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Audiobook9 hours
Darling Beast
Written by Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by Ashford McNab
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
A MAN CONDEMNED . . .
Falsely accused of murder and mute from a near-fatal beating, Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne has escaped from Bedlam. With the Crown's soldiers at his heels, he finds refuge in the ruins of a pleasure garden, toiling as a simple gardener. But when a vivacious young woman moves in, he's quickly driven to distraction . . .
A DESPERATE WOMAN . . .
London's premier actress, Lily Stump, is down on her luck when she's forced to move into a scorched theatre with her maid and small son. But she and her tiny family aren't the only inhabitants-a silent, hulking beast of a man also calls the charred ruins home. Yet when she catches him reading her plays, Lily realizes there's more to this man than meets the eye.
OUT OF ASH, DESIRE FLARES
Though scorching passion draws them together, Apollo knows that Lily is keeping secrets. When his past catches up with him, he's forced to make a choice: his love for Lily . . . or the explosive truth that will set him free.
Falsely accused of murder and mute from a near-fatal beating, Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne has escaped from Bedlam. With the Crown's soldiers at his heels, he finds refuge in the ruins of a pleasure garden, toiling as a simple gardener. But when a vivacious young woman moves in, he's quickly driven to distraction . . .
A DESPERATE WOMAN . . .
London's premier actress, Lily Stump, is down on her luck when she's forced to move into a scorched theatre with her maid and small son. But she and her tiny family aren't the only inhabitants-a silent, hulking beast of a man also calls the charred ruins home. Yet when she catches him reading her plays, Lily realizes there's more to this man than meets the eye.
OUT OF ASH, DESIRE FLARES
Though scorching passion draws them together, Apollo knows that Lily is keeping secrets. When his past catches up with him, he's forced to make a choice: his love for Lily . . . or the explosive truth that will set him free.
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Reviews for Darling Beast
Rating: 3.8689320378640772 out of 5 stars
4/5
103 ratings11 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Audiobook: Narrator - Ashford McNab
Another amazing narration by Ms. McNab. No one can do this series as well as this narrator. She has totally spoiled me.
I worried and loved Apollo from the first moment I met him. The brutal events he’s survived were horrendous and my heart hurt for him. I was so very excited and anxious to get to his story but unfortunately, it fell a little flat. I didn’t hate it by any means, I just didn’t love it. Not really sure why unless it was due to his being mute for a good portion of the book. I still enjoyed watching him as he fell in love with Lily, but it definitely isn’t my favorite of the series.
Dual POV - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5so. I just didn't care. The book was entertaining, engaging enough, and I didn't care. Something felt off. To be honest, it's probably me, but may have been the pacing a bit too.
It was fine. I'm fine. I need a book that clicks with me. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One half of the couple thinking the relationship cannot last -until the other is nearly killed and they realize they can't live without them- is a perfectly fine ending! But **7** times in a row? There has to be a hurdle for the couple of course, and death-defying action certainly adds drama, but I miss having some plot variety in a series. I did like how the couple genuinely appreciated the other for their skills and character, not just their attractiveness!
2nd read- I was less bothered by that repeated trope since I knew of it going in this time. Both MCs are well developed and interesting, and the side characters are good support for them. Despite forced communication issues (speech and secrecy) I felt the couple really did get to know each other well. The villains they’ve each dealt with were particularly villainous, but not quite over the top. I liked both the hero and heroine. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/53.5 stars
Lily Stump or better known as Robin Goodfellow is an actress currently without a stage. Lily, along with her son and friend Maude are currently living in a badly fire damaged theatre while gardeners see to replanting and shaping up the also damaged pleasure gardens. Until the theatre is repaired Lily is making money by writing plays and having her brother sell them. Lily's life is not grand but her son Indio certainly makes it entertaining and one way Indio decides to shake things up is to befriend a Beast in the gardens, except the Beast turns out to be the mute head gardener who is really Viscount Apollo Kilbourne on the run from the King's guards as a convicted murder and escapee from Bedlam. Lily and Apollo have many reasons to keep their secrets well hidden but trusting each other might be the key to their survival.
