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Lady Sarah Baines is the daughter of a Duke – and not a nice one. Although she is terrified of her father, she has burst into his study ready to do battle to save her mother from her father’s plan to send her mother back to her family in Scotland; a trip her ailing mother would never survive. Sarah did not know she was interrupting a meeting. Douglas Easton was a scientist and inventor, come to ask the Duke to invest in his latest invention. Before he knew what hit him he was amazed to see a beautiful woman (Sarah) obviously terrified but standing up to the mighty Duke. Her father had Douglas in a bargaining position; the deal was marry his daughter Sarah and that alone would help to propel him into the right financial circles. With hardly any time to think it over, Douglas complies and Sarah, feeling that this marriage would ensure her mother’s survival a bit longer agrees. She also lets Douglas know that she will not be a biddable wife. When her mother dies almost a week after the marriage, Sarah knows she must contact her mother’s family in Scotland and Douglas an ex-pat from Scotland agrees to accompany her. *** First off, I am a huge fan of Karen Ranney and have her entire back list of novels each one rife with characters that touched my soul at some level. One of the things that I’ve found in Ranney’s writings is how vividly real her characters are as she brings them to life. Not only do you see them in your mind, but you also get to feel their pain, their passion and every emotion that makes a person human. In other words the reader is emotionally involved in every aspect of their life right from the very first. That is not to say you won’t be surprised with twists and turns, but you will understand their motives on an emotional level. Lady Sarah was an amazing tower of strength who was used to the heartlessness and anger of her unloving father. She’d been taught at a young age to not anger the Duke , yet she would face off with him when it became necessary to fight for the comfort of her ailing mother. Knowing of the chink in Sarah’s armor, knowing of her devotion to her mother, the Duke used it against her by both securing a husband for his stubborn daughter after two very expensive seasons, and getting to cash in on the promised profits of Douglas Easton’s latest invention.
One sees how damaged Sarah has been, how carefully she
guarded her every waking moment from letting anyone near her other than the
only friend she’d ever known, namely her mother. Douglas recognizes right
from the start how terrified Sarah was when facing off with her father. In
doing so, the author not only shows his attraction but also Douglas’
compassion especially when Sarah announces there would be no sex. Douglas
agreed – they needed to become better acquainted. The title SOLD TO A LAIRD is very misleading, Douglas is not a Laird but regardless of the title this was an immensely satisfying read and very much recommended.
Reviewed by Marilyn Rondeau for CK2S Kwips and Kritiques |
sold to a laird
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