It was one of those days.
An executive indulged in his diva moment during my product pitch. A teenager on the bus knocked me over with the world’s largest backpack. Dinner… well, it ended up Cajun style as my hubby affectionately calls my burnt offerings.
There’s only one hero who could possibly right my wrongs. I look over my bookshelf, that particular section sorted by the type of hero I need and pull out…
The Beast.
Rough, tough, uncouth, and oh so over protective, the Beast may not be slick but he gets the job done. A large, normally scarred man, he takes care of the baddies by any means possible.
Of course, the heroine alone can tame her primitive guy. Indulging in, as explained in Susan Carroll’s The Bride Finder, “The thrilling consciousness of having tamed something wild and dark to one’s side…â€
My fantasy with the Beast started with the fairy tale (the Grimm version, I’m too old to have grown up with the more politically correct Beast offered by Disney) and remains one of my favorite storylines. Which I’m told is strange because I’m such an independent person (okay, okay, I’m way past independent – they don’t call me Broadzilla for nothing). But that is what makes the Beast such a great fantasy figure. He isn’t a man I would consider in real life.
There are the classic romance beasts. The misunderstood Beast of Blackthorne Hall, a big man, scarred physically and emotionally, and isolated from the world, is found in Amanda Quick’s Ravished. He tries valiantly to protect his beloved Harriet even though she clearly needs no protecting. The tormented, dark Anatole St. Leger, in his lonely castle by the sea, fears nothing except his fragile little bride Madeline in Susan Carroll’s The Bride Finder.
And then there are the more modern beasts. The half human, half leopard hero of Nalini Singh’s Slave To Sensation and the half human, half tiger hero of Rebecca Goings’ The B.E.A.S.T. Within take the beast motif one step further. Oh, and I can’t forget the werewolf series (Kelley Armstrong anyone?).
What are your thoughts on the Beast? Love him? Hate him? And if you love him, what are some of your favorite beasts? (Yes, shamelessly looking for book recommendations)
No related posts.
If Angels Burn by Lynn Viehl (bullying, scarred vampire beast)
Castle of the Wolf by Sandra Schwab (traditional scarred, reclusive human beast)
The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (Eddie’s scarred and short tempered, but I personally thought he was a sentimental softie, so I’m not sure he qualifies as particularly beastly)
I’m sure Kresley Cole had a domineering, tortured werewolf, but the bookshelf isn’t handy right now. I think it was the first in her Immortals After Dark set, but I wouldn’t swear to it.
Oh goodie! More beasts.
I forgot about The Raven Prince
and I hadn’t yet discovered the others
(now though… off to the bookstore I go)
Thanks Kerry!
I just realized that
Lisa Renee Jones’ The Beast Within
is featured on the sidebar
(no, we weren’t working together on that…
though we should have been)
Zero interest.:wink:
LOL… Kimber An,
When I was writing this,
I thought to myself,
Kimber An is going to hate it.
She is SO not a Beast reader.
But that is the beauty of romance,
there’s something out there for everyone.
All of Anne Stuart’s sociopathic beasts float my boat *gg* but especially the Ice series guys.
I think it’s their unconquerable quality. I just love them.
Ann Wesley Hardin,
I LMAO reading your blurb for A Lick And A Promise.
No wonder Mrs. Giggles called it too fun for words.
The blurb slayed me.
“a fugitive alien strung out on Earth air” indeed
The Kresley Cole book is A Hunger Like No Other, BTW. Werewolf imprisoned and burned for x-hundred years breaks out and drags girl to his crumbling Scottish castle.
Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon also has a pretty beastly hero (outcast, bitter, uncivilized, violent, self-destructive—when this guy finally broke down, I cried!), but that’s mid-series. Being an in-order reader myself, I can’t vouch for how well it would stand on its own. Maybe you could skim the continuing-storyline stuff.
I’m really surprised I can’t come up with more. I’da thunk with all the paranormals I read, there’d be more beasts involved!
Thanks Kerry!
BTW love your “unofficial” website.
Especially Kerry’s (Fake) Book
(and the fact that it is 793 pages long
line priced to $6.99, less than a cent a page).
Love him, but I don’t know that I have a favorite one.
Beauty and the Beast is my favorite. I will glom onto any romance with that theme.
Ravished is one of my comfort reads, too. I also loved the others mentioned here, Grimm’s Beast and the Anne Stuart Ice series.
I love beasts because they all seem to be lost souls. There is tenderness, even beauty, but it’s locked away. I am thankful that the beasts come in different packages. I have a guilty pleasure button for Harlequin Presents businessmen whose veneer of respectability shreds when someone comes sniffing around their women. (Why do we always think Mediterranean men are such throwbacks?) For literal beasts, Sherrilyn Kenyon wrote a story I loved about a weredragon; wouldn’t you know the name escapes me right now.
