The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long

Series: The Palace of Rogues, #8

Release Date: October 22, 2024

When Alexandra Brightwall finds herself thrown into Newgate Prison following an incident involving her cousin, Lord Thackeray and the Duke of Brexford’s phaeton the very last person she expected to get her out was her estranged husband, Colonel Magnus Brightwall. The husband she hasn’t seen or heard from since her wedding night five years ago. He needs her cooperation to convince the ton that things are well between them and that the dustup Alexandra was involved in was not what it appeared to be. This will mean spending time with the man she hurt all those years ago, but Alexandra is a fixer, can she fix what is wrong between them or is it too late?

A national hero known by most as Brightwall the Beast, Magnus Brightwall fell in love at first sight with Alexandra and made her father an offer he could not refuse to win her hand in marriage. But on their wedding night he witnesses what he believes as an unforgivable betrayal by Alexandra and makes the decision to leave for his post in Spain without her. But when the King decides to honor him with a peerage title, he returns to England only to find his wife in jail. He needs to work with Alexandra to smooth over the scandal and to present a united front to the ton until his title is secure. After that, since divorce or annulment are not an option, he plans to send her to America and have them move on with separate lives. But he never expected to fall in love with her all over again, will he be willing to risk his fragile heart a second time?

This installment of the Palace of Rogues series is a very emotional second-chance story with wonderful new characters and existing characters. This book has a bit of everything, emotion, betrayal, heartbreak, witty banter, donkey races, redemption, steamyish love scenes, forgiveness, acceptance and finally a HEA complete with a touching epilogue. As much as I liked this book, I was left with questions that were not answered like was Magnus faithful to his vows? Why clarify that he was getting a hereditary title when his plan was that he would remain married to a woman he would never have a child with and a few other things. While these things by no means ruined the book for me but I did find them unusual for a JAL book and a bit disappointing. Overall, it was a great addition to the series and a book I would happily recommend to my fellow HR readers. This is the eighth book in the series, but it could be read as a standalone title without issue but if you have been following the series, you will be delighted to catch up with the inhabitants of the Grand Palace on the Thames.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *