I enjoy how De la Rosa gives her characters depth, realistic flaws, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles to overcome. I like how she challenges societal norms for the time in which she writes. And I love how she draws me into a story and into her characters' hearts and minds.

Though Flora (a/k/a William) is the daughter of a duke, growing up in Scotland she was allowed to indulge her life's passion training horses and pretty much running her father's estate. But when she arrived in London with her siblings, that all changed and she was forced to give up the work that gives her purpose...that feeds her soul. I understood what drove her to disguise herself and seek employment with the man acknowledged to be the best horse trainer in England and I cheered her on as she did so. But I also appreciated the fact that she is not without flaws. I enjoyed her growth throughout the book and the (sometimes painful) lessons she learns.

I also liked Christian even though at times I wanted to whack him upside the head. He's an autocratic male who thinks he knows best but he's also desperate to save his family's estate, while at the same time dealing with a fair share of grief and guilt over the events that have led him to this point. I liked the friendship that develops between him and Flora, the sizzling chemistry, and the mutual respect. I enjoyed watching them work together to train Asad. But I also understood the changes to those opinions and actions once William became Flora - even if I didn't much like them. The author has kept him authentic to the time in which he lives while also allowing him the room to evolve and change some of those opinions over the course of the story. I enjoyed his growth and turned the final page confident in his and Flora's happy future.

De la Rosa has also surrounded our hero and heroine with an intriguing cast of secondary characters, both two and four-legged. I especially enjoyed Mr. Mubarek, the head trainer who came from Egypt with Asad, a canny elderly duchess, and both Christian's and Flora's brothers. I'm hoping we might see more of both Cedric and Niall in future books. As for those four-legged characters... The vast majority of this novel takes place in and around the stables on Christian's estate which adds another interesting layer to the book. I fell in love with Asad and his stable-mates right along with Christian and Flora. They are each lovingly, and realistically, depicted and I enjoyed getting to know each of their unique personalities.

While this is the third book in a series, it stands well on its own.

*ARC received. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

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 Ms. De la Rosa and I loved it. I enjoyed Ms. De la Rosa’s style of writing and look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Lady Flora Campbell is the daughter of a Duke. She dreams to have her own estate one day to breed and train racehorses. So she decides to disguise herself as a man to work at Amstead Gardens to gain as much knowledge from the trainers there. She has a lot at stake if she’s found out, her future, her family’s reputation, and Amstead Gardens' future.

Christian Andrews the Marquess of Amstead has the future of Amstead Gardens weighing heavily on his mind. After a fire destroyed the barn and killed his father, Christian longs to bring back the glory to Amstead Gardens. With the estate heavily in debt, he can’t afford to lose.

What a wonderful and extremely well-written story! I loved the unique setting and that the majority of the story is focused around Christian & Flora training horses. The fact that Flora is disguised for the first part of the book without Christian knowing she’s a woman was interesting and allowed these two characters to get to know each other on a different level. Christian respected Flora’s knowledge and her capabilities when she was disguised as William. As for Flora, from the very first time she meets Christian, she’s extremely attracted to him. More than any other man in her 4 years in London and it disturbs her. But she’s there to learn all she can about horse racing and so she’s determined to keep her wits about her.

I absolutely loved Christian. He’s holding on to a lot of guilt over his father and getting the Gardens back to winning is everything to him. I liked Flora and I understood her desire to follow her dreams. I did feel she overlooked at first just how much everyone would be impacted if she was found out. Although this couple had a few bumps at the end when everything was revealed, their HEA was well earned and I loved the ending.

With fabulous secondary characters that I wouldn’t mind reading about in the future, this was a great story from author Liana De la Rosa. I look forward to going back and reading the first two books in this series and would definitely recommend this book and author.

Off to a bit of a slow start, with a lot of exposition in dialogue, we are transported into a few months into the future after the first chapter.  Flora has successfully pulled off her conversion to a young man and obtained her dream job training horses and learning from the masters at Lord Amstead's stables.  We pick up when his lordship and Flora, disguised as a man named William Grant, meet.

Flora is an independent woman who has spent much of her life at the family home in Scotland working with the horses.  She is beautiful but ambitious, and would rather be a spinster than forced to marry and give up her dreams of raising champion race horses.  Flora is talented, having a gift for understanding horses and their needs and is a great fit for the team at Amstead's stables.

