Reviewed by Tammy
TITLE: Taming the Beast 
AUTHOR: Andrew Grey
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2017
BLURB:
The suspicious death of Dante Bartholomew’s wife changed him, especially in the eyes of the residents of St. Giles. They no longer see a successful businessman… only a monster they believe was involved. Dante’s horrific reputation eclipses the truth to the point that he sees no choice but to isolate himself and his heart.
The plan backfires when he meets counselor Beau Clarity and the children he works with. Beau and the kids see beyond the beastly reputation to the beautiful soul inside Dante, and Dante’s cold heart begins to thaw as they slip past his defences. The warmth and hope Beau brings to Dante’s life help him see his entire existence-his trials and sorrows-in a brighter light.
But Dante’s secrets could rip happiness from their grasp… especially since someone isn’t above hurting those Dante has grown to love in order to bring him down.
REVIEW:
Dante Bartholomew has gone from being the gay son and heir of St Giles’ richest man to the Beast of St Giles. Although the people of St Giles have turned their collective backs on him after his wife died Dante continues to grow the family’s business, The Bartholomew Foundation, which is the major source of funding for the citizens and town. Lost in his grief, Dante became a recluse, rarely leaving his house and never concerning himself with altering their view of him. When the same organizations that are more than happy to take his money start to have second thoughts about accepting his money Dante still refuses to play nice.
Beau Clarity runs one of the counselling programs at the community center, the rehabilitation of drug and alcohol addicts. Because of Dante’s history the community center is a major recipient of the foundation’s funding. He meets Dante at a fundraising dinner for the Rehabilitation Clinic and can’t quite reconcile the Beast everyone always talks about with the incredibly good-looking man with the sad eyes he just met. After dinner Beau gets up the courage to ask Dante if he would volunteer at the center. They were both shocked when Dante organized for not only himself to volunteer but his household staff as well.
As they get to know each other Beau comes to realise no one really knows who Dante Bartholomew is. On the one hand, he is a gay man who was married, who was blackmailed into marrying a woman by his father. To get his inheritance Dante’s father made the stipulation that he had to marry a woman! To outwit his father Dante asked his best friend Allison to marry him because she knew he was gay and wouldn’t expect anything more, until she did. It wasn’t until his relationship with Beau became secure enough that Dante and Beau discussed what happened. This is when Beau points out the obvious, Allison fell in love with Dante during their marriage and couldn’t handle what she perceived as his rejection of her.
This is definitely not a love story for the faint of heart, there are enough secrets between them to sink a ship but is their love strong enough to survive the coming storm? I have no hesitation in recommending Taming the Beast to everyone who enjoys reading m/m romance stories.
RATING: 
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