My True Love

Langlinais #2

by Karen Ranney

Anne Sinclair has been haunted by visions of a handsome black-haired warrior all her life. His face invades her dreams and fills her nights with passionate longing. So the beautiful laird's daughter leaves her remote Scottish castle, telling no one, to search for the man called Stephen--a man she does not know but who fights in war-torn England, a place she has never seen.

Stephen Harrington, Earl of Langlinais, never expected to rescue this unexplained beauty from the hands of his enemy. And yet, when their eyes first meet, he feels from the depths of his soul that he should know her...that he needs to touch her, and keep her by his side forever. For unknown to both of them, they are in the center of a centuries-old love...a love that is about to surpass their wildest dreams.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Scotland, Fantasy, Adult

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

I’m a writer who’s been privileged to have attained the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Lists.

Although I've primarily written historical romance, I've also written contemporary romantic suspense, a murder mystery, and I'm having a wonderful time writing about a vampire who is being challenged by her new state of being. (The Montgomery Chronicles: The Fertile Vampire and The Reluctant Goddess coming March 12, 2015.)

I believe in the power of the individual, the magnificence of the human spirit, and always looking for the positive in any situation. I write about people who have been challenged by life itself but who win in the end.

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Reviews

[The_Book_Queen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The review that follow is a partial review. To read the full review, please visit TBQ's Book Palace!

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When love spans hundreds of miles, across two countries, and connects two lost souls long before they will ever physically meet, you know that something special is in the works. My True Love is truly something special!

The daughter of the laird of Dunniwerth, Anne Sinclair's childhood was a bit hard, though to an outsider they would think she had it all. And in many ways she did—but she wasn't spoiled by it, and her parents taught her to be giving, to be kind, and to be a hard worker. But at times having parents that expected so much from her was hard. It was during times like these that Anne wished for someone to talk to.

One night, when Anne was only 8, she had a vision, and in this vision she clearly saw a young boy, sitting in a castle, hearing the cries of his mother laboring in another room. Soon a woman comes in and tells the boy that his mother has passed on, as well as the babe. Anne watches as this strong boy, so young and yet already so old, breaks down and cries. Touched by the emotions and the connection she feels with this unknown boy, Anne begins to cry ,too. For the rest of her life, she continues to see visions of the boy—always random, always one sided. But as she grows, the boy does too, and by the time she is in her early 20's, she's watched Stephen grow up to become a man. She loves him, yet she's never really met him, and he has no idea she even exists.

When her father begins pushing for her to marry, she decides it is time to take her life into her own hands, and off she goes to find Stephen. Even if a relationship doesn't come out of it, she has to see him, touch him, at least once before she returns home and settles into a life that her parents want her to have.

Stephen, now the earl of his family's castle is intrigued by the stubborn lass that shows up on his grounds. What is it about her that has captured his attention so? She seems to know him, recognized him first thing and knew of his childhood hiding place—is she a witch, to know so such things? He doesn't believe so, but that still doesn't explain the way she acts, nor the words he has caught her saying (such as “I've seen you my whole life”, though they've never met). Regardless, he finds himself starting to care for her, and he wants to protect her, to get out of the trouble he is in with the crown so that he might have a chance at a life with her. But will her secret tear them apart—or will it be her father who keeps them apart?

I can't say enough great things about this book! It simply blew me away. Within the first few pages, I was hooked, and for the first time in a long time, I entered into a story where I didn't want to put it down. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough (cliché, but so very true!), and I was even teary eyed during a few of the more emotional scenes. I could feel the love between Anne and Stephen, first as she was growing up (and loved the image of the boy), then later as she finally realized that regardless of the visions she had of him, she loved the man he had become, not just the child she wanted to comfort.

The writing was excellent; Karen has a talent for words and the characters were very nicely done. I loved many of the quotes and passages from this book, and while most of them are more meaningful when reading the entire story, they are also very potent on their own. A rare treat, and something that not many authors can do.

.....

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This review is property of NightOwlReviews

[Kim Headlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

(Originally published in Crescent Blues. Reprinted with permission.)

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read June 8, 2018

I cried over this one, the author writes prose so beautifully it hurts to read them.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm kind of disappointed that I could only give this book 3 stars. I had really looked forward to reading this book, of following descendants of Juliana and Sebastian's. I will warn a reader now that there's probably going to be spoilers. I can't help it this time.

This was a slow book. At first I didn't mind it because was also slow, but this went almost agonizingly slow. With the first book I felt there was more psychological suspense than actual suspense and it was enough to keep me reading. With this book, I just felt like slapping Anne. More than once. I wanted her to tell Stephen of her visions or drawings so many damn times . . . it was said she was brave, but all I saw there was cowardice.

I wanted to see and know more of Stephen. In some ways he remained more of a stranger than Anne did in this book, or the characters in the first one. I enjoyed his description as a nod of resemblance to both Juliana and Sebastian. I liked that Juliana's codex was discovered and her story shared with the characters in this book, even though the nature of the true secret remained unknown to them.

I felt it was strange that I felt the loss of Langlinais more so than Stephen did as earl and descendant of Sebastian's and Juliana's. I felt like crying more than once. I know the theory of the story was that Stephen had Anne so he didn't feel the loss of his home or heritage as much but it just fell flat for me. I didn't feel the connection between them that deeply that he didn't seem upset. I also didn't like that a missing person from Anne's travel party was forgotten about and then neatly mentioned in the epilogue as being returned safe after six bloody months! Nobody seemed upset about that except for Anne's bully/jilted would be lover.

I will always love My Beloved (I've read it twice!) but I don't know if I'll reread this one. Even though they had been dead for four hundred years before this book took place, I mourn that couple and Langlinais.

