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The Bride and the Beast Once Upon a Time Teresa Medeiros 9780553581836 Books

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The Bride and the Beast Once Upon a Time Teresa Medeiros 9780553581836 Books

There are a number of themes in a romance that are sure to capture my attention. One of them is Beauty and the Beast. This one ended up being one of the best ones I have ever read, although I admit that I had issues with some of it. Still, there was so much about it that was wonderful, including the dialogue between the H and h, that I was able to forgive any shortcomings.

The Dragon who has come to inhabit Castle Weyrcraig fifteen years after the laird and his family were massacred by the English seems to be out to terrorize the nearby villagers of Ballybliss; the same villagers who failed to come to the aid of their laird. After providing the Dragon with all the creature comforts he has asked for, he flummoxes them by asking for a thousand pounds - the thousand pounds paid by the English to a traitor in the village. Not having that kind of money, the village instead decides to give him a virgin as a sacrifice. Virgins being thin on the ground in Ballybliss, they settle on Gwen, one of four daughters of the late laird's erstwhile property manager. The other daughters are beauties who have been free with their favors, but Gwen is the responsible one, the slightly plump and plain one, the one who takes care of her ailing father. They tie her to a stake at the castle and leave her to the mercies of the Dragon. Thus begins the captivity and the romance.

The book is written in two parts. Quite honestly, if it had ended after the first part, with perhaps a short epilogue, I would have been satisfied. It all went slightly sideways at the beginning of the second part. The reasoning and motivations of the h were seemingly inexplicable. True, later events and revelations provided somewhat of an explanation, if a rather far-fetched one. The H also seemed to fall into the romance trope of doing dumb things for stupid reasons. However taken as a whole, the story holds together and the resolution was more than satisfactory. I seldom buy romances, since plenty are available on Kindle Unlimited, but I don't regret buying this one and didn't skim a bit - a rarity for me!


Tags : The Bride and the Beast (Once Upon a Time) [Teresa Medeiros] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Dear Reader, I'd been prowling the crumbling ruins of Castle Weyrcraig for so long that I could no longer remember if I was man or beast. Then one stormy night the superstitious Highlanders of Ballybliss decided to leave a helpless virgin bound to a stake in the castle courtyard to satisfy my insatiable appetites. My demands might strike terror in the hearts of men,Teresa Medeiros,The Bride and the Beast (Once Upon a Time),Bantam,055358183X,Highlands (Scotland),Love stories,FICTION Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology,FICTION Romance Historical General,FICTION Romance Historical Medieval,FICTION Romance Historical Scottish,Fiction,Fiction - Romance,Fiction-Romance,Historical romance,MASS MARKET,Romance - Historical - General,RomanceHistorical,Romance: Historical,romance;historical romance;historical;scotland;fantasy;fairy tales;medieval;medieval romance;scottish;european;romance books;highlanders;romance novels;highlander romance;women;scottish historical romance;relationship books;highland romance;books for women;castles;relationships;scottish highlands;relationship;historical fiction;historical novels;romantic;genre fiction;romance novel;romance fiction;romantic fiction;historical novel;historical fiction books;historic fiction;historicals;love story,romance; historical romance; historical; scotland; fairy tales; fantasy; medieval; medieval romance; scottish; european; romance books; highlanders; romance novels; highlander romance; women; scottish historical romance; relationship books; highland romance; books for women; castles; relationships; scottish highlands; relationship; historical fiction; historical novels; romantic; genre fiction; romance novel; romance fiction; romantic fiction; historical novel; historical fiction books; historic fiction; historicals; love story

The Bride and the Beast Once Upon a Time Teresa Medeiros 9780553581836 Books Reviews

Loved the prologue realistic, funny and nuanced, the interactions of children who become key characters in this intertwined story of a village and unexpected romance, of the present discovering the past. The handsome, capable laird and his sensible, beautiful love must disentangle their desires and memories from their misperceptions and fears, their attraction to each other from their distorted beliefs about their pasts and themselves. A steamy romance full of discoveries on many levels.
The Bride and the Beast holds many similarities to the Disney Beauty and the Beast film. What Medeiros has managed to accomplish, however, is adding her own spin on things. The best retellings take elements of the original tale and weave them into something that is both familiar and new – and this is certainly what I experienced with The Bride and the Beast.

Historical romances are a weakness for me, sure, but that also means I’m very picky about them. But with The Bride and the Beast, there were still certain things about it that stood out – the heroine (Gwendolyn Wilder), the story twists (one that I totally saw coming from the start, and one that I didn’t quite expect but makes perfect sense) and the integration of the “Beast” and other fairy tale details.

