The Irresistible MacRae: Book Three of the Highland Lords

by Karen Ranney

Book Overview

To avoid a scandal that would devastate her family, Riona McKinsey has agreed to marry the wrong man -- though the one she yearns for is James MacRae. Had she not been maneuvered into a compromising... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380821052
• ISBN13: 9780380821051
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

My favorite of this whole series so far!

I absolutely loved this book! James is so ..what word can I use? "Va Va Voom" comes to mind! Well, that is three words, but, who is counting?! He is so gentle and loving towards Riona. He even kept a journal of his feelings! What a completely wonderful hero. Riona and he were so tortured by their feelings. I felt as though I was there going through it and the end made me just smile a huge smile! It made me sigh one of those long, heartfelt sighs. I would have liked to hear a little more about Lietis and Ian, a follow up, but, other than that this book is excellent! Everything that I look for in a novel!

SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE

Could James be any more perfect? I fell in love with him just looking at his character in the picture on the back cover! He even keeps a journal of his feelings...what more can a woman want?Although I would have liked Riona to be a little less dutiful, when the time came, the woman came through and gave it up for James...in a field...and bugs or itchy grass never entered my mind while reading that!"Irresistible" must be Gaelic for "James."

Not as Good as Books One & Two

Having been sent to Edinburgh to be presented to society in hopes of finding a husband the very wealthy heiress Riona McKinsey has been maneuvered into a most compromising position by a calculating fortune hunter. Using Riona's love for her family as a weapon to threaten scandal and ruin upon her she grudgingly agrees to a betrothal and marriage with the odious greedy suitor.Her mother, Susanna, had sent a plea to her friend Fergus MacRae to see if he could help her figure a way out of the mess Riona had fallen into. Fergus couldn't come but sent his nephew James MacRae as his emissary. Once Susanna, saw James she concocted a scheme to have him spend time at her estate half hoping that an attraction would happen between Riona and James. Naturally, as they try to ignore the attraction - James being honorable realizing that she was betrothed and Riona having committed herself to a betrothal and trying to honor her agreement to save her family from scandal, the inevitable happens and they fall in love.I have to say that I've read all of Karen Ranney's novels to date and have been most satisfied up until now. Her prose of course, is outstanding and you get all warm and fuzzy as these two fall in love - James being the more poetically sensitive of the MacRae brothers, but the plot really does not make sense. Once the mother had agreed to her daughters sacrifice betrothal what on earth did she hope to accomplish by maneuvering her daughter and James into a lustful encounter? But more importantly, knowing what a toad her betrothed was for manipulating her into a compromising position, and Riona being portrayed as an independent and resourceful daughter - what difference did it make which scandal would be worse - the Riona breaking off a forced betrothal with a man she despised - or running off to Gretna Green with a man who was her love and kindred spirit? Never mind that Riona was supposedly doing it all for her sweet sister so that the sister could marry the man she was in love with. Why didn't the sister see how miserable Riona was being forced into marrying someone she did not love? The secondary plot of someone trying to kill James was not of primary importance to the plot and was dealt with rather haphazardly and used, I believe, as a vehicle solely to put James and Riona in a compromising position.I am sorry to say that the third book of Highland Lords series just did not live up to my expectations of a Karen Ranney novel especially after having read everything else she has written plus the first two books of the series that had much more excitement and sensuality to them. She did manage to pull off the ending so I did not rate this so much by the weakness of the plot as I did by her exquisite prose - Rating a 3 would have been too low but with no 1/2 points in this rating system I am giving it a 4*.

Nice, romantic & fun to read!

James is so good-looking that he is irresistible to others, but he hardly notices the other women except for Riona. She is engaged to another when they fall in love, so there is an element of sorrow throughout the book -- but that is Karen Ranney for you! I have read nearly every one of her books -- she is very good and this book was just as hard to put down as her others. There are 2 delightful sideline romances in it, too. I look forward to the other 2 installments in this series.

delightful Scottish historical romance

In 1778 Scotland, Harold McDougal tricks Riona McKinsey into entering the gardens by informing the heiress that her sister was there weeping. When she goes into the gardens, she quickly realizes her sibling is not there. Harold follows Riona and insures everyone sees them together so that she is compromised and must marry him. Though she prefers to reject this odious money grabber, a scandal would destroy her sister's chances for happiness so a reluctant and irate Riona agrees to wed Harold in a month.Riona's mother Susanna wants her daughters happy but cannot see Riona with this smiling con artist. She asks for help from her friend Fergus, but he is getting married so he sends his nephew James MacRae to assist Susannah. When he gets ready to go home, Susanna concocts a ploy to keep him here because she has a bigger plan that centers on James and Riona, whose passion for each other makes it easier to accomplish. However, Riona is betrothed and someone wants James dead making the permanency that Susanna envisions vey unlikely to occur.Though the third Highlands Lord book reads somewhat like the previous two and has too easy solutions to Riona's dilemma, readers will relish this Scottish romance because the lead couple makes for a delightful pair that the audience will cherish. The story line is fast-paced and loaded with the intrigue of the late eighteenth century. Still the cast owns the novel especially Riona, James and that wile coyote Harold, who for the most part is, as clever villain readers will find in a historical.Harriet Klausner