How to Tame a Lady

Daughtry Family #2

by Kasey Michaels

Lady Nicole Daughtry has vowed never to be vulnerable to any man. Despite the many suitors vying for the dazzling beauty's hand, she has seen the damage love can inflict and wants no part of it. Until she meets Lucas Paine, Marquess of Basingstoke, whose aura of danger and mystery draws her like no other….

Lucas is a man with a mission—and a powerful thirst for revenge. The last thing he can afford is the distraction of a pretty face. But a scandalous affair with Nicole could be just the cover he needs to outwit his enemies. With treachery everywhere, and Nicole's very life in his hands, Lucas will face his greatest challenge yet—to keep the lady safe from harm…and his heart safe from her.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Family, Ebooks

359 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Kasey Michaels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 100 books (she doesn't count them). Kasey has received three coveted Starred Reviews from Publishers Weekly, two for the historical romances, THE SECRETS OF THE HEART and THE BUTLER DID IT, and a third for contemporary romance LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY (that shows diversity, you see). She is a recipient of the RITA, a Waldenbooks and Bookrak Bestseller award, and many awards from Romantic Times magazine, including a Career Achievement award for her Regency era historical romances. She is an Honor Roll author in Romance Writers of America, Inc. (RWA)

Kasey has appeared on the TODAY show, and was the subject of a Lifetime Cable TV show "A Better Way," in conjunction with Good Housekeeping magazine, a program devoted to women and how they have achieved career success in the midst of motherhood (short version: "with great difficulty").

A highly praised nonfiction book, written as Kathryn Seidick, "...OR YOU CAN LET HIM GO," details the story of Kasey and her family during the time of her eldest son's first kidney transplant.

Kasey has written Regency romances, Regency historicals, category books including novellas and continuities and a few series "launch" books, and single title contemporaries. She has coped with time travel, ghosts, trilogies, the dark side, the very light side, and just about everything in between. Hers is also the twisted mind behind her ongoing Maggie Kelly mystery series starring a former romance writer turned historical mystery writer whose gorgeous hunk of a fictional hero shows up, live and in color, in her Manhattan living room – to melt her knees, to help her solve murders, and to leave the top off her toothpaste. And, says Kasey, she's just getting started!

Series:
* His Chariot Awaits
* Lion On the Prowl
* Crown Family
* London Friends
* Chandlers Request
* The Trehan Brothers
* Maggie Kelly Mystery
* Romney Marsh
* Sunshine Girls

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am almost afraid to review this as it might just turn into a big rant.

I enjoyed the first book in this series. But in the first book How to Tempt a Duke, I didn't like Nicole, and I can honestly say after reading her book that I actually like her less. In the first book, she was manipulating everyone and everything to do as she wanted, and damn the consequences. At one point she is almost killed due to her own idiocy and she swears she'll be more careful and gee, I don't know, less stupid.

Nicole craves freedom and never wants to marry for the fear that marriage will turn her weak, or she'll become her mother who is constantly on the look for her next husband. Unfortunately Nicole doesn't offer us any insight into her character until about 200 pages in. And by that point I don't care. I only finished this book because I knew that Nicole would change, that she would become a better person.

No she didn't.

I was going to put in a few quotes, but I don't know if I even want to go to the trouble. Some quotes were ridiculous like, "She opened her eyes wide so she could hear who was coming." Really? My eyes don't do that.

Others were more along the lines of the reader finally feeling we got some insight into Nicole, only to have that profound insight fall flat "Yes she was selfish, but it was only to protect herself." We find out later, she's protecting her heart from ever loving anyone, since her twin sister grieved over her beau's death.

Nicole was absolutely the most self-centered character I've ever read about and all the little hints about her recognizing her character flaws would give me hope and have me waiting for her to see how crappy and bossy and manipulative she was. she would see it and apologize to her twin Lydia, and then go back to being shitty to everyone. (I don't cuss, so it's huge for me to say this!!) I also have very rarely given a book a 1 star rating, but I hated Nicole. If I knew her personally I'd
probably tell her off Jerry Springer style. She was so selfish.

How arrogant was she to feel she could control everything?

