Charming the Shrew

The Legacy of MacLeod Series, Book 1

By: Laurin Wittig

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Returning to the Scottish Highlands after a fierce battle with the English, Tayg Munro receives a hero’s welcome - and an ultimatum. To take his place as heir to the chiefdom, he must choose a wife or have one chosen for him. Furious and stalling for time, the brooding warrior volunteers for a mission that takes him deep into the Highlands, with no hint of the fateful encounter that awaits him....

Catriona MacLeod is known as the Shrew of Assynt, thanks to her razor-sharp tongue and her unwillingness to yield to her five brothers. When she learns that her eldest brother has promised her hand in marriage to a loathsome man, she flees into the Scottish wilderness, determined to seek the king’s intervention. There she reluctantly joins forces with a handsome traveler, unable to anticipate the treacherous plot that will soon embroil them - or the passion that will ignite between them.

©2012 Laurin Wittig (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"In this exhilarating Highlands adventure Wittig knows how to merge passion, wild adventure, history, and danger into a perfect tale that takes your breath away and tugs at the heart." ( Romantic Times)

Good story

Not bad The story was interesting and flowed well. I bit prediciable but a good love story just the same. Narrator was OK. I liked this book and plan to listen to the series.

Fun if predictable

Not a deep read, but a fun listen. The narrator's brogue is appalling. Would have been better with a different narrator.

Holds interest

Romance is not the best description of this work. It is a good story in the typical Scots setting of clan conspiracy, and holds interest. If you are looking for hot sex, look elsewhere.

You can't judge a shrew by her brother

The female lead, Cat, has been tormented by her brothers all her life, to the point where she's had to develop a thick skin and sharp tongue to hold her own against the constant torture. Teague of Colrain (sp) is a highland warrior who is next in line to be the laird of his clan, and his mom is anxious to see him married. To avoid his mother's matchmaking, he decides to go on a little trip through the highlands disguised as a Bard, and perhaps seeking his own bride, as he does the kings business finding out who can be trusted to side with the king.

Cat and Teague happen upon each other under interesting circumstances.

Cat is running away from her families castle, determined to flee the man her hated brother has betrothed her to. She runs into the bard in the middle of a storm, who is also on the road, and for various reasons they end up traveling together, and falling in love.

The story was so charming that I forgot the annoying narration by Ralph Lister (who made Teage sound like he had a juicy lisp), and just went with the flow of the journey they were on. Don't let Lister put you off this listen, most of the time he sounds fine, and he doesn't over-do the female voices, as many male readers sometimes do.

All ends as it should. This was very sweet and satisfying listen.


This is my first Laurin Wittig, and I'm very impressed with her story telling abilities. It won't be my last!

Easy listen

An easy read (or in this case listen) romance. I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters. There were some tiny twists that were interesting.
I enjoyed the narrator for the male voices but the female characters probably needed a different voice.

Charming the Shrew by Laurin Wittig

Would you listen to Charming the Shrew again? Why?

Absolutely. I loved having this story read to me with a Scottish accent.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Charming the Shrew?

I really liked the scene where Cat first meets Isabel and when she takes Tayg"s advice to watch her tongue, she finds she's made a friend.

What does Ralph Lister bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His accent and characterizations helped make a good story great.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. and I did my best.

Any additional comments?

What a grand adventure! It's been way too long since I've read a good book about the Scottish clans and to have it read to me in the Scottish accent was heavenly and has spoiled me. I may never read another book about the Scottish highlands to myself again! The audiobook version is definitely the way to go, although I may pass on the "Bard's" poor singing... but even that was all in good fun and part of the charm of the story.

CHARMING THE SHREW is delightful. Author Laurin Wittig has spun a brilliant rendition of Taming of the Shrew, my favorite comedy from Shakespeare. Katriona MacLeod and Tayg Munro's journey to see the King was filled with danger, suspicions, intrigue, humor, passion, misunderstanding, and self-awakening on both their parts. I truly enjoyed every moment and hated it coming to an end. 4.5 stars

GREAT BANTER WITHIN THIS SCOTTISH ROMANCE!

I found this to be a light, but fun Scottish romp as the hero, Tayg Munro, and heroine, Catriona MacLeod become entangled with one another on an unexpected journey with different purposes to find the King of Scotland. As a future laird, Tayg temporarily takes on the role of a bard (not a very good one according to Cartoon), while Catriona is running away from her brother's grasp and a pending marriage to an unsuitable laird. This romance is not as steamy as I would have preferred, but it was fun, the banter hilarious (at times), and the reader is exposed to a budding romance between two very strong characters. Don't get me wrong when the two leads come together and finally give in to one another, it's hot and steamy, but this only happened one time. Otherwise, Catriona and Tayg shared a teasing and flirty kind of romance throughout their journey.

Catriona is known as the "Shrew of Assynt" and her sharp-tongue and short temper definitely warrants this term, but there are always reasons behind the shields people erect. I liked how Tayg was able to look beyond her defensiveness and understand the reasons. But, Tayg did something special for Catriona, he helped teach her new behaviors and reign in her temper. I liked how Catriona became aware of her jarring personality and found better strategies in dealing with people. The interaction between Catriona and Tayg was many times very funny. You could just picture Tayg rolling his eyes or really tripping out on Catriona's character. Females tended to worship him, not annoy, and verbally spar with him as Catriona did, especially at the onset. Even thought his was a decent read/listen, it definitely could have been much better. The action and adventure was great, but it needed more opportunities for the leads to enjoy the steam of their relationship.

The narrator, Ralph Lister, was good. He did a great job with the male voices and a decent job with the female voices. I bought this book on sale and it turned out to be a good experience for the price.

A Grrreat Highlands Romance told with a brrrogue!

What did you love best about Charming the Shrew?

I loved that both Kat and Tayg were forced to be people they didn't want to be by circumstance and family, but when they came together they were able to drop the titles of "shrew" and "hero" and just be themselves.

What did you like best about this story?

The setting was fantastic. I really got a sense of the Highlands in that famous era, and the terrible weather!

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene in which Tayg the Bard makes up an accidentally humiliating song about a homely woman at Kat's insistence.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending :)

Any additional comments?

The narration really made this fun. I can't do the accents half so well in my head, you ken?

Feisty & Spirited.

Where does Charming the Shrew rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This story is one of my favorites. The banter between the two main characters is funny and quirky. A true love story.

What did you like best about this story?

Tayg is quite funny but isn't slow in accepting his hearts desire and moving toward it.

What three words best describe Ralph Lister’s performance?

I'm not a big fan of Ralph Lister's character voices, but it wasn't bad.

Any additional comments?

Fun listen.

Well I liked it!

This was a nice distraction from my normal read...we have a hot guy who is destined to be chief of his clan, and we have an opinionated strong woman who is ticking all the men in her clan off because she won't act like a "proper" lady, she acts like a shrew...skinning them alive with her tongue!

I found this book to be light, and charming, but with some real substance that I found very fun to listen to. And the accents....wow...swoon!

I would get this book again in a heart beat :-)