Karen Ranney~~4 1/2 and 5 Star Reviews
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Karen Ranney
Avon
Mass Market
978‑0062027788
****1/2
Years ago, Gordon MacDermond and Shona Imrie were lovers, but she married another. Now she's a widow and completely destitute, and her pride compels her to keep her penury a secret. Her brother, wounded in the Crimean War, and her companion depend upon her, but she is running out of things to sell. She must sell the only large thing of value left--the Imrie family home, Gairloch.
Shona's brother is dead set against the sale, but even he does not know the extent of their need for cash. Shona's prospective buyers from America have arrived before she can prepare. Not only are the man and his daughter hard to deal with, she has to swallow her pride and allow Gordon to provide them with food. Shona and Gordon's interactions are extremely prickly and heavy with the weight of the past. Underneath the prickly attitudes is pain, and underneath the pain is an enduring love that feels like it has no chance of coming to anything but loneliness and anguish.
Karen Ranney uses her tremendous skill and meticulous research to craft an exquisite love story full of heartache, tension and hints of Gothic flavor. The heroine's overweening pride can be tough to take, but it also makes her every maddening decision perfectly in character and, oddly, makes her sympathetic as well in this beautiful tale.
Heather Nordahl Files
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Karen Ranney
Avon
Mass Market
978‑0061771880
****1/2
Montgomery Fairfax is an American in London, away from his homeland because of a newly inherited title and estate. He has been directed to the mysterious Mercaii Society in hopes of learning the provenance of an unusual mirror, but he cannot complete this mission, for the Mercaii are a perverted group. He rescues an obviously drugged, naked woman from involvement in an unknown ritual and flees with her in tow.
Veronica MacLeod wants some validation of her psychic gift, but received nothing but horror in return. She has endured the myriad indignities of being a poor relation to a family that resents and marginalizes her at every turn. Now they have thrown her out of the house, leaving Montgomery with little honorable choice but to offer to marry her. With such a start, this marriage has little hope of happiness, but love somehow finds a way.
Montgomery and Veronica are both difficult to love, both being uncommunicative and reluctant to trust, but in the gifted hands of Karen Ranney readers will understand them and truly enjoy their story. The light paranormal element brings added appeal, and though this tale is part of a series, it stands alone.
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Karen Ranney
Avon Mass Market
978-0061252426
**** +
Because of a scandal she caused, Davina McLaren has been forced to marry a man she's never met. She's understandably apprehensive, but seeing how handsome her new husband is soothes her fears somewhat. Her wedding night with Marshall Ross, the Earl of Lorne, makes her feel even better, as her new husband shows her pleasures in the bedroom that she has not previously experienced. But her husband leaves her bed during the night, and the man she sees the next day is cold and reserved.
Davina resolves to fight for her marriage, but the battle will be more of a challenge than she expects. As a result of years of captivity and opium addiction, Marshall fears he's going mad. His nights are filled with bloody visions, and he fears if he sleeps with Davina, he will do her harm in the night. The visions don't seem to visit him when she's there, but he's sure the peace will not last. Unfortunately, Davina will put up with being pushed away only so many times, before she won't come back.
Karen Ranney's latest is a dark, dramatic tale with a Gothic feel. Davina is a sympathetic heroine, and the mystery of Marshall's illness takes some unusual turns in a novel that should not be missed.
Heather Nordahl Files
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