To Tame a Dangerous Lord

Courtship Wars #5

by Nicole Jordan

Seduction takes a delightful, daring twist as Nicole Jordan’s irresistibly sensual Courtship Wars series continues.

Dangerously sexy nobleman and former spymaster Rayne Kenyon, Earl of Haviland, has no interest in love. He merely desires an heir to carry on his title and therefore must have a wife. Rayne makes a surprising choice of brides by settling on the plain spinster daughter of a fellow spy who once saved his life. But the spirited and witty Madeline Ellis proves much more than Rayne bargained for.

Dazed by Rayne’s smoldering kisses, Madeline knows that she’s at last found love—with a man determined to avoid it. Once wedded, she decides to take fate into her own hands. Maybe, just maybe, she can kindle the fires in Rayne’s heart by turning her plain, ordinary self into a dazzling temptress. With a little help from the Loring sisters, the earl’s artless new wife becomes a beautiful, bold seductress in their marriage bed. But who could imagine that a simple marriage of convenience can suddenly be flooded with danger, desire, and unexpected love?

"One of my all time favorite writers, Nicole Jordan delivers romance like no one else. Captivating, enticing, and irresistible, her books are always on my must buy list."—New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Marriage Of Convenience, Regency Romance, Historical Fiction

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 29, 2009

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Nicole Jordan spins delightful tales that simmer with passion and sensuality. In her former life, Nicole grew up as an Army brat, moving frequently and attending high school in Germany. She later earned a civil engineering degree from Georgia Tech and spent eight years as a manufacturing manager making disposable diapers and toilet tissue! Currently Nicole lives in the Rocky Mountains of Utah with her real-life hero (her husband) and beloved kids (her horses).

With over two-dozen historical romances to her credit and four million books in print, set in numerous eras and locales, Nicole now enjoys chronicling the sparks that fly when Regency lovers play the matrimonial mating game.

One of her novels had the dubious honor of being humorously spotlighted by Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show." On a more serious note, Nicole's romances regularly appear on numerous bestseller lists, including The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today, and have earned such honors as RITA finalist, RWA's Favorite Book of the Year, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Historical Romance, and the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence, presented by a group of over one hundred romance reviewers.

Reviews

[Verity · Rating 2 out of 5]

This 437-page book was the epitome of BDB (Blah – Dull - Boring). It’s so tame that the only danger was I almost snored as I examined the # of leftover pages during intervals. As a ‘former’ spy, Rayne’s skills were not shown to us, they’re told thru’ the narration. To relieve him of his ennui, he takes on 2 projects. 1 is to extricate his impulsive (meaning : dumb) cousin from his blackmailer by stealing the luv letters that his cousin stupidly wrote to a French ho. The 2nd endeavor is to expose a ring of assassins who are plotting to murder the Prince Regent. Pages & pages of interminable introspection (both H/H’s). We don’t get a glimpse of how he operates in foiling Prinny’s assassination attempt. All gets wrapped up in 1 page that he – a la Kevin Costner in ‘The Bodyguard’ – saves the royal Prince, who grins after escaping death by the skin of his teeth. Huh ? That’s it ? Madeleine gets a makeover help from the sistas who have no personalities. She learns some tricks from a seasoned courtesan on how to tantalize & seduce her distant hubby, yet we’re NOT really shown what they are (or maybe there’s some blink-and-you’ll-miss passages that I must've overlooked). I normally find having hanky panky in a carriage, on a chair / table / bathtub oh so sexy, but the ones written here were as passionate as replacing a flat tire on a rainy day. Is it too much coincidence that I read 2 books simultaneously featuring a conflict based on heroine’s savings-sucking younger bro’ ? For different reasons tho’. In this case, the hero projects his past doomed luv affair on his current marriage. When Madeleine refuses to confide in him, he jumps to all the wrong conclusions & thinks she’s playing him for a fool again, ‘cuz she asks suspicious questions ‘bout his safe, reads his list of candidates for a suitable bride, writes a mysterious letter to her supposedly lecherous stalker, goes MIA w/out prior notice & switches on her charms to win his luv etc. These are all considered recipe for deception, in Rayne’s book. Not to mention Rayne’s witchy bitchy snooty grandma who throughout the book is so horrid to plain Madeleine, yet turns a 180 on her @ the end, w/ a snap of Rayne’s finger. No groveling @ all from both Rayne & the ol’ hag & we’re supposed to believe all’s fine & dandy w/in the last 2 chapters ? Why the flippin hell did I waste my precious time on this drivel ? Declaration of luv is not equivalent to ‘forgive & forget’. Initially it had potentials, but just like letting an open bottle of apple cider sit for too long, once the bubbles are aired out, all U get is sugary water. I curse my OCD for picking it up & heroic of me to even finish it. No sparkling dialogues, no dwama, everything & everyone’s as exciting as a rock. Ugh, prolly the most dangerouzzzly bland Marriage of Benefits I’ve ever read in my misfortune. Lord save me from my ennui. No angst, no holy-$hit-that-boinking-scene-is-so-transfixing-I-gotta-read-it-again & the family dynamics were so… well, just so. Her transformation starts to bewitch him but I mentally kept wanting the book to be over for a slew of reasons mentioned above. I wish the book revealed more aspects of his espionage & why / how he fell in luv w/ his wife. Yeah he tells her all the reasons but they're not convincing, 'cuz he spends most of the book away from her. 1 of the most challenging books to read, that @ 1 point I had an uncharitable thought that the H/H should be arrested for sheer dullness =)~ I luv ‘plain Jane’ books but this 1 was OTT, the fact that she’s plain was bludgeoned to death. Gimme a break. I can appreciate her plainness w/out it being shoved up my nostrils over & over again. Thank gawd it’s a library copy. How ‘bout injecting more depth & romance into the characters’ luv story instead of emphasizing on repetitive description of heroine’s lack of appeal ? I don’t think I’ll pick up the rest of the series, she’s written better books than this tepid effort. ‘The former spy who shags her’ woulda been a more apt title.