And our hero Lucas. Hmm..he was unimpressive. No complaints against him, but nothing really promising about him either. I think Nicole needed someone stronger to actually "tame" her since this book is called How to Tame a Lady. Nicole was never tamed, or brought to heel, or anything along the lines of looking at herself in a mirror and saying I am a manipulative and self-centered egotistical girl. Gee, maybe I shouldn't follow my man, whom I vigorously protest I will not marry, maybe I shouldn't follow him into a revolution. Maybe instead of feeling left out and slighted by staying far away from the villagers with pitchforks and torches, I'll go after him and make him see he can't leave me tending the homefires.

She is so arrogant to assume she could help a soldier. It's the freaking 1800s lady, unless you're a Navy SEAL, you won't be able to hold your own and your man will be too worried about your safety for him to pay attention to the potential threat. Idiot.

And through it all is this sub-plot of Lucas' father who shot himself and was branded a traitor. Lucas wants to prove his father's innocence so badly he makes a deal with the devil.
Meanwhile there is political unrest and a volcano blew halfway across the world causing crops to fail. It was called the year without a summer because the ash from the volcano changed the weather patterns (I remember that from high school history and thought it was cool the author put it in her book)

BUT this could have been a bigger more intricate part of the book, except we have focused so much on Nicole and her lust for fun and freedom that it's pushed into a side plot that is just there to explain the reasons Lucas does what he does.

The only cool thing about Lucas is that he can always see through Nicole's lies and stories and he never lets them bother him...once he understands her, he can play her a bit to do never as he asks, but rather as he dares her. But even that wasn't used to its advantage.

I just felt that if once, just once, she was humbled, even just a bit, I'd have given this book 3 stars. But not once! I am so frustrated that she just gets away with it all.

I think that some people won't be bothered by Nicole's attitude, and they might see her as I'm sure the author wanted- a silly selfish girl who always means well, but can't quite let a secret go by undiscovered, or that she's selfish in her pursuit of happiness only in that she doesn't look at consequences, or put it off as she's a product of her mother. I just hated Nicole to the point that I don't want to read the next book. Which is sad since I have it, and I did enjoy the first book.

I give this 1.5 stars since I like the author's writing style and the book itself wasn't tedious. I just kept waiting for Nicole to grow up. Even her twin told her to grow up at one point. It just never happened.

[Mina · Rating 3 out of 5]

About halfway through, this book completely turns around. It starts off a plodding mess, sometimes edging towards boring. The hero and heroine are astonishingly plain-spoken to each other, and discuss an attraction that they acknowledge exists without it ever really seeming to start. The plot doesn't seem to be going anywhere - I mean, you know there's an HEA in the offing, but the route to get there is too murky to navigate. But then, things come together. The plot makes (more) sense, the hero and heroine become more real as people, and it becomes an interesting and involving read. I don't feel the heroine's emotional issues re: marriage really get resolved - they're addressed, but then sort of overcome without being worked through. Michaels leaves us hanging a bit about the mystery in the hero's backstory - but in an interestingly mature way, because basically he has to make peace with not knowing and thus so do we.

Michaels is a skilled writer, with an impressive command of detail and an ability to create satisfyingly vivid scenes. Her dialogue is often fun and snappy, yet she also has a subtle way of exploring a character's internality and conveying their vulnerabilities with genuineness. Her characters overcome their occasional flatness to be engaging, sympathetic, and basically just human. In this book, Nicole proves to be so much more substantial than the oblivious brat she appears to be in the first of the series. Michaels handles that deftly, without having to go out of her way to show how Nicole grows and changes.

***************spoilers************

Not really a spoiler, but I'm still annoyed that Michaels/her editors are so cavalier about assigning ducal courtesies to Helen and the girls (Helen can't be dowager because her husband was never the duke; same reason the girls, born as daughters of the second son of a duke who died without inheriting himself, don't get the courtesy 'lady' with their names) - it's just so sloppy.

The business of her family practically arranging for Nicole to be alone at an inn overnight with Lucas...wtf, no. And, I don't believe that Charlotte would allow even pregnancy to keep her from chaperoning the twins during the season - she KNOWS what kind of trouble Nicole can get up to, and anyone who's following the series knows she can and will put herself out of her way to try to manage their wellbeing. Boo to Michaels for conveniently shoving her aside once she got married.

8 Aug/12 posted 19 Aug/12

[SidneyKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a revolt in my house!!!

