For this book, there's no summary on Goodreads and the one in Michael Jensen's web page is kind of spoiler-filled, so I'll try to write my own!
It all starts in the year 1797, when gay man John Chapman has to flee from Canada after he's discovered as a gay man. His hopes in life is a paper where they claim free land and supplies for a settlement in the unconquered frontier. Midwinter, lost cold and half starved, he stumbles into the cabin of a man called Daniel, whom John believes can be love and hope he was searching for. But is he the man he hoped, or a beast to be feared?
This book is quite interesting, as it throws a queer man in a time in which being queer was punished by death (as it is shown in chapter 1). And, even if he doesn't want to, he's forced to confront his views on his sexuality and the realities he lives in. The book is a bit slow, but interesting nonetheless. You also get to see a curious variety of characters with plenty of layers to keep you entertained, main character included.
I actually read the summary in Michael's page, so I kind of spoiled myself about half the book, so there were things that I'd have found more exciting if I hadn't read it beforehand, and that affects my overall score for the book. For some reason I spent about half the book believing there was going to be some supernatural element to the book, but that was me being misguided by the summary of this book and the sequel, which I haven't read yet. It is historical and realistic, without any added element of magic. Meaning, the beast of a title is a real one.
It was good, a bit slow (which isn't bad), with good character development and a good plot, but I lost a lot of excitement by knowing what was going to happen. If you want to read it, Michael Jensen sends this book to you by subscribing to his newsletter (that's how I got mine). Just be wary of the summary in the page!
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