Unwrapping a Review of TO BED THE BRIDE, 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 my review of a book I actually got to read, thanks to the lovelies at Avon for sending me a print copy of TO BED THE BRIDE, an All For Love novel by Karen Ranney—and it only took me three weeks to read. It will take you a lot less time, I promise. TO BED THE BRIDE is releasing November 26, 2019.

***provided to me by the publisher but I am sharing an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for TO BED THE BRIDE:

New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Ranney’s captivating series concludes with a tale of opposites whose attraction scorches a trail from the Highlands to the glittering halls of London—and courts scandal at every turn . . .

Politics has introduced MP Logan McKnight to many fascinating people, but the lady he encounters on the lands bordering his ancestral Scottish home outshines them all. Eleanor Craig of Hearthmere seats a Thoroughbred like a queen, knows as much about world events as any of his colleagues—and is engaged to one of the worst men Logan knows. She also seems lonely, so Logan brings her a friend. Thus should their acquaintance end, yet it’s only just begun.

The puppy Logan delivers is every bit as irresistible as the man himself. How could this stranger sense the isolation Eleanor suffers among her scheming, snobbish extended family and fiancé who control her life? It’s even worse in London—until she begins meeting Logan secretly in a secluded park. Their passionate connection frees Eleanor, body and soul. But discovery threatens disgrace—or worse.

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My Review:

Eleanor Craig is a lonely woman, unsure of herself, or her place in the world. Her father had instilled in her that family comes first and the family estate, Hearthmere, is of utmost importance and her responsibility. When Eleanor meets a handsome stranger while out on a ride, she mistakes him for a simple shepherd. She is instantly both unsettled and annoyed by him.

MP Logan McKnight has met and encountered many people through politics but none are as interesting, charming, or as smart, in his opinion, as the lovely stranger he discovers is his neighbor in Scotland. Logan is immediately attracted to Eleanor. He admires her horsemanship, intelligence as well as her looks, but can she’s unhappy and lonely. He believes there’s much more to her. With the hope of giving her some joy and possibly bringing her out of her shell, he sends her an adorable puppy.

Initially Eleanor is outraged and then intrigued by Logan and his gift. She decides to return the puppy, but ends up becoming too attached to it. (Who wouldn’t?) After she returns to London, she finds herself more and more trapped by her family—truly nasty and toxic people. When she encounters Logan at her aunt’s house she discovers he is actually an upcoming and coming Member of Parliament. As it becomes more and more apparent how little respect or affection her family has for her and the man to whom she is engaged, the Earl of Westcott, is a despicable creature as well, she turns to Logan for friendship and emotional support.

Karen Ranney does a wonderful job in her historical writing of making us feel as if we are there. I have to say this story touched my heart very hard. Having people around you who belittle, demand of you, and treat you as if you’re nothing is true toxicity. I was easily able to step into Eleanor’s shoes and found her to be a truly heartbreaking and tragic figure. Her aunt and cousins were Cinderella’s wicked stepmother and stepsisters personified.

I do wish there had been more interaction between Eleanor and Logan while in Scotland but then I understand the perceived status separation while there, which did not allow it. Once back in London, their status more the same, their friendship grows and even though they must meet in secret, it’s apparent to both their feelings of friendship are growing to something far more…even as they fear being found out.

TO BED THE BRIDE, the final book in the All For Love trilogy, by Karen Ranney might be my favorite of the three and I’ve enjoyed each one. This one pulled at my heartstrings a bit more and had me hoping Eleanor could have a better life, and had me hoping she could extricate herself from her horrible family and get rid of her fiancé. Logan is caring, charming, and respectful of her even as he wishes her for his own. He’s a great friend and we all know where that can lead. This is an intriguing friends to lovers story with some truly nasty villains.

Each book in the All For Love trilogy can be read as standalones and for those who truly love historical romance, I highly recommend them all, but definitely read TO BED THE BRIDE. Oh…and puppy Bruce is such a delightful treat from Karen. He’s adorable and makes me miss my Marco so much.

Happy Reading Everyone!!

TO BED THE BRIDE, an All For Love novel by Karen Ranney, Avon Books, available November 26, 2019 in print, ebook, and audio at:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple Books | Indiebound

Books-A-Million | GooglePlay | Target | HarperCollins | Audiobooks

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. 