Sara Thacker, one of my fave commenters,
I love the beast also (obviously).
Hey, question about Coiled Revenge.
I was confused reading the blurb.
Is Marissa Tony’s wife?
Is it… what do they call it?… a reconciliation romance?
‘Cause if it is… wowsers, those are usually hot, hot, hot. All that history and emotion…
Charlene,
You’re killing me, not linking to your fab site.
I’m linking to it in this comment (note to self).
You don’t have a beast like hero in your long booklist (16, you’re up to sweet 16 now)?
What about one of your men from Wild, Wild West?
Are there any cowboy beasts out there?
Robyn,
Wasn’t Ravished delicious? I loved how Harriet kept comparing him to his horse. She sincerely thought it was a compliment.
It’s been over a month without Snarkling (a sad day in the blogosphere). Are you missing the blogging?
Kimber Chin, I expect I’ll fall off the wagon and start again soon. Funny how a month away can give you lots of ideas for posts!
Good to hear Robyn!
Make sure you come back here and
ummm… casually mention your new site.
LOL
I don’t know if that is allowed
(but it sure is desired).
As a reader I don’t think I’ve ever “glommed” a theme, but as a writer I’m addicted to second chance stories, so I’d have to say that a Beast done right does my heart good.
Speak of the devil… (or speak of the author)
Kalen Hughes!
I was just talking about you elsewhere.
Picked up your novel Lord Sin a few days ago.
What a hot, hot read and for your debut novel.
I don’t really understand the pricing
or why its so deeply discounted
but hey, I won’t complain.
I am up to 17 novels and novellas now. Sold, anyway, more in the works.
Dangerous Games is straight Beauty and the Beast, but set in a high-tech fortress instead of an enchanted castle. My werewolves are beasts (Wolf In Cheap Clothing, Wolf In Shining Armor). Reuben in Wild Wild West is kind of Beast-like. I have a weakness for that kind of hero, so those traits pop up a lot in my stories.
Now I have an urge to dig out Beauty and the Beast, the TV series. So sigh-worthy. Who didn’t love Vincent?
I like Katie MacAlister’s Ainsling Gray series where the hero and heroine duke it out constantly. He’s a wyvern and she’s a guardian, though she’s pretty clueless about her powers and such. He tries to protect her. Of course, Ainsling does what she wants so, chaos and much hilarity ensues.
And then there’s Jim, who is my all time fave character in the books, but who wouldn’t love a big black demonic Newfoundland with a penchant for sucking on his girlfriend’s ears?
I’m ok with being the devil.
The discount is because I’m part of the Zebra Debut program. Kensington puts out one debut a month at the $3.99 price point to appeal to readers who might otherwise not try a new author (and they’re almost all historical; I think they just tried their first paranormal recently). Our second book then comes out at $4.99 (LORD SCANDAL–Gabriel’s story–will be out next June). Assuming the books sell and they pick up the option book, the author’s third book comes out at the “normal” price.
Since that’s 12 new authors a year, it’s not surprising that more than a few of my friends have been published this same way (Sally MacKenzie “The Naked Duke”, Sandy Blair “A Man in a Kilt”, Christina Cook “Unlaced”, Victoria Dahl “To Tempt A Scotsman”, Kathrynn Dennis “Dark Rider”).
Hah Charlene!
I knew you had some beasts in you…
wait, did I say that right?
Oh, crap, I just read the blurb for Dangerous Games.
How the heck did I miss that novel?
The combo of business and computer geek (please tell me he speeks geek, I LOVE it when men, like my hubby, talk code, back slash me anytime baby) is custom designed for me.
Jenna,
Don’t you have your very own wyvern?
In The Last Legacy?
And you’ve got dragons… sigh… I love dragons.
Did you see that Discovery Channel “documentary” on dragons?
I thought that was the most clever thing.
Talking about them like they were real.
Had me doubting myself.
Kalen,
You mean Zebra is going to hook me on your books like they did with Sally MacKenzie’s?
(A buddy looked at my bookshelf, the Sally MacKenzie section, and said to me “That’s a whole lot of naked.” LOL)
I, for one, am very, very glad that The Naked Marquis was discounted. I think I’m on my third or fourth copy (yes, I believe a copy is still circling the U.S. on a Delta flight).
Kimber, I can only hope so . . . *fingers crossed*
Oh, dang, Kalen, based on Lord Sin,
who doesn’t have you on auto buy?
