Julie Anne Long has given us another beautifully crafted, heartfelt story in her eighth book of The Palace of Rogues series, The Beast Takes a Bride. Told expertly, with prose that her readers have come to adore, she slowly unwinds the tale of Colonel Magnus Brightwall, a military war hero who helped saved the life of General James Blackmore (now the Duke of Valkirk) in battle and the eponymous beast of the title, and his estranged wife, Alexandra. The two married five years before the start of this story; however, after their wedding, Alexandra commits what Magnus considers an unforgivable transgression and precipitously abandons her in England for diplomatic service in Spain. He returns to England to be appointed the Earl of Montcroix but enlists Alexandra's help in presenting his candidacy in the best possible light to the King and to the ton at large. Forced to take up rooms together at the Grand Palace on the Thames, Magnus and Alexandra begin to understand how what happened five years earlier came to pass as well as to act on their longing for each other as husband and wife.

It is a love story of a second chance for a couple who never really had the opportunity to develop their marriage before they were split asunder, and it is beautifully paced, with Long gradually revealing what occurred in the past to get these two strong-willed, stubborn people where they are at the start of the novel. Both main characters are drawn with nuance, and while Magnus plays a huge role in the current state of their marriage, I found that I could at understand, if not condone, his actions, based on his fears and deep-seated insecurities based on events of his early childhood. Alexandra is a kind, yet formidable heroine, and I appreciated that she would not grovel at the feet of her husband or apologize for her actions - only for hurting Magnus deeply. And given the couple's forced proximity at the Grand Palace on the Thames, readers are again treated to the usual cast of characters at the little boardinghouse by the docks, who are all well-loved and often hilarious, with a few new guests to round out the couple's sojourn there.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and I loved the links to previous books, such as Magnus having saved the life of the Duke of Valkirk (Book 4's MMC) and the pleasurable experience of having some of their guests attend a donkey race at last! With each successive story in this series, Long's storytelling becomes ever more poignant, but I would comment that readers should understand that the supporting ensemble of the Hardys and the Durands, Dot and Helga, Mrs. Pariseau and Mr. Delacorte are all an integral part of these books and have become almost as important to these tales as the main characters themselves. I personally love this aspect of the series, and while technically, this book could be read as a standalone, it is so much better when read in the context of the other books that have preceded it. I highly recommend it!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley and the author, and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

NetGalley review 2024 11 04
The Beast Takes a Bride, Julie Anne Long

5 *****

Disclaimer: I assume you read the blurb before coming to check out the reviews, so I’m not going to repeat the synopsis.

I really enjoyed this book, even without having read others in the series.

The beginning was definitely one of the most immediately captivating I’ve read, and I was impressed with the heroine immediately. Then her long-absent hero husband appears, and bam! We are swept right into the story.

Characterization and pacing were good – the characters revealed themselves through action and dialogue, and they developed well as the story progressed. My sympathy and empathy for each of them built throughout the book as I learned more about each of their history, and their individual responses to past shared experiences.

I haven’t read this author before but she’s good at her craft and has been added to my “read more by” list. (All you avid readers have this list!). And even if you also haven’t read any of the earlier books in this series, I highly recommend this one! Then you can go back and read the others in the series, as I plan to do.

I had heard of but not read any of the Palace of Rogues series (of which this is the 8th!), and I’m definitely going to have to read the others. My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Avon for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Beast Takes a Bride was another great entry in Julie Anne Long's Palace of Rogues series. I've been reading along since the beginning and am always happy to revisit our favorite boarding house and its colorful inhabitants.

The book follows acclaimed war hero Magnus and his estranged wife Alexandra. They've been unhappily married for five years after an incident on their wedding night that made Magnus cut off his new wife and decamp to Spain for a diplomatic posting. Alexandra has been making the best of it at home in his townhouse in London, but a scandal resulting in an impromptu stay in Newgate prison forces Magnus, who has just returned to London, to rescue his wife. He's about to be elevated to the peerage, a huge achievement for an orphan from an unknown background, and realizes that any whiff of scandal could sink his pending elevation.