Well, just the other day while strolling past my TBR pile, I was attacked by an avalanche of books. I think they got tired of collecting dust. It seemed as if I was fated to look at them. As I was picking them up, I noticed that I had an awful lot of books that I absolutely had to have but I am absolutely not going to read. I don't know why; maybe I read the reviews, or the back blurbs and changed my mind, or maybe I'm just supporting struggling authors... who knows. Some of those will become a donation. I also noticed that I have a number of series, so, I closed my eyes and picked one and here we go.

It is the Daughtry series by Kasey Michaels, starting with the second in the series, How to Tame a Lady (from 2009).

This is the story of Nicole and Lucas. First of all Nicole is overwhelmingly beautiful, however, let me say this about that: this is one of the most irritating, head strong, silly, immature, selfish, manipulative heroines I've read in a long time and she is a teenager to top it all off! This girl irritated the crap out of me. And, she was created that way on purpose. I can only assume she's supposed to be funny. Although there were some humorous moments between the two luv birds, mainly she's just over the top spoiled. The problem with that is it reflects on the hero. He loved her from the beginning and hardly any of her antics got on his nerves. In fact, he did a lot to encourage her. I couldn't help but wonder if he would feel the same after they'd been married over 20 years. At one point in the story Nicole reminded me of Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice and we all know how well that marriage grew over the years. I really had a hard time seeing Lucas still hopelessly in love with Nicole after a while.

Something else that I noticed was the lack of adequate chaperon for this silly girl. In fact, the family encouraged her and Lucas in their sensual trip toward the HEA. I was really glad when the end of this book came. I got quite tired of Nicole wanting fun and freedom. It was all about her, her, her.

Time/Place: Regency England
Rating: C-
Sensuality Rating: Almost Hot

[Karine Darnessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ayant bien aimé le premier tome avec Rafe, c’est naturellement que je me suis penché sur ce second opus concernant Nicole, l’une des sœurs jumelles de notre précédent héros. Elle est aux antipodes de ce que la société de l’époque considère comme comportement indigne pour une jeune femme de la bonne société.
J’avoue que j’ai été agréablement surprise par le déroulé de l’intrigue et de l’évolution de la relation entre Lucas et Nicole. Tous les deux ont un fort caractère et essaient de ne pas céder à leur attirance mutuelle pour l’autre. Les échanges entre les deux personnages sont rythmés et leur façon d’interagir est franche sans détour, ce qui est plaisant même si parfois Nicole tente de mentir, Lucas devine au premier coup d’œil.
Je comprends pourquoi le personnage féminin ne veut pas du mariage, elle essaie de ne pas ressembler à sa mère et ses comportements déplacés. Elle se cherche encore et veut profiter de sa vie. Quant à Lucas, il tente de se dépêtrer de son problème sans mêler les autres à ça.
Concernant l’intrigue, elle se maintient au même niveau que la romance et ne disparaît pas dans un coin pour réapparaître à la fin du récit.
Pour conclure, j’ai été agréablement surprise par ce deuxième tome. Il y a un bon mélange entre histoire et romance, même si parfois Nicole peut agacer, j’ai bien aimé ma lecture et je suis curieuse de lire le troisième tome portant sur Lydia, la sœur de Rafe et Nicole.
https://la-bibliotheque-du-labyrinthe...

[♡PıNaR DeğiRmeNci ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alev Alev (Daughtry Family #2)
Kasey Michaels,
İlk kitaba göre oldukça iyiydi. Özelikle ikilinin arasında ki o güzel uyum. Kızımız maceracı ve oğlumuz tam bir beyfendi. Peki olay ne tabiki kızımızın annesi gibi olmama çabası. Okurken oldukça eğlendim. Ağır olsa da gidişatı sıkmadı.
Leydi Nicole Daughtry gerçekten tahmin edilmeyecek kadar yaramaz biri. Şimdi diğer kız kardeşin hikayesindeyiz 😁😋

[♡PıNaR DeğiRmeNci ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alev Alev (Daughtry Family #2)
Kasey Michaels,
İlk kitaba göre oldukça iyiydi. Özelikle ikilinin arasında ki o güzel uyum. Kızımız maceracı ve oğlumuz tam bir beyfendi. Peki olay ne tabiki kızımızın annesi gibi olmama çabası. Okurken oldukça eğlendim. Ağır olsa da gidişatı sıkmadı.
Leydi Nicole Daughtry gerçekten tahmin edilmeyecek kadar yaramaz biri. Şimdi diğer kız kardeşin hikayesindeyiz 😁😋