[Elis Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one takes place during the first English Civil War. Scottish beauty Anne Sinclair has had visions of a dark-eyed boy since she was eight years old. She's sure he's real, and over the years her visions have given her enough details that she even knows where he is. So, when her father, the laird of her clan (and by the way also an earl) and mother are off doing political stuff in Edinburgh, Anne talks her friend Hannah (a wise woman who lives on an island in the loch) and a couple of young men into haring off to England—did I mention this takes place during the civil war?


(Sucks if you're the fish.)

So yeah, she gets in a fix, and guess who happens along to rescue her. Who happens to be a royalist who happens to have just gotten it into his head to take a breather from the war, so he happens to be at home just when she comes looking.



Of course, how does she explain the fact that she knows his name before they're introduced, or that she knows things about him that he's never shared with anyone? And while they're busy



The war rages on, and threatens to engulf them.

There were times when I felt like the story got bogged down in the poetry of the writing, so I skipped pages occasionally. But I was caught up in the romance, even when I thought some of the conflicts between the characters were unnecessary and silly. What saves the book completely, though, is the several nice twists at the end. This isn't quite a 4 star but it's closer to that than 3.5.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 2 out of 5]

PLEASE NOTE: It is critical that the reader has already read MY BELOVED (see below) before starting this book. Stephen and Anne find a book that Julianna (from book 1) has left behind with Julianna and Sebastian's story. This story is 400 years later than the first one in this series.

Throughout Anne Sinclair's life, she has had visions of Stephen Harrington. now Earl of Langlinais of England. These visions and dreams have troubled her so much that she has decided that she must be a witch, or at least be demented. Finally, at the age of 23, she decides to travel from Scotland to England and find the man she has been dreaming about. What is odd is that she leaves her home in the midst of a country-wide war. When she meets Stephen, she feels that she knows him and Langlinais. This story is told before the backdrop of the English Civil War, between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. Stephen is a Royalist.

The story seemed slow. I'm sorry to say that it then turned hokey. By the end of the book, I was ready to throw it against the wall. Coincidences heaped on coincidences made me wince. Just awful.

Loved
1. My Beloved (1999)
** 2. My True Love (2000)

[Sharon Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. Nothing like a little love, a little magic and strong male characters with equally strong female characters.

[Mary23nm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cons: The mystical theme didn't work for me. We don't really know why the heroine could 'see' the hero most of her life and feel a deep emotional connection, but the hero does not have that same connection.
The missing member of their traveling party was weird also, because I kept thinking, "Where is he?" and why did the author make the character simple?
There was a couple of extra love scenes that really didn't add anything to the story.
Pros: Though not Ranney's best work, still pretty good. 2.75 stars

[Coco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Ranney's books and her character development

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My True Love - VG
Karen Ranney
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.

A story linking back to "My Beloved" with a Scottish whoman who has seen visions of an English Earl most of her live. Plot vg, sensuality G+.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The historical setting for this HR is well-written. I enjoyed a lot of the detail given to descriptions of Langlinais and Stephen's ancestors, particularly Juliana's codex.

The revelation that Anne had been having visions of Stephen since childhood was well-timed and didn't feel tacked on.

I could have done without the epilogue, or perhaps a different scene. The idea that the Templars who obtained the false Grail from Sebastian then travelled to the Sinclairs and given sanctuary on what happened to be Hannah's island then Stephen and Anne find the falst Grail was just one too many lines of fate/coincidence. With the novel predicated on Anne's visions/Scots mysticism it wasn't necessary.

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of the books I have read by Ranney, this was one of my least favorites. Not only did I feel the story moved slowly, but that it had little or no action. I also felt the characters were boring, with none of the wit and daring of some of Ranney's other characters. However, the story did touch the romantic in me. I personally would not recommend this book, but would encourage readers to focus on her other books instead.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my gosh I am so glad to be done with this book. So many words and so little said and done. The main characters are boring to say the least. There was no character developement. The only reason this got 2 stars was some of the subplots. Hannah and Richard were fun and entertaining...so there is one star. The telling of Julianna and Sebastian deserved another star. The rest :(.

Please tell me if she is worth reading again.

[Karina L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is mainly about romance and it is very detailed. It contains some latin words in it which their meanings are explained in the text. I would recomend this book to people but who ever is reading it should somewhat contain some maturity in some scenes. Rather than that it contains romance, passion, and love.

[Stacie]

Anne has been dreaming about Stephen since he was a young boy even though she has no idea who or where he is located. When she gets older and her family starts pressuring her to marry, she decides to strike and find Stephen. They find each other and have to overcome obstacles to be together.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Sinclair has been having dreams of a young boy for years and even as they both grow to manhood. Anne is determined to travel from Scotland to England to find this person, and how she does and what ensues makes for a great read. Recommended.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Sinclair grows up in Scotland dreaming of a boy Stephen Harrington, Earl of Langlinais in England who grows up to a man. Anne sets out to find him and does at his home. A beautiful love story that tells of another romance of a former Earl Langlinais told in a fairy tale.

[LInda L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as some of hers, but still OK. Scottish romance with lots of historical content. Somewhat interesting, but not one of her best.

[Mllynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good all around, its not neccisary to have read the first one but its nice to have some background knowlege

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

1644
Story was pretty good. I didn't care for her style of writing. The romance scenes were pretty bland and boring actually.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautfly wrttn; Anne 'sees' Stphn & trvls to find hm @ hm frm war. Their stry of lv, trst, poltcs, honor takes thm bck to hr hm in Scotland

[D.G.]

DNFed at 33%

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So so sweet. Simple yet,amazingly believable. enjoyed it.