This was a sweet mash-up of "Beauty and the Beast" and "Pride and Prejudice". I loved Elizabeth's spunkiness. I loved that the Duke was open-minded, or could be convinced to open his mind a bit more. Their relationship was so sweet and how could you not like a romance based on a mutual love of reading?? I've not read Devon before but I will in the future.

A wonderful retelling of a popular fairytale. The Duke of Montrose, Garrett, is an unhappy man. He is considered a beast by most of society. Elizabeth is the daughter of a bookseller. She is beautiful and vibrant. The two form an unlikely alliance based on their love of books. The author has done a really great job of bringing these characters to life. The plot moves at a fantastic pace and leaves the reader totally entertained.

Elizabeth's family bookshop relies on the patronage of the imperious and reclusive Duke of Montrose. So when he threatens to take his business elsewhere, she must appease him or risk losing everything. Seeing behind his mask, she discovers a man with a warm and gentle heart. But can a duke and a merchant have a future together?

I loved these characters. Garrett is exactly the sort of hero I enjoy reading about. He's self-assured without being selfish or unkind. It takes him a while to figure out what to do about the imbalance in their social standing, but he always values Elizabeth for her intelligence and how perfectly matched they are. This book was a pleasure to read.

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

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an E-Arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
3.5 Stars
I devoured this book in an afternoon and an evening. It was a quick, pleasant read. Picture the moments in Beauty and the Beast after he "gives" her the library and then they read books together and become friends, that is the BATB vibes that this book gives. The friendship struck between the duke and Elizabeth the bookseller is so sweet. I adored all the references to Pride and Prejudice and the shared reading that they have of the book. Honestly, I thought this book was going to be 4 stars, but for me it was almost too short and sweet, the author needed to take a little longer to develop the tension and the build of the relationship and their weathering of the difficulties that would surely come up from their relationship. It was all resolved a little too easily and quickly for me. I wanted more angst, pining, and love growing to really get me all the way there. In the end though, it was a pleasant and fun read!

A Book Club Like No Other:
A wonderful story and interesting characters that filled the pages with many emotional difficulties to overcome but they also gave me great pleasure to read about and follow them as they discover their growing fascination with each other.
We first meet Elizabeth a strong minded, quirky, intelligent. young lady who has a request from her father. This little job has her on her way to the duke's residence to deliver an order of books that he should had received long ago.
This is where their intriguing well written love story begins.
Their way is not an easy one due to their two different stations in life. Dukes don't fall in love with a bookseller.
Well, this story says differently.
The beast I found charming and caring but he had a hard time being able to express himself in a caring way.
Elizabeth is a go getter and didn't have any trouble saying what was on her mind and she wanted Garrett, the duke.
It didn't take long and a carriage calamity to discover just how and what both of them wanted.
A smoldering first kiss that erupts into flames sets the stage for the rest of the story.
There is not a dull moment in these pages but there is a lot of turmoil, sadness, desire, confessions, family heartaches along with a terrific ending where all are happy and healthy.
I found everything I could ask for in a romance story that made me happy to have read it.
Mature Advisory:🌶🌶🌶🌶

The Beast and the Bookseller is the newest historical romance release from Eva Devon. This is a shorter read (about 220ish pages) and if you like beauty and the beast retelling vibes with class difference, it’s definitely one to check out!

Elizabeth Sharpe works at her father’s bookshop, well really she runs it herself since her father hasn’t quite been the same since the loss of her mother. There is nothing in life she loves more than books and getting the right books into the hands of other readers. One day a rare thing happens when the Duke of Montrose arrives at the bookshop. While her family has served Dukes for centuries, a Duke has never actually entered the shop before, they preferred instead to have books delivered to their estates. Elizabeth’s father was supposed to have been assisting the Duke of Montrose and regularly bringing him books, but since he’s been slacking on his scheduled meetings with the Duke, Montrose shows up and requests Elizabeth’s assistance from now on.

While Montrose has a bad reputation and is known to be very blunt and gruff, somehow Elizabeth isn’t afraid of him. They become friends of sorts when they discover their mutual love for books and reading. They even form their own little “book club for two” and discuss the novels she recommends him (Pride and Prejudice being one of them). Which eventually leads to them discovering they like more of one another besides their book choices. This one was short and sweet! I liked seeing Montrose’s gruff, cold shell start to thaw for Elizabeth. She’s definitely the exception to his dislike of other people. He was a lonely sole before Elizabeth came into his life and I liked seeing them both get their HEA together.

Thank you to the publisher (Entangled) for an ARC via NetGalley, all thoughts in this review are my own. The Beast and the Bookseller has a pub date of June 5, 2023.

