Lord Of The Beasts

Fane #2

by Susan Krinard

Return to a world of magic and mystery in this captivating sequel to The Forest Lord. Donal Fleming, son of an otherworldly father and a mortal mother, finds that Cordelia Hardcastle unleashes his most primal instincts, forcing him to chose between human love and the powers that are life itself to him. Original.

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance, Fiction, Historical

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Trained as an artist with a BFA in Illustration from the California College of Arts and Crafts, Susan Krinard became a writer in 1992 when a friend read a short story she'd written and suggested she try writing a romance novel. A long-time fan of science fiction and fantasy, Susan began reading romance -- and realized what she wanted to do was combine the two genres. Prince of Wolves, her first romance novel and one of the earliest to feature a werewolf hero, was the result. Within a year Susan had sold the manuscript to Bantam as part of a three-book contract, and the novel went on to make several bestseller lists.

Since then, she's written and published over fourteen paranormal and fantasy novels, and written stories for a number of anthologies, both fantasy and romance. Both the anthology Out of This World (which included Susan's "Kinsman") and the novel Lord of the Beasts appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Susan makes her home in New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment", with her husband Serge, their dogs Freya, Nahla and Cagney, and their cat Jefferson. In addition to writing, Susan's interests include music of almost every kind, old movies, reading, nature, baking, and collecting unique handmade jewelry and decorative crafts.

Reviews

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. This is the first in this series that I've read. I want to read the others too now. I liked the story line and the emphasis on the characters learning about themselves and how the book showed the characters point of view and not just the point of view of one person throughout the book. My favorite thing about this book was the communication with animals. It made me realize that we are more similar and more different at the same time. anyway, that was my philosophical moment for the week. Enjoy

[Lady of the Lake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... Hmmmm.... I'm conflicted. There was much of the story I enjoyed, some sweet laugh out loud moments of thoughts shared with the animals and in general I like the main male lead Donal, the half blood son of of Lord Hern the fae lord... But I didn't like the lead female much which is definitely a problem in a love story. I didn't want things to work out in the end for them. I didn't think she was worth Donal having to give up his fae gift of being able to speak with and help the animals of the human world. There also is a lot of berating mankind as evil beings who mostly do harm to the animal world and too much attaching human emotions and human concepts to animal thinking. Oh I am an animal lover don't get me wrong and I am the first to admit that my Chihuahua is brilliant! But I'm afraid reality is we are all of the animal kingdom but humans are as far as I know at the top of the intelligence list and the only ones who are capeable of complex emotion. Krinard did a lot of speaking for the animals, having Donal go in to their memories of how cruel humans tortured And captured them and that they were unable to survive or thrive at least in captivity because they all remembered what it was like to live free in the wild. It got so much at one point I skimmed over the italic parts (Which was the animals memories,) moving back into the main story.
With the first book The Forest Lord I routed for the love to conquer all and the HEA that was meant for the main lovers of the story. I couldn't do that here. The story did however have a few little plot
twists to keep it interesting as well as some major storie errors that shouldve been picked up in edititing. Normally I can overlook these things if Im relating to the caracters. But alas it became a disappointment to me, a major annoyance.
It did wrap up better than I thought it could have for the most part so I am glad that I made through to the end. Even though the end also brought about some odd twists I think the author had to contrive ro give ALL her players a HEA. I noticed that as well with the first book everyone ended up happy so maybe that her thing.
All in all I'm not sorry I read it however I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as a book that should be read. Krinard has
great imagination and is very good as what she does the story certainly had enough to make me want to read ro the
end.... And I enjoyed her writing style. I'm even going to pick up the 3rd book in this Fane series Lord of Legends and finish where I left off because I remember having liked the begining of it but not knowing any background of the Fane it left me a bit confused... so I had put it down... Now I would like to see if knowing more will enhance it any for me... Either that or I'm just a glutton for punishment! LOL

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a USA TODAY bestselling author! Sequel (#2) to THE FOREST LORD. Enchanted blood flows through Donal Fleming's veins. Born of a FANE father and a mortal mother, Donal's empathic ability to communicate with and understand all animals gives fulfillment to his fledgling veterinary practice in 1847 England. His has been a solitary life...until he meets Cordelia Hardcastle. A woman who knows responsibility and duty and has always played by society's stringent rules. A woman who has tightly controlled her latent passions and emotions...until now...

[Cecilia Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Krinard sets her historical romance in 1847.
Beginning in London and settling in Cotswold.
The element of fantasy blends well with the romance.
Donal Fleming reminded me of: Doctor Doolittle.

[Nenia Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke my heart and then put it back together about fifty times over the course of my reading this book. LORD OF THE BEASTS is the sequel to THE FOREST LORD, and the hero of this book, Donal, is the son of the hero of the previous book. That doesn't always work, but here it's done magnificently. Donal is half-fae and has the ability to speak to animals. He's kind of like a faerie Dr. Dolittle, and indeed, tells people that he's a veterinarian.

