Customer Reviews

Till Next We Meet (Book Club)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was looking forward to reading this book since the buzz about it has been generally good and (in my opinion) when Karen Ranney is good she can be one of the *best*. The good news is that "Till We Next Meet" is a sweet, well-written tale with a Cyrano de Bergerac-style plot and a fine, attractive hero. The bad news is that it took me absolutely *forever* to read this book and that is usually an indication that story is not quite as compelling as it could be. The characters never really engaged me and the story seemed to hum along without a great deal of tension until the rather flat denouement where the villain is revealed.

Catherine Dunnan has only been married for a month when her handsome husband goes off to war, but she comes to love Harry deeply while he is away through their very lovely correspondence. What she does not realize is that the letters that she treasures are not from her worthless, philandering husband at all, but penned in his name at his request by his commanding officer, Colonel Moncrief. Moncrief, who began writing out of pity for a woman married to a cad, has become captivated by Catherine's warm and tender words and corresponds with her in an effort to ease his own loneliness. When Harry is killed and Moncrief unexpectedly inherits a dukedom following his older brother's death, Moncrief pays a condolence visit to Catherine and finds the Harry's widow nearly paralyzed with her grief. When circumstances force Moncrief to act to protect Catherine, he takes her back with him to his family home and tries to begin healing her grief while not revealing her husband's true nature or his own role in their correspondence.

Moncrief is a very fine hero--handsome, honorable to a fault, passionate and sensitive--almost a bit too perfect, in fact. His only flaw is his deception about who wrote the letters, an act initially of kindness and then of love, so not really such a black mark against him at all. Catherine is a bit harder to relate to due to her blindness to Harry's true character and inability to appreciate Moncrief's sterling qualities (or recognize him as her true correspondent.) She snaps out of her clinical depression midway through the book and becomes a more satisfying romantic heroine, but all the black nightgowns and grief over her worthless husband gets a bit wearying after a while. To complicate matters, someone is trying to kill Catherine, requiring Moncrief to act as her protector (since Catherine clearly is really a horrible judge of character!)

The letters are really very lovely and the eventual romance between Catherine and Moncrief very passionate and satisfying, although I was never a bit concerned that Catherine would not forgive Moncrief when she discovered the deception about the letters. The story seemed at times to lack momentum and the ending (particularly the wrap-up of the mystery of Catherine's "accidents") was rather implausible with the villain's motivation being questionable. There is a scene near the end of the story of bizarrely excessive forgiveness of a character who has been complicit in trying to harm the hero and heroine that just was jarring to me.

In summary, this is a well-written historical romance with a promising set-up and wonderfully sensitive and honorable hero. I would not consider "Till We Next Meet" to be one of Karen Ranney's *best* books, but it is entertaining tale with a touching love story and is well worth reading.

This is the first book by Karen Ranney that I have read. I am always looking for a new and talented author to add to my favorites list. I was really pleased after finishing "Till Next We Meet" as it contained all the elements I select books to read, things such as: passion, intensity, deep character development, an entertaining plot and sizzling love scenes and true emotion by hero and heroine by the books end. This book had it all.

A few things I found the most compelling in this story were:

1) How the book focused heavily on the letters written between heroine Catherine and her husband Harry (or so she thought) while he was away in North America doing military work. The letters were passionate and deep and beautiful. You could tell the two were opening up their hearts and minds fully to the other during their time writing to one another. A couple who barely knew one another after their marriage changed with long time correspondence to a couple who were soul mates by the time the letters ended. This sharing of their letters with the reader was a nice touch and was definitely unique and refreshing in a love story.

2) I liked how realistic Captain Moncrief/The Duke of Lymond our hero's emotions were. He was oozing loneliness from his childhood and adult life and the letters he secretly penned to Catherine opened up his heart and mind in ways he never believed. He was a strong man - made so by the ups and downs of life. Love made him complete. He truly adored Catherine from afar via her letters to him and his to her. I especially enjoyed his "honest" reaction to meeting her the first time: she was gaunt, pale, bed ridden, high on laudanum and had stringy brown hair and empty brown eyes - she was not the beauty he pictured in his mind. She was not the perfect woman from his letters and he wanted to be gone from her quickly thinking he lost his mind to dream up a woman that clearly didn't exist from a years worth of correspondence. I liked this touch by the author - it made Moncrief a very much a real man. For once...she wasn't the perfect princess of every man's fantasy land. The dream Moncrief had created simply didn't exist. Fortunately...as the book went on, the real Catherine re-emerged from the fog of pain, drugs and loss and she became greater than any dream Moncrief could ever imagine. She became again everything he ever wanted but, didn't think he would find. Moncrief is truly a great hero. He was not a rake, rogue, scoundrel, gambler, womanizer or debaucher of young gals. He was truly what a man should be when you hear the word, "hero". Sigh...

