Review: Taming Her Forbidden Earl by Catherine Hemmerling

Taming Her Forbidden Earl
by Catherine Hemmerling
Series: Lady Lancaster Garden Society #1
Publisher: Entangled
Publication date: December 2, 2012
Genre: Adult Historical Romance
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon

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 love a deliciously good Regency romance, wrapped in mystery with lovable characters and a feisty heroine and Taming Her Forbidden Earl delivered just that and more. The first in the Lady Lancaster Garden Society series Hemmerling had me laughing, sighing and completely wrapped up in this fast paced tale.

The dowager Lady Lancaster has enlisted the help of several hand-selected young ladies of the ton to secretly help her solve mysteries, and rescue those less fortunate. The ladies meet under the guise of a Garden Society. It is all quite prim and proper to the unsuspecting ton.  Lady Hannah a member of the society is saved from dancing from a loathsome man, by William Bredon a dashingly handsome rogue, and the earl of Pembroke. She is drawn to him and immediately curious as to why he never wishes to wed.  When the Garden Society realize that Hannah’s younger brother and the younger brother of Bredon may be involved in some illegal smuggling the Lady Lancaster suggests that Lady Hannah enlist his help and the tale that unfolds was captivating, hilarious, deliciously romantic and filled with danger.

I love woman of the ton who go against the norm, have strong spirits and are intelligent. The Ladies of the Garden Society are all such woman and I cannot wait for all of their stories. This tale is for Hannah and I adored her. She is strong, confident, and assertive. I loved how William could turn her brain to mush and how her thoughts slipped from her tongue. William has spent his life protecting his mother and siblings. His father was abusive and he fears turning into him. Ah how I love flawed or damaged rogues and William was in a word – yummy. The banter and dance these two shared as the tale progressed was delightful and felt genuine. The dowager along with William and Hannah’s mothers were hilarious and I enjoyed this tread of the tale.

I love my romance wrapped in suspense, intrigue or a delightful mystery and this historical fiction really delivered. The author took an actual historical event and added details to create this tale. In the beginning of the book the author says something like the best tale has a grain of truth and I could not agree more. The entire plot felt very genuine and the characters believable.  From the first page the author had me engaged and I love when that happens.

I highly recommend Taming Her Forbidden Earl to fans of historical romance wrapped in suspense. A delightful start to a new series and one I cannot wait to continue.  No news on the next installment, but I will be stalking the publishers and author’s sites for details.

I want to thank Entangled Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Four cups of French roast out of five