Review: Taming Beauty

Taming Beauty by Lynne Barron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Taming Beauty is the first Lynne Barron book I have read, and I feel as though it will not be the last. Whilst I wasn’t crazy obsessed about this one, I certainly enjoyed it a lot. In fact, I spent most of my time reading it with this stupid little smirk on my face.

I had the notion in my mind that Taming Beauty would be a Beauty and the Beast retelling, of sorts. We have the gorgeous female lead and the reclusive male lead, but this is not a typical Beauty and the Beast retelling. This is a wonderfully unique story that pulls you in from the start, with complex characters and a storyline that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Like any good historical romance, this story is full of drama. From the first page we’re introduced to scandal, with things growing more and more scandalous with every turn of the page. No character is free from scandal, each character has something to add to the story be it through truth or gossip. At times I found myself unable to keep up with what piece of gossip belonged to each character, but as a whole I was pulled in and curious as to what was true and what was false.

As much as I would have loved to delve into the drama of every character, the interaction of our main characters was plenty enough to keep me entertained throughout. Whilst I’m not a fan of the whole instalove thing, I did enjoy the chemistry between the two. Had the relationship bloomed over a longer time period I would have enjoyed it more, yet I understand why it was over such a short period. Such is just a personal view, however, and is something I quite often say. Despite constantly saying instalove annoys me, I never stop reading such books and I find it never really lessens my enjoyment as much as I think it does.

Back to our main characters, though, and their interaction. They were both so fun to read, and I really enjoyed the way information was slowly given to us regarding each of their lives. Rather than everything being thrown at us at once, bits and pieces were released at the right times to add the right amount of shock at just the right moments. Moreover, I found them both to be very complex real characters. They both had their own unique personalities, they both had their own story to tell, and watching them come together was wonderful. Honestly, they were such great main characters. I felt as though some of the side characters were more fleshed out than others – for some we knew all the scandal and we really got to know them, whereas for others they just seemed to be there – but with our main characters shining so brightly it was only on the occasional moments that I noticed some of the characters weren’t all I had hoped they would be.

I could go into the story and give details, but to do so would be to give spoilers. Just know it’s wonderfully woven together, with things coming out at just the right moments. At first it felt a little bit slow, but once things get moving they do not stop. You’re pulled in and you do not want to put the book down – and with it being such a quick read you won’t be putting the book down until you’re finished.

Overall, it was a great little read. I would like to thank Aurora Publicity for contacting me for a review: I had a lot of fun with this one, and cannot wait to see what else the authors brings to the table.

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