The Beast and the Bookseller was such a treat and a verified win for bookworms everywhere. To have two characters be such literary lions felt terrific. Garrett and Elizabeth were such a cute couple that it seemed almost too perfect. A hero who was sensitive and shared the same hobbies as the heroine practically screamed "written by a woman". Characterizations aside, I read this book in a single day and I flew through the pages. The first chapter had me hooked and I adored the author's writing style. Any book that speaks to the heart of a bibliophile is worth its weight in gold.

While this book wasn't completely perfect, there were multiple factors I did appreciate. I loved how both characters went feral over literature (like myself), the natural progression of their courtship, and the lovely dynamic of bookseller and book buyer. I didn't care for the extensive focus on Pride & Prejudice only because I'm not a Jane Austen girlie and I scandalously prefer the film adaptations. I also thought the last quarter of the novel was a bit messy as it revolved around Elizabeth's alcoholic father disapproving of their relationship. Other than the gross misogyny standard to the time period, I had a swell time reading about The Beast and the Bookseller. It gave off major Beauty and the Beast vibes, but I'm sure that was intentional. We certainly need more bookworm protagonists to idealize because it's slim pickings out here!

The Beast and the Bookseller was a bibliophile dream to boot! I really liked Eva Devon's writing and I hope to explore more of her catalog. I sped through this story like nobody's business and was deeply invested in this relationship. If it weren't for dealing with the general public, I'd love to own a bookshop just like Elizabeth. Perhaps then I would have an esteemed patron like Garrett and have access to his huge ducal...library. It doesn't seem like such a hardship to love a beast when they've got a dynamite book collection. What I wouldn't give to dive straight into the enormous pile of books from The Beast and the Bookseller!

"It was in those books that she could transport herself to better times, to better places, and more exciting situations than the dreary day-to-day routine..."

This quote captures exactly my love of books and why I named my LFL and account as I have. I love books about books, and this newest historical romance from Eva Devon is a great addition to the genre.

Elizabeth is a shopkeeper and her father's only heir. She hopes that he will allow her to take over the running of their generational bookshop, Sharpe and Son, despite being a daughter. The way Elizabeth talks about books grabbed me. I highlighted so many quotes for my book journal.

And of course, the beast is a Duke and not beastly at all underneath his gruff exterior. This Beauty and the Beast retelling is the epitome of the grump-sunshine trope. And it also incorporates Pride and Prejudice as much as Beauty and the Beast.

I greatly enjoyed this historical romance. It was a fast paced read with great depth, as it examined mental health care, alcoholism, class differences, and literature.

Thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

Rounded up to 4 stars

I enjoyed The Beast and The Bookseller by Eva Devon. It was a good, quick, weekend read. The main character, Elizabeth Sharpe, manages her father's book shop. She is pretty, sweet and intelligent. For fear of losing the patrionage of the Duke of Montrose, she volunteers to deliver his book orders in lieu of her father. The Duke, Garrett Maximillian, is very anti-social and private. Elizabeth converses with the Duke instead of just dropping off the books and leaving. She is somewhat tenacious, but she could have been a little bit more. I liked this story, but I would have liked to see a little bit more spirit, reaction, pizzazz, something from the characters. The story was good and I liked that there weren't filler pages of sexual references. This is one of those stories you read in winter since it is warm and comfortable.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Entangled Publishers for the Advanced Reader Copy. This in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

Ah! Childhood me loves a beauty and the beast retelling. Make it Regency era and it's even better.

This was a fantastic story! It you like a love story with very low angst, this is the book for you.

Fall in love surrounded by book is what we all dream of - right?

There were a few plot points that I would have liked to have seen tightened up, but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. I would recommend this book those we like a moderate about of steam, Beauty and the Beast retellings, Regency romance, Grumpy/Sunshine tropes.

This is the second book by this author that I don’t love which is really disappointing because it sounded good. The plot was just very very silly. And I’m willing to give silliness a lot of slack but in this case, the silly plot didn’t even really make sense. The heroine needs to deliver books to the duke. And I’m not really sure what’s so special about these books or why the duke needs them on a weekly basis. At first i thought maybe they were educational books and he had a young ward or something he was schooling and that’s why they were so important to be delivered weekly. Then I thought maybe they were very rare and he needed someone knowledgeable about antique rare books or something but no…it seems the heroine is just instacarting this man random books weekly and she sets them down and leaves 😂 and the guy needs weekly book deliveries because he just loves books THAT much??? idk it makes no sense to me still! The dialogue was a little cringey too tbh this might be my most scathing review and I feel bad because I’ve enjoyed this author before! But lately she seems to have lost her touch a bit! 😔

A slow burn romance, enjoyable story line and engaging characters. I loved Elizabeth and Garrett, two lost souls desperately in need of each other. A blossoming love story I couldn't put down.

