Summoned by Angus, the Earl of Wolvesley to his castle, Morenna fears she will be imprisoned or burned at the stake for accusations of witchcraft. Angus needs her magic to tame a horse in a challenge by his betrothed. Attracted to Morwenna , Angus knows the difference in their station makes it impossible for her to be his wife, but that doesn't stop him from dreaming. Morenna can't stop her feelings for Angus and contemplates leaving, but her heart and a horse won't let her, until his betrothed arrives at Wolvesley. A lot of angst and many secrets.
Descriptive sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Hmm, it could have been good, but was just okay. The romance was not compelling, the characters just luke warm and the pacing a little off. Angus was a shallow MC, and does not treat Morwena like she's his world because of his wants.

Overall a nice premise but not a great delivery

#netgalley #TamingtheEarl

Thank you NetGalley. Morwenna is able to talk to horses and though people are superstitious about her she tries to keep quiet about it. The Earl's men come for her, not knowing what is going on until she arrives at his castle. The poor horse is scared, he has been mistreated so badly he does not trust anyone. The Earl finds he is attracted to her. He watches her work. He has not told her he is betroth to the lady who sent him the horse. She is on her way to see him. Angus is falling in love with Morwenna and trying to figure out how to get to out of the commitment. Morwenna is falling in love with him but she thinks she is a poor lady way below him in rank. Angus finds out from his mother that she is really the granddaughter of her best friend. She really is more to his rank than she thought which could change everything. Read this story to find out what happens in their lives.

This medieval historical romance set in 1301A.D. is the third book in the Earl's of the North series. There was adventure, whispers of witchcraft, sorcery, suspicion, worries, old secrets, survival, and other emotional issues and twists that were engaging. I enjoyed the characters' chemistry and their banter. The ending was sweet. I recommend reading.

This is a medieval romance. Our hero recently came into his title after the death of his elder brother. It has proved a difficult loss for his mother to face. Now, he must ensure the continuation of his line to protect everyone.
Our heroine has been struggling to provide for herself since her grandmother's death. Her main talent is helping animals. Unfortunately, that is dangerous . People see unusual talents as witchcraft.
This story has lots of adventure and worries ahead for all of the fabulous characters. The bravest of all is our heroine.
A fascinating look at medieval life. Great fun.

Whispers of witchcraft, sorcery, and superstition make this a suspenseful plot as Morwenna struggles for survival in a community that has rejected her. Remembering her beloved grandmother's warning about keeping her special gift under wraps, she is fearful when the Earl's guard summons her to the castle. Instead of an interrogation, she is stunned when tasked with taming the Earl's wild horse, which is part of a challenge to allow him to set a wedding date with his betrothed. The romance is sweet and heart-warming, especially when Angus' betrothed sides with Morwenna, ensuring that they find their happiness. However, old secrets may be their undoing, forcing Angus to beg for forgiveness. The novel is a standalone and comes to a sweet conclusion. I received a copy of this book as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Morweena has a special skill, that during this period of time caused suspicious and dangerous thoughts by many. Today, this skill is greatly valued. Angus, is a new Earl, who is to marry Lady Violetta.
I enjoyed the overall plot, it was engaging and different enough to hold my attention. My feelings on the characters is a bit mixed. Morweena is great. Violetta for me was a bit to snooty all the way around. And Angus, while a new Earl, didn't really thrill me based on honestly and protectiveness.

Such a exciting premise for me, but sadly this book didn’t really deliver. I wanted so much more from a witchy animal communicator x magic hater earl romance, like c’mon, that sounds made for me. It wasn’t bad, it just lacked much of what made me want to pick it up in the first place.

In an era where women are accused of witchcraft and being burned at the stake, Morwenna possesses a gift of talking to horses. When hard times befall her village, the finger of blame points to her. Meanwhile, Angus never expected to become the Earl of Wolvesley, but his older brother unexpected death had put the title on his shoulder. Now, left with no heir, he needs to marry and produce an offspring to protect his lineage and secure the estate for him & his mother. But his betrothed has presented him with a challenge: to tame a wild horse before she’d agree on a wedding date. That’s when the Earl ask for Morwenna to come to his estate….