No discount necessary.
Look at my long list of TBB
(To Be Bought).
My beasts, my precious…
Thanks everyone!
You know when I signed up a blogger here
at RomancingTheBlog,
I figured I was going to help “sell” romances
(’cause I’m a sales gal and that’s what we do).
I just never knew I’d be the person buying them.
I’m lucky I only post once a month.
Thanks for mentioning Amanda Quick’s Ravished. I read it years ago, when it first came out. Now I’ve got a hunker for it. I’ll have to dig it out of my “twilight zone” closet.
As for the whole Beast hero thing, it makes for a great read. But I wouldn’t definitely go for one in real life. See, I equate the Beast with the Bad Boy. Both are challenging, but in the end you get burnt.
Oh, Tempest, you are so right about the Beast
not being the man to land in real life.
‘Course I wouldn’t want to land a werewolf
or a vampire
or even your hottie Armand from Enduring Promise
(no Pet Cemetery for my hubbie).
I’m looking for a good scary romance read
(for Halloween though I’m hoping another RTB blogger will post on that topic),
is Enduring Promise a spine tingler?
Will I have to read it with one eye closed?
(Or through my fingers,
how that protects me, I don’t know).
And then there’s one of my favorites – pure fantasy in historical romance, The wonderful Kathleen Woodowiss and her “A Rose In Winter”. Followed closely by Teresa Medeiros’s The Bride and the Beast. Both ‘beasts’ are always masked, until almost the end, and the poor heroine lives in abject terror for part of the book. Great reads, great plots, great hero ‘beasts’, the kind to fall in love with.
Oh, my, goodness, Allison!
How ever did I forget those two?
A Rose In Winter… of course, a classic.
And The Bride And The Beast,
how more obvious could it be?
I really must get more sleep before I write posts.
Now your Luke from
Heal My Hurting Heart
I see more as a healing force
than a hero to be healed,
taking in the injured Gina
(both physically and mentally).
Hi Kim
Big Mike here. Missed you at the chat on Wed. Didn’t get my dose of Kim smiley faces. Ref the B&B, I know its going to sound sappy, but isn’t it a reflection of the basic man/woman relationship. The strength and power of man is given proper alignment and guidance by a woman’s feminine dimension. If you go back to many classics (e.g. King Kong, etc) the theme rebounds that the beauty and charm of the woman gives order and purpose to the man’s existence. Maybe that’s too deep, but I think its central to many fiction stories with a romantic core, I know it is in the stories I write. I also think you see it in real life within relationships that work. I know its true in mine. Just my corn ball view.
Big Mike
Michael Davis at Davisstories.com – “Stories that touch the heart and mind”
Tainted Hero, “Sometimes good people do bad things for the right reasons.†Champagne books, Dec 07
Forgotten Children, “Greed is blind to human suffering.†Champagne books, June 08
The Treasure, “A lonely heart can impair one’s judgment.†Forbidden Fiction Anthology, Dec 07
Blind Consent, “Where the mind and heart collide.†Dec 08
Yesss. But, he’s sweet and quirky and slightly goofy. Fine, I’ll give you bossy, irritating and um.. beastly.
Me too, so much so that the big dragon Hugh’s the hero in my WIP.
No I missed that one, but I did see that they’ve named a dinosaur after JK Rowling’s Hogwarts because it looks like a dragon. That is so cool!
I just remembered another favorite beastly man, the book is from the the Mallory Series by the great Lindsay. James, was exiled from the rest of the family because he was a dread .. fully hot pirate. Ohhh God, he was so sexy.
My second favorite Mallory of all time was Anthony because well, just meowrrr.
Big Mike,
Oh, another forehead slap for me.
King Kong!
It doesn’t get any more beastly than a giant ape.
Tainted Hero, a political thriller… hhhmmm…
I don’t normally read them
(I read business books and romance novels)
but I’ve felt the need lately to stretch the old reading muscles.
Lost myself in the classics section of the bookstore on Monday.
Then I found myself again
and high tailed it out of there.
Ahhh… the great Lindsay.
I squandered many a paycheck on her novels.
When I made less $’s,
I was thinner for my choices.
But no talk of pirates, Jenna!
I need an entire post to talk about them.
Kerry, thanks for mentioning Castle of the Wolf.
Incidentally, it contains a lot of references to the Grimms’ fairy tales (and a few other stories *g*).
Among my favourite Beauty&Beast romances are Teresa Medeiros “The Bride and the Beast”, Penelope Williamson’s “Keeper of the Dream”, and Gaelen Foley’s “Lord of Fire” (hero’s got some underground caves with seriously cool, huge stone dragon).