Unwrapping a Review of TO LOVE A DUCHESS, an All For Love novel by Karen Ranney

I have been reading Karen Ranney’s exceptional historical romances for years but TO LOVE A DUCHESS took me by the heart and wrung me out. Emotion is something we enjoy in romance…it’s one of the main reasons we read it...TO LOVE A DUCHESS gives it to us in spades. This first book in the new All For Love Trilogy is a great start and I can’t wait to see what comes to us in the next two.

***print copy provided by author and in return, I am sharing an honest and unscripted review in thanks. 

Blurb for TO LOVE A DUCHESS:

From New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Ranney comes the first book in a royally romantic and deeply emotional new series about taking risks and allowing the power to love satisfy the questions of the heart...

Undercover as a majordomo, spy Adam Drummond has infiltrated Marsley House with one purpose only—to plunder its mysteries and gather proof that the late Duke of Marsley was an unforgivable traitor to his country. At the same time, Adam is drawn to a more beguiling puzzle: the young and still-grieving duchess—a beauty with impenetrable secrets of her own. For Drummond, uncovering them without exposing his masquerade will require the most challenging and tender moves of his career.

That a servant can arouse such passion in her is too shocking for Suzanne Whitcomb, Duchess of Marsley, to consider. Yet nothing quickens her pulse like Drummond's touch. It's been two years since the duke lost his life in a tragic accident—and even longer since she's been treated like a woman. But when Drummond's real mission is revealed, and the truth behind Suzanne's grief comes to light, every secret conspired to tear them apart is nothing compared to the love that can hold them together.

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Suzanne Whitcomb, the Duchess of Marsley, lost her husband in a tragic accident and since that day, she has simply been making it through each day, surviving. She feels no joy, no inspiration in living until a new man enters her life—her new majordomo. For the first time in her life, she feels as though she exists. He listens to her, hears her opinions, and when her story comes to light, believes her. As a companion, he makes her feel less alone but as a man, he awakens something in her she’s never experienced before. But she’s a duchess and he, only a servant.

Adam Drummond is a spy. He is a member of the Silent Service. Growing up in Glasgow was hard so as a boy, he joined the army which provided him with food, safety, and place where he could feel he belonged. Still his life wasn’t easy even as his career was successful. A decorated hero, he obtained the rank of Lieutenant. But then grief visited him in the form of losing his wife in a truly horrible attack. Now as member of an exclusive part of the War Department, he has been given the mission of gathering proof that the late Duke of Marsley was a traitor to his country. Going undercover as the majordomo in the home of a man he despised in life proves to be one of the most difficult assignments of his career. Positive the duke was guilty, he knows it’s his grieving duchess who will pay the ultimate price and now Adam is torn between his duty and his growing affection for the beguiling and puzzling widow. How can such a lovely, deserving of better woman grieve so desperately over such a horrible man as the Duke of Marsley?
More so, how can he ever leave her once his mission is done? A lowly boy from Glasgow can never have a duchess.

I loved this story, I inhaled this story. It was an emotional heart-breaker from the start. The depth of emotions these two lived with was so incredible that I worried neither would ever open up to the other but when they did, the journey to falling in love and their eventual HEA was worth the perils.

Tragedy, history, secrets, along with twists and turns, danger, suspense, and the determination of these two extraordinary characters, Suzanne and Adam, create a compelling, page turning experience that makes the ending all the sweeter. This is now my favorite Karen Ranney read. She poured so much heart and sorrow into these two lovers that their attraction was a must or they would surely have been swallowed by their own deep sadness. Plus, Adam is now very high on my book boyfriend list. 

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a read where they become so wholly engrossed in the emotions of a story and the love lost then newly gained that they will sit down with a full box of tissues and not stop reading until they get their HEA. This is one of those reads. I can’t wait to see what the rest of trilogy brings us. Huzzah, Karen.

Happy Reading Everyone!

TO LOVE A DUCHESS, an All For Love novel by Karen Ranney, Avon Romance, available now in print and ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

Don't forget to check out my debut romance!
Folks are loving it and I think you will too.