[Desi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leído en Febrero 2012

[Kelly22 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.00 Stars – Historical Romance

To Tame A Dangerous Lord is the fifth installment of the series. It tells the story of an ex spy Rayne Kenyon, The Earl of Haviland, whose glimpse we saw in To Seduce A Bride, and Madeline Ellis.

Rayne knew Madeline’s father from his spy days, who once saved his life. Now, when he stumbles upon her out of happenstance, he finds her in dire situations and cannot seem to walk away from the orphan daughter of his once savior. Also, he admits he experiences an undeniable lust to Madeline from the moment he sees her.

Madeline on the other hand, cannot refuse the handsome stranger’s help to get in a fairer ground since now that her employer has passed away. She finds him to be domineering and someone who won’t take no for an answer when she decline’s his help. Rayne finds her forthright and free-spirited; after the end of his spy days he is frankly quite bored and discovers her as a stimulating challenge to him. He is in search for a bride and decides he has met his quest. But alas, though he is a man who believes in lust, he has no faith and has nothing to do with love. They marry eventually, when Madeline finally gets to recognize her husband’s view of love. Nevertheless, she decides to call upon her instinct which tells her that she can make her husband fall in love with her.

This is a well-written, sweet and sexy story with a lot of interesting witty banters. There is also a small suspense sub-plot hanging at the back of the main story. It has sufficient sensual tensions between the two characters and is indeed quite a steamy read.

The next book To Desire a Wicked Duke tells the story of the much talked about throughout the series Tess Blanchard.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Jordan, but the heroine needed a stronger spine. Yes, I enjoyed the hot sex and the grandmother was spiteful. Actually she changed her tune a little too quick, but she was a good conflict, unlike the eeeevil woman. Please, the evil woman really didn't do anything terribly bad to Rayne. As for Madeline paying for the sins of the former lover, I agree, she should have hit Rayne at some point.

[L8blmr · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were good moments in this story, but I found myself skimming the pages in between those moments. There was potential in this tale of a nobleman's rather hasty marriage of convenience to a "plain" spinster because of his need for a brood mare wife to appease his crochety grandmother who seemingly holds the purse strings. In this case, the hero admiringly goes against type and does not choose the reigning beauty but someone who attracts him for other reasons. However, he later forgets all of that and becomes cold and suspicious and nearly loses her. Sadly, just another example of a book that could have been shortened by 100 pages or so if the couple merely had one good heart-to-heart, you know? Additionally, there was a rather insipid subplot which did not, in my opinion, add a thing to the story.

Still, Jordan is better than many writers in this genre and manages to make you like her characters in spite of their stupidity flaws, and the hero's groveling almost made up for my problems with the rest of the story.

[Letschat1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stars 3/4 (Kate Pearce, Maureen Driscoll, Elisa Braden)

Hey fellow readers I don’t summarize the books (as there are always great full summaries written that I read myself).

I only give it my personal, general, summary of 5 stars to 1 star.

