Customer Reviews

So In Love (The Highland Lords, Book 5)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Karen Ranney is one of the most frustrating authors. The MacRae series has held no appeal for me. I bought two of the earlier highland lord books and couldn't finish either one. Why I bought this one, I'm not sure. I picked it up on impulse, remembering that while Karen Ranney has put out some lousy stories, she's also written some brilliant ones. Any author who can make a leper into one of the greatest romance heroes of all time has to have a few more good books left in her. So I bought, I read, and while I'm not thrilled, I see serious signs that Karen Ranney may be moving back into top form.

Young and madly in love, Jeanne du Marchand was a French noblewoman whose dreams were about to come true. At sixteen, she found herself carrying her lover's child, expecting to marry him so they could begin their happily ever after. Fate and her arrogant jerk of a father step in. Her father tells her that her lover has abandoned her and sends her away to bear her child in disgrace. After the child is born he has it taken away from her and sends her to a convent where she is to pay for her sins for the next nine years. Jeanne hopes that her lover will come for her, hopes to be reunited with her child and endures physical and mental torture at the convent so that she can find them again someday.

At seventeen, Douglas MacRae's heart was shattered when he was abandoned by Jeanne. A servant tells him Jeanne is with child and has fled from him, never wanting to see him again. Leaving France for his native Scotland, Douglas is distraught, but resolves to return to France and at least find his child. At Jeanne's family estate, he learns that she has borne their child and left it with an old peasant couple. Douglas takes his malnourished, nearly dead infant daughter from the couple and returns with her to Scotland, hating Jeanne for abandoning the child. He names the baby Margaret.

Our story really begins when Jeanne and Douglas meet again ten years later. Jeanne has been forced to flee both the convent and France because of the Revolution, and decides to make her way to Scotland. She's working as a governess for a business associate of Douglas's. When her employer makes improper remarks about her to Douglas, Douglas seeks her out and offers her a job as his governess. Jeanne takes Douglas up on his offer when her employer molests her and threatens to make her his mistress.

"So In Love" is, as you have probably guessed, a story with a HUGE misunderstanding. Jeanne is mad at Douglas because he never came back for her and their child. Douglas is mad at Jeanne because she left him and deserted their child, leaving the infant to die. Do they ever have a conversation and figure all this out? Yeah, about thirty pages away from the end of the book. This story left me gritting my teeth in frustration over the unnecessary lack of communication.

Jeanne is, in almost every way, an excellent heroine. She's had a rough time of it, but she's a survivor. Despite the terrible things that have happened, she still has a soft heart underneath her armor and you find yourself really hoping she'll get a happy ending. It's weird, but even her reluctance to explain to Douglas and clear up the big misunderstanding is so well done that I almost buy into it (almost), and oddly it never leads me to question her intelligence. She's tough with the villain when he reappears, not giving an inch, and I just can't help but like her.

Douglas is a fairly likable hero too. He's raised his daughter, and I'm as much a sucker for the "sexy hero raising a kid alone" thing as the next girl is. It is even believable that he offers to hire Jeanne despite the fact that he hates her so much, because deep down he's a good guy and hates to see anyone in her tough position--and of course deep down he's still in love with her. Douglas's character is a little less believable with the big misunderstanding thing. He hasn't been stuck in a convent being tortured for the last nine years, and he should have the intelligence to realize that they were just teenagers and that whatever he might think she's guilty of, Jeanne has obviously changed--not that she's really guilty of anything, as he'd discover if they just had a conversation.

Karen Ranney specializes in angst. When she's on her game, she's an absolute master at it, and she really makes an effort in "So In Love". It's sad, but for what it's worth I want to say that "So In Love" is hands down the best "misunderstanding" story I've ever read. It's readable, in spite of the frustrating elements. In fact, for me, it was downright enjoyable. The character development is thorough, the love story is poignant, and because they were so young when they were separated, you want to give the protagonists the benefit of the doubt.

I give this book three stars. While this isn't a masterpiece, I'm glad I read it. Karen Ranney seems to be done with the MacRae series and she also seems to be almost fully back on track. I'd recommend this to any Ranney fan who can stomach the "misunderstanding" angle, because otherwise it's excellent. If you're new to Karen Ranney, I'd say read it if this kind of story appeals to you. If you're not sure about this story but you love your romance with serious angst, then do whatever it takes to find yourself a copy of Ms. Ranney's "My Beloved"--it's on my all-time top ten list.

In my perfect world of 10, a Karen Ranney book appears 3 times -- a rare distinction because Ms. Ranney is not one of my `cherished' authors. Probably because this author generally writes stories filled with a dark despondency. Ms. Ranney may not be one of my favorites, yet I read this writer faithfully. Karen Ranney has the power to draw and then imprison me within her stories.

SO IN LOVE is another installment involving the MacRae family, of Ranney's series "The Highland Lords." This is Douglas' story. At seventeen, Douglas MacRae shared a passionate love with sixteen-year-old Jeanne du Marchand, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy French count. Shocked to find his daughter involved with a foreigner, Jeanne's father savagely ended the love affair.

Time moved on. Douglas MacRae is now a successful businessman in Edinburgh; Jeanne du Marchand is a governess. The years have been kinder to Douglas MacRae.

