At first reading this book I had an impression the story is similar to something I read in the past. I was wrong. The book had a nice plot when the grumpy guy turns better due to the girl. Well, that shall be admired. Both characters fed on each other and made me giggle couple of times from their adventured. It was a pleasant read. 4 solid stars.

The Taming of Lord Scrooge is the 3.5 book in the Infamous Lords Series. It is an amazing story of a second chance romance with a holiday theme. The pace of the story is fast, and it can easily be read in one setting. I loved the characters and was so happy to see Julien get his chance at love again.
Julien Caruthers, the Earl of Dartmore, was known as the “Naughty Earl” but his mother has decided it is time he gets married and has an heir. She definitely has ways of ensuring he has plenty of women at her annual Christmas party to choose from. Evangeline “Evie” Beckenridge had fallen in love with Julien at the age of 16, but when he left to return to school and never contacted her, she was devastated. Now that she has moved back to her childhood village, she learns he has cancelled some of the villager’s holidays traditions. She was surprised to see him on her doorstep after he had gotten thrown off his horse during a snowstorm. Julien regretted the decision he made when he was younger and had always loved Evie. Will the snowstorm provide them with the chance to rekindle the love of their youth?

A sweet, delightful Novella with a nice, angsty second chance romance. Definitely a good reas to start the holiday season!

The Taming of Lord Scrooge by Renee Ann Miller is a charming, second chance at love story. Evangeline is a widow raising her daughter, Mary. She and Julien, Earl of Dartmore, had known and fallen for each other in their late teens. Evie was the daughter of a physician, and Julien's father made him promise to stay away and not contact Evie for two years to earn his consent to their marriage.

When her letters went unanswered, Evie thought he didn't love her and married someone else. Julien returned after two years, found she had married, and became known as a Scrooge. He was hard and unfeeling as his emotions were in a deep freeze.

Fast forward 10 years, and Julien is thrown from his horse during a snowstorm and fate strands him at Evie's cottage. The magic of the Christmas season works on Julien, and he doesn't want to lose Evie again.

Miller has written a clean, winning story, and I recommend it as a wonderful Christmas treat.

I received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lovely novella. I loved the characters. They were very thoughtful to each other. I thought it strayed from the time period a bit.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

Julien Caruthers, the Earl of Dartmore, isn’t in the Christmas spirit. The former ‘Naughty Earl’ would prefer to focus on maintaining his family’s holdings rather than be stuck at his mother’s annual Christmas party, with her endless parade of debutantes. When he escapes for a ride, Julien’s horse gets spooked and throws him off his saddle, leaving him wandering in the snow. Until he happens upon a cozy cottage. Evangeline Breckenridge never thought ‘Lord Scrooge’ would show up at her door. She hasn’t seen her childhood sweetheart in years, and Julien’s since turned into a tyrant, taking away Christmas traditions from the townspeople. Eve is now a widow and a mother, no longer the foolish girl who believed a nobleman could love a physician’s daughter. But the weather outside is frightful, and Eve isn’t one to withhold the warmth of her home, even from a cold heart. And as they reconnect, Eve and Julien may even discover there’s still something merry and bright burning between them, a fire destined to be reignited—just in time for Christmas.
This was a sweet novella that was perfect for getting into the holiday mood. I liked both main characters and the author does a great job in giving a complete and enjoyable story in few pages. I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Perfect for Christmas would be an amazing Hallmark movie, except for the sensual nights! Our hero, Lord Dartmore, or Julien, or Mr. Earl as Mary addresses him, realizes he made a bad bargain with his father all those years ago when he agreed to wait for two years to see if he still felt the same way about Eve. Not knowing about Julien’s agreement with his father, Eve eventually married someone else. It was an arranged marriage, but her husband had been good to her. She even came to love him, before his untimely death. Now a widow with Julian lost at her door in a snowstorm. Their flame rekindles.

There is so much to enjoy in this short romance. Julien has a marriage minded mother, three little sisters and a house party full of debutants at his estate! It does not take long for Julien and Eve to rekindle their relationship. Although Eve has been put out with him lately due to changes he has brought about to the estate lands, she does not mention any of those changes.