3 stars: This book is worth a read but didn’t really have me excited about interacting with the book where I could not put it down. It lacks the excitement and well roundness of my personal markers for a great read throughout the book.

Development and interest in main characters, secondary characters, humorous, movement of the book, writing/conversation and romantic/sexual content (1-2 scenes or too much unnecessary).

Read it once and that is enough for me.

However, if this book is part of a series, I would read the next book (pervious book) in the series as it would still peek my reading interest.

I’ll continue reading from this author. I wouldn’t cross the author out of my potential reads in the future.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this one was much older, not creepy old, but older. It was just something about how he kissed her way too quickly, how she fell so quickly. It was old schoolish.

Riiight, so we have Madeleine who wants a new job.
Rayne who needs a bride so his gran can leave him al0ne.
They meet, soon they marry and she is all he is so awesome, but will never love me! But...he at least seems happy to do you every chance he gets.

There is some spying, some helping a friend, making new friends, a brother in trouble and of course the most important NO COMMUNICATION. Talk to each other people. TALK!!! That did get annoying.

But, it was more than ok. Not by much though, too old schoolish, way too much non communication. But still good.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

could have been better. the beginning was really entertaining but after the wedding the story was dragging along and couldn't really keep my interest. I'm not sure I want to read any more nicole Jordan books as this is already the third one that disappoints me.

[Daniela Cristóvão · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Estrelas!
Gostei tanto da Madeline!!! Que livro mais lido e fofo!!
Opinião completa em breve!

[Ângela angiesbookclub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rayne Kenyon, conde de Haviland, quando encontra Madeline Ellis numa situação complicada e após perceber que ela é filha de um antigo colega seu resolve ajudá-la. Para isso arranja-lhe um local para ficar e também trabalho, mas então percebe que ela pode ser a resposta para a perseguição da avó que o quer obrigar a casar. É então que Rayne propõe a Madeline um casamento de conveniência de onde ambos podem tirar proveito e também cultivarem o desejo que sentem um pelo outro.⁣
Já Madeline não parece muito convencida pois além de estar habituada a gerir a sua vida, quer para o seu futuro algo que Rayne não lhe pode dar: um casamento por amor.⁣
⁣
Gostei muito deste livro, a interação entre as personagens é fantástica e continuam a aparecer as personagens que nos cativaram nos livros anteriores.⁣
Este é o penúltimo livro da série, vamos ver como acaba!

[Lisa Pineo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fifth book in the Courtship Wars series wasn't quite as exciting to me as the previous books but still was a good read. We see Lord Haviland in previous books and I was looking forward to his own story but it wasn't quite as "black sheep" and interesting as I was hoping for. Madeline, the other main character, also didn't grab me as much as the Loring sisters from previous books in terms of personality and actions. While a fair amount happened, the pace seemed slower in the novel which might be why it didn't resonate as well with me. Still a quality read from Nicole Jordan.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuo a maravilhar-me com esta autora e com estes romances repletos de mistérios e de mal entendidos mas também com bastante erotismo.
Como sempre já temos um "cheirinho" do próximo livro que já lia se já tivesse saído!!!!
Gostei bastante!

[Ns · Rating 3 out of 5]

A matrimonial game that employs the rules of seduction begins in To Tame A Dangerous Lord, the latest novel in Nicole Jordan's Courtship Wars series.

Allure, intrigue, and mistrust is suspect in this novel, a departure from the more tame matrimonial games seen in previous novels of the series. Rayne Kenyon, Earl of Haviland, who acts the white knight, is handsome, seductive but has no interest in love, which makes him all the more irresistible. His only wish is for a marriage of convenience that will see him sire an heir. He meets his match, and matches wits with Madeline Ellis, whose keen intelligence, feisty nature and spirit makes up for a lack of conventional beauty. Although, it is not convenience she seeks in a husband, but his love.

Rayne and Madeline enter into a marriage of convenience that Madeline has no plan in following though. Utilizing her wits she has every seductive intent to lure open his heart and gain his love. In turn, as Rayne succumb to his wife's seduction he must resist giving his heart to her and leaving it vulnerable for heartbreak.

Even though prior to marrying her, he knew Madeline would not be a docile and meek bride, her sharp intellect and stubbornness is more than Rayne bargained for. A bargain he slowly but surely falls in love with, a sentiment Madeline also return. Madeline is a strong and likable heroine who is very suited to the chivalrous and protective Rayne. However, just like the characters have a tendency to exasperate one another, their un-wittiness when it comes to love at moments can be exasperating to the reader as well.