3) The love scenes between Catherine and Moncrief were wonderful. I liked how she didn't want to be intimate with him in the beginning because she couldn't let go of the past and her late husband but, Moncrief very wisely played with her mind more than her body and that caused interest and attraction to begin. Once they did get together, the fireworks flew like the fourth of July. The scenes were tastefully written, powerful and believable. I especially liked how KR made clear that Moncrief almost loved her more than he desired her and it showed in his gentle, kind and giving ways. That is the true test of a man's feelings - when it surpasses the sexual. Catherine took some time to heal and learn that she needed to give back all she had been given. Fortunately, Catherine over-came the past and learned to adore, respect and admire Moncrief as he deserved as time went on.

4) The side characters of Catherine's late husband Harry, her housekeeper Glynneth, the local Vicar, sister-in-laws to Moncrief of Julianna and Hortensia and others made the plot rich and inviting. These characters all played side roles to the story, some more important and interesting than others. Glynneth's position is disclosed fully by the books end and her background is very entertaining.

5) Character development was deep and true and played out well in this book. Both Catherine and Moncrief became much better people by the end of the story. I liked how they took their past and all the mistakes, mourned for their losses but, found a way to move on and make a future together. A much better future. It may have been painful along the way but, their growth was real and appealing.

6) I liked how the truth about the letters worked out at the end and the discovery of the real Glynneth. There was no shouting matches, storming away or stomping off to a pity party. Catherine took all the lies and deceptions in stride and found a way to work out the issues. She handled the truth with dignity and courage as a great heroine should.

I give this book a hearty two thumbs up or as ratings go....4 plus stars! I would like to give it 5 stars but, I am picky with giving a perfect rating to any book. I only give that to really, really rare finds. This book came close though! If you have not read this author before, do pick her up. This one was definitely worth the lack of sleep I got reading it all night long! Enjoy!

I like this author very much, and it is a very sweet, wonderful love story. I rarely write review due to my English limit, but I would like to give my thoughts based on another review for this book - the reviewer was concerned about the title: "Till Next We Meet" has the same meaning as "Until Next We Meet". The preposition 'Till" was used correctly for the title; would have been the same if the preposition "Until" had been used. A similar title was published long before, written by others: "Till We Meet Again" by Judith Krantz; "Till the Stars Fall" by Kathleen Gilles, etc.

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In 1761 Canada Catherine Dunnan loves the romantic letters her military deployed spouse Harry sends her. Unbeknownst to Catherine, Harry is too busy womanizing to write her let alone read her replies. Instead trying to do a good deed, his leader Colonel Moncrief responds pretending he is Harry. Catherine comes to Scotland to surprise her Harry.

However, Moncrief informs her Harry died. Stunned and filled with grief, Catherine overdoses with an opiate; Moncrief saves her life. As they become acquainted, he offers her protection by marrying her. As Moncrief and Catherine fall in love, apparently Harry's ghost wants to keep them apart though the Colonel wonders if the culprit might be more mortal like one of the deceased philanderer's lovers.

This terrific Georgian romantic suspense combines a mystery with a Cyrano like plot as the audience ponders paranormal or human and what will happen to the relationship when (readers will expect the ethical Moncrief will tell the truth) the hero reveals his secret. The lead couple is a likable pair as Catherine ahs fallen in love with her letter writing "spouse" and Moncrief reciprocates even before they have met. Fans will enjoy this fine historical take on the Edmond Rostand classic.

Harriet Klausner

Settting - Quebec and Scotland, 1761 --- When Catherine Dunnan's husband of only a month went off to war she was devastated but his promise to write often did something to soothe her. What she would never know was that he was a truly selfish bounder and had no intention of writing her at all. She would never know this because letters she did receive - letters full of genuine emotion, kindness, and devotion. Catherine would respond back in like fashion, and where she hadn't had time to truly know her husband during their short marriage, she fell passionately in love with the man the letters perceived him to be and when she had word that he'd been killed, she was completely devastated.

Colonel Moncrief originally felt sorry for the wife of the man whose dishonorable conduct he'd come to despise, and on a flippant dare agreed to write to the man's wife in his name. For Moncreif the misery of war in a foreign land was eased by the warm and loving correspondence that came back and he guiltily continued the correspondence never realizing that he'd fallen in love. Returning home to take up the unexpected title of duke, Moncreif was disturbed to discover that Catherine seemed to be killing herself over grief of her husband's death.

After virtually saving her life, Moncreif announced that he would marry her rather than have her reputation ruined by his actions. He was irresistibly drawn to her but if she ever discovered his secret would she ever be able to forgive him?