Part of the charm of Perfect is Eve’s daughter, Mary. She questions and challenges Julien on everything. Her sweet actions help set in motion Julien’s reality check. You will love this for how charming this little group is as it becomes a family. Renee Ann Miller is one of my favorite writers of romance. She keeps her characters personable and witty.

This was a short and sweet second chance story. I thoroughly enjoyed Evie and Julien's story. They were childhood friends but family pushed them apart. I love how Julien went from grumpy and unhappy to doing a 180 as soon as he was in Evie's presence. Evie made Julien so happy and he doesn't waste any time letting her know.

I loved this story and want to read the rest of the books now.

*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*

Julien's mother has thrown a house party for Christmas. She wants to see him married, but there is only one person that has ever tempted Julien to marry and she is married to someone else. Trying to get away from all the debutants, Julien goes for an early morning ride. Unfortunately, his horse gets spooked and he is thrown. Lucky for him, he sees a cottage not far away and manages to get there before he passes out.

Evangeline can't believe that her former beau has landed on her doorstep. Julien broke her heart years ago and she doesn't want to be hurt again. But they are stranded in her cottage for the time being and getting to know Julien allows her to see that he isn't really the man that she has read about in the gossip columns.

Can this couple find their way back to one another?

I loved Julien and Evangeline's story. It was a pretty quick read, but had me enthralled throughout (I even kept reading while making dinner, LOL!). I always love reunion stories and Miller did a great job with this one. This was a great addition to the Infamous Lords series!

To say this was a delightful, humorous, enchanting book, just does not do enough justice to this story! I was laughing out loud from the first page as we are introduced to Julien Caruthers, the Earl of Dartmore! He was on his third secretary, who was terribly frightened because his last two had met with their demise and he thought he might be next! It was not as if Julien actually killed them or anything...
With the machinations of his mother, she holds a Christmas party inviting all the young debutantes trying to get him married off... So when he gets a chance to escape, he goes out to ride, even though it is snowing and ends up coming off his horse and almost freezes to death. But luckily he sees smoke coming from somewhere close and at the house of his first love, Evie. Of course he had no idea she lived there with her daughter Mary but injured as he was, while getting snowed in, the adventure begins.
I Loved, Loved, Loved this sweet story!! Mary was an impish delight and kept calling him Mr Earl and with Mr Shingles and Pumpernickel, I could not quit smiling. A romantic story that goes down as one of my very favorite Christmas novellas ever. Ok. I will stop gushing now...
Certainly I will be reading this again!!!

I am not a great fan or novellas and I'm not that into Christmas stories, but I really enjoyed The Taming of Lord Scrooge. Julien Caruthers, the Earl of Dartmore, is disgusted with being pursued by marriageable ladies and his mother's matchmaking ways. Taking a ride to escape a Christmas house party, he ends up collapsing in the snow at a cottage. Of course, the cottage belongs to Evangeline Breckenridge. She is a widow, living with her daughter and housekeeper. Julien and Eve were childhood sweethearts. They become reacquainted each other and reignite their love.

The story is not terribly original, but is done very well. Eve's daughter adds a charming touch. I've become a great fan of Renee Ann Miller.

ARC provided by Netgalley.

Julien Caruthers, the Earl of Dartmore, otherwise known in scandal sheets as the "Naughty Earl" would prefer to focus on managing his holdings and settling into the new role of Earl since his father's death. He'd certainly rather avoid his mother's matchmaking machinations at her annual Christmas house party. When Julien sneaks out for a ride, only to be thrown by his spooked horse, he finds himself several miles from his house. Left wandering in the rapidly falling snow, Julien begs shelter at a cottage he stumbles upon.

Evangeline Breckenridge certainly didn't expect her adolescent love to show up at her front door. She hasn't seen him in ten years but she can't leave him to freeze, even if he has ruined several of the village's Christmas traditions. Now widowed and mother to a young daughter, Eve is a different person than she was when she believed Julien would offer for her. But snowed in together, sparks fly once again between Eve and Julien and their future may be quite bright after all.

This was a cute, quick second chance story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to more of this author's work.

