I was so excited to read this story of Lady Flora Campbell disguising herself as an assistant trainer at the horse stables of Christian Andrews, the Marquess of Amstead, Right off the bat, seeing how both had such a love and knowledge of horses was heartwarming and had me rooting for the couple, especially Flora. Then, like in every story, the conflict hit and with it, what made me like the pairing of Flora and Christian. Flora did a complete 180 and suddenly cared more for getting everything the way she wanted rather than the livelihood her fellow employees and the horses that she claimed to care for. When her sister said this same exact thing I thought she would think about compromising but her pride prevented her from doing so. Christian caved and tried anything to appease her and eventually succeeded but at that point I had lost interest and doubted they wou!d make a good and equal partnership. So much potential that fizzled in the end.

A historical romance about a woman who genderbends to be a horse trainer sounds like it should be absolutely the most perfect book for me. Unfortunately, without a connection to the characters, romance novels fall flat. I would have DNFed this, except that I wanted to wait and see if the ship improved things, but by the time the ship actually took off, I was halfway through the book and it was too late for me to quit.

The concepts and ideas in this romance novel are good. The horse racing stuff is cool, as is the underlying feminism. Flora's confident in both her skills, her identity, and her sexuality in a way that's delightful. She's had multiple sexual partners, and she starts a casual sexual relationship with intention. She also never wants to have children. All of that is excellent, if only I'd felt anything more than boredom for the characters.

This is one of those books where the hero and heroine don't actually spend much time together, but the narration will comment on their banter and the many occasions they've spent together between the scenes on the page (where they only have a few meaningful scenes and pretty much never banter).

While I wouldn't say this book is bad, it's definitely not one that works for me as a reader. I'm unsure whether I would read more De la Rosa, as the book seems so much more plot- than character-focused, and I need romance to be the latter.

3,5 stars
To Tame a Scandalous Lady is the third book in the Once Upon a Scandal series. I read it as a stand-alone and I don’t think I missed anything. I haven’t read a lot of this author’s work, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The characters were interesting and easy to connect with. The storyline was great, and the book caught my attention right away.

Such an original story line; I loved this book and it was such a fun read. Lady Flora Campbell loves horses and longs to be able to take care of and ride when she wants to. She devises a plan to become William Grant, and gets a position at Amstead Gardens stables as an assistant trainer. Marquess of Amstead trains "him" as he is trying to restore the glory of the Gardens that was ravished by a fire. The sparks fly right from the beginning; and the absolutely loved how they worked through everything together. Such a great read!!

It's my second book by the author and I can say that i'm a big fan now.I loved this story as much as the first one.It's full of beautiful words with reliable characters and ,just like in real life, moments of happiness and moments of hearbreak, but, all together, are making this love story a book worth a place in my favourites shelf.

I absolutely ADORED this premise. A Lady disguises herself as a gent to take control of her destiny and throw off the ties society and her family use to keep her down? Sign me up!

There was a lot in this that worked for me. Animals can be hit or miss bur De la Rosa incorporated the horses in such a fun and natural way. I loved the secondary characters SO much, the casual ways in which characters spoke about big issues like gender identity, and the setting amidst horse racing. The book doesn’t hold back with Flora’s views on the world and I fucking loved it and her. She is, by far, one of the fiercest and favorite heroines I’ve read.

On the downside, the sex scenes were steamy BUT lacked foreplay. The development of Flora and Christian’s relationship felt rushed, as did their HEA. His views track for the time period but the conflict felt like a much bigger break than could be resolved in the short span it did. I really wanted more groveling!

I look forward to going back and reading the other books in this trilogy as well.

A copy of his book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way affected my view.

To Tame a Scandalous Lady follows Lady Flora Campbell, as she masquerades as the assistant trainer at the outstanding Amstead Gardens stables. Her entire life, she’s cared about horses, and knew that because of her position in society - being the daughter of a Duke and sister to a prominent Member of Parliament - she would never have an opportunity like this. Pretending to be William Grant, she’s loving interacting with the animals, especially thoroughbred Asad, and learning from the best under head trainer Baniti Mubarak, and Christian Andrews, the Marquess of Amstead. Christian is struggling to rebuild the Gardens into how it was in its heyday, before the devastating fire which left them in debt, and his father dead. Hosting a party to hopefully entice investors, he meets the new trainer, and when he realises that William is in fact Flora, that’s sparks are flying. The attraction between the two is undeniable, but both know that if word got out that one of the trainers was a woman, and even worse, a Lady, they’d all be ruined.