Darling Beast is the seventh book in the Maiden Lane series but I do think it is perfectly fine to read as a standalone, I never felt lost or confused. However, while I didn't feel lost I did feel like I was missing the big payoff, as if Apollo was a character readers of the previous book had gotten to know and this was the deeply emotional happily ever after they had been waiting for. The first 40% was a bit slow moving for me, nothing externally is really happening but rather Apollo and Lily are dealing with internal complicated emotions for one another. It isn't until much later in the book that the scenery even changes and they escape the garden and theatre. Most of this is a character driven story, except for the lingering continuous story thread from the previous books involving Apollo's false murder conviction. When action ramps up in this regard the slow languid pace picks up and I started to get more involved in the story.
Lily and Apollo are both characters readers will like, if not have strong reactions to. Lily is struggling to make the best of the situation she currently finds herself in while finding herself curiously attracted (well, maybe with the way Apollo's chest looks while bathing not so curiously) to the stranger in the garden. Her guardedness, way she cares for Indio, and compassion towards Apollo make her a very sweet and strong character. Apollo's inner strength and continued pain from his confinement in Bedlam showcase a man who has been thrust into the fire only to emerge as finely forged steel. The delicateness each shows one another was the absolute strength of the novel. I must also say Ms. Hoyt knows how to write a bedroom scene (or table scene), it’s carnal without being vulgar and genuinely moving not salacious; which fits with the time period, flow, and mood of the story.
I received this book through a Goodreads Firstreads Giveaway and while I got lucky, the publisher is going to end up winning. With a few mentions in this one, I want to read Apollo's twin sister's story which is the previous book before this one but other readers have informed me that you must start at the beginning to get the full enjoyment of it, so I'm off to buy book one. I also must absolutely read Captain Trevillion’s (he originally arrested Apollo for the murders) story, the next book in the series. That makes one freebie book to five books to be purchased, well played publishers. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I was chomping at a bit to read this one and I wasn’t disappointed.
Ms. Hoyt is one of those authors that thrives on telling a good story with a fairy tale hints in them. This one is a perfect “Beauty and the Beast” retelling.
Are you with me on the #’s? This is #7 Maiden Lane series and one of my favorites, and the reason for it is the hero, Artemis’s brother, Apollo.
What an awesome character!
I loved the fact that he was described as someone that is not attractive to look at, yet he displayed a gentle and compassionate soul. And the heroine added such a wonderful contrast to him. A gorgeous beauty with an intuitive mind and a talented actress who is a single mother, making the best of little she has.
Together they make for an interesting, sweet and captivating couple whose individual tales are filled with heartache and triumph.
Highly recommending it and the series.
Melanie for b2b - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I want half stars! This is not quite a five-star book, but it's definitely deserving of more than four stars. Not only was the love story between Lily and Caliban/Apollo absolutely lovely, but Hoyt's re-telling and upending of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur was absolutely brilliant. (I still think Ms. Hoyt and her publisher are missing a golden opportunity by not binding all of her epigraphic fairy tales into a gift volume. Find a good illustrator, put it in a pretty package and watch the money roll in. Even non-romance readers would be enchanted by these tales.)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Darling Beast
4 Stars
Falsely accuses and imprisoned in Bedlam, Apollo Greaves escapes and finds refuge in the ruins of a scorched pleasure garden. To his chagrin, he soon learns that he is sharing his sanctuary with a beautiful young widow and her son who are down on their luck. At first, Lily Stump is wary of the hulking mute living nearby, but the more she learns about him, the more she realizes that there is more to him than meets the eye . . .
Darling Beast suffers from following in the footsteps of Duke of Midnight. It is a solid addition to the series, but Apollo and Lily’s romance lacks the intensity of chemistry and emotion that characterized Maximus and Artemis’s story.
Apollo is the epitome of the scarred and damaged hero, and it is impossible not to sympathize and empathize with his suffering. Unfortunately, Lily is not as appealing. She initially comes across as prejudiced and judgmental seeing Apollo as a mentally impaired brute, and this does not endear her to the reader.
The secondary cast is much more engaging. The tension between Lady Phoebe and Captain Trevillion is palpable, which makes me all the more eager to read their story. While children in romance is not a preferred trope of mine, Indio is sweet and charming child and his scenes with Apollo are wonderful. Finally, the morally ambiguous Montgomery is very interesting. I have a weakness for heroes with questionable motives and am excited to hear from Hoyt’s recent Facebook post that he will be getting his own book.