They end up in the Grand Palace, finally forced into close proximity for the first time in their marriage and united as they work to contain the fallout from her scandal. Alexandra slowly faces that she has strong feelings for her stern, closed off husband, feelings that he fully reciprocates, even as he insists he can never forgive her for breaking his heart.

Although it takes place over a short time period, this felt like a long, slow burn romance with so much yearning on both their parts. Magnus and Alexandra are both genuinely good and kindhearted, and it's easy to root for them to find a way to put the past behind them and move forward together. Because this was a story about a marriage in trouble, the mood was bittersweet through most of the book, but at the same time, there were plenty of funny moments at the Grand Palace, and of course, the satisfaction at the end over their hard-won HEA. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

The Grand Palace on the Thames never ceases to reward readers with wonderful stories about building relationships that seem both impossible and inevitable simultaneously. The HEAs are hard won and inspirational as two hard heads meet in battle and learn one small step at a time how to forgive unforgivable betrayal and move forward.

julie anne long never misses, and The Beast Takes a Bride is no exception. this sotry was definitely intriguing and a little beguiling. my only complaint is that this whole situation could have been avoided with a conversation but alas, that wouldnt make for a very good book LOL. also super hoping for a dot story!!!

Another great story taking place at the Grand Palace on the Thames, come stay awhile.

Alexander Bellamy was wedded to Magnus Brightwall to help save her family; on her wedding night she betrayed her husband.

Colonel Magnus Brightwall has return to London after 5 years in Spain, he came back to separate from his wife.

Magnus tells Alexander that he is selling the town house that she has lived in and buying another. Since she was planning on going to New York to see her father and brother, he told her she would be living there now. If she returns to London, she will lose what he settled on her.
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Magnus and Alexander arrive at the Grand Place on the Thames, he tells her they will go to functions together as a married couple to dispels rumors and to make sure his name is in good standing.

As Magnus and Alexander discuss what happen on their wedding night, they become intimate but not saying what their feelings are for each other.

I love the parlor nights with the reading and discussions they gave some funny laughs. Heartwarming story as Alexander never got to choose what she wants and Magnus who felt no one would want him. It moved me to see how these two came to admit they loved each other.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I am a HUGE Julie Anne Long fan, and the newest novel in her Palace of Rogues lived up to the hype. This was an angsty book--the hero and heroine have honestly hurt each other, and it was incredibly satisfying watching them fall in love and come back to each other. Throughout the book, I kept wondering how they were going to make it work, which in my opinion is a hallmark of a great romance. Alexandra and Magnus were so well suited, and their stubbornness was heartbreaking but also super warranted. And their chemistry............. Julie Anne Long knows how to write a sex scene, that's all I'm saying.

Loved this marriage in trouble take from JAL when we were with Magnus and Alexandra but I do not love the boarding house as a framing device. My major quibble here is the same as it was with the previous book in the series - for me, there's just too much focus on Delilah and Angelique and their marriages.

A Julie Anne Long book is like a beautiful symphony of words that transports me, the reader, through a myriad of feelings. She is an author who can move me to laughter, tears, and a number of other emotions with equal ease of skill. She's one of the few authors I force myself to read slowly, savoring the unique flavor of each perfectly placed word. Long's newest novel, THE BEAST TAKES A BRIDE, returns readers to the Grand Palace on the Thames boarding house for a deeply emotional, marriage-in-trouble story simmering with passion, impeccably-placed humor, and a hard-earned happy ending. I couldn't put it down.

