#Review: THE BEAST AND THE BOOKSELLER by Eva Devon

 

5 of 5 stars

I enjoy fairytale retellings, and this one was loosely based on Beauty and the Beast, although Garrett Maximilian, the Duke of Montrose, wasn't much of a beast if you discounted his glares and blunt mannerisms. Garrett suffers from nightmares from his cruel and violent father and the way his loving mother was ripped away from him when he was eight years old. His father constantly admonished him about how tender-hearted he was and the fact that he looked so much like his mother. To counteract his father's vicious nature, when Garrett becomes duke, he retreats inside his ducal home and rarely leaves except to vote in Parliament. One of the few pleasures in his life is the books provided to him weekly by Sharpe and Sons bookshop. When the books stop arriving on time, Garrett is forced to go to the bookshop personally to find out what the problem is.

Miss Elizabeth Sharpe lives and breathes books. She has lovingly taken care of the bookshop, even more so now because of her father's lack of interest and his drunkenness. Her disappointment at her father's behavior is appalling, made even more so when the Duke of Montrose invades her shop to confront her father about the lack of delivery of his standing order. Elizabeth makes a deal with the Duke that she will bring him his weekly allotment of books to keep the duke's ongoing patronage. Without it, the bookshop would perish.

The first time she brings the books to his townhome, she's awed by the opulence of his it. When she's standing in front of him, she's not cowed by his bluntness and offers a suggestion that he might enjoy a different kind of book besides the scientific tomes he reads. Thus begins their blossoming friendship of sorts. The more time they spend together, the more their friendship grows. The writing is compelling, and the author has a way of explaining Garrett's childhood trauma, that I felt every one of the duke's torments as well as Elizabeth's growing disappointment with her father. 

There is a lovely side plot about them reading "Pride and Prejudice" that warmed my insides. The tension between them is palpable, and their attraction grows until it cannot be denied. When her father learns of Elizabeth's friendship with the duke, his greed nearly destroys everything. Can Elizabeth learn to live with Garrett's coldness and his bluntness, or will Garrett realize that he's pushing away the one woman who can soothe his savage soul?

I voluntarily read the advanced reader copy, and all opinions are my own.