Trouble brews for her, however, when Lord Amstead finally arrives home with a house party in tow.  Flora is immediately attracted to the taciturn, handsome and often intense gentleman.

I found Amstead a bit tougher to pin down.  He was obviously driven to restore his family's former glory and fortune, but other than that he often seemed a bit two dimensional.  He also seemed confused about asserting his power...he would notice staff was slacking and internally grumble but not follow through.  This was a missed opportunity, in my opinion, to make him a stronger character and demonstrate his knowledge, skills and abilities.  It was hard to believe a man who had grown up dedicated to the stables would take a do nothing attitude towards some of his staff.

This is a novel that has a lot of talk about horses, horse training and horse racing.  I am not a horse person, so I did find myself skimming those bits.  But if you love horses, you are in for a treat.

Once Amstead discovers William is a woman, mutual attraction and interest begins to develop between the two to steamy conclusion.  There is some villainy, in the form of blackmail, thrown in to keep the suspense ramped up before climax and HEA conclusion.

This is third in a series but works well as a standalone title.

This is a sex positive book with heroine revealing early on that due to her determination not to marry she has had several discreet liaisons and is no longer a virgin.  I thought the chemistry between the two MCs was believable and De La Rosa kept the tension building throughout the first half of the book.

Overall, an enjoyable masquerading story with a new to me author that I will look out for in the future.  I recommend strongly for horse lovers, and also for readers who like a good masquerade historical romance.

Despite Liana De La Rosa being a new author for me and To Tame a Scandalous Lady being a book in the midst of the series, I enjoyed the story and the writing. I found the book interesting and smooth to read. I liked the main characters (mostly) and enjoyed the plot line.

Lady Flora Campbell is horse crazy… and I mean crazy. She loves them and wants to own her own farm one day. She has the capital (from her dowry) but wants to learn more, so she has a plan. A plan that can be dangerous, if she is discovered to herself or family. Flora wants to learn from the best and she decided that Christian Andrews, the Marquess of Amstead is the best.

Christian Andrews needs to make money and fast. When his father died, he was left holding the debts and the results of the devastating fire that took his father’s life. Christian has a fast horse and a new trainer and a new assistant trainer, who is interesting to him.

I found Christian Andrews a little overbearing at first, but loved the character Flora from the first. I did think that Flora’s bravery was remarkable and was concerned more than once for her choices. I do think the book’s name is a misnomer. (The title is almost as sexist as Christian.) He did not tame Flora, she taught him about life, love and treating people fairly. To Tame a Scandalous Lady by Liana De la Rosa was a good read.

What's a girl to do when she has a dream and can see an opportunity to achieve it? Why take advantage of it! Lady Flora was staying with her sister and after much discussion, they agree to her crazy scheme. At least it woud be if she were caught. Determined to work in the stables of The Marquess of Armstead, who had breed and raced some of the finest horseflesh around, Flora dressed as a lad and was able to slip in as an assistant trainer.
Flora does have a way with horses but unfortunately her disguise does not hold up too long before the Marquess, Christian realizes he is a she and the story takes off. I think one would have been very brave during this time to even attempt this escapade, but sometimes a dream just has to be followed.
Christian is still reeling from the death of his father, even though two years ago, and the rebuilding of the stable that had burned down.
I truly enjoyed this story and being centered around horses. If you have ever been around these amazing animals, you know how special they are and how they truly have their own personalities and calming spirits.
Be prepared to take a journey with Christian and Flora with several twist and turns that leads to a wonderful ending. Well done!

After a devastating fire took his father's life along with the lives of many of his prized racehorses, Christian Andrews, the Marquess of Amstead, is struggling to keep the family stud farm afloat and restore his family's legacy. He notices his new assistant trainer has an innate ability with horses, especially his prime colt. When he discovers his talented trainer is actually a woman, a very beautiful one in fact, he knows he should fire her to avoid potential scandal, but with an important stakes race in just a few weeks, he knows he should keep Flora in her place as trainer.

Duke's daughter Lady Flora Campbell chafes against society's strictures and her responsibilities as hostess for her brother Niall, a marquess with political ambitions. Flora longs to one day own her own stud farm, so when an opportunity arises to work for one of England's premiere horse trainers, Christian Andrews, she disguises herself as a man and takes advantage. Now if she can just keep her feelings for the marquess from developing and keep her true identity a secret, she might have a real chance at fulfilling her dreams.

But when the relationship between Flora and Christian becomes more personal than professional, they both find themselves in uncharted territory and unsure how to proceed. Flora fears Christian will send her away if he learns who her family actually is. Of course when the full truth eventually does come out Christian is appalled at his treatment of a lady and finds all his beliefs and prejudices he didn't even realize he had questioned. These two were perfect for each other, if a bit stubborn in realizing that for themselves. Christian was terribly arrogant and high-handed and Flora had some selfish and short-sighted tendencies, but those flaws are what made these characters real and relatable. The fact that they recognized and worked through them to meet each other halfway without compromising their dreams, but whilst being willing to admit to being wrong, is what made this story work for me. This was a rather modern take on the historical and I quite loved it.

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

Flora dreams of working with racehorses. She knows she wants to learn from the best, so she dress as a man and gets a job working for the Marquess of Amstead. Things are working out splendidly until the marquess learns that she is as woman.

Christian can't believe that the person who works so well with his horses is a woman. But with time running out before the big race, he has no choice but to keep her on. They become closer over their mutual love of horses and begin an affair.

But Christian soon learns that Flora is the daughter of a duke and the sister of one of his friends. Will Flora's dreams of working with horses come crashing down around her as well as losing the man she has fallen in love with?

I absolutely adored Christian and Flora's story! After Christian found out that Flora was a woman, I loved watching them get closer and falling in love. They were perfect for one another!

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. I have read the previous books but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so. Flora never had the dream to marry but did have one to work with race horses. Which leads her to go in disguised to work at the Amstead Gardens and their racehorses. All is going good until Christian ask that "he" work with one of the horses with him. Of course it doesn't take long for her cover to be blown by Christian. But Christian has a big race coming up that can help him get everything out of debit but it would be a scandal if found out.
Enjoyed their story.

In the wake of a fire that decimates his racing stock, Christian Andrews, the Marquess of Amstead, struggles to keep his family's stud farm from slipping into ruin and painstakingly rebuilds the program.
Miserable under the weight of the ton’s expectations, headstrong Lady Flora Campbell laments her privileged life in London. Embracing her dream of working with racehorses, she disguises herself as a lad and slips away to learn as much as she can from England’s premiere expert, Christian Andrews.

This is another well written book by Liana De la Rosa. I haven't read many of her books but this may be the best one yet. The animal loving nature of both main characters drew me in.
I gave this book 4.25 of 5.0 stars for story line and characterization.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I did admire Lady Flora, in that she didn’t want the fact that she was a female to hold her back from the job that she wanted to do, that of training horses. When she disguises herself to obtain the post, she more than proved she was capable. Christian, Marquess of Armstead needs to acquire investors and to win the horse race to enable his enterprise to continue. This story moved along at quite a slow pace for over half the book. It was only once Christian realised William was Flora that it moved along at a good pace. The main action took place in the last quarter and there were some heartfelt moments that led to a very satisfying ending. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book caught my eye because, well…horses. Stories where the h/h are animal lovers are always an auto select for me. This one did not disappoint with strong and interesting characters and storyline.
Flora has always loved horses, working with and training horses. Given free rein by her father, she pretty much ran their stable. Her dream is to own her own stable and breed/train horses. When an opportunity arises for a position in the much vaunted Marquess of Amstead’s stable, well known as a horse trainer of repute, she is determined to take up that position even if it means disguising herself as male & the risk of a devastating scandal to her family should she be discovered.
Flora is quite a character. Quite unfazed by the hard (& dirty) work involved, she is quite the horse whisperer who understands & loves them. She has a rather emancipated outlook & longs to have the opportunity to do what she loves best.
Lovely story!