This book was a bit of an impulse request, but as soon as I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. Flora was an amazing character, who had always be put in a box that didn’t fit, and was finally feeling freedom when at the Gardens and with Christian, who seemed to respect and trust her. That more than anything really helped Flora to grow, as people were starting to see her as someone to be listened to when it came to horse training, and not just a lady to be admire for her position in society. She was a really caring person, and especially around the animals, which was wonderful to see. Christian needed someone like Flora to help him come to terms with the accident that caused the fire, and to support him through his endeavours in the stables. He fought their attraction at first, and we really see him struggle with reconciling the woman he loves with being in a position of some danger, when training flighty colts who want to bolt at anything. Both of the main characters grew as the story progressed, and their relationship was wonderful to read. Definitely a happy impulse request on my part!

Ahhhhhhh this was just such a wonderful book and I just thoroughly enjoyed myself. I didn’t want to put this book down. I just fell in love with this wonderful story and it’s wonderful characters. I will most definitely be reading more stories from this wonderful author.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book 3 in the once upon a scandal series. In this one we have Flora's and Christian's story. I have to say I think this one was my favorite. Flora decides she wants to learn from the best to be a great horse trainer. Christian is trying to save his estates by continuing a legacy of horse training. I liked how they came together and I loved the romance and story. Hope there is more in the series.

This is such a good read! I love the characters and the plot pace was just right. It had just the right amount of romance, adventure and wonderful dialogue.

To Tame a Scandalous Lady is the third book in author Liana De la Rosa’s “Once Upon a Scandal” series. This is the first book I’ve actually had the pleasure of reading from Leane De la Rosa and I absolutely enjoyed and devoured this book. She has an amazing style with impeccable cast of characters that I fell in love with. I thought the pacing was great and had me turning the pages for what is to come next. Lady Flora Campbell, the daughter of a Duke, dreams to one day breed and train racehorses In her own estate. To gain the knowledge and the know-how, she disguises herself as a man, William, to work at Amstead Gardens despite risking her own and family’s reputation and her own future. William and Christian develop a relationship unbeknownst to Christian that William was really Lady Flora. The attraction to Christian was unmistakable.

I loved this amazing story and will definitely be reading all the other books in this series. Leane De la Rosa has quickly become one of my favorites.

This was my first Liana De la Rosa book and I have already downloaded another!

This was such a fun and interesting read. Full of female empowerment, horses and brooding glances! If Lady Flora Campbell had it her way, she would be anything other than a duke’s daughter… too bad for her, that is exactly what she is with all the trappings.

Flora is not going to let pesky details, like her station in life or gender stop her from attaining her dreams… Flora dreams of becoming a well known racehorse training.

Unbeknounced to him, Christian Andrews, the Marquess of Amstead is the one man in England who can make Flora’s dreams come true. With a little deception and scandal they will work together to train the next Two Guinea winner… even if it means loosing their hearts!

To Tame a Scandalous Lady by Liana De la Rosa was released October 21st, 2019.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Entangled Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#ToTameAScandalousLady #LianaDelaRosa #NetGalley #pinkcowlandreads

To start, I have never read a book by this author or any in this series. It is a stand-alone book. I liked the characters and thought it was witty and well- written. There were parts I did not like in the writing as part of the plot such as the hero’s old fashioned values and the heroine’s careless ways. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

While part of a series this book can be read as a standalone. I have read one other in this series. Each book features a new couple with some minor overlap with other characters. 

I didn't like this book, but it is well written, and there will be a lot of people who will enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me.  I found our heroine to be completely selfish uncaring of who was hurt by her actions she acknowledges the risks but doesn't care that she could absolutely destroy people she cares about if its discovered she has been dressing as a man and working as a trainer.  The fact that our hero feels he has to apologise and win Flora back was too much. Christian suffered because of her and yet he is the one who has to go grovelling to her, it was ridiculous. Another issue i had was that Flora has had several lovers as an unmarried daughter of a Duke is also not fitting the period. I have no problem if a heroine in a historical setting is not a virgin but make it believable.  