Excellent grump and damsel in distress. Excellent fathers as total jerks. Excellent readers who are obsessed with reading, can’t emphasize that enough. Excellent consorting below one’s station. Fun all around

“Miss Elizabeth Sharpe had never met a duke.”
“So many people saw books only as a sign of wealth and power and not for what they actually were portals to knowledge and wonder and amazement”
"You are as beautiful as this forest. You could never be a burden.
You are a gift. You're the greatest gift I've ever known."
This book was absolutely wonderful !!!! I loved it !!! Regency romance story with a bookseller, trying to get her father’s bookshop when he has lost himself to drink and grief, and a duke who behaves much more like a beast than anything but has a passion for books. Garret and Elizabeth’s story was so sweet and romantic and so Austen-like !!!! In order not to remove patronage of her bookshop, she has to deliver weekly books to the Duke in place of her father. But when a simple delivery turns out being conversations and read-alongs, and a sparks fly between them that will be impossible to deny … what are they to do to preserve her reputation but also give her the freedom she craves ?
With some quite unwilling friends to lovers, one bed trope and bookworms vibes, this story will take you and always keep you entertained and focus on the characters and their romance. And Garret … that Duke is wonderful !!!! I love him !!!!
I’m so glad I had the chance to read it !!!
"I like the people who treat books like old friends," she continued, her voice warm and firm. "Who take them everywhere, who share cups of tea with them by placing their saucers on their binding, who occasionally spill and sully the pages.
They know it doesn't matter if there are a few marks here and there, or a broken spine. Or if a reader has bent a page to mark their place. For life is full of marks, and we must all muddle through. People who keep the books close to them in stacks and do not worry a jot about keeping them perfect are magical. For they understand books are meant to be surrounded by people and love."

They have the love books in common and they showed each other new worlds of wonder. Their respective friends are supporting cast where the antagonist comes from an unexpected source. Enjoyable read with glimpses into philosophy and other areas of interests.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

The Beast and the Bookseller gives a lovely nod to the beauty and the beast trope as well as Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The beginning was absolute perfection from the two member book club created by Garrett and Elizabeth to them reading Austen's Pride and Prejudice aloud along with other Jane Austen novels. There were so many passages I highlighted including the entirety of chapter 11! And from now on whenever I see crocuses I will always think of this novel.

I loved the supporting character's in Lily and Essex and really hope they will get their own HEAs within the series. I also appreciated that there was no third act breakup, but I did find that Elizabeth's father seems to get off the hook for his horrid behavior rather easily. For all his plotting and ways he mistreated Elizabeth, I wished for a bit more contrition from him. I also feel like we lose a bit of the connection between Elizabeth and Garrett after the wedding and I would have loved to see Garrett's POV during the trial of the doctor who had mistreated his mother. As always when it comes to an Eva Devon novel, I never want it to end and always want more.

I really want to note how the reader might feel a disconnect with the story after the trial begins and perhaps including Garrett's POV might help the reader understand his actions more. Perhaps something along how being in the public eye has him feeling like the gargoyle everyone thinks him to be. How he feels frozen and cannot show her/allow her to break through. Because I feel like up until this moment we got a really good view of his motivations and feelings but with the trail it is like he reverts back and we lose our connection with him especially since we do not get his POV at this time of the story.

Well this was lovely! Beauty and the Beast retellings are my favorite and this one really delivered. I did feel like the drama at the end was a bit unnecessary.

Thanks to Entangled Publishing for an ARC of this book - I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

This was a lovely quick reads, with everything that you would expect from an accomplished author like Eva Devon. A little Pride and Prejudice, a touch of Beauty and the Beast and some spice - this was a delight to read.

A little short and there could have been a bit more character development, but still an entertaining story.

This book had such a interesting premise, a lonely Duke that is staying away from everyone and a bookseller that is trying to keep her shop open even though her father is neglecting it, they found books as a common ground and they form a friendship surrounded by them.

The change from friends to lovers happened very quick and I didn't get their chemistry or reason for such rush decisions given their circumstances.

I also wasn't impressed with the way the Duke handled their relationship after some troubles arose. I was feeling that sometimes was missing from the romace.


* I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Classic Beauty and the Beast retelling with a little bit of angst. This one broke my heart! I loved the heroine, Elizabeth, so much. This shows that the love for books, will tear down social class differences and turn a surly and hated duke into a prince! Highly recommend it if you love BatB retelling, books, one-bed, social class different, and one self-made woman with an absolute passion for reading!