kind because I was reminded that I really like this.
-It was super short and a quick read (78 pages on Kindle)
- Nan. I liked her for the most part.
Well, here goes all the rest of it.
-While it was a novella, it could have easily been a short story. There wasn't any additional development and there was a lot of repetition.
-So much wallowing and self-pity.
-Terrible female character. She only gets over a man (from 10 years ago) when she "meets" a new man?? :|
- SO much wallowing.
So now I'm motivated to read something great. I didn't have very high expectations to start and I started up a trial of Kindle Unlimited so I could read this (and a few others) for free so I didn't drop actual dollars on it.
Maybe the author has some other good books, but this was just really not what I wanted to be the one to break my non-reading streak.
December 24, 2017
This one was mostly good. I loved the letter writing that took up a large portion of the book. But the insta-love through a few letters was a bit much. It was nice for a quick read but not anything spectacular.
August 21, 2019
Just no.
I'm not sure how I finished it. Probably because it was only about 90 pages? At times the words flowed nicely. At others it seemed that a middle schooler wrote it. Just no. The premise was nice, the execution was lacking.
I'm not sure how I finished it. Probably because it was only about 90 pages? At times the words flowed nicely. At others it seemed that a middle schooler wrote it. Just no. The premise was nice, the execution was lacking.
February 14, 2020
Such a sweet short story
I must have read this short story 10 times. I forget about it, then stumble across it again on my kindle. And every time it makes me smile and sometimes i even have to reach for a tissue.
He is a war veteran who was shot in the face leaving a disfiguring injury causing him to become a recluse.
She is a thirty something year old spinster who thinks she’s quite unattractive and unwanted.
Through bizarre circumstances, they strike up a correspondence with each other and most unexpectedly fall in love.
I must have read this short story 10 times. I forget about it, then stumble across it again on my kindle. And every time it makes me smile and sometimes i even have to reach for a tissue.
He is a war veteran who was shot in the face leaving a disfiguring injury causing him to become a recluse.
She is a thirty something year old spinster who thinks she’s quite unattractive and unwanted.
Through bizarre circumstances, they strike up a correspondence with each other and most unexpectedly fall in love.
November 28, 2019
It was a wee bit overwrought, but I do love drama, so I liked it.
October 30, 2017
A wonderful tale of perceptions, both of ourselves and others, and how hearts don't care what the rest of the world thinks. When it decides to love, the only thing that matters is what's in the heart. Liz not only considers herself a confirmed spinster at the ripe age of thirty and six, but a homely one at that. Back from the war with not only a lame leg, but a disfigured face, Adam has become a recluse, the only person to see him, even though her eyesight is failing, is his aged eighty year old grandmother. When a former beau returns from the war and seemingly makes fun of her at her niece's coming out, then continues to "rub it in her face" when he decides to court her young niece, Liz uses a tried and trusted method of settling herself. She pens her feelings in a letter and addresses it to "Mr. Nobody", then hiding it under a rock far away from town, hoping for peace within. But when her letter is found, and replied to, who knows what the outcome will be?
Beautifully written, tasteful and easy to follow, this short heart warmer will surely capture your heart, as it did mine.
Beautifully written, tasteful and easy to follow, this short heart warmer will surely capture your heart, as it did mine.
July 23, 2023
1,5 stars
Short but not sweet. It actually felt much linger when reading. Don't expect the trope of old suitor courting the niece in order to get the chaperone. Nope.
What I liked:
- an older heroine . yay, she was 36
- a hero younger than heroine
What I didn't like
- insta-love, like they are declaring love after exchanging like 5 letters within a span of two week?
- the heroine KNEW that her old suitor is not good for her niece, yet she said nothing!!!
- I wanted to see some repercussions for the villain
Short but not sweet. It actually felt much linger when reading. Don't expect the trope of old suitor courting the niece in order to get the chaperone. Nope.
What I liked:
- an older heroine . yay, she was 36
- a hero younger than heroine
What I didn't like
- insta-love, like they are declaring love after exchanging like 5 letters within a span of two week?
- the heroine KNEW that her old suitor is not good for her niece, yet she said nothing!!!
- I wanted to see some repercussions for the villain
September 21, 2019
Short but perfect
This piece was so incredibly sweet. It was short and to the point. No long dragged out storyline with complex twists and turns. Just simply ...sweet.
Miss BB was lonely Mr Nobody was despondent and one silly letter brought them together. Granted it would have been nice have more depth to their relationship, but I needed a to-the-point piece today. It was perfect.
This piece was so incredibly sweet. It was short and to the point. No long dragged out storyline with complex twists and turns. Just simply ...sweet.