The mystery surrounding Apollo’s false incarceration is somewhat of an afterthought. The build up in previous books was very intriguing, however, the eventual explanation turns out to be very predictable.
All in all, not as good as some of the other books in the Maiden Lane series but definitely worth reading. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lily has no where to live as no theater owners will hire her. She moves into, along with her son and maid, the burnt down theater where she was supposed to perform. Viscount Kilbourne is refurbishing the gardens there. He is on the lam after escaping Bedlam where he was placed after being accused and found guilty of murder. Will they be able to get along or will their different stations in life make it impossible?I liked Apollo, the Viscount, likeable. He disability makes him vulnerable, patient, observant, and, eventually, lovable. Lily is quirky, spunky, intelligent, and loveable. They are a good match. I liked watching their interactions as they each have to overcome prejudices and insecurities as well as threats in their lives. Watching them work together to protect and save each other make the story. The secondary characters are interesting. I want to see more of them.This is the seventh book in A MAIDEN LANE SERIES. I did not read the previous six books but I had no trouble following it. This is a standalone novel. Some characters from the previous book showed in this one but only as side characters. They were not a big part of the story.I will be reading more of this series. Very enjoyable!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lily Stump is better known to the London public as the actress Robin Goodfellow. Unfortunately, the theatre with which she has an exclusive contract has recently burned to the ground, reducing her to living in the surviving rooms until she can work again. Apollo Greaves has recently escaped from Bedlam and is desperately working to prove his innocence in the murder of three of his friends. When Lily's son, Indio, discovers Apollo working in the gardens, he thinks he's found a monster. What Lily and Apollo discover between them is far from monstrous.Another entry in the Maiden Lane series, this one isn't the strongest but still an enjoyable historical romance.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really liked the take on Beauty and the Beast. It's refreshing to have a hero who isn't the most beautiful man in the town. Actually Apollo was quite the opposite. A case of being charged with murder has him hiding out and gives him the chance to meet and become friends with Lily and her son, Indio. Though there are some obstacles in the way it still becomes a very intense relationship. Lily, having difficulties herself, is trying her best to raise her son while also becoming distracted by Apollo. Their relationship progressed at a nice rate and was sweet with the right amount of steam thrown in. Elizabeth Hoyt has done it again.Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Darling Beast is another lovely story from Elizabeth Hoyt in her Maiden Lane series. This one has a Beauty and the Beast theme, which is one of my all-time favorite fairy tales. It follows Apollo, the wrongly accused twin brother of Artemis, the heroine of the previous book, Duke of Midnight. He spent four years in Bedlam for a triple murder he didn't commit, before being rescued by Artemis' hero, Maximus. That doesn't, however, mean that they've become friends. Apollo insists on calling Maximus His Grace the Ass throughout the story, and on the couple of occasions they share a scene, the two men enjoy taking jabs at one another, much to my amusement. I have a feeling that they'll someday bury the hatchet though. As is tradition, Ms. Hoyt also includes a short fairy tale story that begins each chapter, and which mirrors the main story. This one was called The Minotaur. It's a twist on an existing Greek myth that also has a sweet Beauty and the Beast theme that I really enjoyed.As I mentioned, Maximus previously helped Apollo escape from Bedlam, and now he's on the run, trying to evade the soldiers who would imprison him again or worse, hang him for the murder of his three friends four years ago. He's hiding out in the charred ruins of a theater and pleasure garden owned by his friend, Asa. Apollo is a genius with plants and designing gardens, a talent which he's using to help Asa, who is trying to rebuild. Everyone thinks Apollo is just a common laborer, although in reality he's not only the head gardener but also the technical heir to an Earldom. Of course, he can't take up his title of Viscount Kilbourne without being found and recaptured. On top of that, he's also mute (at least temporarily) from a severe beating he sustained in Bedlam months earlier. Apollo is attempting to find the real murderer to clear his name, but doesn't have much to go on or much hope he'll succeed. All he's trying to do is stay one step ahead of the authorities. I had fallen for Apollo when he was only a secondary character in the previous book and was so thrilled when I found out he was going to be the next hero. Unlike most “beast” characters, he isn't scarred or maimed, but is equally as vulnerable. He's a great hulking man who pretty much towers over everyone and who doesn't consider