To Love a Scottish Lord: Book Four of the Highland Lords

I am slowly discovering Karen Ranney as a source of great romance reading. The first novel I read by Ranney was When the Laird Returns and it was no more than an average book in my opinion. Warily, I eventually picked up a second Ranney book, After the Kiss, and was thrilled with its greatness. As I began reading To Love a Scottish Lord, I knew I was testing the author on the quality of her books and this particular book placed her on my favorite authors list. To Love a Scottish Lord was an original romance with very sexy overtones. Both the hero and heroine are unusual for romantic leads. Both are very likable, truthful sorts, and do not have a class-conscious manner of thinking - which was uniquely welcome!Hamish MacRae, a man of Scottish descent, was a successful captain of his own ship. In port in India, he and his crew are captured and killed or tortured. Hamish suffered through months and months of extensive torture before escaping into the desert. His brother and crew eventually find him barely alive. Hamish is brought to Scotland, at his request, to live in an abandoned castle. Most of his wounds have healed physically but he no longer has the use of one arm. But the worse wounds are those that cannot be seen and they are very severe. Not only has Hamish been tortured, he has also lost all respect for himself and any sense of decency. He just wants to live the life of a hermit at the deserted castle on the sea. His brother however, does not believe Hamish should be alone. He brings a well-known healer to the castle to begin extensive therapy with him. Hamish doesn't want a healer but soon finds himself almost obsessed with his beautiful healer.Mary Gilly is a widow and healer. Her deceased husband had been a successful goldsmith and Mary now has a comfortable living from the wealth he has left her. She concentrates on healing the indigent since they cannot afford a doctor's care and she is not a doctor. But she is an intelligent woman who studies constantly to further her knowledge and ability as a healer. It is a true calling of her heart and she is very dedicated to the cause. When she is asked to go into the wilderness of an old castle fortress to treat Hamish, she accepts because she knows his family and believes she can help him. When Mary meets Hamish, she is shocked to find all he has suffered both mentally and physically but hides her shock as she begins his therapy. Hamish doesn't want her treatment but Mary can be quite persistent and, armed with a positive attitude, begins treating him anyway. He attempts to push her away with stubbornness, hostility, refusal, and finally sexual aggressiveness. Mary refuses to give into his games and finds she is actually attracted to the withdrawn and beaten man.Within a few days of the beginning of Hamish's treatment, both Hamish and Mary acknowledge a huge physical attraction between them. Thus, a new form of treatment is added to Hamish's daily regime. Although

Setting - Scotland 1782 - Hamish MacRae has come home to Scotland, a beaten and drastically changed man. He is being escorted by his younger brother Brenden. Hamish had lost his ship, his crew, the use of his arm and endured unspeakable humiliations and torture and planned to make the desolate abandoned castle, Castle Gloom, into his private hermitage. Worried over his brothers' state of mind, Brenden travels to Inverness to enlist the aid of a highly recommended healer. Mary Gilly, was a young widow whose late husband had ties to the elder MacRae's brother Alisdair. Mary, much younger than her deceased husband, had been allowed and encouraged to pursue studies of healing and her successes had earned her a nickname as the `Angel of Inverness'. Having never left the confines of Inverness, not only did Hamish's case sound intriguing but the chance to travel seemed like an adventure after her year long mourning period had passed.Hamish would not be an ideal patient and the fact that Brenden brought him a beautiful woman seemed like more torture to a man who hadn't had a woman in so long. Several days later and refusing to leave, Mary was not only intrigued by the case but attracted as well to the man hidden in his tower. After agreeing to a challenge to either best him at chess or leave without treating him, Hamish finds he is more than intrigued himself with this independent and forthright woman. WOW! This is just what I come to expect from this exceptional author - a plot that grabs you from the first page with intensity and emotion that you start and finish in one sitting. Hamish's injuries set him apart from the normal heroes one usually finds, and Mary is an absolute delight whose own secrets add to the suspense of this highly sensual and incredible addition to the Highland Lord series! The romance that develops between Brenden and Mary's best friend Elspeth is an added treat. Up to this point - Book One had been my favorite, but this one is right up there in the running for top spot in this series! Outstanding sensual imagery and writing! In case, you're wondering, YES, this can definitely stand alone but when you have writing this superb, get acquainted with the whole MacRae clan - the journey is well worth it!

This is the 4th in what I think might be a series of 5 books. The first book, One Man's Love, covers the parents of the characters in the other books. I love all the books in this series. Karen Ranney writes so deeply and moving. She has a style like no other. Its almost hypnotic and I almost always cry, even though the books are beautiful. One things I like most is that the story continues long after the couple have acknowledged a love for each other. We get to see their families from previous stories and share in their happiness for a good while before the book ends -- such a nice thing.Two of her other books are among my very favorites, My Beloved and After the Kiss.

Each book of this series has its own personality. Hamish is dark and brooding. His tale is also dark and brooding. Brother Brendan engages Mary's services and what begins as medicinal healing becomes the healing of Hamish's soul.Ranney is most adept at providing a story that gives readers an insight into the injustices of an era and how those injustices victimize individuals and thwart good intentions. Hamish and Mary's tale is one of these stories -- two victims who step away from propriety and take a chance on each other.Through Ranney's characteristic writing style, the reader "feels" Hamish's pain, Mary's compassion, their need and desire...and a lot of beautifully descriptive "healing" that doesn't come from Mary's medical texts.

In 1782 Sea Captain Hamish MacRae returns to Scotland a beaten man after being away for years. He recently lost his ship, his crew, and the use of an arm. He plans to live what he feels is his miserable life as a hermit so he does not have see or sense the pity of others including his brothers. His locale is a desolate castle on an islet.However, his brother Brendan has other ideas after depositing the resigned Hamish on his isolated rock. Brendan travels to Inverness to ask healer widow Mary Gilly to leave her shop to help his sibling. Because of the family connection as one of Hamish's other brothers has been a long time customer of her late husband, Mary agrees. Hamish demands Mary leave him alone in misery, but she refuses. As they begin to fall in love, Mary is accused of killing her spouse. Brendan has a reason to live starting with proving his beloved never killed anyone.TO LOVE A SCOTTISH LORD is a delightful historical romance that the sub-genre audience will read in one appreciative sitting due to an effective cast that makes readers believe they are on an island in the late eighteenth century. The story line is loaded with action, angst, and suspense. However, the lead couple and several support players turn Karen Ranney's latest tale into a fabulous experience.Harriet Klausner