In the wake of a fire that decimates his racing stock, killed his father & destroyed the centuries old stables, Christian Andrews, the Marquis of Amstead, struggles to keep his family's stud farm from slipping into ruin and painstakingly starts to rebuild. He buys two young stallions but one is injured on the journey to England. On returning to his estate he notices his new assistant trainer has a special way with the horses. As talented as the trainer is, once he realizes he is a she he should sack her before scandal breaks. But it’s only weeks before the high stakes race he’s counting on to build back his fortune, and Flora should be by his side for the win. Miserable under the weight of the ton’s expectations, headstrong Lady Flora Campbell laments her privileged life in London. Embracing her dream of working with racehorses, she disguises herself as a lad and slips away to learn as much as she can from England’s premiere expert, Christian Andrews, never thinking of the scandal she courts but the glory to be had.
A very well written book with lots about horses. The characters had plenty of depth & the pace was very good. There was much I loved about the book but I also had reservations about some aspects. I liked Christian but felt he was always the one to compromise. I had mixed feelings about Flora, she was feisty, determined to the point of being almost blinkered to achieve what she wanted. She was a duke's daughter so some of her behaviour was beyond the pale & I found it hard to believe that she had acted this way on more than one occasion & not been dragged to the alter. So I found her to be self centred & too modern for the time setting. That said I did enjoy the book & look forward to more from the author
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

A Woman in a Man’s World.
Whilst the world has moved on since the Regency period, there are still some professions where a woman struggles for respect amongst the men around her. In a nutshell this is what the book is about, in order to get the position Flora disguises herself as a man but courts ruin if her secret is discovered. You do have to suspend disbelief in this book eg. I found it difficult to believe that her Duchess sister and spouse would have supported her in her subterfuge and think it would have worked better if her entire family had been in the dark about it. I was also surprised by Flora’s sexual history, as a Duke’s daughter with a healthy dowry, surely one of those men would have blackmailed her into marriage and how/why would she have taken such a risk, both in regard to reputation and pregnancy.
Please note a large chunk of this book is about the training of racehorses, rather than romance but the information was interestingly conveyed and the story was enjoyable.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lady Flora Campbell, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Kilmorow, is visiting with her sister Juliana, the Duchess of Ashwood and drops a bombshell – she wants to take a job as an assistant trainer at the renown horse farm Amstead Gardens and work under the Marquess of Amstead – one of the best trainers in England. Flora’s dream is not to marry and have children, but to run a successful horse farm. She is aware of the risks to not only her reputation, but her families, but for her, the benefit outweighs the risk. So she disguises herself as a man and takes a chance.

3 months later, Christian Andrews, Marquess of Amstead is finally back at Amstead Gardens and ready to dive into training his new stallion, Asad. After a devastating fire that killed his father, Christian learned the extended of his father’s debt. In an effort to raise funds, he is holding a house party to attracted investors, one of whom is a former lover, who wants to rekindle their affair. In an effort to escape her, Christian goes to the stables, hoping to find his trainer Baniti Mubarak and get caught up with the progress of Asad. In the stables he runs into the assistant trainer – William Grant and immediately thinks that he is very “pretty”, but Baniti has nothing but good things to say and once he sees Will with the horses, he knows "he" has a gift.

Flora is immediately attracted but needs to stay focused. They spend a lot of time together and it isn’t long before he discovers her secret and they become lovers. But Flora hasn’t shared all her secrets and when the truth is revealed, Christian is hurt and angry. But Flora will not give up her dream, not even for love.

I didn’t really care for this book, the writing was great, but the story itself didn’t really capture my attention, first, there is A LOT of horse training, in fact most of the book is about horses, which just aren’t my “thing”. I probably could have overlooked that, but I found myself really disliking Flora, I thought she was incredibly selfish and the fact that she acknowledges it at the end didn’t endear her to me, it just make me dislike her all the more. Yes, Christian made some stupid comments and decrees, but for the most part, I felt like he was the victim, but he had to do most of the compromising in the end and Flora basically got to call all the shots and got her way without having to give up anything, even though she was the cause of all the trouble. I read the two previous books in the series and loved them and while I find no fault in the writing, I just didn’t like Flora and the story was just not my cuppa. This is the third book in the series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. What a delightfully different tale. two strong willed people with the same passion. This is not your typical lord and lady. And the title is not quite right, she was NEVER tamed.