Miss BB was lonely Mr Nobody was despondent and one silly letter brought them together. Granted it would have been nice have more depth to their relationship, but I needed a to-the-point piece today. It was perfect.
July 20, 2017
Wonderful!
I purchased this novella years ago and have read it many times, and have loved it more each time. The two main characters both have their reasons to feel alone and expect to remain alone, yet thanks to a silly whim they managed to find each other and supply the friendship and love they both desperately needed and deserved. Lovely, lovely story!
I purchased this novella years ago and have read it many times, and have loved it more each time. The two main characters both have their reasons to feel alone and expect to remain alone, yet thanks to a silly whim they managed to find each other and supply the friendship and love they both desperately needed and deserved. Lovely, lovely story!
November 21, 2017
Beautiful in its simplicity
So romantic! I may be a sap, but I loved how they grew into love with just letters. And their anonymity allowed them to be completely honest with each other, which was usually unheard of in their time. I was in happy tears when he realized and confessed himself unabashedly that he had fallen in love with her.
So romantic! I may be a sap, but I loved how they grew into love with just letters. And their anonymity allowed them to be completely honest with each other, which was usually unheard of in their time. I was in happy tears when he realized and confessed himself unabashedly that he had fallen in love with her.
September 13, 2017
3.5 stars. It's a cute, sweet story. There was nothing in the story I didn't like, but it felt more like a novella than a novel. Because of this there wasn't a lot of background development. It is nice for what it is.
December 28, 2017
This story was very short but very sweet.
September 2, 2012
I love the beauty and the beast theme, and I can endlessly read books where authors come up with new variations on one of my favorite stories. I also love epistolary novels, and there're certainly enough great letters between the hero and heroine for this novella to qualify as one. Further, the book had a real fairy tale feel to it, so the fact that the H and h feel in love so quickly through their letters was believable.
The book was very well written, the author is a talented story teller, and I love what she did with the beauty and the beast theme. So why am I only giving this book three stars instead of four? There were two instances that were, quite simply, gross and unnecessary. Since this is a very short novella, these two instances really stood out, and inserted a very jarring note into the charm and fluid ease of the story.
First: the heroine has a very bad head cold. She's running an errand (I think she's going to pick up or deliver a letter to the tree where she and the hero leave their correspondence), but should really be home in bed. She runs into a former suitor, who had essentially dumped her. Of course, she wants to look her absolute best when she runs into him, but she's at her absolute worst. There are so many ways the author could have conveyed this. What the author did was have a large glob of snot fall from the heroine's nose (the author's exact words, not mine), and she wiped it off with her sleeve. And the author used the word snot (I have no idea if it was in use in England at that time), which was so inappropriate to a Regency story.
Second: the hero lives with his elderly grandmother. At one point, while he and his grandmother are sitting and talking, she reaches into her ear, and takes out a large piece of wax and looks at it. When I read that, I just thought "yuck!" At least there was a really good reason in the plot for the heroine to be stuffed up and sniffling, although the "snot" dripping was not necessary. But the ear wax incident with the grandmother was totally gratuitous, and served no purpose whatsoever. Except to detract from an otherwise lovely story.
I look forward to reading more books by this author, and hope she'll find less revolting ways to make a point.
The book was very well written, the author is a talented story teller, and I love what she did with the beauty and the beast theme. So why am I only giving this book three stars instead of four? There were two instances that were, quite simply, gross and unnecessary. Since this is a very short novella, these two instances really stood out, and inserted a very jarring note into the charm and fluid ease of the story.
First: the heroine has a very bad head cold. She's running an errand (I think she's going to pick up or deliver a letter to the tree where she and the hero leave their correspondence), but should really be home in bed. She runs into a former suitor, who had essentially dumped her. Of course, she wants to look her absolute best when she runs into him, but she's at her absolute worst. There are so many ways the author could have conveyed this. What the author did was have a large glob of snot fall from the heroine's nose (the author's exact words, not mine), and she wiped it off with her sleeve. And the author used the word snot (I have no idea if it was in use in England at that time), which was so inappropriate to a Regency story.
Second: the hero lives with his elderly grandmother. At one point, while he and his grandmother are sitting and talking, she reaches into her ear, and takes out a large piece of wax and looks at it. When I read that, I just thought "yuck!" At least there was a really good reason in the plot for the heroine to be stuffed up and sniffling, although the "snot" dripping was not necessary. But the ear wax incident with the grandmother was totally gratuitous, and served no purpose whatsoever. Except to detract from an otherwise lovely story.
I look forward to reading more books by this author, and hope she'll find less revolting ways to make a point.