So what did I think of this Ranney book? Why all the pretense? Why are Douglas and Jeanne's feelings cloaked in secrecy? Why the absurd head games? To create a story, silly goose. If our lovers had been up front with their tales of woe, the story would have ended on page 100. But why, why, why? Again Karen Ranney writes the pulling words and again I am drawn into her story. Definitely a page turner, but presentation problems scream out loud.

Just for the record -- the 3 Ranney books on my keeper shelf:
1. Tapestry,
2. My Beloved,
3. After the Kiss.

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

I gotta say those are words I never thought I'd say (or write), but Ms. Ranney makes it work. When I got to the secret baby story line I groaned, but then it was so charmingly handled, and so nicely plotted that I had to admit I liked it. I can't wait to read more by the author, and I highly recommend this book.

This is the first book I've read by Ranney, and I guarantee it won't be the last. The writing is superior, the story was gripping, and the plot is not at all stale (as you would have expected from yet another "secret baby" book). I was especially gratified to see that she really understood the close relationship Scotland and France shared, and worked it nicely into her plot. If you're looking for a new writer (and I always am) I highly recommend this book.

This was recommended to my reading group by the owner of a romance book store, and she was SO RIGHT about this writer being fabulous. The rest of my group liked the book, I LOVED it. The hero is super sexy (how can you not love a devoted single father), and the heroine really got put through the wringer. I thoroughly enjoyed the star-crossed lover thing going on in the back story and how nicely (and honestly) it was resolved.

If you hate books in which the plot centers around "A Big Misunderstanding", this is *definitely* not the book for you. Jeanne du Marchand, a French nobleman's daughter, and Douglas McRae meet as teenagers in Paris before the French Revolution and secretly fall in love. When Jeanne discovers that she is pregnant, she tells her father who, instead of allowing the lovers to marry as they wish, perversely separates them and sends his only child off to live in a convent (seemingly forever) after the birth of her child. Jeanne and Douglas are told by Jeanne's nasty father and his equally nasty housekeeper/mistress that each has abandoned the other and their child. Why on *earth* they would believe this (especially given the sources) and why they would take *forever* to question each other about it when they are reunited (through an unlikely coincidence) in Scotland years later is the most frustrating aspect of the book.
The characters are well-drawn (although Jeanne is a bit too passive for my taste, presumably due to having had all the spirit beaten out of her during her long years in the convent) and the writing is good, but to my mind the rather implausible plot and especially the lack of communication between the hero and heroine undermine the story. I had trouble believing that two people who had so little faith in each other and who talked to each other so *little* could really be in love. Also unbelievable is the concept that Douglas would hire his child's own (he believes, *faithless*) mother to be her governess and then start up an affair with the presumptive governess-to-be. (Baffling behavior for a supposedly devoted single father...)
In summary, this story did not really work for me (and I am a *big* fan of angsty romance and not totally opposed to the *big misunderstanding* as a plot device, as long as it makes a little bit of sense.) I absolutely *loved* Karen Ranney's book, "After the Kiss", so perhaps this book is a fluke.

Well, I can honesty say that I've now read all five of the MacRea stories and only three of them were what I'd call keepers. This unfortunatly was not one of them.

Ms. Ranney is a very talented storyteller and many of her books as I've stated have made it onto my keeper shelf. What kept this read from joining those ranks? Well, first off one read is plenty. This is not a story that I'd want to re-visit. The main reason for this is...frustration. Lack of communication, and misunderstanding are trademark elements in Ms. Ranney books. This is okay up to a point. Then you cross the line into the unbelievable, and then I question how great a relationship can be if no one is talking, and only kissing and sighing. I must give credit where credit it due. Both were young at the beginning of the misunderstanding, and then years go by before they face each other yet again. But now they're adults so act like one. They finally speak about 25 pages from the end of the book!

If you've read the previous MacRea books it would be a shame to miss the final book in the series. Although Ms. Ranney is not a must read author for me, I still find her books to be entertaining and worth reading if you are able to put the stories in a proper context and if you don't mind at times a little frustration. If you like angst you will love Ranney!

Offical Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

Just finished this book, the last in the series of 5 books on the McRae family. What a book! I am going back and reading all 5 again. Karen brings everyone back in the McRae family for this beautiful and touching ending of the youngest McRae brother - Douglas. I have read a lot of Scottish romance including all of Hannah Howell's books and I have to say Karen Ranney is a genius. Her writing style is so flowing and we learn so much about this time period. I am kind of glad I didn't discover her earlier as I have a lot of her reading to look forward to.

Daughter of French aristocrat was in forced seclusion in a French convent as punishment from her father for getting pregnant out-of-wedlock. Her father also took her newborn away from her. Heroine becomes a governess in Scotland 9 yrs later, when Hero who offers her the job to tend to his daughter. Their passionate affair is reignited but both are tiptoeing around what happened in the past, fearful of the repercussions.

Oh, boy, did I cry buckets with this Ranney book. The drama & the writing pulled me into the story & characters. Character development was great. Love scenes were scorching & poignant. One thing that could've been improved, though, is the ending. I wish heroine discussed with Hero in an in-depth, fuller detail the pain & suffering she went through b/c of her love for him. Hero should have groveled a lot more.

Greatly recommended if you want a very poignant romance.

this was the last of a series. It was missing just a little something the others had but it was still a pretty good book and stood well on its own, like all of them in the series.