Spotlight & Giveaway: The Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard

Posted November 15th, 2019 by in Blog, Spotlight / 38 comments

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Amalie Howard’s new release: The Beast of Beswick

 

Spotlight&Giveaway

 

Beauty and the Beast meets Taming of the Shrew in this laugh-out-loud and heartfelt Regency romance.

 
Lord Nathaniel Harte, the disagreeable Duke of Beswick, spends his days smashing porcelain, antagonizing his servants, and snarling at anyone who gets too close. With a ruined face like his, it’s hard to like much about the world. Especially smart-mouthed harpies—with lips better suited to kissing than speaking—who brave his castle with indecent proposals.
 
But Lady Astrid Everleigh will stop at nothing to see her younger sister safe from a notorious scoundrel, even if it means offering herself up on a silver platter to the forbidding Beast of Beswick himself. And by offer, she means what no highborn lady of sound and sensible mind would ever dream of—a tender of marriage with her as his bride.
 
 

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from The Beast of Beswick 

There was no response to his sudden hostility. Rather, her eyes narrowed as she peered into the dimness, her pupils adjusting to the flickering light. It pricked him, the intensity he saw there, as if she were trying to figure out a puzzle. Trying to evaluate him like one did with a feral animal, waiting to see if it would bite. He wanted to snarl back at her, to get her to retreat. Run. Leave.
“Very well,” she said, her jaw firming with blunt resolve. “I need you, Your Grace.”
Surely he hadn’t heard that correctly. “I beg your pardon?”
A sardonic eyebrow lifted at his use of the word “beg,” but she clasped her hands together and sat up straight. “Specifically, the protection of your name in exchange for my assistance with your collection, other household matters, and of course, my…er…self, as well, in the production of heirs.”
“Heirs,” he echoed. He had no idea how they’d gone from porcelain to procreation.
She let out a breath. “Use of my body, Your Grace. As the daughter of a viscount, my bloodlines and background are quite…acceptable, I’m sure.” He didn’t miss the minute hesitation or the fact that her captive fingers were clutched so tightly that they were white. Likely, the prospect revolted her. “This will be an arrangement that will benefit us both.”
If Thane thought with the head in his pants, his agreement would be instantaneous. But his brain was quite good when he did decide to use it. And now that her outrageously erotic hands didn’t distract him, he paused to gather his scattered thoughts.
“Are you proposing marriage, Lady Astrid?” he asked. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you that the gentleman is supposed to ask?”
“I prefer to take matters into my own hands when necessary, but let’s not be mistaken—this is purely a business proposition, Your Grace,” she stated, her composed expression back in place. “One to our mutual advantage.”
He couldn’t help it. He guffawed, the ugly sound like a choked gaggle of cawing crows. The lady recoiled, her eyes widening further when he rose, uncurling his large frame from the chair. He prowled soundlessly toward her, watching her carefully all the while until he stood directly in front of her.
He turned toward the light and heard her indrawn gasp. Thane didn’t release her eyes, reflective like translucent quartz in the firelight, taking in the transition from shock to fright to horror to pity. The darkness curled around him, took his cold, bitter heart into its fist. He felt nothing in the face of her emotions.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hold your naïveté against you,” he murmured. “You are free to leave, my lady, and we can pretend this unfortunate…situation never happened.”
To Thane’s eternal shock, she rose and moved to stand right in front of him, those pearlescent eyes now giving away nothing. Her breasts were nearly touching his chest, and Thane caught his breath at her nearness, scenting the barest sliver of fear. Her shoulders trembled, and her stern lips, so dangerously close, quivered at the corners. Her distress was a palpable thing, like a hare cornered by a wolf, though the hare tipped its head bravely.
“You need a wife, Your Grace.”
Thane had to admire her courage. “As you need a husband?”
“Not just any husband.” She swallowed hard, her slender throat working. “I need the Beast of Beswick.”

Excerpt. ©Amalie Howard. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

Giveaway: Paperback copy of THE BEAST OF BESWICK by Amalie Howard

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and post a comment to this Q: What did you think of the excerpt spotlighted here? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the book…

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Meet the Author:

Amalie Howard is the co-author of the #1 bestseller in Regency Romance, My Rogue, My Ruin, in the Lords of Essex historical romance series. She is also an award-winning author of several young adult novels, critically acclaimed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, School Library Journal, and Booklist, including Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Kid’s INDIE NEXT selection.

She currently resides in Colorado with her husband and three children.
 
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PQ0Roz
B & N: https://bit.ly/2NlHQJ9
Apple: https://apple.co/2NmTcwl
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2Njmo7w
 
 
 

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38 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: The Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard”

  1. Mary Preston

    You have just got to love a “disagreeable Duke”. Love this cover too.

  4. Karina Angeles

    That was a fabulous excerpt! Can’t wait to read how Astrid and Nathaniel get to know one another and fall in love.

  10. joab4424

    I really enjoyed the excerpt. I like Astrid. I admire her determination to get Nathaniel to marry her so her sister won’t have to. She clearly had mixed emotions after seeing his face but didn’t back down. Even though he gave her a way out, she wouldn’t take it. I want to know if this works out for them.

  11. Diane Sallans

    I haven’t read this author yet, but I think I’d like this book.

  27. Joye

    Now I have to read the book so I can see why she picked him specifically to be her husband. Why him?

  32. Patricia B.

    Beauty and the Beast is my absolute favorite story and trope. I especially like the emotion, tension, and resolve shown in the excerpt. If the rest of the book is written as well, it will be an most enjoyable read. Thank you for the giveaway.

  34. Janie McGaugh

    I do enjoy Beauty and the Beast stories, and this one sounds good!