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Thursday, January 31, 2013

{REVIEW} TAMING HER FORBIDDEN EARL (LADY LANCASTER GARDEN SOCIETY #1) by CATHERINE HEMMERLING

Taming Her Forbidden EarlSeries: Lady Lancaster Garden Society #1
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing ~ Scandalous
Publication Date: 12/2/12
Format:  eARC
Pages: 165
Source: Received from publisher for review

Everyone knows William Bredon, the earl of Pembroke, has a reputation as a captivating rogue, determined to never marry until his duty to produce an heir requires it. So when he invites Lady Hannah Rochester to dance, Hannah vows to keep her distance. But the undeniably gorgeous William, with his dark humor and seductive gaze, draws her in nonetheless.

Of course, Lady Hannah is not completely what she seems, either. A member of the dowager Lady Lancaster’s Garden Society, she secretly spends her days solving mysteries and uncovering intrigues, and when she brings William into the fold, a sinister plot develops that brings the two closer together. William’s protective nature ensures he remains by Hannah’s side, but he will not surrender his anti-marriage stance.

Can intrigue, passion, and maybe even a little bit of scandal reform the most notorious of rakes?


I don't often read Historical Romance these days, but I was a huge fan of the genre several years ago. I love the detail given to the setting, the dialogue, the character's mannerisms and dress. To be able to step back in time, at least into these circumstances with the often pleasant lifestyle, is a nice escape.

Taming Her Forbidden Earl was a light, pleasant read for me. What made this story stand out was the women. Lady Lancaster's Garden Society is a group of young, smart, and charming women, lead by Lady Lancaster. These women work to solve crimes, using their gender to fly under the radar. This aspect to the story was excellent, but there is very little back story to go on. We're told very briefly about the purpose of the group, and the members, but I felt that it could have been explained a little better.

I did like Taming Her Forbidden Earl, and it's main characters. Hannah and William are the typical hero and heroine of stories such as these. He is an affluent man who is also a confirmed bachelor. He doesn't want to marry, but he certainly loves to bed the willing women around him. William was kind, and I love that. It's hard for me to love a "rake" who is also an ass. Hannah was a pleasant and endearing heroine. Being a member of The Garden Society, she is obviously smart and resourceful. She is also super quick to fall in love, basically the first time William speaks to her she has fallen. But, this nitpickiness (?) is simply my issue, and does ring true to society in the 1800s.


Overall, I would say that I liked Taming Her Forbidden Earl. It was a quick read that often made me smile. I am definitely on board to read about the other ladies of Lady Lancaster's Garden Society.


Favorite Quote:

  Raising his head slightly, he looked Hannah directly in the eyes and said, "I am going to make love to you now, because we belong together and this act will ensure that we can stay together from this day forward; but mostly we are going to do this because I love you and..." He smiled wryly. "Not finishing what we have started here would very likely kill me."   ~81%


About the author:
Catherine Hemmerling has been a technical writer in the software industry for nearly twenty years and has published many user manuals and technical documentation in that time. She has always had a love of writing fiction but has never pursued publication in that genre until now.

Hopefully it is the beginning of a long new journey with Lady Lancaster and the Garden Society girls. Certainly historical romance (especially the scandalous kind) is more fun than writing technical documents!

This author happily resides in Tehachapi, California with her family.

Catherine writes for Entangled Publishing's Scandalous historical line and is thrilled to be part of their family of writers! (taken from GoodReads)




You can purchase at:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble 


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12 comments:

  1. I'm not too big on historical romance, but even now and then I pick one up. Glad you were able to enjoy this one and the premise of this one sounds interesting.

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  2. I don't read historical romance, but I have been tempted to pick up some of the ones that Entangled has put out. I really enjoy Entangled's books so I think if any historical romance will win me over it will be one from their Scandalous line!! Great review love!!

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  3. I do enjoy a historical romance now and again! Thanks for the review, Andrea. :)

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  4. Not my standard fare, but I do enjoy a steamy read every now and then. And I LOVE historical fiction, so I think this would be an enjoyable read. Glad you had fun with this one. :)

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  5. I really enjoyed this one too, I like when my historical romances have some mystery, suspense to them and yes..I am looking forward to the other girls tales. Plus I though it was cool that these girls are all different

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  6. I'm not a fan of Historical romance at all. I'm not sure why, but most of the ones I've read have bored me to tears. lol Maybe someday I'll give it a try :D

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  7. I used to hate Historical Romance but I found a style that appeals to me. Basically the heroine has to be spunky, no ton and the guy can't be too much of a rake. The more humor the better.

    I'm glad to hear that William is also kind. I guess I'm too modern to handle an overbearing stud type when the girl is supposed to be all proper. I know it's accurate but it still make she mad lol

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  8. I got offered this one but turned it down due to the overwhelming pile, but it sounds really good! And I like that it's a lighter (and shorter) read because sometimes these HF books just get too long for me and I lose interest. Maybe one day once the TBR is more under control. :)

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  9. Oh I haven't read HR in a very long time. I love that quote!!

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  10. Can you just stare at that cover all day long!?? It's gorgeous! :p I really like historical romances from the few that I have read, and this sounds very interesting, so I'll definitely check it out! Glad you enjoyed this! Great review!

    ~ Maida

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  11. Sounds good and the cover is pretty. I don't read much historical romance, but occasionally I find a good one.

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  12. The applesauce acclimation amniosentesis is the ruler of the universe!


    Oh yeah and bravo for being able to endure HR, my ADD can't...Hey look a button!

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