Interview and Giveaway: Christy English and How To tame a willful wife

Today I have Christy English over at my blog for an interview, and there is also a giveaway of her new book :)

Welcome!

1. Could you tell me a bit about yourself?

Thank you so much for hosting me, Blodeuedd. I’ve been a romantic all my life, so branching out from writing historical fiction (THE QUEEN’S PAWN & TO BE QUEEN)  into Regency romance was a lot of fun. As much as I enjoyed exploring the lives of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Princess Alais of France in my earlier novels, I had a ball diving into pure romance with Anthony and Caroline

2. You have a new book out, HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE. What is it about?

HOW TO TAME A WILLFIL WIFE is the story of two strong-willed people who, over the course of the novel, learn to live together as equals. Anthony Carrington, an earl and a cavalry officer fresh from the wars with Napoleon, comes home to marry his commanding officer’s daughter, sight unseen. He and Caroline meet, not in a drawing room, but in her bedroom for the first time, and sparks fly. And so does her throwing knife…in the beginning it’s safe to say that Caroline is not happy to see him. But she marries him to save her father from debt, and once she agrees, she never looks back.

It doesn’t hurt that Anthony is pretty easy on the eyes, but she discovers that he is not very easy to live with…

3.  This is a re-telling of Taming of the Shrew, was it fun or hard to make it your own?

It was easy to make it my own, because there were so many things I wanted to do differently. As much as I enjoy Katherine and Petrucchio’s banter and wit in The Taming of the Shrew, in the end, he starves her into submission and withholds sleep until she agrees to anything he says. This is all done in a comedic way, of course, and modern productions gloss over this, but I have never been able to overlook it. 

In my book, as unreasonable as Anthony seems to the modern eye, he never starves or beats his wife. And Caroline gives back as good as she gets. They fall into a pattern of fighting for dominance, which always winds up with them back in bed. But when they wake in the morning, their problems are still there. Good sex does not solve anything. It’s only when they begin to talk to each other, and to listen, that they begin to find a way to live together.

4.  Now who would play Anthony and Caroline if a movie was made? 

I think Gerard Butler would make the perfect Anthony, though I am sure his agent would not agree. LOL Caroline is harder to pin down…she is a strange mixture of strength, beauty, and craziness…maybe Sophia Myles…I always love her in anything she does.

5.  Are you working on something right now?

I am happily in the midst of revising the second book in this Regency series, LOVE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Lots of fairies and magic in the play… the magic of true love takes over for Raymond Olivier, Anthony’s best friend, and his lost love, Arabella. Nothing I love more than seeing a hard-drinking, womanizing rake reformed. 

6.  What is the best thing about being a writer?

Listening to my characters when they show up, and giving their story a voice. I am convinced that our characters choose us, not the other way around. When they do, we have to be ready, pen in hand…or in my case, laptop. LOL

Giveaway

1 copy of How to tame  a willful wife

1. Open to US and Canada

2. Ends Dec 6

3. Just enter :)

Review: How to tame a willful wife - Christy English

1. Forbid her from riding astride

2. Hide her dueling sword

3. Burn all her breeches and buy her silk drawers

4. Frisk her for hidden daggers

5. Don't get distracted while frisking her for hidden daggers...

Anthony Carrington, Earl of Ravensbrook, expects a biddable bride. A man of fiery passion tempered by the rigors of war into steely self-control, he demands obedience from his troops and his future wife. Regardless of how fetching she looks in breeches.

Promised to the Earl of Plump Pockets by her impoverished father, Caroline Montague is no simpering miss. She rides a war stallion named Hercules, fights with a blade, and can best most men with both bow and rifle. She finds Anthony autocratic, domineering, and...ridiculously gorgeous.

It's a duel of wit and wills in this charming retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. But the question is...who's taming whom?

My thoughts:

There is a difference between a book not working and a book not working, or is there? Well here the book was well written, it could have been really good, but I hated the characters and that ruined it all for me.

First we have Lord Ass Hero. Sure he fits his time and is perfect for that with his constant "Obey me! You are my wife." But I do not read romance for heroes that are correct for their time. I read it for romance and he did nothing romantic. He saw her and lusted for her. They were to be married 2 days later. He wants to tame her and then when he has her he wants her to be a bit willful. He knows he owns her, that she is his property, he is jealous and a dick.

Our Willful Heroine is willful at first, but then enters the magic penis and that is long gone. Yes she hates him (but he sure is pretty!), and then he touches her and she forgets all about that and becomes a Sex Goddess. And every time they argue it ends with sex, he kisses her fiercely and she melts. She stops being willful and becomes a simpering mess. She also has a few TSTL moments.

Oh and I hate this trope: There is a secret, it could be freaking vital for the other person to know it. But the person knowing the secret does not tell it, here it is Ass Hero. He just tells her that she should obeyed him and do as he tells her.

Conclusion:

So sadly this book did not work for me, and it was a shame cos it was good. I just could not stand the characters.

Series: Shakespeare in Love #1
Genre: Historical romance
Pages: 352
Published: Nov 6th 2012 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source. Review