Customer Reviews

My True Love

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you remember conjugating verbs in Latin class, dust off your Latin dictionary and wander into the world of Stephen and Anne. Latin never sounded so delicious!

Although this book has its own characters and personality, the story references events from MY BELOVED. So, if you have not read that poignant story, go there first and come back to MY TRUE LOVE because you will enjoy it so much more.

Underlying the enchantment of TRUE LOVE are the principles of duty, honor, loyalty. Anne is a strong character with a mission to find the boy of her childhood dreams. When she finds Stephen, the reader feels their connection immediately and yearns for more connecting moments...Karen Ranney provides them in abundance...amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant...

I am a fan of Karen Ranney but am giving this a 3* in lieu of a 4* rating only because I don't feel it is up to her usual standards. The writing is, of course beautiful, and the plot begins exciting enough, but then the story seems to slow down a bit and until the last 25 pages or so, I was not enthralled.

Anne Sinclair, heiress of the Laird of Dunniwerth, has since the age of 8, had visions of a boy named Stephen of Langlanais. She has had these visions all of her life. Never heard of Langlanis, does not know where it is, etc. The visions over the years are always of Stephen as she watched the boy, grow into a man. At the age of 23, she sets out to find him, accompanied by Hannah, her friend; Ian, her childhood tormentor; and Douglas - who somehow disappears in the middle of the story.

Now we are in the year 1644 - a war is going on with King Charles and the Parlimentarians. Stephen has left the war and come home to bury some of his men and take care of a wound he received in battle. Anne and her party are being chased by the Parlimentarian soldiers and Stephen and his regiment see their flight and come to assist.

Now here is where I find a problem with this story. Anne recognizes Stephen immediately, calls him by name. He does not catch on, furthermore, throughout the time she is staying at his home - Harrington Court - no one ever gets around to asking why a gently bred Lady is traveling across a war strewn country with little more than one warrior, (Douglas got lost here), and a female companion. I kept waiting for someone to ask where she was going, or for Anne to tell Stephen that she knew him from her visions, etc. Nothing - this really made no sense to me particularly because there was a war going on.

The descriptive writing is beautiful, the sexual encounter that occured was quite stimulating but I still kept waiting for the revelations to be told or for questions to be asked. It never happened until the last 25 pages or so and that is why I couldn't give this better than a 3* review.

Not the worst I have read, not the best, but with such an exceptional way with words, I will not discount this author and will continue to read most anything she writes.

Sensuality rating: NC-17

To most women, meeting the man of their dreams occurs only figuratively. Not so with Anne Sinclair, daughter of the Laird of Dunniwerth.

As a child of eight, Anne caught her first glimpse of a boy she knew only as Stephen, hailing from some unknown place called Langlinais. No mere dream, her vision came as a glimmering, fishbowl-like window into his world. For the next 15 years, Anne glimpses through this weird portal Stephen's anguish and joy, his triumphs and defeats, his interests and a few of his secrets as he grows to manhood.

With each new vision, Anne's heart grows inexorably closer to his. Never once does Stephen seem aware of her presence, but Anne knows that she must one day embark upon a quest to find this mysterious man. Their predestined meeting would forever change the course of both their lives, as well as the lives of those around them.

Stephen Harrington, 17th earl of Langlinais and commander of the "Blessed Regiment" cavalry squad, has grown weary of supporting his king, Charles I, in what he secretly considered a losing cause. Defying the king's command, Stephen returns home after a battle to bury his dead and nurse a festering wound.

Stephen doesn't count upon meeting the woman of his dreams -- in the figurative sense -- as Anne flees across his own lands from an enemy patrol. Rescuing her proves far easier than divining her secrets, such as why Anne traveled onto English soil to seek him out. Falling in love with her seems only natural at first, until the king's Parliamentarian enemies threaten to drive a wedge between them that even love cannot hope to surmount.