*** I admit that I am a big fan of Ms. Ranney's novels and her latest novel, TILL NEXT WE MEET, goes a long way in solidifying her place on my auto-buy list. While the plot may not be the most original, it becomes a classic when the brilliance of a great wordsmith imbues the story with intelligence, painting a tableau of words that depict a poignancy that imparts enough emotional intensity to make the reader feel as if they are part of the picture. Ranney is a writer of intelligent sensual romance who leaves an imprint of her work living vividly in your mind long after the last page has been turned. This book is highly recommended reading!

--- Marilyn, for www.historicalromancewriters.com ---

"I am Moncrief." Yes, you are! Wow! What a man!

Ranney gives the reader main characters who are vulnerable, a mystery to solve, and a surprise villain. Moncrief is especially notable because he refuses to be a victim of his flawed childhood, using it instead to mold his adult character and thereby serving as an example for Catherine not to be victimized by disappointment. Moncrief awakens Catherine to joy, passion, and love with devotion, tenderness, and commitment. "I fell in love with your words before I fell in love with you."

Another good read from the master storyteller Karen Ranney!

Till Next We Meet is a beautiful Scottish historical romance with a Cyrano twist. The two main characters are excellent - by themselves and for each other - and interestingly complex; their romance is really one that slowly builds, making it completely believable and that much more precious - and the chemistry between the two is fantastic ;-). There were also a few well-executed plot twists and I only really guessed - or rather suspected - one of them before it was revealed, which was a nice change from the books where the villain is so painstakingly obvious.

SUMMARY (from back cover):
"Catherine Dunnan is devastated when her beloved goes off to war - and only his promise to write often can sustain her in her loneliness. And what letters they are, filled with heartfelt emotions that move her to respond in kind. But then the unthinkable occurs. He is cruelly lost to her, and his beautiful words of passion and devotion cease forever.

When Moncrief agreed to write warm and loving missives in a fellow officer's name, he never expected he'd become so enamored of the incomparable lady who answered them, a woman he has never met. Returning to England to assume the unexpected title of duke, Moncrief is irresistibly drawn to the beauty who has unwittingly won his heart. More than anything, he yearns to ease Catherine's sadness with his tender kisses. But once she learns his secret, will his love be spurned?"

MAIN CHARACTERS, Catherine and Moncrief:
The main characters of Catherine and Moncrief are wonderfully written and extremely vivid and the excerpts of their letters to each other throughout the book really add to the novel. This is only my second Ranney book, but in both this one and An Unlikely Governess, there is a real loneliness to the H&H and to the story itself - secondary characters exist and are always interesting and three-dimensional, however the main characters and their relationship always seems very isolated, as if her stories take place in a somewhat cold and harsh world. I'm not saying this as a criticism, but rather just an observation. I will say that either way, it serves to truly highlight the main relationship and to really focus on its development.

OTHER CHARACTERS:
I did not like the character of Glynneth (Catherine's companion) and definitely think she should have been changed. Oddly enough, for most of the book when we're supposed to be unsure of her I actually was fond of her, but how she was in the end towards Catherine, which I think is actually supposed to make the reader feel better - or at least like things are resolved - only made me feel worse.

The evil Dowager Duchess Juliana is an odd add-in because she makes all sorts of trouble at the beginning and then kind of just disappears from the story. (And P.S. out of all the historical romances I have read, the name "Juliana" has rarely been used, however in the instances that it has, the character is always mean/evil/bad ... wouldn't mind reading a HR where my name is used for the heroine or at least a likable secondary character!!!)

CRITICISM:
The final scene wasn't as satisfying as I would have liked, though it's hard to pinpoint why - maybe too much sentimentality, not enough drama, no epilogue to follow-up ... I really don't know.

BOTTOM LINE:
This book is absolutely wonderful and it will definitely be a reread and recommend for me!!

TILL NEXT WE MEET is one of those books which come along so seldom that I just had to savour every page of it. I really appreciate reading a romance novel when the hero, here Colonel Moncrief of the Lowland Scots Fusiliers who has just become the Duke of Lymond, is a wonderful man from the first page to the last in a book. The heroine, Catherine Dunnan, is also a sympathetic character who seems to be more real life person than fictional character.

The plot of this story has been told many times over. Catherine's husband, Harry, is serving in the Army in Canada having left her after one month of marriage when her father offered to buy him a commission. (Evidently dear old dad caught on to Harry pretty quickly.) He doesn't reply to her letters so Catherine writes to his commanding officer to find out if Harry is safe. In typical Harry fashion, he throws his wife's letter at his Colonel stating that he has no intention of replying, "Here, Colonel, you write her. She is forever prattling on of things that bore me. I only married her because she was an heiress, but a month of marriage was enough for me." This is the beginning of a correspondence which Moncrief knows is wrong, but he just can't seem to stop himself from pouring out his thoughts to the woman whose letters affect him so deeply. Except that Catherine thinks the letters are written by Harry.