April 7, 2013
A novella, I can't count this in my Challenge. But it was definitely a wonderful (if not too short!) read!
Back to historical fiction! Liz is a spinster of six and thirty years, who has been on the shelf far too long to desire a husband and family of her own the way she does. She should be focusing on helping her two young nieces have their season, not feeling sorry for herself. But when her ex-beau returns from fighting on the continent and declares himself a contender for one of her nieces hands, she is privately emotionally distraught. Major Pain (not his name, but it fits) totally blows her off, and is smitten with her teenaged relative. Mortified, Liz feels the need to write out her frustrations, and in a moment of whimsy, she hides her confession under a rock beside a knobby tree.
Adam has returned from the continent a scarred man. His face was blown off in the war, and he is holed up in his estate with his 80-year old grandmother, ashamed of his appearance (Although, as with all disfigurement stories, the author is a coward and leaves him one unmarked side of his visage. Apparently in novels with facial injuries, it's *ALWAYS* confined to one hemisphere of the skull, and never with any hair loss, vision loss, or hearing loss. How fortunate for all of these fictional men!). He finds the letter when his leg injury (mentioned only once as a vice to get him to sit by the knobby tree) requires him to rest, and he espies the note she left there.
Anyhoo... Adam replies to Liz's letter, and after two weeks of corresponding, they declare undying love to each other. He whips off the mask he wears around like it's nothing (?!) and they fall into each other's arms. The end. It... was sweet. The letters were charming. The story was nice. But for ONCE I'd like an author to commit to the fact that their heroine *isn't* beautiful in the end, and that their hero doesn't have a 'handsome' side. Not everyone does. It's annoying. It's a cop-out. It... took two stars off my review. Otherwise, I would've really liked it.
PS: Someone else commented about the whole snot and ear-wax additions to the story. I agree... it was gross and unnecessary. Not sure why anyone would do that to their own novelette...
Back to historical fiction! Liz is a spinster of six and thirty years, who has been on the shelf far too long to desire a husband and family of her own the way she does. She should be focusing on helping her two young nieces have their season, not feeling sorry for herself. But when her ex-beau returns from fighting on the continent and declares himself a contender for one of her nieces hands, she is privately emotionally distraught. Major Pain (not his name, but it fits) totally blows her off, and is smitten with her teenaged relative. Mortified, Liz feels the need to write out her frustrations, and in a moment of whimsy, she hides her confession under a rock beside a knobby tree.
Adam has returned from the continent a scarred man. His face was blown off in the war, and he is holed up in his estate with his 80-year old grandmother, ashamed of his appearance (Although, as with all disfigurement stories, the author is a coward and leaves him one unmarked side of his visage. Apparently in novels with facial injuries, it's *ALWAYS* confined to one hemisphere of the skull, and never with any hair loss, vision loss, or hearing loss. How fortunate for all of these fictional men!). He finds the letter when his leg injury (mentioned only once as a vice to get him to sit by the knobby tree) requires him to rest, and he espies the note she left there.
Anyhoo... Adam replies to Liz's letter, and after two weeks of corresponding, they declare undying love to each other. He whips off the mask he wears around like it's nothing (?!) and they fall into each other's arms. The end. It... was sweet. The letters were charming. The story was nice. But for ONCE I'd like an author to commit to the fact that their heroine *isn't* beautiful in the end, and that their hero doesn't have a 'handsome' side. Not everyone does. It's annoying. It's a cop-out. It... took two stars off my review. Otherwise, I would've really liked it.
PS: Someone else commented about the whole snot and ear-wax additions to the story. I agree... it was gross and unnecessary. Not sure why anyone would do that to their own novelette...
July 22, 2012
I had to give this romance novella 4 stars even though there are a few spelling errors and other things I did not like. It is almost the perfect romance story. The premise is really great and so it could have happily been a longer book. I think the letter writing back and forth between the hero and the heroine could have been stretched out. I also did not care for the use of the word "snot" or the scene with Nan and the ear wax. Those things took away from the quality of the writing.
Never the less, I was not distracted away from the beauty and message of this story. I loved the hero and the heroine. Some people reviewing this book on amazon gave it low ratings because their focused on historical accuracy and the fact that the book is so short. I think that when you spend time over analyzing things what happens is that you miss what is really important. This story is a tale of two people making a soul to soul connection that defies convention an is the true nature of love. It is the same type of connection that John Thornton had for Margaret Hale and that Mr. Darcy had for Elizaebth Bennett.
This is the second book by this author that I read and both were extremely enjoyable. Some may be put off by the name of the book, but it really is a novella of substance. I LOVED IT!!! I will definitely read it again and again.