The starting was pretty slow as we’re introduced to the MCs separately and when they met, I feel like their attraction towards each other were pushed onto readers rather than letting us see and feel the tension ourselves because when they converse, they do have chemistry. I love their back and forth soft banter. He’s a man of high status and she’s far beneath him but is unafraid to challenge him during their discussion about the horse. A lot of telling (monologue from MCs during their interactions) and less showing. Show me the tension!

Their conflict was pretty short-lived—and conveniently solved. You don’t really have enough time to feel emotional or whatever. It left me wanting for more. Especially the plot point about the crime of witchcraft. I guess I expected more drama. But in the end you get more heartfelt soft romance which is still okay if you’d like a lighter read.

I recommend this book to those who want to start reading historical/period romance that is light and fluffy.

I can see how this would be a strong 4-star read for a YA or younger audience, especially readers newer to the historical romance genre. It has the right amount of tension, romance, and stakes without becoming too dark or complex. For readers who enjoy cozy, lightly magical stories with clear good vs. evil dynamics, this will be a hit. For me, it lands at a solid 3 stars. Enjoyable at times, with flashes of poetic writing and promising emotional threads, but ultimately lacking the depth and richness I look for in historical romance.

I came into Taming the Earl after reading the first book in the Earls of the North series, and I was immediately struck by how much the author’s writing has improved. The prose flows better, the pacing is more confident (at least in the beginning), and there’s a noticeable effort to build atmosphere and emotional stakes. That said, the book still fell short in several areas that kept me from fully enjoying the story.

The plot itself has a unique enough premise: a mysterious woman accused of witchcraft, a powerful earl with a duty to marry, and a simmering attraction between two people from vastly different social worlds. There’s also a sprinkle of magic, just enough to give it a whimsical edge without veering into full-on fantasy. I appreciated that the romance was built on more than one or two scenes, and that there was an attempt to create emotional connection. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t always live up to the potential.

The pacing is one of the biggest issues. The beginning rushes to get the main characters together without giving the setting or characters enough time to breathe. Then, strangely, it slows down when it should be picking up tension. Important characters like Emilia arrive too late in the narrative to have the full impact they could have. There’s a constant sense of imbalance that makes it hard to fully sink into the story.

Another ongoing frustration was the lack of descriptive detail. I often found myself lost in scenes, unable to visualize the physical space or how characters were moving and interacting within it. Where is the bed? Is the room cold or warm? How many windows are there? These things matter, especially in historical romance where setting helps create immersion. The same goes for the characters, while we get some vague physical descriptions, the emotional and psychological nuances are often glossed over in favor of repetitive or surface-level prose.

As for the romance, it leans more into lust than emotional connection early on. Some lines are charming (I loved “I hear you can talk to horses?” — witty and light), but other moments feel rushed or cliché. I actually found myself more emotionally connected to Morwenna’s kind friend than to the brooding earl, who seemed to admire her mostly for how she made him feel rather than for who she truly was.

1301A.D. Morwenna can talk to horses. They certainly make better conversation than the feckless youths she’s grown up with. But it isn’t wise for a young woman with no protector to wield such gifts in an age of witchcraft and superstition. When hard times befall her village, the finger of blame points to Morwenna. And then she is summoned to see the earl
I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. This is a good story which whips along nicely. The two main characters are interesting and the setting is finely drawn, really atmospheric. Morwenna is an interesting character, she is a latter day horse whisperer- I'm not sure how likely this is in medieval Britain but the author makes us believe it is so. This is a fun read, a bit of humour and a dollop of romance, what more could you ask for a summer read or a cozy winter night? Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for a copy of Taming the Earl.

This was so good! It was a much lighter read than I though it was going to be and I am really thankful for that. The magical realism aspect was really fun for me and I thought it was going to go into a different direction with it and not have it be real but it was super fun. I think the last 25% of the book was drawn out and could have been started earlier in the book. Like it would have been really interesting to see the dynamic between Angus, his fiance, and Morweena if she had come into the main story line around the tournament. Especially since Angus was already essentially cheating already, might as well just commit to it. I also wanted Morweena to have more one-on-one with Lady Violetta and them bond earlier in the book than they did. This all being said the book was really sweet and I am interested in picking up more by this author in the future.