When he meets the heroine, he saves her and her cousin from a rampaging elephant that's escaped from the zoo. Then she goes to his estate, which is basically a farm filled with animals, and realizes that he's also the guardian of the girl who almost robbed her loathsome fiance-to-be, Viscount Inglesham. And seeing his prowess with animals, she ends up having him come to her estate to examine the desolate animals in her menagerie, all of which have been rescued from poachers, in addition to offering a permanent home for his ward, Ivy.

I liked the first book in this series a lot, but it had some notable flaws: uneven pacing, an unbelievable villain, a wishy-washy hero, and a climax that felt a little too, well, pile-on. This book, by contrast, was EVERYTHING I wanted. Donal actually reminded me a lot of Julian Sinclair from DUKE OF SHADOWS: he's noble but so, so lonely, and feels like an outcast from society because of his mixed heritage. He's soft-spoken and soft-hearted, but man, you do not want to fuck with this man or anyone he cares about, because he will END you. That's the stuff of dreams, srsly.

And the heroine in this book, Cordelia Hardcastle, was wonderful. A lot of authors write heroines who are strong and independent, but I liked how Cordelia wouldn't let anyone in and was afraid to let herself feel dependent on anyone. She had such a sad backstory and I loved her so much. I also liked how some of her kindness was selfish, even though it was coming from a good place, and how the author talked about how sometimes we think we're doing good, even though we're really serving ourselves best. There was just so much nuance to her character and she was absolutely perfect for Donal.

There's so much I want to say about this book. Like, how Donal had a teenage ward who was crushing on him and it wasn't creepy at all (seriously the bar is on the floor at this point, but everything about their relationship was handled so deftly). Or how the love for animals in this book was just so wholesome and believable (although there are some animal deaths in here, and talks about animal cruelty). In terms of the environmental messages, there's an almost Ferngully feel to this book at times, but it's done so well that it doesn't feel heavy-handed at all. And sometimes secondary characters take up too much page-time but I loved Ivy and Tod's stories just as much as Donal's and Cordelia's.

Oh, and the VILLAINS. The villains in this book were so good. Especially since the author made them just human enough that you can sort of see where they're coming from (terrifying).

I could ramble on and on but I won't. Just know that this is now a Susan Krinard fan account and I'm probably going to be reading a whole bunch of her other books in the very near future.

5 stars

[Cassandra Doon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this series after I had my first baby. Got me through some seriously long nights and early mornings.
Super entertaining and totally enjoyed the series:)

[Brooke]

Thank you so much to my 2023 GR Secret Santa for gifting this!

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to force myself to start it. I was able to plod my way through half of it. I've decided it is not worth it. I just don't feel for these characters.

[Kathrynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was expecting so much from this one, but it was very boring for me. I put it down several times and read other books, then tried this one again. It never improved. Too many long descriptions and full of useless information. Dry. Never ignited a spark of interest to see how the characters would resolve their conflict(s). Bummer.

Thought the guy on the cover looked like Alec Baldwin...that's a positive and that's why I selected the book to read. ;-)

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Donal Fleming inherited half his genes from his mother and half from his otherworldly father. He uses his empathy with animals to success as a vet adn until Cordelia he was happy with this life. Now he wants more and she's willing to help him. He has to choose between her and immortality and the powers from his father.

It's trodding a fairly well-trodden path but it does it well.

[Isabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because the model on the cover looks a bit like Alec Baldwin, lol. I was also hoping that perhaps it had something to do with werewolves, but it's about faeries, and Donal has a telepathic link with the animals. It was a predictible story, but entertaining to read, and short chapters make it perfect for break times at work.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sequel, this was just ok. I liked Donal and the general premise of the story, my problem was it dragged at times. But it was quiet and tame and not challenging, something that can be good or bad, depending on what you're looking for as a reader.

[Peggy Bechko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uaually I like Susan Krinard and her writing. Unfortunately I found this book to be boring. It just didn't have the snap of other other books like "Call of the Wolf" (a 2 novel combination) or "Chasing Midnight" which I really enjoyed. Every writer has a down time - guess I do too!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books by Susan Krinard - the first of which I picked up very randomly without looking too much into it. This one was probably my favourite; a great story about Donal the half-Fane and his confusing past.

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't finish- bored and annoyed by it

[Missyb · Rating 2 out of 5]

the characters don't draw you in. It's set in early England, was a little boring.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

love this story

[Adrielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just felt plain to me. There is nothing special here. The writing is good but the storyline follows quite a predictable path and there are no real surprises, therefore not overly engaging.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt rude reading some parts, I did the old peep my eyes over the top of the book to check if anyone knew whey I was reading :-o

[Tash L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story :)

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, awesome book, loved how he was scared to love, because he thought that'd mean he'd lose his ability to talk to the beasts, so good!

[Jenika Ioffreda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish reading it. The start was quite cool but after a while it got boring and I decided to stop. I din't really like Cordelia and especially I didn't like she had animals living in cages.

[Mark Page]

Great book. Has a excellent story with lots of interesting stuff in it. Would recommend for reading.

[Wendy Schlegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. Romance, fantasy all rolled into one.

[Belinda Wohlgemuth · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok but it is not one that I would read again.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good but slow.

[Kylie Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't hold my attention like her books normally do.

[Danielle Nicholson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just can't get into this story