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Once upon A Man #2
Bachelor and the Beast
A man-loving twist on a classic tale. Lost and wounded after a battle he cannot remember, Sir Donlin seeks refuge with Baldemar, the lord of a remote and mysteriously understaffed castle. Despite his host’s strange ways and fierce manner, an attraction soon grows between them. As his memories slowly return, however, Sir Donlin begins to sense that he also has a dark past. Soon he wonders which of the two is concealing a deadlier secret.
Trapped by a curse that forces him to live a bloodthirsty creature of the shadows, Baldemar is surprised to feel his human emotions rekindled by the knight who has wandered into his lonely keep and brightened his mournful existence. Yet every night he struggles not only with the fear that he will accidentally kill the man he is growing to love, but a suspicion that Sir Donlin is not quite what he appears to be.
Trapped by a curse that forces him to live a bloodthirsty creature of the shadows, Baldemar is surprised to feel his human emotions rekindled by the knight who has wandered into his lonely keep and brightened his mournful existence. Yet every night he struggles not only with the fear that he will accidentally kill the man he is growing to love, but a suspicion that Sir Donlin is not quite what he appears to be.
71 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 16, 2013
1 person is currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Jade Astor
87 books48 followersJade Astor is a longtime fan of both paranormal and
male-male love stories. She was delighted to find a thriving
community of like-minded writers and readers in the ebook
industry. Moon Lake Wolves is her first trilogy to be
published by Silver.
When she is not writing, Jade enjoys sculpting,
tinkering with computers, and training (and retraining) her
small herd of unruly but adorable rescued Chihuahuas.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 28, 2023
This was dull
This was even less like the story it’s supposed to be modeled after than the first. There WAS no beauty (bachelor) only 2 beasts. Rosarius, who I’d wondered about, was here from Book 1. He’s still up to being nothing but evil.
So much more could’ve been done with this but it mostly just fell flat. just like in the first book, neither the reader nor the MC knows what caused their “affliction”; it was almost the end of the book before Donlin’s memory comes back & he only pretty sure about what happened to him. There’s so little description of the characters, the area they lived in, and their circumstances. There wasn’t a single likable character, and their falling in love after about 48-72 hours based on absolutely nothing but proximity and loneliness does not make for a fairy tale nor a romance.
This was even less like the story it’s supposed to be modeled after than the first. There WAS no beauty (bachelor) only 2 beasts. Rosarius, who I’d wondered about, was here from Book 1. He’s still up to being nothing but evil.
So much more could’ve been done with this but it mostly just fell flat. just like in the first book, neither the reader nor the MC knows what caused their “affliction”; it was almost the end of the book before Donlin’s memory comes back & he only pretty sure about what happened to him. There’s so little description of the characters, the area they lived in, and their circumstances. There wasn’t a single likable character, and their falling in love after about 48-72 hours based on absolutely nothing but proximity and loneliness does not make for a fairy tale nor a romance.
April 30, 2020
Quick HEA
A quick read with an HEA and an interesting retelling of a classic fairy tale. Enjoyed it and look forward to more from the author.
A quick read with an HEA and an interesting retelling of a classic fairy tale. Enjoyed it and look forward to more from the author.
February 16, 2013
2 1/2 - 3 Hearts
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews
http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
Baldemar is lord of a castle, he enjoys his life as a knight living an indolent life, taking what he wants with little regard for others feelings and discarding those he is bored with, until the day he did it to the wrong person. Now he haunts his deserted castle by night with only the company of his loyal retainer, he is cursed to never again enjoy lazing in the morning sunshine. Sir Donlin woke up in a forest with no knowledge of his past, he knows he’s a knight and he knows his name, but everything else is a blank. When he comes across a run-down castle he seeks shelter and food, becoming enamoured with his dark and mysterious host. With the help of the village apothecary he begins to regain his memories and his past seems darker than he could ever have imagined.
This is an interesting dark twist on an old fairy-tale, not quite a happily ever after, but definitely a happy for them ending. Both Baldemar and Donlin are what you expect from knights, big, manly and arrogant. Unfortunately for Baldemar that arrogance bites him on the arse when his callus treatment of a minstrel results in his being cursed. Donlin is just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he has no memories of what has happened, as his memories begin to come back he fears what he might become.
I did like the twists in this story, but for the life of me I couldn’t quite like the characters, both men start out extremely arrogant and I was secretly pleased when Baldemar was cursed. With Donlin I didn’t like him because of how he treated Carew (Baldemar’s servant), and he had an expectation of how he should be treated even when he couldn’t remember who he was. The relationship that evolves between Baldemar and Donlin was good because they seem so well suited to each other, and the explosive passion between them is hot. I liked how the story evolved and developed and the twist near the end was really good, both men change as well becoming slightly less arrogant and more likable.
I recommend this to those who love darker fairy-tale twists, fantasy, arrogant men, hot sex and an ending that isn’t conventional.
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews
http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
Baldemar is lord of a castle, he enjoys his life as a knight living an indolent life, taking what he wants with little regard for others feelings and discarding those he is bored with, until the day he did it to the wrong person. Now he haunts his deserted castle by night with only the company of his loyal retainer, he is cursed to never again enjoy lazing in the morning sunshine. Sir Donlin woke up in a forest with no knowledge of his past, he knows he’s a knight and he knows his name, but everything else is a blank. When he comes across a run-down castle he seeks shelter and food, becoming enamoured with his dark and mysterious host. With the help of the village apothecary he begins to regain his memories and his past seems darker than he could ever have imagined.
This is an interesting dark twist on an old fairy-tale, not quite a happily ever after, but definitely a happy for them ending. Both Baldemar and Donlin are what you expect from knights, big, manly and arrogant. Unfortunately for Baldemar that arrogance bites him on the arse when his callus treatment of a minstrel results in his being cursed. Donlin is just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he has no memories of what has happened, as his memories begin to come back he fears what he might become.
I did like the twists in this story, but for the life of me I couldn’t quite like the characters, both men start out extremely arrogant and I was secretly pleased when Baldemar was cursed. With Donlin I didn’t like him because of how he treated Carew (Baldemar’s servant), and he had an expectation of how he should be treated even when he couldn’t remember who he was. The relationship that evolves between Baldemar and Donlin was good because they seem so well suited to each other, and the explosive passion between them is hot. I liked how the story evolved and developed and the twist near the end was really good, both men change as well becoming slightly less arrogant and more likable.
I recommend this to those who love darker fairy-tale twists, fantasy, arrogant men, hot sex and an ending that isn’t conventional.
March 12, 2013
It was a nice read, cute and in knightly times
February 16, 2015
Creatures in Love
A fine continuation of the story started in the first book. Although, not as clever in reworking a classic fairytale, it's an enjoyable story all the same.
A fine continuation of the story started in the first book. Although, not as clever in reworking a classic fairytale, it's an enjoyable story all the same.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews