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Brides of Mayfair #2

Taming the Bride

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The last thing Prudence Atwater wants is a husband, for her sole purpose in life is to run The Atwater Finishing School for Young Ladies. But her beloved institution is not just any finishing school, for secretly, her ambition is to rescue unfortunates from the streets, even if it means dressing up as a streetwalker herself in order to infiltrate their world. What she doesn’t count on one memorable night outside Drury Lane is to be propositioned by a devilishly handsome nobleman who leaves her breathless…

After a night at the theater, Lord Alfred Weston is surprised to find himself engaged in a most titillating conversation with a strangely intriguing and intelligent light-skirt. The moment ends in a heated kiss, followed by an inconvenient turn of events that leaves him desperate to track down the cheeky tart who caused him to wind up in the Times. Imagine his surprise when he discovers that by day, she is a bookish, innocent school-marm!

Like Prudence, Alfred has no interest in the shackles of marriage, but this strikingly beautiful and recklessly independent young woman arouses his passions—and his frustrations—at every turn. Alfred vows to have her in his bed, and to do that he must find a way to tame her.

221 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 12, 2016

320 people are currently reading
218 people want to read

About the author

Michelle McMaster

12 books110 followers
Michelle McMaster loves writing about dashing heroes and spunky heroines in her historical romances, and is known for humorous dialogue and memorable characters. Michelle holds a degree in English Literature from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia. She enjoys travelling, reading, quilting, and gardening. She lives on the east coast of Canada with her husband and their two dogs, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and a Border Collie mix. She also writes thriller novels under the pen name Avery Holt: http://www.AveryHolt.com

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5 stars
148 (37%)
4 stars
144 (36%)
3 stars
81 (20%)
2 stars
17 (4%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for Elaine.
4,452 reviews91 followers
February 1, 2019
An enjoyable and entertaining story. Loved most of the characters, especially Lord Alfred Weston, although I preferred book 1 in the series. I will carry on reading the whole series now.
4☆
Profile Image for Martha B..
835 reviews11 followers
March 14, 2021
They'll each learn what's really important in life.

Most historical romances only touch on prostitution as part of the story's backdrop. However, in Taming the Bride by Michelle McMaster prostitution is very much central to the plot. It is not now, nor has it ever been, a victim-less profession. Especially when greedy “owners” have so much money at stake.

This well written read was both entertaining and disturbing, and the interesting plot had a number of twists and turns. The author kept each scene moving the story forward, and the characters (both lead and supporting) were well developed and likable. That said, the hero did give me a few cringe-moments, but he continued to redeem himself as the story progressed towards a sweet and satisfying ending.

Content 411: This book contains a moderate amount of secular and religious swearing (no “f” words), as well as several descriptive sexually intimate scenes.
14 reviews
August 13, 2016
Somehow felt the book was all over the place. I thought that the heroine though "intelligent" was actually foolish and headstrong. I couldn't call the hero a hero.. He was initially cruel and then suddenly he became good.. Felt his services in the army were just added so that they could explain his agility in climbing pipes. The villain did not get what he deserved, even though his actions were described in great detail. I somehow felt he got out very easy. I felt that the author confused what bookish and intelligence were. Intelligence to me is when a person takes stalk of situations from all angles and comes up with a right action to mitigate it. The heroine in this case had knowledge about things but was not intelligent. She was foolish.
But the story had all the right ingredients and it could have been even more better if the hero was given more depth.
Profile Image for the red stockings.
79 reviews23 followers
May 24, 2016
DNF 10%
The premice looked promising .... I should have been wary with the book title although ... the male protagonist is throughly an ASSHOLE !
Profile Image for MooseGirl.
792 reviews4 followers
April 25, 2021
Prudence runs a finishing school for ladies. She dresses up like a prostitute to recruit women who want a better life. Alfred's encounter with her leaves him unconscious and naked.

I have to admit, I didn't like this much. We never really had an explanation of why Prudence felt it necessary to strip him after he'd been knocked unconscious (other than that it's convenient for the story). I just couldn't like Prudence or Alfred, and I never felt any real connection between them.

Sorry, but this book just didn't do it for me.
45 reviews
June 5, 2022
It was okay, but the plot seemed absurdly unlikely

About 2/3 through I suddenly realized that the vocabulary was maybe at an 8th grade level and the sentence structure became simpler. Something was missing in the depth of the characters, maybe too much talk or action and too little thought. I'm not quite sure. The writer seems talented, but maybe needed to work on this story a little more. Besides being a rake, I didn't learn much about the heros personality, just his history.
1,232 reviews3 followers
March 16, 2021
Always fun to read a creative and humorous version of a Regency romance and this one, with it's almost flippant style, fills the bill. Involves a very strong female character with certain goals in her life despite ignoring the dangers involved. Roguish Lord Alfred, at first, desiring to right a perceived wrong soon becomes enamored by Prudence who lives a dual life. Just an entertaining, fun and easy read for those who enjoy this genre.
61 reviews7 followers
March 17, 2021
Good

Nothing super great about it, but good enough for a fun light read. Normally I would rate 4 stars, because that’s what I wanted from it, but there’s something about this one that left me not 100% satisfied. IDK how to explain it, but there were just places where it felt like things were missing or something. Like time sped up randomly during the story.

Liked, but not worth rereading.
1,324 reviews2 followers
March 24, 2021
One determined lady

Great story, full of adventures and laughter. Prudence, was a daughter of a lady of the night, she walked the
Streets dressed as one herself, trying to rescue young girls, until one faithful night, she met lord Alfred, and both thier worlds were turned upside down, truths and secrets were revealed, and family, love and happiness were the end results.
Thank you ❤
Profile Image for Marie.
378 reviews7 followers
April 25, 2021
I loved this story! For a proper young woman to be dressing as a prostitute to try and talk true lightskirts into joining the finishing school and otherwise bettering themselves is an unusual premise, but these two characters really took it to the next level. Add some danger, rescues and near misses, the cook and the bodyguard... really well done. Definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys regency romances with a strong heroine and a dashing if rakish hero.
Profile Image for Courtney.
4,298 reviews
April 16, 2022
👏👏👏

This book was absolutely AH-MAZING! Typically, when I cannot put a book down, I get aggravated when I have to; however, as I waited to finish this book, I just became more and more hooked! Now, I don't normally recommend books from sites such as goodnovel, for I feel like an individual end up paying more in coins then the book is actually worth; BUT for this story and the way it draws you in, I will make an exception!! 😍😍
65 reviews
July 31, 2017
I liked it! That is despite the fact I thought Prudence was a bit spoiled and unreasonable and that Alfred was sort of disgusting for wanting to pick up a hooker (I know, I know the time period and all that but I can't get over my modern-day abhorence). The last star was left off mostly because I felt like the villain never got what he deserved and it was all tied up too quickly.

But despite all those glaring flaws, I enjoyed this book although the first in the series remains my favorite.
Profile Image for JackEllena.
430 reviews
March 27, 2021
A wonderful romantic historical novel!

I really enjoy stories like this one. Strong intelligent women with good humor make wonderful heroines. Strong men intelligent enough to realize how much such women are worth make the best hero’s. Together this book was fun to read, thank you, Jack.
77 reviews1 follower
April 16, 2021
Excellent

This is an excellent story, because it is not the norm. The heroin is proud, confident and strong. The hero is proud, confident and strong. The storyline and the characters were interesting and unpredictable. I recommend that anyone who like strong characters read this book.
Profile Image for Lucia Marano.
174 reviews4 followers
May 23, 2021
Truly Enjoyable

I love reading a story where the characters have such personality that it jumps from the page! I literally laughed out loud at some of the cute humor! It was somewhat steamy but not vulgar. I love erotica but because this was such an enjoyable read, it didn’t matter. I would definitely read more from this author!
63 reviews
June 11, 2021
I enjoyed reading Taming the Bride

It starts out slowly, but once you get though three or four chapters it starts getting interesting. Then you don't want to put it down, but keep reading.
There is a lot of good secondary characters. It has a good ending and an Epilogue. I am planning to read book one.
160 reviews
August 15, 2017
Another gem from a great author

I love historical romances however I like them to have an interesting storyline, characters with depth and sizzling romance. This book was no exception. Really enjoyable romance/thriller.
Profile Image for Eleni.
833 reviews5 followers
March 23, 2021
An entertaining read

An entertaining read though perhaps a bit preposterous, the characters were charming enough to keep me reading. Recommended for fans of the genre and the series.
98 reviews
April 20, 2021
Taming the bride

I chose my rating because this book was well written.. The story line was very good and plausible. I enjoyed all of the characters. I found no overly wordy parts in this book, and I do enjoy well written sexy scenes. Thank you!
Profile Image for Angela Harriman.
456 reviews1 follower
May 25, 2021
Very satisfying

Love this story. Characters are vibrant and alive. The setting and action are so realistic it's as good as being there. Even the mystery had me stumped for a while. Well written, nice flow and extremely satisfying ending.
302 reviews1 follower
April 28, 2024
This was a fun read. It was a mystery romance you could say. I found it hard to put down. I always wanted to know what was happening next. Anyways, I found it a great romance. Beware it is quite explicit.
Profile Image for Queen Talk Talk.
1,280 reviews3 followers
April 9, 2019
Some good quotes in this one.

I thought the plot a bit simplistic at first but it developed quite nicely. Interesting characters and some swoony kisses.
Profile Image for Nicole.
924 reviews15 followers
February 3, 2021
Delightful

A great light read and I enjoyed it from beginning to end.. Great storyline great characters loved the premise of the book.. I look forward to the next one..
600 reviews1 follower
May 20, 2022
Strong women

Make life hard sometimes for the men that love them. The characters were well developed and I especially enjoyed the family great aunt.

2,315 reviews11 followers
December 2, 2016
I loved this story so much.
Prudence is such a strong willed and lovable character and what she gets up to just lands her in trouble especially with Alfred who expects her to act very differently to the way she does.
Wonderful supporting characters in Dolly and Mungo, her faithful helpers and in Lady Weston, the aunt who brought Alfred and his brothers up.
Prudence and Alfred fall in love and share a few exciting adventures while their love for each other grows and grows.
The story is very easy to read and I loved the very amusing cat and mouse games between these two. Most enjoyable and a great read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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