Never the less, I was not distracted away from the beauty and message of this story. I loved the hero and the heroine. Some people reviewing this book on amazon gave it low ratings because their focused on historical accuracy and the fact that the book is so short. I think that when you spend time over analyzing things what happens is that you miss what is really important. This story is a tale of two people making a soul to soul connection that defies convention an is the true nature of love. It is the same type of connection that John Thornton had for Margaret Hale and that Mr. Darcy had for Elizaebth Bennett.
This is the second book by this author that I read and both were extremely enjoyable. Some may be put off by the name of the book, but it really is a novella of substance. I LOVED IT!!! I will definitely read it again and again.
February 8, 2015
I enjoyed this novella. You have an older woman of the Regency period escorting her nieces. An encounter with a beau of her own youth (a decade past) is demoralizing because he is now looking to court one of her nieces. Her anger and bitterness are written down in a letter and hidden under a rock. Later she realizes that perhaps she was a bit hasty and shouldn't have let the letter out into the world. Too late, it's been found and there is a reply to her instead.
The hero is also heartbroke though he seems past his anger and bitterness and lives with his grandmother who is an invalid. He essentially took a musketball or shrapnel to his face and has given up all hope of even going out into society. He finds her letter and answers, seeing it, at first, as a light entertainment or a flirtation that can never really be or perhaps merely answering the anger and bitterness he sees in the letter and knows that the unknown writter can rise above it.
I understood the motivations of everyone, was mildly entertained by the story and got my "Awwwh" HEA.
The hero is also heartbroke though he seems past his anger and bitterness and lives with his grandmother who is an invalid. He essentially took a musketball or shrapnel to his face and has given up all hope of even going out into society. He finds her letter and answers, seeing it, at first, as a light entertainment or a flirtation that can never really be or perhaps merely answering the anger and bitterness he sees in the letter and knows that the unknown writter can rise above it.
I understood the motivations of everyone, was mildly entertained by the story and got my "Awwwh" HEA.
December 10, 2012
This was definitely a very basic book and I realize it was a novella but I was disappointed by this. McQueen's writing was really quite good and the general story was interesting. What generally really annoys me is when people seem to fall in love too fast and since for this couple it happened over the course of like two letters it seemed really ridiculous! Also, if Adam really did have a hole in his face (as was described early on in the book) I feel like . I don't know, maybe I was expecting a bit much from the ratings and reviews previously given but I found this to be a quite unsatisfactory story.
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January 11, 2012Okay. I admit it. I LOVE the Beauty and the Beast fairytale so anytime I come across a book that mirrors that storyline, I give it a try.
The spin this author put on the story involved a series of letters that initially are strangers, which was fun. How the correspondence begins is a bit implausible, but I still enjoyed the story and it's resolution.
The spin this author put on the story involved a series of letters that initially are strangers, which was fun. How the correspondence begins is a bit implausible, but I still enjoyed the story and it's resolution.
March 3, 2012
There was just enough story to make the novella an enjoyable read. The exchange of letters between characters is always intriguing but never more so, than when they are strangers. The story would have been even better if the letter aspect of the narrative was fleshed out or drawn out a bit more. The discovery of mutual affection felt a bit rushed
March 26, 2016
This book is supposed to be sweet. It should have been fluffy and heartwarming. However, I found myself only at the "almost" point. Too bad. Maybe because it's too short and that their interaction via letter could sound creepy when you actually think of it. It should have been sweet, but it is not quite it.
July 5, 2015
3.5 Stars. A very fast and easy read and sweet story. At times the writing and content lacked a little for me, seeming a little juvenhile however on the while I did enjoy the story. It was short, sweet, and definitely a feel good story. Minus the two occasions that the author was too graphic--snot and earwax... yuck.
March 14, 2012
I loved this story. Adam and Liz were two people who thought they would die without finding love. However, a letter changed everything for them. This story reminds me of Beauty and the Beast meets Phantom of the Opera. You'll have to read this endearing story to find out what I mean.
June 25, 2017
One of the best novellas I've ever read. My favorite.
March 13, 2012
This was a lovely short story, I have it 4/5 stars as I wished it was a full length novel! It really had potential for more. Definitely worth 77p!
January 24, 2015
NOVELLA
June 24, 2012
Very enjoyable short story. I loved Adam and Liz.
October 13, 2012
LOVE LOVE LOVE...
Absolutely amazing...penpals who see the real person for who they are and fall in love...
Absolutely amazing...penpals who see the real person for who they are and fall in love...
April 21, 2013
It is cute, funny and romantic. The only problem I had with this is it is too short. Someone should make an effort to turn this into a novella.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews