Unwrapping a review of TO WED AN HEIRESS, an All For Love novel by Karen Ranney

Greetings my darling readers, I know I’ve been remiss in providing you reviews of good reads this past year and I apologize. Life has a hold on me which does not allow me much reading time. I have tried to make up for that in publishing my own good reads for you and I hope you’ve given them a try. In an attempt to make up for my neglect, I have been offering up guest reviews for you to enjoy by my dear friend, Connie Fischer. I hope you have been following them.

However, today I am actually sharing a review of mine of a book I actually got to read recently…yay! – TO WED AN HEIRESS, an All For Love novel by Karen Ranney.

***purchased for my own reading but I am sharing an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for TO WED AN HEIRESS:

Rebellion drove Mercy Rutherford to Scotland to escape the possessive grip of her fiancé. But it’s fate that lands her in the crumbling highlands castle of Lennox Caitheart. A dreamer with visions of inventing airships, he’s most certainly mad. Handsome beyond words, he’s also causing an irresistible flutter in her stomach beyond reason. When Gregory arrives to see their arranged marriage to its bitter end, Mercy desperately turns to Lennox with an offer of her fortune—and her hand in marriage.

The Earl of Morton has a reputation for being a daredevil eccentric, but even he is hesitant to engage in such a rash proposition—no matter how utterly beguiled he is by the wildly independent American heiress. And yet, with so much at stake, how can he possibly say no? But when their unconventional union grows into a passionate and inseparable love, more than Gregory’s obsession threatens them. Now, Lennox and Mercy will have to risk more than their hearts to save it.

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My Review:

Nearly killed by a strange flying contraption upon her arrival in Scotland, Mercy Rutherford was wishing she was back home and safe preparing to do the mundane things of which her life consisted until she made the decision to travel to visit her mother’s Scottish relatives. The inventor of this strange flying boat with sails comes to their rescue when the carriage crashes and she and her maid are injured. She is intrigued by him and him by her until he learns who she is and his sudden change in attitude leaves her bewildered. It isn’t until she arrives at her great uncle’s home and her grandmother basically tells her to go back to where she came from and don’t let the door hit her in the butt on the way out that she learns the problem. Claiming she can’t travel until her maid’s injury is healed, she knows as soon as Ruthie is well, they would return home. In the meantime, her aunt welcomes her well enough and soon she learns Lennox Caitheart, the Earl of Morton is the last of his clan after the death of his brother in a carriage accident which also took Mercy’s cousin. Now she understands the bitter blood between these two families—although, her grandmother doesn’t seem to like anyone.

Before his brother died, Lennox was studying to be a doctor. But with the death of his brother, he became the earl so he left school and returned home only to discover the Macrorys had interfered with several business deals which the former earl had established, and now he was penniless. Worse, the family’s rundown castle was now his to support as well. Feeling life had dealt him a raw deal he had become pretty much a hermit and was attempting to support his family’s estate by selling his inventions. 

Now caught in the middle of a feud, Mercy and Lennox are inexplicably drawn to each other and their banter is even chuckle-worthy at times, even as the antics of Mercy’s family are enough to make anyone crazy. Both stubborn yet passionate about their lives, their freedoms, and rather about each other, neither Lennox nor Mercy will openly admit it. However, when Mercy’s not going to take no for an answer fiancé, Gregory shows up, Mercy knows she’s running out of time. But she does have a solution. She proposes a deal with Lennox—she provides the money he needs to get back on his feet if he marries her. When his pride gets in the way and he refuses, she feels defeated and with her father coming to Scotland, she knows she will have no choice but to return home and marry Gregory even though she knows her happiness lies with Lennox. Will Lennox change his mind? Will he put aside his pride and realize what a gift in Mercy he is losing?

Passionate, headstrong, proud, and wanting more from life than what they are getting, Lennox and Mercy are perfect for each other. Like Romeo and Juliet, they love each other despite their families. This story features some truly likable characters doing their best to survive some rather despicable ones with some secondary characters doing their best to push these two together. There is emotion galore, a few laughs, great banter, some steam, definitely family drama, and a grand romantic gesture which brings them a happily ever after.

I highly recommend TO WED AN HEIRESS by Karen Ranney if you like a strong-minded heroine caught between a rock and hard place but desperately trying to dig her way out, and a hero with a huge heart you just can’t help but fall in love with while wanting to knock him upside the head for being so stubborn. Although part of a series, this story can easily be read as a standalone but well worth the read. Plus…if you hurry, it’s currently on sale for a discounted price. Yay!

Happy Reading Everyone!!

TO WED AN HEIRESS, an All For Love novel by Karen Ranney, Avon Books, available now in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.