A superb piece of storytelling. Flora is a magnificent character. She is a Duke’s daughter who wants to train horses rather than prance around ballrooms. She has a sharp wit and a strong sense of purpose. She can be impetuous an has a stubborn streak a mile long. She is determined to set her own course and devises a plan to do just that. Christian is a Marquess trying to rebuild his legacy. He carries around a lot of guilt for what he has lost. He is solely focused on rebuilding his stable of horses until Flora burst into his life.

This is a story with very intense feelings. The characters are wonderful and it is obvious that the author spent a great deal of time developing them. The chemistry between the two oozes off the page and draws the reader into their world. No small detail is left to chance as Flora and Christian build a relationship and figure out what it costs to gain happiness.

Christian is a Marquess and owner of a horse training stud farm. Flora always wanted to train horses and someday open up her own horse training stud farm. To learn as much as she can she decides to dress as a man and go work at Amstead Gardens, Christian’s horse train stud farm. When Flora meets Christian for the first time, she is attracted to him, but because he thinks she is a man she puts her attraction on hold and earns his respect because of her knowledge and understanding of horses. Once Christian learns Flora is a woman, things heat up.
Liana De la Rosa is an excellent writer – she had me so into this book, I had to finish it in one day.

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

I really liked this book about a woman fighting to make her own place in the high society of England.

The book is about the youngest daughter of the duke of Lake Kilmorrow in Scotland, Lady Flora Campbell who decides to dress as a man to get a job as an assistant trainer of racehorses in Amstead Gardens. Despite that this scandal can ruin her reputation (which she doesn’t care about), her brother Lord Niall’s political career and reputation, her sister duchess Juliana and her husband the duke of Ashwood’s reputation and destroy Lord Christian, The marquess of Amstead and Amstead Gardens, if anyone figures out who William Grant really is.
She gets the job alongside an Egyptian trainer and they both have a difficult time being accepted and bullied by the other staff, because she is a pretty and small man and he is of another color skin and does not completely speak their language. Despite that they work well together and Lord Christian joins them and become very good friends with both of them. But when he finds out that she is a woman everything changes and thous begins the drama and scandals.

I love that Flora is this free spirited woman who does what she want and doesn’t let any man dictate what she is supposed to do and be like. She has decided she doesn’t want to get married, she doesn’t want children and that she doesn’t want to be fitted in by the norms of what a Lady is supposed to be. She is not a virgin and she is characterized as a great feminist of that age.
Now Lord Christian is a very typical Lord in his belief of what a Lady should be like, but he is also very forthcoming in his efforts to build up his racehorses and also on his views of the world and the different types of people and traditions there are. And as long as he gets the best trainers for his racehorses he doesn’t care if they are from another country or if they are male or female!

Unfortunately I thought the book was too long and that it dragged out a couple of places. And at one point in the ending it got too dramatic and they both acted stupid. But it was all resolved in the ending and had a great HEA.

I can definitely recommend this book.

I got this book from Entangled Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lady Flora Campbell chafes at the restrictions put on her sex by society. She only feels like her true self when she training and riding horses. She devices a plan to learn from the best horse trainer in England, Lord Amstead, but to gain a position she must disguise herself as a man. Christian, Marquess of Amstead is single-minded in his goal to rebuild his horse stud farm and he's impressed with the skill of his newest hire, assistant trainer William Grant. When Christian discovers Flora's deception, he's drawn to the young woman and doesn't dismiss her immediately. Knowing that they are flirting with dire consequences if anyone should find out about Flora, they are still unprepared when Flora's identity is found out. Can Christian convince Flora their only option is to marry?

This was a delightful story of two very different, but determined people. Ms. DeLaRosa teases out the personalities of the hero and heroine, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged in the story. Both Christian and Flora have an all consuming passion for horses, but Flora was risking everything with her deception. Instead of realizing that Flora would not want to be managed as a cosseted female, Christian demands that if they marry, she will not be mucking out stalls and involved in the horse training at Amstead Gardens. It was exactly the wrong thing to say. I was routing for these two to finally realize that they loved each other--everything about each other including their flaws.

The story moves along at a good pace and I was entranced to read about the antics of the horses. They made the book come alive. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I absolutely loved this book! Christian and Flora are so right for one another. I could not put this book down. When to book was over I was left wanting more. I cannot wait to see what Ms. De la Rosa writes next.