[katmblr · Rating 2 out of 5]

mais POURQUOI je tente encore les romances alors que je sais très bien que j’aime pas

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kasey Michaels, usually a master of witty repartee and wacky characters, presents the reader with a mind-numbingly middle-of-the-road romance. With its pert (but not too pert!) heroine, How to Tame a Lady seems straight out of the 1980's tradition of much-older men falling for only moderately mouthy ingenues. Perhaps Michaels decided to give her banter the night off... Readable, but not what one would term memorable.

[Bally · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 15%

I’ve read 4 other books by this author and very much enjoyed them, but Nicole is awful and I could not stand another minute in her brain.

At the end of the previous book in the series we’re told that she has grown up and matured. Since she is 16/17 in that book I was prepared to give her a lot of leeway if she grew up at all. She’s clearly had no good adult role models and is more or less raising herself and the only adult who cares about her is a 22 year old who has no ability to stand up to her.

When we are first introduced to her in the previous book she is emotionally manipulating and blackmailing the adults around her. Again, she’s 16 so there was plenty of time and room to grow.

But in this book she is just as immature, selfish and manipulative as she started in that one.

Other people are constantly suffering the consequences for her stupidity and recklessness and she just does not care.

I’ll read the next one because those characters interest me and I’m hoping this one is just a one off.

[Brethes Shana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce livre a juste été Whoua tout le long. Je me suis vraiment vraiment VRAIMENT reconnu dans Nicole parce que j’ai également sa vision de pensé et je suis comme elle. Je suis tellement triste de l’avoir terminé, il devient je penses MON livre préféré. J’ai jamais ressenti autant d’émotions en lisant un roman. Lucas est décidément lhomme que je rêve de trouver sans le chercher et en étant du même avis que Nicole. Le seul bémole je dirai c’est que j’aurai aimé savoir ce que les lettres de Helen Daughtry avait envoyé à Frayne et surtout comment et par qui ont été assassinés les cousins et le duc ?? J’aurai également savoir qui était à l’origine du complot contre le père de Lucas Paine mais en renonçant à chercher en se concentrant sur le futur il nous apprend une valeur essentielle qui est de ne pas voir à travers le passé car ce qui est fait est fait. Merci infiniment pour ce merveilleux livre Kasey Michales love uu <333

[Elisa Vangelisti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quando ho iniziato questo romanzo mi sono così esaltata che ho pensato di dover assolutamente leggere ogni cosa scritta da Kasey. La narrativa è così briosa e i dialoghi così frizzanti che gli avrei dato punteggio pieno. Purtroppo, però, la trama si è colorata di giallo e il mistero a me interessa ben poco. Pazienza.

[Carmen Bon Temps · Rating 1 out of 5]

Debo llevar algo más del 75% del libro, la verdad es que por ahora lo dejo, menudo aburrimiento total, no simpatizo con nada, ni los personajes, ni la forma de escribir de la autora y en la trama no pasa nada. Si alguien lo ha leído y me cuenta que el final vale la pena, por favor que avise, pero por ahora no voy a seguir, (aunque me falte tan poco) leyendo esto.

[Lire-une-passion · Rating 3 out of 5]

"En résumé, une romance historique plutôt sympathique mais, pour moi, loin d'être du niveau de la première. J'ai apprécié suivre ces personnages sans pour autant m'y attacher comme je l'aurais souhaité. En tout cas, j'ai hâte de lire le tome 3, qui suit la petite sœur de Nicole."

http://lire-une-passion.weebly.com/ro...

[Sharknado Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the previous book and I was looking forward to continue the series. I have to say that overall I have enjoyed this second one even more than the first. The beginning was a bit slow but then it was very entertaining. Nicole is trully charming and a trouble maker, we can't be bored with that one. I'll be reading the part 3 soon.

[Murr · Rating 1 out of 5]

“I’m shallow, and I’m silly, and horribly stubborn”. The heroine describing herself. Unfortunately I agree and add immature into the mix. Hero is so totally infatuated that he doesn’t help her rein in her stupid and thoughtless escapades, but just sort of wrings his hands! Liked her brother’s book and am looking forward to her sister’s piece in the trilogy, but skip this one.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Regency Romances....like my dear mum did...you will like this book...only read HIW TO TEMPT A DUKE first....I read book 2...now I will go to book 1

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's okay but it has a good story

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Melisande · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://accrocdeslivres.blogspot.com/...