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book, I was completely immersed within the tantalising and engaging story from the first page. Confession time; This is actually the first book I have read by Liana De La Rosa, I have no idea how this fine author has passed me by for so long especially as I do have one or two of her books on my bookshelf, waiting on that mountain of a tbr pile.
This is the third book in the Once Upon a Scandal series, not that you would know that as I read this as a stand-alone, I didn’t feel as though I missed out on anything from not reading the previous two. But judging by this, I will definitely be reading the other and more of Ms Rosa’s work.
From the blurb, I was wondering if I could like Flora, she did sound like a bit of a spoiled, privileged little madam whom I would struggle to like. Yet, from the very first page when we first meet Flora I instantly liked her, she is spirited, feisty, free-minded and more then willing to go out there and get what she wants, even if it does mean dressing as a boy and assuming an alias to achieve her dream. I really liked her forward-thinking and beyond her year’s vision, she is definitely living before her times, yes she did put her reputation and that of her families at stake to the waspish ton, but if you really deeply want something you have to go out and get it. I thoroughly loved getting to know her and watching her journey to happily ever after.
Flora doesn’t want to go down the stereotypical aristocratic lady’s route of husband and family, she wants to spread her wings and be independent. She has a dream of owning her very own estate where she can breed racehorses, in order to get what she wants, to gain the skills and experience she will need to make her dream come true, she decided to take a job at the legendary Amstead Gardens a family-owned stud farm – which is currently going through some difficulties – she goes in disguise, which she does in order to protect her own reputation and that of her family and of course to be able to gain the experience she will need for her own much sought after stables. Only her plan doesn’t exactly go how she thinks it will, as she is inexplicably drawn to the Marquess himself.
After a fire that destroys a barn and the death of his father, Christian; the Marquess of Armstead is having a very bad day, he wants nothing more than to put his family farm and estate back to how it used to be, he wants to his birthright to be returned to its crowning glory but with a huge debt hanging over his and the estates head he knows that he can’t put a single step out of place.
I love the relationship and the building chemistry between Christian and Flora, they both have so much to gain and yet so much to lose. The tension between the character is off the chart as they move so expertly from friends to something more. I love Liana’s De La Rosa’s writing style, it flows with ease as she takes the reader on a perfectly written and enchanting adventure, the plot is imaginative, original and rich with historical details which really grabs the readers attention.
A highly enjoyable, refreshing and clever romance, I will defiantly be reading more from this wonderful author, I was completely taken with her beautiful and enticing words, very highly recommended!

I really enjoyed To Tame a Scandalous Lady. The hero is all the things you expect of a passionate lord who loves his work. He’s dedicated, steadfast in his beliefs, a task master, but also respectful of his employees. He’s been rigid with his brother and harbors guilt about his father, adding stern and vulnerable to round out his character traits.

The heroine is beautiful, brave and honestly too forthright. Her forthrightness leads to rash choices that are the height of selfishness. She endangers so many peoples livelihoods that it boggles the mind. Along the way, people who are aware of her scheme caution her about what she risks to herself, her family and others and yet she continues the charade and mouths of to influential people, further endangering herself and others. She’s not mean or vindictive, but she is supremely selfish. While this is true, I also still really enjoyed the read, which is a testament to the author’s writing chops. It’s also true that the heroine had men, at every turn, trying to cosset her and run her life. She is talented and fully capable, so I fully understand her frustration. I just hate the way she went about it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

This is the first book that I have read from this author and I did enjoy it. The plot was a solid one. The characters were believable. I could picture the scenes of the book just like a movie. The author I felt did a great job of allowing me to "fill in the gaps" with my touches.

Flora Campbell LOVES horses especially racehorses. She want to own a small racehorse farm herself. To do this, she wants to learn from the best horse trainer in all of England. Marquess of Amstead. Christian struggles to rebuild Amstead Gardens to it former glory. The Gardens suffered a devastating loss when a fire claimed the life of the former Marquess, Christian's father, and several racehorses. After burying his father, Christian also learns that his home is also heavily in debt. Christian seeks investors at the same times as he trains Asad, an Egyptian racehorse with a large personality.

Flora disguises herself as a man (William) since no one would hire a woman. Her subterfuge works for the most part until, Christian sees "William" slowly evolves into a woman. The two become involved romantically as well as professionally now. All the while, "William" continues to work with the horses.

There were highs and lows (can't have a romance book without them). While I felt Flora was extremely selfish and demanded things to go her way, you can't help but understand where she is coming from. It is a historical romance and woman were treated completely different than we are now. I just wished that Flora was a little less selfish near the end, she did redeem herself somewhat.

I completely fell in love with Christian though. While he too was a little "old fashioned" in his ideals (remember this is a historical), he totally fell in love with Flora and was willing to do what he needed to do to extract himself from a situation he found himself in, at Flora's doing. He "manned" up.

This story was written in a dual POV format. This really helped me to identify with Flora. I really needed it here. She was a character that you either love or hate. But seeing into the character's thoughts and understanding her feelings really, especially near the end, made her so believable.

It really doesn't matter if I like the character as long as I enjoyed the story, which I did. There were some sexy scenes that may offend some but this is not erotica by any means. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 18. If you love a strong female, a drool-worthy male in a historical setting, then I would highly recommend this story.