Catherine is in deep mourning for Harry six months after being notified of his death. She agrees to see Colonel Moncrief after he shows up at her home unexpectedly. For some reason which he cannot explain, even to himself, Moncrief tells Catherine he has another letter for her from Harry and he will return on the next day to give it to her. Actually, he has to write it first. When he does return, he is faced with disaster.

I very much enjoyed reading this book. As I stated earlier, I appreciated having this hero presented from the very beginning as a kind, generous, gentle, understanding and yet entirely masculine man. Catherine took a little while for me to warm up to but she was presented by the author as a woman who had invested so much of her love and hope for the future in the man she married that the loss of that man totally devistated her life. I liked the mystery aspects of the book, it added some interest away from the relationship between Moncrief and Catherine. Something else to hold my attention. I was very surprised to be made aware of a dispicable villain. I am quite a mystery fan and Ms Ranney managed to surprise me in that disclosure.

A very well written book. It has very sensual scenes between husband and wife and they are extremely well written. I think Ms Ranney did a wonderful job of making Catherine discover the physical need she had for Moncrief over time so that she could come to grips with her changing feelings. Recommended for anyone who loves to curl up with a good, romantic novel.

I just had the extraordinary pleasure of reading Till We Next Meet. The story harkens back to Cyrano De Bergerac, mistaken identity, one man romancing the love of another, but is unlike anything you've ever read. Yes, the hero writes to the heroine in the guise of another, but that aspect of the story isn't merely a plot device to move the story along. The romance moves with the appearance of effortless ease and captures the reader with both the fully drawn characters and the mystery of the tale. Two elements, however, make the work stand out: the strength of the characters and the exposure of the characters' hearts and souls in the letters they exchange.

Naturally, the story itself is beautifully written and beautifully told, but Ranney's crafting of Moncrief's and Catherine's letters is exquisite. The characters' correspondence was as compelling as that of Abelard and Eloise, or Abigail and John Adams. There was a beauty to them that was transcendent of simple missives and love letters. It was easy to see how both characters could come to love one another through the thoughts they memorialized and shared with each other.

In Till Next We Meet, Ms. Ranney creates two extraordinary, fully developed characters, a quality not commonly associated with genre romance (which, frankly, has always puzzled me, since some of the most memorable and well drawn characters in literature were those of romantic figures. Shakespeare, Congreve, Austin, Fitzgerald, even the recently popular Robert James Waller, all wrote romance with both success and acclaim. Go figure). There is nothing one dimensional about the voice of either character. Moncrief and Catherine have a love that is eternal, that can speak to any person who has ever loved or lived with unrequited affections, or who has been afraid to reveal who they really are, inside, to the person they love for fear of rejection.

A marvelous read!

Enjoy!

Consistently, Karen Ranney's technique captivates me. Ranney regularly fills her books with beautiful words and powerful sentences. Again, in TILL NEXT WE MEET, the author presents her exquisite writing style. Her words flow with artistic form and vivid description.

Catherine Dunnan is lonely. Married only one month, Catherine is overwhelmed when her new husband goes to war. Yet, his letters give Catherine a reason to live, to dream, to survive. He fills her heart with sincere tenderness and promise, bringing her comfort and hope, allowing Catherine a future.

Colonel Moncrief's first letter to Catherine Dunnan was easy to write. He penned it from pity. Colonel Moncrief felt sorry for Catherine; after all, her husband was the most unethical man he had ever met! No man, such as Harry Dunnan, deserved such loyalty, such compassion, such love as Catherine dispensed. Signing Harry Dunnan's name was easy; it was done to reassure Catherine Dunnan. However, one letter quickly turned into a year long secret relationship, a relationship built on fraud.

Colonel Moncrief of the Lowland Scots Fusiliers was now the Duke of Lymond. He was back in Scotland to assume his duties and obligations. It was his duty to call upon the grief-stricken Catherine Dunnan. He went out of protocol and honor. He often called upon relatives of fallen comrades - to express regret. Catherine Dunnan was no different - or was she?

Karen Ranney writes a beautiful story. The intimate letters are tender and stunning.

To further enhance her book, Ranney spread "story secrets" throughout. However, the secrets disenchanted me; these "story bombshells" seemed to lack the passion and intensity found in the rest of Ranney's story. Still, the author is right on track with this lovely love story. TILL NEXT WE MEET is very impressive.
Grade A-

MaryGrace Meloche.