Christy English

Any character, whether male or female, that is not afraid to be true themselves, deserves a thumbs up in my opinion. Mary Elizabeth has the heart of a fighter, the spirit of a wild child and the mouth of a sailor. She's as original as can be and I loved that about her. The push back between her and Harold made for entertaining dialogue and electric sex appeal. The fact that Ms. English dares to be different in her writing is just as appealing as the unique firecrackers in her stories.

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 show more 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. show less

Highlander Hellion's dilemma!

I have been waiting for Mary Elizabeth Waters' story ever since I first viewed her sword fighting in Hyde Park. Knife carrying, horse whisperer, marriage avoiding, feisty and endearing young Highlander woman that she is. Mary Elizabeth's main objective is to avoid marriage and flee back to her beloved highlands, despite the iron will of her demanding English mother.

Now is Mary Elizabeth's time. Mary had been sent by her mother (well exiled really) along with two show more of her brothers to England to marry. However she just kept getting into hot water. Not for nothing did the ton label her the Hellion of Hyde Park. Hellion! Highlander! Both of the aforementioned and a whole lot more. Mary Elizabeth is a gem, an original! I love her. When her mother sends her to a house party in Northumberland at the home of one of her oldest friends, with a view to marrying her friend's son, Harold Percy, Duke of Northumberland, Mary Elizabeth goes fully determined to pay no attention to the fat recluse Duke. And right there we have the hook on which swings all the following hilarity, comic relief, misunderstandings and intrigue.

When Mary mistakes the Duke for a stable hand, the commoner Harry, well things are gleefully set for a different time than the recluse Harold Percy had envisioned. He is looking to view the primed tepid misses who will be at the party with a view to finding a duchess he will rub well enough along with. All for the sake of his mother and his duty as the Duke. What he doesn't expect is a young woman who will challenge him at every step.

Funny, sweet and a little tear enduring moments ensue as Mary Elizabeth finds herself struggling with the schism between her heart's desires and her longings for her native Highlands.

A NetGalley ARC show less

Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew doesn't jibe particularly well with our modern sensibility. Bending a woman to a man's will because it is right and expected and the way of the world makes most readers bristle with antagonism and throw out words like mysogynistic, especially female readers. So it was a calculated risk for Christy English to take this somewhat out of favor play and rework it in an historical romance, a genre whose readers are overwhelmingly women. How to Tame a Willful show more Wife is very clearly a retelling though and is handled very interestingly.

The hidebound, stiff-rumped Anthony Carrington, Earl of Ravensbrook has promised his old friend Baron Montague that he will marry the Baron's daughter and only child, Caroline, and discharge the Baron's debts as a way of thanking the old battlefield friend who saved his life not once but twice. Caroline is very cognizant and accepting of her duty to marry well and to the man of her father's choosing. But aside from this, she is not exactly a typical lady of her time. Her father was gone for so much of her childhood that she was allowed to run free and act in ways that properly bred young ladies were not. She wears breeches, rides astride, speaks her mind, trains in military arts, and just generally isn't easily led.

Anthony is powerful, arrogant, and domineering. He expects absolute obedience out of his wife and intends to break Caroline of her unladylike, unacceptable behaviour, turning her into just another milque toast society matron. He is very much a man of his time and their marriage will be no partnership. He is the head of the family and the one who wears the pants (at least as far as he knows). But Caroline is not ready to cede her freedom and all decision making to Anthony no matter how incredibly gorgeous he is or how much he makes her burn physically. She goes toe to toe with him to maintain at least some of her control and to let him know that she won't be bulldozed but Anthony is rigidly unwilling to bend even though it is clear that his attraction to her includes her strength. Their different views of the way that their relationship will run leads them to major conflicts and to acting behind each others' backs which could cost them their love.

The sexual attraction between the characters is sizzling and constant which is definitely a plus in a romance. Caroline as a character is appealing in her drive to retain her individuality and ability to direct her own life. She makes the best of her new position as the Countess of Ravensbrook and provides a caring touch that has been missing from the estate and the tenants. Anthony is a far less appealing character in his role of the dominant, controlling, and suspicious husband. He is a complete despot and his change of heart in the end is a bit too abrupt to be believable. Still, this is a very interesting way to take a Regency-set historical and most likely far closer to the truth of the majority of marriages of the time than the usual romances. show less