himself to be much of a catch. In fact, he refers to himself as an “ugly lump” and feels completely inadequate next to Lily's beauty. Before being committed to Bedlam he had to pay for most of his bedmates and has never had a woman truly find him attractive until Lily. After spending so much time locked up, he's a very lonely man who is starved for affection. Apollo may be a giant, but he's a gentle one, who is kind to both children and animals. He's also extremely protective of Lily and abhors any kind of violence against women. In fact, it was his defense of a helpless woman that earned him the beating in Bedlam. Overall, he's a very sweet man who never considered himself to be violent before being committed, and although that experience changed him, he still only engages in violence in self-defense or defense of others. Apollo is just a very yummy hero who I definitely wouldn't mind having in my corner.:-)Lily is a talented actress who is well-known throughout London for her unconventional roles. She's also a playwright, but that is a fact virtually no one knows. Partly because she is a woman and partly because her brother has the proper connections to sell the plays, she allows him to do so in his own name, taking no credit for her work. She is the mother of a young son and desperately needs the money to provide for him and their maid. They're down on their luck and living in the part of the theater that was left standing after the fire. Lily is an excellent mother, kind and caring but firm, and she would do anything to protect her son. When she meets Apollo, she can't help being drawn to him, even though she doesn't really know anything about him. I love how Lily sees him as an attractive man, perhaps not quite in the classical sense, but she appreciates all of his physical attributes – even the ones he himself finds unattractive – when no one else really has. She accepts him for who he is right from the start and instinctively knows that he's a gentle soul. I love how she believes in his innate goodness even before he's able to open up to her about his past and even though she has good reasons not to. When she finds out what he stands accused of, she knows deep in her heart that this man who has treated her and her child with so much kindness and tenderness couldn't be guilty, so she stands by his side, doing what she can to help.Darling Beast boasts a number of memorable secondary characters. Lily's son, Indio, is as cute as a button and so is his little dog, Daffodil. These two get into lots of trouble together. Of course, since Artemis is Apollo's sister, she and Maximus show up a few times. Apollo's friend, Asa, is, if memory serves, the last of the Makepeace clan still unattached. He has the makings of an interesting character with his cluttered rooms and collection of do-dads, and I have a feeling he's going to get his own book sometime in the future. Another intriguing new character who has loads of potential is Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery. He's a foppish and very mysterious man who seems to thoroughly enjoy collecting information on people and using it to his advantage. No one fully trusts him, but he's invested in helping Asa rebuild and becomes an ally for Apollo. I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing where Ms. Hoyt takes his character. James Trevillion, the former dragoon captain and nemesis of the Ghost of St. Giles, has softened a bit. He realizes pretty quickly the mistake he made in arresting Apollo all those years ago, and tries to make things right by helping him with his investigation to find the real killer. Since his injuries ended his career as a soldier, James is employed by Maximus as a bodyguard to his now completely blind sister, Phoebe, who as a very independent lady rather resents having a babysitter. This leads to some tension between them, and I can't wait to see where it goes when their book, Dearest Rogue, is released next spring (2015). I've been waiting for Phoebe to get her own book for a long time now and think it has the potential to be quite good.Overall, Darling Beast was a very good read, but not quite perfect. The early part of the book moved rather slowly for me. I think this was because I was having a hard time feeling a deep connection between Apollo and Lily. They become fast friends and share an attraction for one another that is more than skin-deep. They also have a few romantic moments, but in general, I couldn't quite sense the why of their chemistry because they didn't really know each other. (I had this same problem with Duke of Midnight.) Apollo literally can't tell Lily anything about himself, not even his real name, for fear of being found out or worse yet, putting her in danger. Lily is slightly more open, but she still harbors some secrets of her own that she's reluctant to share. Thankfully, once both their secrets start to come out, this all cleared up. Their love scenes were intense and steamy, full of the passion that Elizabeth Hoyt is so talented at creating. These moments bonded them together in a loving and giving way that was impossible not to feel, and brought things full-circle to a romantic and satisfying HEA. Now, I'll be sitting on the edge of my seat for the next six months, eagerly awaiting the release of James and Phoebe's book.