A Highland Duchess

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel because of the believable characters and suspenseful plot. It has a tragic Victorian heroine, a sexy, interesting love interest, repulsive villains, and a plot that involves a murder "who done it." It's pulp fiction, not literature that addresses the human condition, for heavens sake! The sensual scenes are just that, sensual. They are not boringly descriptive as some novels are. I have no idea why some readers gave this novel such poor reviews. I liked it very much.

I really enjoyed this book to the point of not being able to put it down.I seldom give reviews but will this time as the story was well developed and everytime I thought I knew what would happen next I was so wrong . I will miss the characters and can't wait for the next book.

I started reading this book after having finished two historical romances by other authors with spunky, adventurous, relatively free-spirited heroines. So as I'm reading the first 15 or so pages of this, I'm thinking jeeze this heroine is just a passive doormat of a woman. Given away in marriage by her father to a debauched, hedonistic, orgy-loving duke who forces her to do unspeakable things, then widowed and in the control of her evil uncle who abuses her physically if she opposes him, she just seems to accept all of this passively. And I wonder, "How can she be this way? Why doesn't she do something?" Then I realized it's a 'historical' romance. Those spunky heroines of the other novels weren't the norm. Women of the 1800s were dominated and controlled by men. Only a very few were able to be in control of their own destiny. This book is really more accurate historically, so I need to settle in and see what happens to the heroine. And since I've long been a fan of Karen Ranney's writing skills, it wasn't that much of a sacrifice. So about 20 pages in our heroine Emma, the widowed Duchess of Herridge, finds Ian McNair, Earl of Buchane, in her bedchamber, demanding she hand over the Tulloch mirror, which apparently rightfully belongs to the Tullochs in Scotland but was given to Emma by the late duke on their wedding day. She does not have it in her possession so she's abducted by Ian, taken to his London home, and held for ransom as he demands that Emma's uncle find and return the mirror to him. Ian does not reveal his identity to Emma. However, he treats her kindly and with respect, perhaps the first man ever in her life to do so. They manage to fall in love in the 3 days she stays at his home and the funny thing is it's believable. You really feel that they have fallen in love, not just in lust. The process is so skillfully drawn by Ranney and is very romantic. So now you'd think we have our HEA, right? Emma finally finds happiness? Nope. Not yet. Still to come we have star-crossed lovers, marriage and/or engagement to the wrong people, murder, attempted murder, a trip to Scotland, interesting historical tidbits about science and medicine in the 1860s (Ian is a scientist), and finally, finally comes the resolution and HEA. And a great ending where we see that Emma finally finds her backbone. I started out thinking I would not like this book and found myself drawn into sad, oppressed and repressed Emma's life. Ranney is pretty much a specialist in this kind of heroine full of pain, sadness and longing and she does it well. She knows how to get across to the reader the gamut of emotions her characters feel. We're able to see the slow evolution of Emma from sad and passive to a more proactive person. It certainly helped to have a wonderful hero in Ian. And we have a goodly amount of intrigue and mystery here also to keep up the interest. It's a good book. Maybe not great, but quite good.

A DESPERATE WOMAN... The Duke of Herridge was dead. Eighteen months had passed since her husband's sudden, mysterious death, and Emma had kept the knowledge of exactly how he'd died a secret, along with other events she dared not reveal. At least with Anthony's death she would finally be free. Now all Emma wanted to do was forget the past and adopt a quiet, decorous mode of living that would hopefully allow all the harsh rumors surrounding her to just fade away. But then her uncle comes to her and declares he has found her another husband, and she will shortly be a married woman again. His pronouncement leaves Emma trembling with dread as she has no desire to be a bride again; marriage had been a hideous experience for her and she didn't ever want to repeat it. As she sits contemplating what to do about her uncle's decree, lightening flashes in darkness outside the sitting room window; the stormy weather a grim parallel to Emma's turbulent emotions... She just can't do it, she could not marry again. She goes to the window and stares into the rainy night; and leaning her head against the glass in despair and desperation she utters a prayer into the darkness beyond, as she had done many times while married to Anthony... Please, God, save me... When an unfamiliar voice unexpectedly calls out her name, she turns to find a strange man standing in front of an open window across the room. The man was tall, dressed all in black, with striking features and an attractive face one would not easily forget. Her intruder cheekily smiles at her; and then has the audacity to demand the duchess give him the Tulloch Sgàthán so he could return the valuable mirror to its rightful owners. Emma knew she very much needed a miracle. But God must truly work in mysterious ways, or have a unique sense of humor, if he had sent this handsome, arrogant rogue--the-most-unlikely-knight-in-shining-armor-ever--to come to her rescue. But luckily for Emma, Ian Hamilton McNair, Scottish Earl of Buchane, and Laird of Trelawny, is no ordinary brigand! ***** Along with her customary dramatic flair and the smooth, sophisticated writing her readers have come to expect, in her newest historical romance, A HIGHLAND DUCHESS, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Karen Ranney delivers an intricately complex and powerfully stirring emotional tale of the beautiful young Duchess of Herridge... A woman who'd been traumatized during her marriage by the perverted desires of a husband who had forced her to endure acts of depravity guaranteed to crush the spirit, and defeat even the sturdiest of souls. And it's also the story of Lord Ian McNair, an intelligent and well regarded man of science. A man who upon meeting the Duchess is mesmerized by Emma's beauty--by expressive eyes that fascinated him, and spoke of untold secrets hidden in their blue depths. They revealed a strong woman of intelligence and wry humor, along with glimpses of darker, more painful em

In 1864, a nervous Lady Emma arrives at Chavensworth to meet with her husband Anthony, the Duke of Herridge. She loathes and fears her cruel spouse and wishes him in hell like he has done to her. However, she is taken aback to learn her husband is dead. Known as the Ice Queen amongst the Ton, Emma wants to be a free widow, but her Uncle Peter Harding demand she marry again even before the acceptable mourning periods ends as he covets the money she would bring to him. Laird Ian McNair breaks into Emma's boudoir demanding she return the Tulloch Sgathan that he insists belongs to the Scots, but she has no idea what the thief alludes to with this alleged mirror. When her uncle comes to lecture her, Ian knocks him out and abducts Emma. Ian is stunned by the passion he sees hidden beneath the veneer of the Widower. However though he wants to make her ignite, he knows she is betrothed to his cousin, Bryce. When Bryce suddenly dies, the Ton believed the cold haughty Emma is a black widow spider as many believe she poisoned him. Ian vows to prove her the victim of ruthless males including the real killer of his cousin. A Highland Duchess is a superb Victorian romantic suspense starring a strong hero and a beleaguered woman. The amateur sleuth whodunit enhances an exciting romance as Ian begins melting the ice protecting his beloved's heart; but she trusts no man as all males, who should have protected her, since her dad died have been demandingly ruthless. Harriet Klausner