Scan barcode
algae429's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't finish this one. The back and forth between "THEY'RE SO AMAZING AND PERFECT" sex and then their daily interactions was too great and I found myself not enjoying the story.
zebac's review against another edition
1.0
Horrendous
Disliked the characters, the style and the plot made no sense. Wallpaper cookie cutter pap. Everything that brings historical romance into disrepute.
Disliked the characters, the style and the plot made no sense. Wallpaper cookie cutter pap. Everything that brings historical romance into disrepute.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
1.0
There is a difference between a book not working and a book not working, or is there? Well here the book was well written, it could have been really good, but I hated the characters and that ruined it all for me.
First we have Lord Ass Hero. Sure he fits his time and is perfect for that with his constant "Obey me! You are my wife." But I do not read romance for heroes that are correct for their time. I read it for romance and he did nothing romantic. He saw her and lusted for her. They were to be married 2 days later. He wants to tame her and then when he has her he wants her to be a bit willful. He knows he owns her, that she is his property, he is jealous and a dick.
Our Willful Heroine is willful at first, but then enters magic penis and that is long gone. Yes she hates him (but he sure is pretty!), and then he touches her and she forgets all about that and becomes a Sex Goddess. And every time they argue it ends with sex, he kisses her fiercely and she melts. She stops being willful and becomes a simpering mess. She also has a few TSTL moments.
Oh and I hate this trope: There is a secret, it could be freaking vital for the other person to know it. But the person knowing the secret does not tell it, here it is Ass Hero. He just tells her that she should obeyed him and do as he tells her.
So sadly this book did not work for me, and it was a shame cos it was good. I just could not stand the characters.
First we have Lord Ass Hero. Sure he fits his time and is perfect for that with his constant "Obey me! You are my wife." But I do not read romance for heroes that are correct for their time. I read it for romance and he did nothing romantic. He saw her and lusted for her. They were to be married 2 days later. He wants to tame her and then when he has her he wants her to be a bit willful. He knows he owns her, that she is his property, he is jealous and a dick.
Our Willful Heroine is willful at first, but then enters magic penis and that is long gone. Yes she hates him (but he sure is pretty!), and then he touches her and she forgets all about that and becomes a Sex Goddess. And every time they argue it ends with sex, he kisses her fiercely and she melts. She stops being willful and becomes a simpering mess. She also has a few TSTL moments.
Oh and I hate this trope: There is a secret, it could be freaking vital for the other person to know it. But the person knowing the secret does not tell it, here it is Ass Hero. He just tells her that she should obeyed him and do as he tells her.
So sadly this book did not work for me, and it was a shame cos it was good. I just could not stand the characters.
crankyfacedknitter's review against another edition
1.0
No.
(A word the Earl does not seem to know. Gross.)
(A word the Earl does not seem to know. Gross.)
planetarypan's review against another edition
3.0
I really want to give this book 3.5 stars. Attempting to bring Taming of the Shrew to the Regency era was an interesting concept, and I mostly liked the heroine. To be honest, though, I was unsure in the first several chapters if I would be able to tolerate the hero. I am not fond of the concept of "obey your husband in all things", but Anthony certainly tried to be. Caroline's naivete grated, and I dislike when couples refuse to communicate fully. So many problems could be solved by telling people what is going on rather than "protecting" another person. At the end of the novel, however, both characters had changed and matured enough to be believable in their love for each other. I'm not sure about the darker plot of the novel, yet. We'll see if it plays out in the next books.
buuboobaby's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
An unlikeable hero marred what would have been a fun read.
full review soon
An unlikeable hero marred what would have been a fun read.
full review soon
lisajo85's review against another edition
3.0
HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE, the first historical romance from Christy English, is a romance that you may not be able to fall in love with. Strong, stubborn characters and an overwhelming passion make for a romance that is nothing less than confusing.
Anthony Carrington, Earl of Ravensbrook, is looking for a wife. Not just any woman will do, she has to be gentle and obedient. When his friend Lord Montague begs him to consider his daughter Caroline, Anthony decides to make the young beauty his wife. Yet Caroline is the exact opposite of everything he expects. She wears breeches, she fights with swords, she is outspoken and worst of all, she is stubborn. When Anthony sets out to tame his willful wife, he finds himself facing the greatest battle of all.
This first novel in the Shakespeare In Love series is a new version of ‘The Taming of the Shrew.' While we do have two headstrong young lovers in the center of HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE, they mostly acted more foolish than romantic. Anthony was a constantly domineering husband, trying to treat Caroline as his property. For the time period, some readers would be extremely supportive of the novel's authenticity to Anthony's character. I felt he was a harsh character to accept and you have a hard time discovering his romantic side. You appreciate Caroline's uniqueness because of her strong fiery spirit, but there were times I found even her character frustrating. I don't know if most romance readers would agree, but when I pick up a historical romance, I am looking for the accuracy but at the same time I'm looking for something that makes it stand out among the rest. For me, that would have been showing a more gentle, romantic side to Anthony. I wanted him to be more understanding rather than an accurate representation for the males of that time period.
