A NIGHT OWL REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW | Reviewed by: Janalee
Emma, Duchess of Herridge, has withdrawn from society in mourning for her deceased husband, a man known in his circle for his hedonistic sexual depravities. Being a widow has meant freedom to Emma, even with her uncle now ruling her purse strings.
Her freedom will only be a brief reprisal when her uncle announces she is to marry again, much to her unwillingness. Emma cannot fathom marriage again. Her experience with her dead husband exposed her to the dark and ugly things men can do to their wives. Love never played a part in their marriage.
Ian McNair is sent on a mission to retrieve a mirror that is in Emma's possession, only when he sneaks into her room, things do not turn out the way he had planned. Emma does not have the mirror and when the uncle demands entry into Emma’s room, Ian most hide or ruin her reputation. The sounds of Emma being abused by her uncle is something Ian cannot abide and he comes to Emma’s rescue. Now, his only choice is to kidnap her.
A Highland Duchess is by author Karen Ranney. With historical books a plenty, A Highland Duchess turns out to be a unique and passion filled novel. Ms. Ranney's spot-on writing is an emotional twister that has this reviewer pleading for Emma’s character to find the happiness she so richly deserves but is never quite in reach.
Emma’s character has such dignity to the point she is almost devoid of emotions. She has suffered much by the hands of her deceased husband and by men in general. It touches this reviewer’s heart when she finally experiences real passion and caring, and then to have that taken from her crushes this reader. Thank goodness Ms. Ranney's crafting that pulls this reviewer back into the book to seek salvation for Emma.
Ms. Ranney pens Ian’s character as manly and strong, yet his background lends him a kind and inquisitive soul that reaches out to Emma and gives her wings to let herself go and experience what it fells like to be a passionate woman in the arms of a wonderful man.
If you love a well-written historical that will pull at your heartstrings, then A Highland Duchess by Karen Ranney is a novel you will want to add to your TBR pile.
Sep 13, 2010 | 9780061771842
5 - Rare Top Pick | 4.5 - Top Pick | 4 - I Liked It | 3.5 - Enjoyable | 3 - OK | 2.5 - It just didn't click
Book Blurb for A Highland Duchess
The beautiful but haughty Duchess of Herridge is known to all the ton as the "Ice Queen." But to Ian McNair, the exquisite Emma is nothing like the rumors. Sensual and passionate, she moves him as no other woman has before. If only she were his wife and not his captive . . .
Little does Emma know that the dark and mysterious stranger who bursts into her bedroom to kidnap her is the powerful Earl of Buchane, and the only man who has been able to see past her proper faÇade. As the Ice Queen's defenses melt under the powerful passion she finds with her handsome captor, she begins to believe that love may be possible. Yet fate has decreed that the dream can never be—for pursuing it means sacrificing everything they hold dear: their honor, their futures . . . and perhaps their lives.
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