I have read many books by Teresa Medeiros before, but never have I read a book that was as full of dark passions and trickery as this book! “Fairest of Them All” is a romance novel by Teresa Medeiros which details how a young woman’s desire to get out of marrying any guy gets out of hand when she ends up being married to a rough Welshman! “Fairest of Them All” has all the drama, dark romance and lies that will set any romance novel fan’s hearts aflutter!Holly de Chastel was known as the fairest woman in all of England since her beauty cannot be rivaled by any other. However, when her father decided to hold a tournament so that way she can be married to a man, Holly decides to put on an ugly appearance to repel all the men from marrying her. However, Holly would never have guessed that a dark and handsome Welshman named Sir Austyn of Gavenmore would end up winning her hand in marriage and the world starts changing for Holly. Holly soon realizes that her new husband Austyn has dark secrets that make him evasive from her and what will happen if Austyn discovers Holly’s deceit?Oh my goodness! This romance novel was one hectic ride as it has levels of lies and deceit between this couples that cannot be rivaled with any other romance novel! Teresa Medeiros has certainly done an impressive job at writing this story as it is intense from the very beginning and I love the way that Teresa Medeiros builds up the action throughout this novel as I was literally on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what is going to happen to the characters next. What I really loved about this novel are the characters themselves (even though they have their flaws that annoys me a bit) and Teresa Medeiros wove these characters brilliantly as we were able to see all the things that they have suffered through and how they try to stay strong during their troubling situations. Holly de Chastel might have spent the majority of the book deceiving her new husband, but she is shown to have a good heart and is willing to tell people what is on her mind, even if it puts her life in jeopardy and it was that aspect of her character that I really enjoyed! Sir Austyn of Gavenmore is definitely one hero who is both frightening yet ultra handsome and dark at the same time! I loved the way that Sir Austyn is extremely gentle with Holly when she put on an ugly appearance to steer him away, which proves that Sir Austyn not only judges Holly on her looks but he judges Holly on her character and personality. It was interesting and terrifying at the same time to see Sir Austyn occasionally break out into a temper tantrum since he can be a really frightening person when angered and I will admit that I was shocked at some of the things he did to Holly in this novel. I was also head over heels in love with Sir Austyn’s large and muscular body which really made me really want to be in his arms in this book!For anyone who does not like sex scenes, there are a couple of sex scenes in this novel that are a bit graphic, so it would be best to skim over these scenes if anyone is uncomfortable with them. One of the problems I had with this book is that Holly is often deceptive towards Austyn throughout this book when she put on an ugly disguise to get out of marrying him. To be honest, I was glad that Holly did not keep up this deception throughout the entire book and only kept up with it midway through the book, but it was a bit annoying to me that she did not just tell Austyn about her disguise near the beginning of the book instead of letting it drag on for so long.Overall, “Fairest of Them All” is a clearly brilliant book about lies and deception that romance fans will fall head over heels in love it for many years!Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog
'From the spellbinding pen of nationally bestselling author Teresa Medeiros comes this enchanting new romance—a tale of adventure, humor, and tender sensuality that sweeps from the pageantry of an English jousting tournament to the brooding mystery of an isolated castle in Wales...Fairest of Them AllShe was rumored to be the fairest woman in all of England. But Holly de Chastel considered her beauty a curse. She had already turned away scores of suitors with various ruses, both fair and foul. Now she was to be the prize in a tournament of eager knights gathering from across the land, each more determined than the last to win her hand. Holly had no intention of wedding any of them, and concocted her most outrageous plan yet: to disguise her beauty from their avaricious eyes. But she never planned on Sir Austyn of Gavenmore.The darkly handsome Welshman had come looking especially for a plain bride, and Holly seemed to fit the bill. Suddenly she found herself in the possession of this mysterious stranger, ensconced in his castle, and forced to keep up her carefully planned illusion. Why did this electrifyingly passionate male, who could have any woman he wanted, desire a homely bride—and what would happen when he learned he'd been tricked? By the time Holly found out, it was too late to avoid the searing fires of passion—and the dark curse of Gavenmore'
What do You think about Fairest Of Them All (2011)?
Holly de Chastel has no plan of being married off to any of the suitors who want to claim her hand. Her beauty is spoken of through the lands, but Holly doesn't want to be married so she can be a trophy on the arm of an arrogant man, she wants to be free. Holly comes up with a plan to ward off her father's next attempt only to have it backfire.Sir Austyn of Gavenmore has no qualms of taking a plain wife, in fact he embraces it. His family is cursed into rages of jealousy and doomed marriages when the wife is beautiful, he wants happiness and children and to break this awful curse. When he takes the hand of Holly, her ugliness is a bit much but given time he finds himself falling for intellect, but when the truth is revealed that Holly is stunningly beautiful will Austyn be able to forgive the betrayal.Enjoyable story, had a moment midway through that I could not stop cracking up. Holly goes from spoiled and determined to determined and falling for her husband. Austyn is a gentleman to Holly, until the betrayal and than he turns into pure alpha male who is confused by his feelings of wanting nothing to do with his wife and wanting her so desperately his skin is on fire. Always a guaranteed good time reading a Teresa Mederios book.
—Emily
Well, this is one of those books my "BFF" gave me because she just wanted to see my reaction. About two weeks after she gave it to me she says: "So...did you read that book I gave you?" I very dryly commented yes and didn't say anything else and I looked away. And when I glanced at her, she was staring at the floor. And finally after a very long pause and a ton of uncomfortable feet shuffling, she asks me what I thought. I skillfully avoided the question until my dear friend pinned me down and asked about "the scene." Now I'm not going to go into detail about said "scene" because if you've read this book you absolutely know what I'm talking about.Anyway, the bestie and I have never spoken of this book again and maybe sometime in the next 10 years or so I will be able to forgive her for knowingly giving me this book. Yes, my best friend used my love of reading against me and punked me - the heifer. On the good side of things, I passed the "see your best friend isn't a total perv" test.All I can say is: You shouldn't have gone there, Ms. Medeiros. You. Shouldn't. Have. Gone. There.
—Shay
Not sure about some aspects of the story. The idea was nice: Holly i.e. 'Beauty' was loved by everyone for her physical appearance. She turned herself ugly because she wanted some freedom from the constraints her appearance has given her. Austyn i.e. 'Beast' wanted someone unattractive because his family was cursed to bring ruin upon wives who are beautiful. Holly wanted someone to value the person she is, so they should have worked out perfectly... Of course, it didn't. (view spoiler)[ Austyn decided that he had to see what Holly looked like before he competed in a tournament to win her hand and the large dowry he wanted. He sees her and falls immediately in love with her appearance, like everyone else. He competes in the tournament for the now 'ugly' Holly and barely manages to continue since her appearance disgusts him so much. The thought of the money keeps him going though. Meanwhile, Holly doesn't like the look of the 'beast' and doesn't want to marry him when he wins. Given no choice, she keeps up her ugly charade to try and discourage him taking her to bed. When Austyn shaves off his beard and reveals himself as handsome enough to compete and win with Holly for best looking, Holly decides to be the best wife ever to win his love. (hide spoiler)]
—Kaza