However, there were things I loved about HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE. Ms English has a strong feel of the historical period and an eloquent writing style. She writes with passion and relentless accuracy. When it came to the world building, it was everything I could want and then some. The details were there and Ms English executed great dialogue from her characters. She sets up an intriguing plot line and conflict among the characters. The villains in this story were predictable and nothing that should be too shocking to historical romance readers, but their place in the story added the right amount of conflict to the novel. It gave the story a great amount of drama that made the novel an exciting read.
What I feel went wrong is by focusing so much on the detail and physical intimacy, Ms English truly lost sight of two main characters. They argued ALL the time and every disagreement ended in sex. The first time or two was sexy, but the fifth or sixth time just became boring. Since they were either mad at each other or lusting after one another, you never truly came to know them as a couple learning more about each other. Because of this, I felt such detachment from their developing romance. It became such a problem I started skipping over the overwhelming amount of love scenes because I just didn't care. I was finding it hard to establish any connection to the characters as the story progressed.
All in all, HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE is quite a bumpy ride. While there are reasons to be enthusiastic about this novel, there are still various problems. The writing in itself was fantastic and the dialogue worked well in most places. Ms English does have a clear understanding for the time period, but the romance has more lust than love. The love scenes were scorching, but without the emotional development between the characters, it all fell somewhat flat. HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE is a decent, enjoyable read, but I would be more interested to see Ms. English's next attempt with different characters.
Lisa Jo @ The Romance Reviews
Anthony Carrington, Earl of Ravensbrook, is looking for a wife. Not just any woman will do, she has to be gentle and obedient. When his friend Lord Montague begs him to consider his daughter Caroline, Anthony decides to make the young beauty his wife. Yet Caroline is the exact opposite of everything he expects. She wears breeches, she fights with swords, she is outspoken and worst of all, she is stubborn. When Anthony sets out to tame his willful wife, he finds himself facing the greatest battle of all.
This first novel in the Shakespeare In Love series is a new version of ‘The Taming of the Shrew.' While we do have two headstrong young lovers in the center of HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE, they mostly acted more foolish than romantic. Anthony was a constantly domineering husband, trying to treat Caroline as his property. For the time period, some readers would be extremely supportive of the novel's authenticity to Anthony's character. I felt he was a harsh character to accept and you have a hard time discovering his romantic side. You appreciate Caroline's uniqueness because of her strong fiery spirit, but there were times I found even her character frustrating. I don't know if most romance readers would agree, but when I pick up a historical romance, I am looking for the accuracy but at the same time I'm looking for something that makes it stand out among the rest. For me, that would have been showing a more gentle, romantic side to Anthony. I wanted him to be more understanding rather than an accurate representation for the males of that time period.
However, there were things I loved about HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE. Ms English has a strong feel of the historical period and an eloquent writing style. She writes with passion and relentless accuracy. When it came to the world building, it was everything I could want and then some. The details were there and Ms English executed great dialogue from her characters. She sets up an intriguing plot line and conflict among the characters. The villains in this story were predictable and nothing that should be too shocking to historical romance readers, but their place in the story added the right amount of conflict to the novel. It gave the story a great amount of drama that made the novel an exciting read.
What I feel went wrong is by focusing so much on the detail and physical intimacy, Ms English truly lost sight of two main characters. They argued ALL the time and every disagreement ended in sex. The first time or two was sexy, but the fifth or sixth time just became boring. Since they were either mad at each other or lusting after one another, you never truly came to know them as a couple learning more about each other. Because of this, I felt such detachment from their developing romance. It became such a problem I started skipping over the overwhelming amount of love scenes because I just didn't care. I was finding it hard to establish any connection to the characters as the story progressed.
All in all, HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE is quite a bumpy ride. While there are reasons to be enthusiastic about this novel, there are still various problems. The writing in itself was fantastic and the dialogue worked well in most places. Ms English does have a clear understanding for the time period, but the romance has more lust than love. The love scenes were scorching, but without the emotional development between the characters, it all fell somewhat flat. HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE is a decent, enjoyable read, but I would be more interested to see Ms. English's next attempt with different characters.
Lisa Jo @ The Romance Reviews
librarydanielle's review against another edition
1.0
I should have known a book with a title this offensive would be terrible.
anthony, the "hero" is a jackass and quite a bastard. caroline, the "heroine" is a moron who let's him bully her. he uses sex as a weapon, she thinks it means he loves her. he also belittles her, treats her like a dog, and ignores her. so of course it means he loves her. in fact the only male non-servant who isn't treating her like a whore or a dog is the "villain" of the piece. and he's only a villain by proxy.
I want the hour I wasted reading this back.
anthony, the "hero" is a jackass and quite a bastard. caroline, the "heroine" is a moron who let's him bully her. he uses sex as a weapon, she thinks it means he loves her. he also belittles her, treats her like a dog, and ignores her. so of course it means he loves her. in fact the only male non-servant who isn't treating her like a whore or a dog is the "villain" of the piece. and he's only a villain by proxy.
I want the hour I wasted reading this back.
izziede's review against another edition
1.0
Clever but I don't like cheating and he has a mistress which he intends keeping after he marries and although it is revealed later he didn't touch her once he met his intended wife, his motive was different and he did visit his mistress and give her gifts. This put me off the story as I hate cheating.