What can I say? I like historical romances. So although I had not read anything from Liana De la Rosa yet, I wanted to give it a try. And well worth it! To Tame a Scandalous Lady is the third in the series Once Upon a Scandal, but can be read as a standalone. It tells the story of Flora, who decides to disguise herself as a lad to start working at the Armstead stables. She wants to learn from the famous Egyptian horse trainer, who has been hired there to train the racing horses of Armstead. As a girl, and a duchess, she is not allowed to do such things. And although she loves to help her brother with his campaign for running as MP, she wants to live her own life.
Christian Andrews became the marquess of Armstead far too early, when his father died in a fire in his beloved stables. Now, he feels the obligation to save Armstead by winning races with his horses. So, he hires a Egyptian trainer and a young assistant trainer. Although the boy looks very fragile, he is very good with soothing the horses and get them ready for the racetrack.
But when Christian finds out that William is not a lad, but actually a feisty woman, he is torn. Should he sack her for being a woman? Or should he keep her doing her wonderful job? And when he decides to keep her secet, he also starts to feel more for her. But although Christian found out her secret, he doesn't know she is actually a duchess... When someone finds out, both their reputations will be ruined.
A wonderful story of feisty women, family ties, guild and love. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Thank Entangled Publishing

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This book was received from the Author, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own


To Tame a Scandalous Lady by Liana De la Rosa is book Three in the Once Upon a Scandal Series. This is the story of Christian Andrews, the Marquess of Amstead and Lady Flora Campbell.


Lady Flora Campbell, is the youngest daughter of the duke of Lake Kilmorrow in Scotland, struggling within the bonds placed on the woman during this time period. High spirited Lady Flora is fighting to make her unconventional place in the high society of England. Bored with the traditional expectation placed on her, she flings caution aside and follows her heart’s desire.

Disguising herself as a man, to get a job as an assistant trainer of racehorses in one of the oldest and most storied stud farms in England, Amstead Gardens.
Knowledge that Amstead has acquired two stallions from a bloodline from Egypt, and has hired a trainer that has trained some of the best horses in the Orient. Flora’s desire to work alongside one of the best horse trainers, and acquire gain as much knowledge to further her dreams and own a stud farm of her own.


With everything at stake, her brother’s political career, her sisters place in society, and lets not forget her scandalous behavior will threaten her reputation along with The owner of Amstead Gardens, The Marquess Lord Christian.
Christian Andrews, the Marquess of Amstead, is struggling to keep the family stud farm afloat and restore his family's legacy. A devastating fire took his father's life along with the lives of many of his prized racehorses.


Liana De la Rosa, delivers a wonderful historical romance. Strong characters that I truly enjoyed.
The pace was brisk and vividly rendered. The subject matter held my attention, I was captivated by the descriptive details of horse training. These details add a rich texture to this historical romance, making the novel have more depth. The plot line was enjoyable and stimulating.
I absolutely loved our main character here, Flora and thought that she was an extremely well-written, realistic, driven.

DeLaRosa has a way of fleshing out the personalities of the hero and heroine, in this lovely book by keeping the reader thoroughly engaged in the storyline
The romance is tension filled and perfectly flows seamlessly from friends to lover troupe. Which happens to be one of my favorites.
Liana De la Rosa, is a talented author that has once again written a delightful, refreshing historical fiction.
A passionate read that keeps you interested all the way through. I highly recommend reading this along with the other books in the series.



#ToTameAScandalousLady #NetGalley
#histfic #victorian #amreadingromance #amreading #bookish #bookobsessed #romance #bookworm #booklove #reading #readerly #favouriteseries #fallreleases

Oh how I love finding new-to-me authors! Liana is one. I loved this book and will definitely be reading more of hers.
This story was full of wonderful characters that include a head strong Lady, sexy Marquess, intuitive horse trainer and a hilarious Duchess.
Flora was determined to learn all she could about horse training, even risking her reputation by dressing as a boy to do it. No one would allow a woman in the stables to work, let alone a Lady. Especially not one that is also a Duke’s daughter. Horses are her passion and it showed in how she dealt with them. From their care to riding you could feel the connection.
Christian is counting on Asad, his new race horse, to win. He needs the win to rebuild his family’s legacy that burnt and killed his father. He also needs to let go of his guilt for that horrible day.
You immediately felt the connection between the main characters. Their shared love for horses and their determination to not let anything stand in their way.
I loved the scenes with some of the side characters as well. My heart swelled and I laughed out loud throughout.
I received an advance readers copy from NetGalley for an honest review.