The character strengths we see in Madeline and Rayne at times are dimmed by their inability to communicate and trust each other. Misunderstandings are over-analyzed and actions regarded with doubts and suspicions, but rather than confront these issues, Madeline and Rayne resort to mind games. Though, once these obstacles are overcome the wit, humour and good-natured sparring between Madeline and Rayne make them an appealing pair once again.

[Oleta Blaylock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is finally Rayne Kenyon, the Earl of Haviland, story. He has finally found a bride and his family isn't happy about it. I love the Rayne takes a less than perfect lady as his wife. I know that he doesn't want to find a love match but he gets more than he bargained for with Madeline Ellis. I love that Rayne is so protective and caring. I also love that he stands up to his Grandmother when she starts to give Madeline a hard time about marrying Rayne. Rayne fights so hard to keep from falling in love with Madeline. He uses every tick that he knows to keep from falling for the alluring young woman that has taken over home. There are some rough patches throughout the story but they are not the overwhelming ones that so many stories of this genre have. Overall I was really happy with Rayne. In fact I wouldn't mind having him eating crackers in my bed.

Madeline is insecure and very lonely. She knows that she isn't a beauty but her so wants a family and a loving husband. Her parents were a loving couple and she wants the same. Madeline is also outspoken, courageous, loving and protective. She will do almost anything to protect those that she loves. I was glad that she found friends in Arabella, Roslyn, Fanny and Tess. I think that these ladies showed her that she was more than she ever thought. I was about ready to give Madeline’s brother a kick in the pants for giving her so many problems to deal with. I was also glad that Rayne was able to stop the despicable Baron Ackerby. The man needed to be horsewhipped for the way that he treated Madeline.

This is a fast read that I enjoyed very much. The characters are enjoyable, the settings very nice and a little mystery to add a little spice. There are also some mildly spicy sex scenes which are always a plus. This is a perfect example of what this genre should be.

[ChocoholicReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating- 3 Good but with issues
Heat- 3 several scenes
Trope- marriage of convenience, plain heroine becomes irresistible

Readers of this series have wanted Rayne to get his happy ending for a while. It was fun to see him choose someone so different than what his family expected. I also enjoyed watching Madeline exceed his expectations. However, I honestly couldn’t decide if I enjoyed watching him fall for the “plain” girl or if I was offended that it took her changing for him to see her as beautiful. His reactions to her changes in personality made no sense. Throughout the book, he becomes more and more suspicious of her because her changes made him think she had alternative motives, but in the end he tells her that her changes made him fall in love with her. How do you fall in love with someone for acting in a way you think is not genuine? How do you feel suspicion and love increasing at the same time, in the same moment? I’m also not a fan of conflict that could be resolved with a simple conversation. Yes, I know we need tension, but if that tension but could resolved with just a little bit of honesty, then it just feels contrived.

On another note, there was some continuity errors that bugged me. For example, we are told at one point that Anabelle and Marcus are away for his sister’s wedding, but in the previous book his sister was married while he was on his honeymoon.

[Sylvain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seduction takes a delightful, daring twist as Nicole Jordan’s irresistibly sensual Courtship Wars series continues. Dangerously sexy nobleman and former spymaster Rayne Kenyon, Earl of Haviland, has no interest in love. He merely desires an heir to carry on his title and therefore must have a wife. Rayne makes a surprising choice of brides by settling on the plain spinster daughter of a fellow spy who once saved his life. But the spirited and witty Madeline Ellis proves much more than Rayne bargained for.Dazed by Rayne’s smoldering kisses, Madeline knows that she’s at last found love—with a man determined to avoid it. Once wedded, she decides to take fate into her own hands. Maybe, just maybe, she can kindle the fires in Rayne’s heart by turning her plain, ordinary self into a dazzling temptress. With a little help from the Loring sisters, the earl’s artless new wife becomes a beautiful, bold seductress in their marriage bed. But who could imagine that a simple marriage of convenience can suddenly be flooded with danger, desire, and unexpected love? "One of my all time favorite writers, Nicole Jordan delivers romance like no one else. Captivating, enticing, and irresistible, her books are always on my must buy list."—New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon 

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun little diversion! You get to expect certain things from a trashy romance book, as it must have all the appropriate ingredients for it to fulfill its goals of hero and heroine ending up happily every after, which can make genre fiction a little tedious. But Nicole Jordan's book, the 5th in the series (I think i might go back and read the first three at some point), was fun! And I like how it mixed it up a little.