A Plucky Heroine

Gwendolyn is my favorite kind of heroine – plucky, kind-hearted, smart and filled with a whole lot of love to give. She cares deeply for her family, spends her free time immersed in learning and books, and gives off the impression that she’s okay with the status quo… even though she still really wants her fairytale and happy ending deep down inside. It was easy for me to identify with her, and even easier for me to root for her to win over the Dragon.

Twists and Turns, the Mayhem, Oh My!

Basically, it’s really easy to figure out one big twist right from when readers first learn of the Dragon. But there’s this other twist that comes much later on in the story that I was definitely not expecting! I figured it out before the revelation, but it still surprised me. I appreciate a story that can do that, and The Bride and the Beast accomplished that feat.

Fitting in the Details

What I adore about The Bride and the Beast is how cleverly the “Beast” is integrated into the story. He’s cloaked in shadow and mystery, still gruff, tough and untamed. He never reveals his true form to anyone, even Gwendolyn, until it can no longer be avoided. In the end, it is also the promise of true love that brings him back from the brink of disaster!

The setting also seemed like it was lifted from the original, as most of the story occurs in the rundown ruins of a castle. And then there’s the fact that Gwendolyn shares a lot of similarities with Belle – she’s a reader, thirsting for adventure and loves her family so.
All in all, I’d have to admit that The Bride and the Beast was definitely enjoyable! The writing style was fluid, the fairytale vibe strong and the story just plain fun (and very different from my usual historical romances). The Bride and the Beast wouldn’t rank among my favorites, but it definitely was fun to read.
“The Bride and the Beast” by Teresa Medeiros is a book in the series, Once Upon a Time. It is set in the Scottish Highlands in the 1700s. Gwendolyn has always loved her playmate, the future chieftain of Clan MacCullough, even though at her young age he is too old for her and treats her like a child.

A grown-up Gwendolyn still lives in the village overseen by the Chieftain. However, the villagers only know that a Dragon has taken up residence in the castle ruins. He demands venison, whiskey, and a thousand pounds of gold from the villagers. They do not have a thousand pounds of gold and decide to sacrifice a maiden to him. They choose pure Gwendolyn as that sacrifice, bind her to a tree outside the castle and wait for the dragon to take her.
She is taken, but the dragon is not who she thinks it is. It is her task to tame the dragon and find out who the traitor was who gave the information to the English to fire the castle and its inhabitants.
I must be a horribly shallow person, because I can't stand stories where the heroine is constantly moaning about how fat and / or ugly she is. If she's not a great beauty, I get it. Few of us are. But by the twentieth or so mention within the first few chapters of how fat she is, I'm just over it. It's hard to swallow the idea that this unattractive, overweight, shrewish woman inspires paroxysms of lust in the typically sexy and handsome hero.
There are a number of themes in a romance that are sure to capture my attention. One of them is Beauty and the Beast. This one ended up being one of the best ones I have ever read, although I admit that I had issues with some of it. Still, there was so much about it that was wonderful, including the dialogue between the H and h, that I was able to forgive any shortcomings.

The Dragon who has come to inhabit Castle Weyrcraig fifteen years after the laird and his family were massacred by the English seems to be out to terrorize the nearby villagers of Ballybliss; the same villagers who failed to come to the aid of their laird. After providing the Dragon with all the creature comforts he has asked for, he flummoxes them by asking for a thousand pounds - the thousand pounds paid by the English to a traitor in the village. Not having that kind of money, the village instead decides to give him a virgin as a sacrifice. Virgins being thin on the ground in Ballybliss, they settle on Gwen, one of four daughters of the late laird's erstwhile property manager. The other daughters are beauties who have been free with their favors, but Gwen is the responsible one, the slightly plump and plain one, the one who takes care of her ailing father. They tie her to a stake at the castle and leave her to the mercies of the Dragon. Thus begins the captivity and the romance.

The book is written in two parts. Quite honestly, if it had ended after the first part, with perhaps a short epilogue, I would have been satisfied. It all went slightly sideways at the beginning of the second part. The reasoning and motivations of the h were seemingly inexplicable. True, later events and revelations provided somewhat of an explanation, if a rather far-fetched one. The H also seemed to fall into the romance trope of doing dumb things for stupid reasons. However taken as a whole, the story holds together and the resolution was more than satisfactory. I seldom buy romances, since plenty are available on Unlimited, but I don't regret buying this one and didn't skim a bit - a rarity for me!