Book Review: To Beguile a Beast (Legend of the Four Soldiers #3)

To Beguile a Beast

Elizabeth Hoyt

2/5

Helen Fitzwilliam is running, trying to save herself from a life that she doesn't see as ideal for herself or for her children with an abusive man. She makes it to Sir Alistair's remote castle and thinks herself safe as his housekeeper, obviously not knowing the relationship which would spring up between them. Learning a new job and trying to balance this new freedom with protecting her children, Helen tries to navigate a new world. 

It was fine for a while. The relationship felt weird because Alistair was supposed to be this angry crusty guy but he was almost immediately in love with her and her children. That was fine with me because I think prolonging the angst is annoying, but he was really being portrayed as something that he wasn't for a while. I also felt like Helen deserved someone who cared about her and her children because she had really been through it and I wanted him to be that nice guy. 

What really got me was how he treated her after he found out that she was a duke's mistress. I get that it wasn't a respectable career and I'm coming from the perspective of someone who is many centuries removed from that atmosphere, but he handled it so poorly. He called her a whore and insulted everything that she did when he admitted to going to prostitutes and their relationship wasn't much better than her being his mistress. He was a total hypocrite and I wouldn't have stood for her it if I were her- but it came at a time when she couldn't afford to turn down his help. I found this on a list of strong heroines and honestly she's not a strong heroine. She could have been for the way that she left a situation that made her feel bad despite the obvious wealth and comfort that she was provided, but she blew it by allowing a man to bring her down like that again. 

I know that this is part of a bigger series and I just zoomed to the third, you can read it without reading the others. I don't think that I'll be going backwards or moving forward, I just don't think I can get behind the characters.