Madeline is a plain spinster (with a delicious figure, of course) who is almost penniless after her elderly companion has passed away. She encounters the dashing Lord Haviland, a spy who is immediately taken with her and needs to wed so he can produce an heir. Having been burned once before, he vows never to love again (gasp!) Well, you know how that goes. Fun characters, great love scenes, albeit a little too much heavy-handed "I've loved you since the moment i saw you!" dialogue near the end (oops, did i give it away??), but an enjoyable read.

[penelopewanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get back into this series, but once I did, I enjoyed it. Madeline makes a super heroine, even though the "I love him but can't let him know" theme is a bit worn at the edges.
One mega-gripe though... if the author wants to use a French expression, especially spoken by someone who is theoretically a native French speaker, it seems pretty simple to actually make sure the French is correct. I don't have the book in front of me right now, but it's pretty pathetic when you have the impression the author pulled a few words out of a dictionary and slides them in to prove how fluen a character is! True, French is a very obscure language spoken by hardly anyone, so who would notice, right? It does sort of spoil credibility, I must say.

[Lady Darcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rayne Kenyon was seriously born in the wrong era....For he has the heart of a knight! He can have any woman he wants yet he chooses Madeline Ellis, because 1. she is the daughter of the man who saved his life and 2. because she is witty and everything he wants in a women.
Most the of the time Rayne can be sweet and rakish but when he begins to believe that Madeline is hiding something he turns cold and distant. All Madeline wants is for him to love her. As dangerous things begin to unfold so do their love for each other.

I truely wish Rayne was a really person and that I was the one he would come save.

[Jess the Romanceaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read October 2010

I forgot how much I enjoyed this story. It's pretty standard historical fare -- intelligent, spinster heroine (who's pretty danged hot after a makeover), hero who's been hurt by love in the past and therefore refuses to love again, marriage of convenience where they both fall in love with the other but refuse to tell anyone for fear that it'll be used against them. Still, it was a very enjoyable read, with lots of lovely UST and steamy love scenes, and a sweet ending. 4 1/2 Stars :)

[LemontreeLime · Rating 2 out of 5]

i just couldn't finish it. When the duel scene happened right after the 'snidley whiplash stand in' appeared and threatened the 'perilous pauline stand in' over stolen jewels,and then the breakneck wedding to the black hat 'dudley do right' the master spy that EVERYONE seemed to know was a spy as the subject was discussed openly and constantly,i just couldn't read anymore. There were too many gonzo elements for me to enjoy, my suspension of disbelief was totally shot. Jordan should have just given in and made this into a steampunk time warp novel.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decided to read two different books by the same author but found I like the The Passion way better then I like this one. To Tame a Dangerous Lord is a great romance book and held my attention and did like the main character who had a lot of spunk and was very feisty. She gave the impression of being mild, meek and docile but once one got to know her story you realized why she acted the way she did. This was a decent read.
Read and finished this book in August of 2015.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madeline is so lucky! To be able to find love like she does in this book is incredible. Madeline is a self-sufficient and noble creature, I enjoyed getting to know her and her mysterious love Rayne. I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by Nicole Jordan if they can all make me feel as this one has.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This regency romance has a lot more graphic intimacy than the older Signet regency romances. No one would believe that I'm reading it for the plot. As story lines go, this one isn't too bad. My one nit-pick is that the hero describes Madeline as plain and mousy, and suddenly, she's beautiful? I'm not sure I buy that.

[Tasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this came from my recommendation list. Can't remember. Anyway, it was solid enough that I would pick up some of her others. I'm a sucker for historical romance. The history and difference between english and scot are so drastic I find both equally amusing and fascinating.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
This addition to the Courtship Wars series was pretty good. I liked Rayne and Madeline...Just not always together. Sounds weird, but sometimes their relationship seemed a bit forced hence the lower score.

[BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Together with the first one, this is the best of the six Courtship Wars novels, in my opinion (didn't read the last two in the right order). This one has hardly any of Fanny Irwin's 'advice' in it, which, to me, is one of the reasons it stands out it the series.

[Maureen Feeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is book 5 in the courtship war series.I enjoyed this but have to say preferred the earlier books from the series.
Looking forward to book 6 "To desire a wicked duke" Tess Blanchards story

[Danica Avet · Rating 3 out of 5]

The latest in the Courtship Wars series, To Tame a Dangerous Lord, was a good read.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical Romance set in England in 1817. A little intrigue and a little romance -- what could go wrong? Check out this book to find out!