Top Dish/5 Stars

The Beast Takes a Bride follows the tumultuous relationship between the estranged Mr and Mrs. Brightwall and their attempt at selling their “happiness” to the ton. There was a lot to love and a lot to dislike about this book, as if the reader was meant to have as conflicted of a relationship with the book itself. The main conflict in the book is the way they have each scorned each other; Magnus essentially buys her from her father with no explanation, and Alexandra kisses another man on their wedding night. I don’t know if it’s my own biases but I was unable to truly forgive Magnus as a reader. I understand his past and how often he had been rejected, but he manipulated Alexandra because he knew her role as peace keeper would force her to accept his proposal, kept his reason for marrying her a secret even though he knew she was intelligent and regarded her as so, and then was scorned by her final kiss goodbye to her first love and the life she was leaving behind. I often feel myself more critical of male characters than female characters, but I feel this time was warranted. I did however, love the residents of The Grand Palace on Thames, the dynamics were so different from one another. It did feel a bit weird to leave our main characters perspective as we did, but I enjoyed the residents so much I don’t really mind. Overall I had an enjoyable time with the story.

Thank you to Avon Books and the fabulous Julie Anne Long for my complimentary digital copy.

This book is glorious. Filled with longing and the most delicious tension. Magnus and Alexandra have been estranged for five years and haven't seen each other since their wedding night. The book starts out with Alexandra cooling her heels in a prison cell after an accidental carriage theft and Magnus returning from his stint as a diplomat to Spain. The first scene where he comes to fetch her from Newgate had me downright giddy.

Of course these two end up sharing a suite at the Grand Palace on the Thames and make a pact to repair their reputations. Unsurprisingly, they do the most unthinkably gauche thing and turn their marriage into a love match. 

JAL writes emotions so beautifully and I felt every angsty feeling these two characters had. I understood all the hurt and resentment that kept them apart but also felt their longing for each other deep in my chest. 

If you love marriage of convenience, age gap, he falls first, and some forced proximity this is the book for you. In the end the stern scarred war hero and his lonely trophy wife find their happily ever after.

The Beast Takes a Bride is book eight in the series and returning to the Grand Palace on the Thames is always a lovely reunion with old friends. The coziness and laughter make me feel like I'm chatting in the sitting room with all the long term guests. Not to mention, I'm on the edge of my seat regarding the romance between our favorite maid Dot and a certain broad shouldered footman. I can't believe JAL has teased us with tidbits for so long! I also love all the Pennyroyal Green references sprinkled into the story. I can't wait for Seamus from PRG book 7 to cross over worlds and become a guest at the boarding house.

Julie Anne Long is my absolute favorite Historical Romance author and this book is no exception. She consistently delivers with beautiful writing, deep emotion and romance.

📖 you can only rec one historical romance writer. Who is it?

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

My trip back to the Palace on the Thames was as emotionally sumptuous as ever. The way Julie Anne Long writes is an experience that is NOT TO BE MISSED, romance friends.

In The Beast Takes a Bride, we have a marriage in big trouble situation. Colonel Magnus Brightwall and Alexandra married five years ago and due to one distressing moment for this reader, separated the same day.

The angst between these two is tough & JAL’s writing made me support both leads at different times, something I didn’t think I would do given the reason behind their estrangement.

But whew I’m glad we made it 🤣.

The writing is exquisite & the way she writes characters is fantastic. My heart hurt but also I was laughing in different moments, & that’s just part of the experience of reading her books.

& so continues my fave historical romance series…

On paper this book is 4.5 ⭐️ for me but I’m rounding up bc I’ve discovered that I’ve always regretted rating any of the books in this series less than 5 ⭐️🤪. Out tomorrow!

Please see a trusted reader’s list of CWs.

[ID: Jess holds the ebook in front of a white & brown wood wall & a glass pane with flowers on it.]