The first 90 percent of My True Love tells an engrossing tale of forbidden love amidst the uncertainty of war. Then, inexplicably, the dramatic tension slackens for a while, only to be artificially heightened by the inadequately explained actions of Anne's father -- almost as if to pad out the novel to the requisite length. A couple of other plot elements, such as the fate of a secondary character, suffer from similar mishandling. Otherwise, Ms. Ranney delivers an enjoyable read.

Just be careful the hot spots don't singe your fingertips.

I really enjoyed MY BELOVED, the 1st story in this series, but this one seemed to fall a little flat. Both books have a similar feel, slow moving, with a lot of everyday living in it. Normally I don't mind this, but in MY TRUE LOVE, something got lost. This story ties in with the earlier one, but if you hadn't read the earlier story, I fear you would be very confused. Also, where the earlier story had depth, envolving the Knights Templar, and intrigue, and basically a plot, this story just plodded along.

The era of war between the Royalists and Parlimentarians was a bloody and a very suspicious time. This was also the height of the witch trials. Wouldn't Sebatian have been a bit suspicous of someone who seemed to know him and his feelings when he had never met her before? He has his duty to the king, which he is obviously rebelling against, but feels that it is dishonorable to do so. I just didn't get any strong feelings of passion from our characters.

Although there are a few threads that weave from the beginning of the story to the end, I basically felt that we were denied a plot. Yes, our heroine and hero meet and fall in love, and there are some extranious subplots that keep the story interesting, but overall, there is not a really big, all encompassing plot to keep the reader's interest. Also, I am dissappointed in Sebatian and the choices he makes involving his ancestrial home. If you want to follow the series because you enjoyed MY BELOVED, then pick this book up, otherwise I would bypass this story.

If you love fast pace novels do not buy this book! If you are the kind of person who likes books that are slow paced and day to day events you will like the book. At first I thought itwould be good since this little girl can see images of another little boy and all that happens to him. Boy but was I wrong! There is no excitment sure there's strong love but nothing to entertain you. The only thing I liked was that this book involved a couple from the book My Beloved. I wish I had not bought the book. But that is just my opinion.

I found the book well written but without any humor or light moments (that I remember) So intense!

As a young child Anne Sinclair began having visions of a young boy named Stephen. These visions stayed with her throughout her entire life. Now at 23 years old she is determined to find Stephen.

Anne convinces a friend and two others to leave her Scottish castle home and head for England. England's Civil War is raging but Anne is still determined to find Stephen.

When the two finally meet Stephen is enthralled with Anne. How does she know so much about him? His secrets, his castle and home, his hiding places? Love blossoms between the two, but will Stephen have to return to war?

Karen Ranney's sequel to My Beloved is a touching and moving story, set amist war-torn England. I did find the story hard to understand at times and slow, but don't let that deter the reader, the historical aspect is sure to please.

Karen Ranney *knows* how to tell a beautiful story...

And MY TRUE LOVE is no exception. Ms. Ranney weaves a magical tapestry about a Scottish young woman, named Anne Sinclair, who falls in love with a man... that she's only seen in her mystical visions. Stephen Harrington, the Earl of Langlinais, is the man of her dreams, literally. And when he finds her in peril on his land, he not only rescues her but also finds himself absolutely enchanted by her... Thus begins the love story so powerful and unexplainable.. that even defies time and space. A tale of true love that began in MY BELOVED comes full circle.

I thought the story of Juliana and Sebastian was good! And have been anticipating the release of this book for months! And I surely was not disappointed by Karen Ranney. She sucks you in by her lyrical and almost poetic writing, making you a part of the character, plot... even the magical castle Langlinais. Ms. Ranney's words and sentences are packed with so much meaning and depth... creating a mystical ambience throughout the book. I enjoyed and savored Anne & Stephen's story. Two people in the midsts of a civil war, drawn by forces they don't even understand. It's an amazing love story with a great ending.

I can't wait to see what Karen Ranney comes up with next.

Julianne