Review & Giveaway - Beauty and the Recluse
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Beauty and the Recluse by Ellie Gray
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 12th February 2016
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing
Following the recent death of her father, and in need of both a job and somewhere to live, Kiya takes a housekeeping job on the spur of the moment. She soon finds herself living in a beautiful but neglected mansion, working for a strange and reclusive man.
St. John is a man scarred by the past, both physically and emotionally, and is determined to live out his life alone. They are two very different people, drawn to each other almost against their will, but can Kiya convince St. John that he is not the monster he believes himself to be?
EXCERPT
Singing softly to herself, Kiya was halfway into the room before she realised that she was not alone. From the corner of her eye, she saw St. John O’Neill spin around in surprise and she gave a startled cry, the vase slipping through her fingers to smash on the floor by her feet. He was a very tall man, easily 6ft. 5ins, broad-shouldered and muscular. His thick black hair, although clean, was long and unkempt, and his beard did not quite hide the vivid scar that ran from high on his right cheek down to his mouth. Incredibly bright blue eyes bore into her and, despite the scar and his rough, dishevelled appearance, Kiya was breathlessly aware that he was an incredibly attractive man. He continued to stare at her, radiating an aura of menace, and Kiya gave an unconscious shiver.
‘Seen enough?’ he asked coldly.
Blushing furiously, aware that she had been staring, Kiya quickly bent to pick up the pieces of shattered vase.
‘Leave it.’ His words were clipped.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realise what time it was. I’ll just clear…’ she babbled, nervously.
‘Dammit, I said leave it.’
Her hand jerked at his unexpected ferocity and she gave a yelp of pain as the sharp edge of the broken vase sliced her palm. She stood quickly, lifting her hand to check the severity of the cut, and felt a wave of nausea wash over her at the surprisingly profuse amount of blood pouring from the wound. She heard St. John mutter an explicit curse and looked up to see him striding quickly towards her, his expression furious.
My Review
What starts off as, and for the most part actually is, a sad story, this book is a really sweet read!
Kiya has suffered loss and so has the reclusive writer, St. John. Only St. John's is reeling from the loss of the person he used to be and prefers to stay hidden in the mansion that is as neglected as he is himself. When Kiya comes to work for him she refuses to allow his beautiful home to fall into further disrepair. And it's not long before Kiya sees beyond St. John's gruff exterior and tries to work her magic on him.
St. John wants to be left alone but is intrigued by Kiya, as well as being frustrated by her meddling. Kiya makes him take a hard look at himself. Not easy in a house with no mirrors and even harder still when he realises he needs to accept the person he is now. St. John still has to hide his feelings though, especially when a string of misunderstandings make him believe that Kiya is better off without him.
Though this book begins as if a Beauty and the Beast tale, I actually felt that Kiya had more healing to do than St. John. I enjoyed both characters but St. John in particular won me over. The pace started off a little slow, mainly due to the backstory which maybe could have worked better as dialogue, but the authors voice, the gorgeous descriptions and this lovely story quickly grabbed me and made this book a very enjoyable read!
4 Butterfly rating
ABOUT ELLIE GRAY
Ellie lives in the beautiful East Riding of Yorkshire with her partner, David, and two children, Joe and Abbie.
Ellie is a contemporary romance author, published with the lovely Tirgearr Publishing, and is a proud member of the Romantic Novelist Association.
Her debut novel, Beauty and the Recluse, was published in February 2016 and her second novel, Love on the Nile, is due to be released in the Summer of 2016. Inbetween working full-time in public services and studying for an MSc in Public Management, Ellie is currently working on her third novel.
A few random pieces of information about Ellie:
Favourite TV shows – The Walking Dead, The X-Files, Nashville, Dr. Who, The Great British Bake-off!
Favourite Music – I’m an 80’s girl!, country, sixties, Elvis, classical (when I’m writing)
Favourite Food – Indian, tapas, crisps, cheese
Favourite Drink – black coffee – copious amounts when I’m writing, Sauvignon blanc when I’m not.
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GIVEAWAY
£20/$20 Amazon Gift e-Voucher
