My Highland Rogue

June 8, 2020
Ranney (To Bed the Bride) goes Gothic in the first romance of her Highland Fling trilogy. Lady Jennifer Adaire’s fledgling romance with Gordon McDonnell, the son of her family’s gardener, leads her mother, the Countess of Burfield, to banish Gordon from Adaire Hall. He leaves for London and becomes a music hall impresario, but returns to Scotland five years later to visit his dying father. Jennifer and Gordon reconcile surprisingly quickly, but when Gordon’s father learns of their rekindled love, he reveals a dark family secret in a shocking Gothic twist that tears the couple apart once more. Meanwhile, in a subplot that goes nowhere, Jennifer’s boorish brother Harrison neglects his wife and duties while racking up debts at Gordon’s club. The most interesting thing about Gordon­—his career in London’s seedy entertainment sphere—serves only as set dressing, and Jennifer and Gordon are a frustratingly passive pair, reacting with horror to family secrets neither of them actually seek out, causing their eventual reunion to feel unearned and anticlimactic. But the bonkers mid-book reveal overshadows these more subtle flaws. Fans of darker historical romances may find that the unusual plot makes up for the middling prose and pacing issues.

August 1, 2020

A crumbling estate, long-lost family secrets, and forbidden love make Ranney's latest ("All for Love" series) an emotionally charged reading experience. Lady Jennifer Adaire has loved Gordon McDonnell ever since she can remember, but as the son of her family's gardener, his low birth means they could never marry. Five years earlier, Gordon abandoned Adaire Hall without a word, leaving Jennifer heartbroken. Now he's back to attend to his dying father, and their romance reignites when they discover they've never stopped loving each other. Just when it seems like everything is going to be wrapped up in a neat happily ever after, a shocking secret from the past destroys Jennifer and Gordon's chance at marriage. As the action moves from London to Edinburgh to the remote Scottish Highlands, new revelations keep readers guessing as to what will happen next, and how the characters will ever overcome the insurmountable obstacles consistently being thrown at them. VERDICT With mountains of family drama, coupled with unexpected twists and turns, this enchanting love story will appeal to fans of Kate Morton's or Lauren Willig's historical romances. [Note: Ranney passed away this past June while writing this series. She was 70. My Highland Rogue would have been her 37th historical romance published with Avon.--Ed.]--Kathryn Howe, Saint John Free P.L., NB, Canada

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