Either with a real beast or with a person who fills that role in. Robin McKinley wrote two retellings, and of the two my favorite was the one where the beast stayed a beast in the end. I'd like to find more like that--either in the form of a retelling of the fairy tale or just a contemporary (or historical) romance with a vague beauty & the beast theme to it. Any ideas?

Not sure if these are what you are looking for but here are two that I loved that I think have that theme to them.

The Beauty and the Baron by Deborah Hale
The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux

My favorites are Night Magic by Charlotte Vale Allen (a badly disfigured hero) and Whispers In The Woods by Helen R. Myers (an actual beast).

No magical easy fix for either one which made the love more meaningful.

I love those Beauty and the Beast stories! My all-time favorite is Goddess of the Rose by PC Cast. It's absolutely romantic, and the hero is an actual beast.

I think Judith Ivory has one and I read one by Medeiros - Bride and Beast I think it's called.

How about Castle of the Wolf by Sandra Schwab and I recall a title called Veil of Midnight, but I don't remember the author. 

All About Romance has a category you can check out on this topic.

Wonderful! Thanks everyone! I have read Night Magic and loved that. I need to find it again.

Sherri, I will go look at All About Romance for more--thanks for that tip. :)

This is so fab! Thanks. :)

Sergeanne Golon's Angelique books - Joffrey de Peyrac is definitely 'beast' material. He was the first 'wounded' hero I'd ever read about and he was a wonderful man. I didn't read all of the books, kind of got tired of them after the first 4 or 5 so I don't know what happened to Angelique & Joffrey. I thought the first book was perfect in itself - the subsequent books never quite matched its quality.

Gail

Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey, classified as fantasy like McKinley's books, beast stays a beast, the first in her Elemental series.

(Allie, love the two McKinley books you mentioned, okay love McKinley's writing in general although I haven't kept up with anything since Sunshine, although I have Chalice on my TBR pile. Have you read Hero and the Crown and Blue Sword?)

I love Mercedes Lackey's The Fire Rose.  It is part of her Elemental series, retelling of fairy tales. 

More! Wow! :) I'm so glad I asked about this. I had no idea there were so many. Thanks everyone! I liked Mercedes Lackey's earlier books in the Valdemar series, but as the series went on I did not like it. I hope the Fire Rose is from earlier rather than later in her career.

I have read Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword. I loved those. I read them over 15 years ago, though. I should find them and read them again. I also loved Deerskin. I did not care for Chalice. The dragon book was okay. The title escapes me. Anyway, it was okay but it was not up Sunshine standards in my opinion.

Allie, Fire Rose is from earlier in Lackey's career relatively speaking, 1996 or so IIRC.

When you say "real beast" the first book that comes to my mind is Wolf Tales by Kate Douglas, this 3-story anthology is the first of several anthologies she has written about shape-shifters. We're talking real beasts, right?

If you're talking about men who look or behave beastly, I'd have to offer up "Lt. Kent: Lone Wolf" by Judith Lyons (Silhouette Special Edition #1398, May 2001). This is one of those really great books that has the bad fortune of being given a truly bad title and the stigma of being a category publication. The hero is so scarred and so bitter that he's become a total recluse. The heroine is so scarred, she won't let any man see her unclothed... These two fight/hide their attraction to one another but also try to hide from one another physically...

Then there is Calhoun by Diana Palmer. This is the first book labeled as a Long, Tall Texan story. It's a classic Silhouette Romance, just 192 pages. But it's all emotional angst and bitterness when a man who is coyote ugly fights his attraction to a much younger woman who adores him.

More beasts? I love, love, love Lora Leigh's Breeds series! Genetic mutations using human and predatory animal DNA combinations to create killing machines. Of course, the mad scientists never expected that human emotions and reasoning would prevail.

Colleen

I think the best one I've ever read is "Beast"www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780380786442-Beast+Avon+Romantic+Treasure by Judith Ivory.  It's historical, though not contemporary. 

That one by Judith Ivory has been mentioned a few times! I'll definitely have to read that one. :) And I'll give Fire Rose a try, since it is from earlier writing instead of the most recent stuff. :) Thanks. :)