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

The Taming of Lord Scrooge by Renee Ann Miller is book 3.5 in the Infamous Lords Series. This is the story of Julien Caruthers, the Earl of Dartmore and Evangeline Breckenridge. I have read the previous books but feel you can make this a standalone book. Julien has to attend his mother's ball but after to many debutantes try to catch his eye he ends up leaving the party. Then he has a accident that leads him to meet his childhood sweetheart. Evangeline is a widower now and a mother when she ends up helping the Julien that leads to rekindling their feelings. This was a Scrooge type main character of Julien who just maybe getting his happy ending.

An excellent second chance historical novel, full of Christmas story and with a cast of lovely characters you cannot help rooting for.
I loved the engrossing and entertaining plot, the style of writing, the fleshed out cast of characters.
It's the first work I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Kensington books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This a sweet second chance novella, I read it in one sitting. While our two main characters are enjoyable, it was Mary, Evangaline's daughter, who was the standout character, she was adorable and funny. 

Like all novellas, it's difficult to tell a full story in a short amount of time, and while this book didn't feel rushed I would have liked to see how Evangeline and Julien first fell in love, a prologue or a few flashbacks would have completed this book. It was a case of telling not showing that they were in love before. 

If you're looking for something quick and heartwarming to read this Christmas season, then this is a book for you. 

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

The Taming of Lord Scrooge by Renee Ann Miller is a novella about refinding a lost love. Julien Caruthers, the Earl of Dartmore has been forced to “Christmas” with his family and every debutante from the season this year. He is horrified, but knows he has to stick it out, but he can at least go for a horse ride. Too bad he didn’t plan on what happened while riding. When he comes to, he realizes that he is not at home and in the home of one tenant.

Evangeline Breckenridge is horrified when she realizes that the man that passed out on her doorstep was Julien Caruthers, her sweetheart from the past. He disappeared and she married another, had a child and was widowed. To top it all off, she has been writing him scathing letters about how much he has taken away from his tenants.

Who knows what will happen with Julien Caruthers and Evangeline Breckenridge snowed in for a few days before Christmas. The Taming of Lord Scrooge by Renee Ann Miller is a hot, fun, Christmas Novella.

Julien Caruthers, the Earl of Dartmore, isn’t in the Christmas spirit. The former ‘Naughty Earl’ would prefer to focus on maintaining his family’s holdings rather than be stuck at his mother’s annual Christmas party, with her endless parade of debutantes. When he escapes for a ride, Julien’s horse gets spooked by an owl and throws him, leaving him wandering in the snow. Until he happens upon a cottage & collapses at the door. Evangeline Breckenridge never thought ‘Lord Scrooge’ would show up at her door. She hasn’t seen her childhood sweetheart in a decade. Evie is now a widow and a mother, no longer the foolish girl who believed a nobleman could love a physician’s daughter.
A lovely second chance novella, which I read in a sitting. Strong characters & a well paced story held my interest all the way through. Mary of course stole the book & she ended up be an unwitting matchmaker. There was plenty of humour as well as an attraction that sizzled whilst they were marooned in a snowstorm.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Love this second chance romance. Not everyone is who they appear to be – Julien. Scrooge, my hinny. He is really still struggling with what happened ten years ago. The dialog is terrific, especially Mary’s and the attraction is dead on. My one wish is that the story was longer. I think the characters were perfect for a regular novel. I think Ms. Miller’s writing is lovely and engaging and I devour her books.

4 stars


I enjoyed this book. I'd certainly recommend you look out for it and read it. It's witty and well written. Pleased Evie and Julien got their HEA.

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

There was nothing wrong with this novel exactly. It was really a matter of it being just too short. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy novellas from time to time, but throughout this novel things just didn't add up for me. I couldn't really get into these characters or the relationship they once shared. Perhaps if we had gotten more of a prologue that showed that aspect things would have felt more connected. Or even just a few more pages of them together when they were stranded. Something that didn't feel like we were being rushed through the story.

I did enjoy Evie's outspokenness, as well as her daughter's open curiosity. It was easy to see where these two people would make a good match with one another, but again, everything felt so rushed that I don't feel like they got a chance to have their story be heard. As good as the writing was, and as heartfelt as the story ended up, I don't feel like this is one I will easily remember a few weeks from now.

However, this novella is good for a rainy (or snowy day), and I firmly believe that fans of historical romance will enjoy this story. I would read more from this author!

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.