All of Long’s Palace of Rogues books are like a warm hug… if that hug included smoking hot chemistry, wonderment at the miracle of love, & a cast of side characters so indelible & beloved that I yearn to spend an evening in the sitting room with them, perhaps adding my penny to the swear jar or getting invited to an underground donkey race. In this book, a genteel lady lands in Newgate after a mix-up, only to be bailed out by a battered war hero who happens to be the husband who left her on her wedding night 5 years prior. He proposes a deal: if she helps smooth over his reputation so he can earn a title, he’ll arrange for her to live independently in America. But when longing and burning attraction enter the mix, will they be able to bid one another farewell?

Thank you Avon & Harper Voyager for providing me with eARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This historical romances follows an already married couple who have been separated for 5 years. When they finally decide to face each other, they try to make society believe all is well. In doing so, they find themselves reminiscing on their past and why they were drawn to each other to begin with.

I found it a little difficult to follow the different timelines throughout the story. It kept going back and forth a lot to tell us slowly of how they came to be where they are. I am not dissuaded from books with miscommunication tropes, but I feel like this one may have been a little too much for me.

There were some great moments in The Beast Takes a Bride, the latest in Julie Anne Long’s Palace of Rogues series. As always, JAL is hilarious and writes chemistry like no one else.

But take away the witty banter among the denizens of the Grand Palace on the Thames, and the actual romance feels insubstantial.

This is a “marriage in trouble” book to a severe degree: Alexandra and Col. Brightwall are married, but they have been estranged for five years after an initially undisclosed incident. They’re thrust back together after Alexandra is involved in an incident that threatens to taint Magnus’ rigidly impeccable reputation as a war hero.

Taken on its own, this is a lovely book, if light on actual plot. (I don’t recommend reading it till you’ve read the others, though, because there are a lot of inside jokes involving previous couples in the series and the other guests at the GPotT.)

As part of the broader series, though, it feels a little bit like more of the same. I also wasn’t enamored of Magnus’ behavior toward the lovely Alexandra, which I felt was extreme. <spoiler>I know she broke her vows, but Magnus BOUGHT her and they barely knew each other. Abandoning her for 5 years and then selling her home and threatening to exile her to America seems OTT even when we know his backstory.</spoiler>

The whole book just felt so similar to the last couple in the series — Magnus was like a combination of Lorcan St. Leger (beastly) and Captain Hardy (stern, battle hardened). Even though I love this world (Dot! Delacorte!) and laughed a LOT, the physical setting can feel a little limiting and claustrophobic when it comes to the actual love story. I think it’s time for JAL to wrap up this series and start a new one with more plot and/or angst. Maybe even return to Wildcat Canyon!

Thanks to Avon for the advance copy.

After a scandal, Alexandra is reunited with her estranged war-hero husband Magnus. Forced to repair their reputations, will Alexandra reignite his passion or lose him forever?

This is an often funny yet deeply emotional romance. The well-developed characters have past wounds to overcome so they can find true love together. I’m not generally a fan of the reunion romance trope, but the events leading up to Magnus and Alexandra’s separation makes psychological sense. Both are flawed but the mistakes they make are understandable and forgivable.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Julie Anne Long - always buy her books. You can't go wrong! I've enjoyed every book in every genre she writes.. While not a fan of Regency novels normally, I have loved each of the Palace of Rogues books. The Beast Takes a Bride was especially enjoyable. I give it five stars.

Given the time period, that fact that these two are married makes the physical relationship acceptable and not taboo. I enjoyed that part (though I'm no prude). It, in my mind, just gave the story an unexpected twist. Although they're married, they've not consummated their relationship. His career has taken him a far so she's been left home alone. A lot. Imagine his surprise that she's never been with another and what better proof can she have? A marriage for political and personal gain, these two don't even really know each other after years of marriage. Forced to cohabitate at the Palace they begin as very aloof and separate. Initially. And when they cross that line? Oh my!

I loved Magnus, eventually, and really loved Alexandra. I wanted these two to find happiness and really hoped they'd do it together. Of course, their path isn't easy to travel. What fun would that be? I was totally invested in that difficult road. I felt for them.