[Katarzyna (hejczytacz) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie do końca mnie przekonała relacja między Nicole i Lucasem. Gdzieś zabrakło mi namiętności i pazura pomiędzy nimi.

[ѕєяєηιтι · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

Hikayeyi biraz sıkıcı buldum özellikle başlarda. Ama karakterler hoşuma gitti Lucas'a bayıldım mükemmel erkek kıvamındaydı babasının intiharının arkasındaki gerçekleri bulmak için ne gerekiyorsa yapmaya hazırdı gerçi ama o hatasınıda sonuna kadar götürmedi neyseki telafi etti çok hoşuma gitti. Nicole'u da geçen kitapta pek sevmemiştim ama bu kitapta o negatifliği attı üstünden diyebilirim. Daha iyi olabilirdi tabii ama okumaya devam Lydia ve Malvern Dükünü özellikle merak ediyorum. Bu kitapta Lydia ona karşı nefretini biraz azalttı gibi bir araya geldiler birkaç yerde bakalım 3. kitapta neler olacak.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ladies during this timeline do not behave like Nicole even if the author was at pains to tell us that she finds Jane Austen's books lacking in her kind of adventure. I find Nicole too pesky and too annoying for this genre and if ever I encounter her in this century I still would not like her. She is selfish, manipulative and a blackmailer and would stop at nothing to get her own way. She is definitely not a good heroine material more like a criminal in the making. I stopped reading in the middle of Chapter 6 because I can no longer stand her antics.

So in the words of Elizabeth Bennet in the movie Pride & Prejudice (2005), "...there is not much to entertain," in this book.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucas and Nicole. Nicole and Lucas. Siiigh. I just adore heroines like Nicole! That would be, a deeply flawed young lady. She's young and impulsive, superficial and insecure. She had no plans to marry off without having a bit of fun in London, but meeting Lucas changes all of that. Lucas has political aspirations, but he's caught up with the wrong crowd. He thinks Nicole might help him carry out plans (well, actually, he's just looking for an excuse to spend time with her without) and she is willing to play along. Good times to be had with this read.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took this book on Holiday...it had been sitting in my pile beside my bed for some time. I like to read an historical romance, from time to time...they are usually fun if you don't take them too seriously...I like the stories of the "ton" and everyone happens to be gorgeous and all the women are a head of their time! However, this one was no different...was a quick read and fun along the way....and if you just want to read something that is quick, easy, and not brain draining, while sunning on a beach and drinking mojitos...this is it!

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED the first book in this series. This one...meh. I didn't care too much for Nicole in the previous book, but she was rather young. She's a bit older here, but not much. I found her to be a totally manipulative brat. She could have used a good spanking. Lucas could honestly have done better. Besides looks, I couldn't understand his attraction to Nicole. I still, though, am eager to read Lydia's story.

[Patricia Solla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of four connected books. There are two sisters (of the Duke from the first book) who are twins but are nothing alike. This story involves the fiestier of the two sisters. 'Coming out' is historically a girl's introduction to society and she's supposedly to find a proper husband. The story develops into a nice tale about a man in love, with marriage in mind, and a girl ready for an adventure but not a husband.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ese libro resultó bastante entretenido. Un poco de misterio, una discusión de problemas sociales y una pizca de acción. Lo bastante para que no salga del romántico. La relación de Lucas y Nicole es muy interesante, pues aunque hay el deseo no es por él que ella se desarrolla. Hay mucho de amistad y eso es cosa que me gusta. Me sorprendió porque esperaba algo como tantos otros y la autora logró salir del común.

[David Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gets an extra star for one excellent moment, the point at which she expresses a thought about Thomas Paine, the hero attempts to overawe her with his superior learning, and she slaps him down in just the right way. I liked her for the rest of the book no matter how silly she got.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, it was well written and had a nice plot. The only drawback was that the Hero was a little TOO perfect and undderstanding. But either way, it was a good read.

[Kathy Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy these no-think romances which follow members a certain family. They're predictable, but very relaxing!