As always, it was fun to see some of our favorite characters from the previous books. They are such a group of misfits and unlikely companions but each fun and interesting..

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

As far as historical romance goes, Julie Anne Long reigns supreme in my opinion. She's at the top of her game...in fact, she invented the game as far as I'm concerned, and with each subsequent book she releases, I think she raises the bar even higher for her fellow historical romance authors.

This book centers around Alexandra Bellamy, a young woman who marries the taciturn brute ("beast") of a war hero, Colonel Magnus Brightwall, in order to save her family's fortunes. Hours after the ceremony Magnus witnesses a betrayal from his new bride and immediately leaves for an extended diplomatic posting in Spain...without her. They remain separated for the next five years until Alexandra finds herself unexpectedly arrested for some hijinks instigated by her impulsive cousin and rescued by her recently returned husband. Following their stilted and awkward reunion at the prison, Magnus checks them into The Grand Palace of the Thames, as he is readying their townhouse for sale. In order to save their reputations regarding the incarceration, Magnus decrees that they will endeavor to be seen as a happy couple at various upcoming social gatherings. Alexandra will then be sent to America to oversee her own home there, thus being separated yet again. But as they are forced into closer proximity at the inn, they are given the chance to get to know each other, something they did not have at their beginning.

I immediately and completely fell in love with Alexandra's character...nurturing, funny, kind. She was a young innocent who, following a moment's unexpected indiscretion, is forced to carry undeserved guilt into her estranged marriage. However, after being ostracized by her upright husband from the start, she retains her dignity amidst the whispers of the ton's scandalmongers and lives a quiet life alone.

Magnus, being a bit staid and scrupulously moral, came off as a somewhat unsympathetic character to begin with...until we are able to scrutinize his past and the part it has played in shaping the man he has become. As we watch him struggle with trust issues and letting his guard down, we see his vulnerabilities and insecurities begin to crumble as he truly comes to know, appreciate and cherish his wife...not just as his wife, but as her brave and true self.

It was a true pleasure to watch these two characters as they slowly navigated getting to know each other, something that should have happened before their hasty marriage. They each have their own internal struggles to overcome including feelings of guilt as well as separating public personas from who they really are as a person.

Long excels at engaging the reader's emotions...ALL of their emotions. Her characters feel real... some wounded, some lost, some searching but all intriguing and engaging on every level. I am often a bit sad to begin a Long book as I dread reaching the final page and knowing that I must wait a while to be immersed in her beautiful writing again. Her writing is poignant and insightful, and I often find myself rereading passages over and over just because of their sheer beauty and wisdom.

I could write a whole separate review on The Grand Palace on the Thames and its colorful, hilarious and endearing residents, but suffice it to say, they play very big parts in making this series excellent in every way. They feel like family, like home.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book and really any historical romance that Ms. Long has written. I'm a fan for life.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing the free early arc of The Beast Takes a Bride for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

It's no secret that Julie Anne Long is one of my favorite authors. Where other authors you count on one hand their number of five-star reads, she's a number of non-five star reads on that hand. She has an amazing gift of bringing emotions straight off the page right away and keeping true to them through the entire book.

We're back at the Palace of Rogues and she managed to heighten the emotional stakes right out of the gate.

I don't compare authors often--especially when they're both SO GOOD-- but she's done what I usually can only count on Mary Balogh for: Made me wonder how they could really get past what had happened and trust and love each other.

I feel like that's a dying art. So often books are just about the ride now - everything is forgivable (and the darker the genre gets, forgiveness seems often like a given or in some cases unnecessary) but here the layers of forgiveness needed were just amazing.

It starts with how can he forgive her...but along the way we see that she has things she needs to forgive him for as well (but will he see it????) HER actions were easily measured, his less so... can they both forgive each other and themselves and see how desperately in love they are as this new, mature couple???

This one gets slotted at the top with -- my JAL keepershelf is getting full, but you'll never hear me complain about that!