The Devil Wears Tartan

by Karen Ranney

A man in the shadows

Some say he is dangerous. Others say he is mad. None of them knows the truth about Marshall Ross, the Devil of Ambrose. He shuns proper society, sworn to let no one discover his terrible secret. Including the beautiful woman he has chosen to be his wife.

A fallen woman

Only desperation could bring Davina McLaren to the legendary Edinburgh castle to become the bride of a man she has never met. Plagued by scandal, left with no choices, she has made her bargain with the devil. And now she must share his bed.

A fire unlike any they've ever known

From the moment they meet, Davina and Marshall are rocked by an unexpected desire that leaves them only yearning for more. But the pleasures of the marriage bed cannot protect them from the sins of the past. With an enemy of Marshall's drawing ever closer and everything they now cherish most at stake, he and Davina must fight to protect the passion they cannot deny.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Scotland, Historical Fiction, Marriage Of Convenience, Victorian

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

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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Website: http://karenranney.com
Email: karen@karenranney.com
Twitter: @Karen_Ranney

Reviews

[eyes.2c · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wayward young women finds herself agreeing to a marriage of convenience with the Earl of Lorne. As a diplomat to China he and his men had been imprisoned by the Chinese. Marshall had been released. Most of his men had suffered death by torture. Marshall is left having dreams of the dead.
Davina is an unexpected young woman. She grows to love the Earl but how to save him from his nightmares and visions? I enjoyed this tremendously.

[Monique Takens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb de Nederlands talige uitgave gelezen : Een duivel aan mijn zijde - Candlelight Historische roman 809
Theresa Rowle de tante van Davina McLaren arrangeert een huwelijk voor haar met de Graaf van Lorne nadat zij in een compromitterende situatie is betrapt en geen uitzicht meer heeft op een goed huwelijk . Marshall Ross staat er helaas wel om bekend dat hij krankzinnig is geworden na een gevangenschap in China waarbij 22 mannen die onder zijn bevel stonden zijn omgekomen .
Na een succesvolle huwelijks nacht waarbij , 'de duivel van Ambrose ' zoals Marshall ook wel genoemd wordt , deze bijnaam geen eer aandoet blijkt toch al gauw dat er wel iets verontrustends met hem aan de hand is . Is het alleen het schuldgevoel waardoor hij geplaagd wordt door visioenen van de 22 overleden mannen of is er iets anders aan de hand ?
Een spannend en goed uitgewerkt verhaal .

[Julie (jjmachshev) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Sep08

I think it was the cover of this book that called to me. A brawny highlander, shown from the waist up, dressed only his plaid. Delicious. Then I read inside the front cover: a woman felled by scandal and a recluse called the Devil of Ambrose. Now who could resist a Victorian romance like that?

Davina is a fallen woman--shunned by society and doomed to a life of spinsterhood. She really can’t blame anyone but herself. Her father always did say her curiosity would get her in trouble. But it could be worse, she does prefer to read anyway, so now she’ll just spend her life learning from her books. Until the aunt who took her in after her father’s death arranges a marriage for her. And not just any marriage, she’ll be the Countess of Lorne. Obviously, there’s something wrong with her husband and darn her curiosity again, but Davina can’t stop herself from wanting to solve his mysteries…especially once she sees him and realizes he’s young and handsome, and very skilled in the art of lovemaking.

Marshall is a tormented man who spends his life secluded, by choice, from society. Where once he exulted in the fun, games, and challenges of his life he’s now haunted by the souls of those who died under his command during his last diplomatic mission to China. But before he dies he wants an heir and asks his man of affairs to find him a wife of childbearing age. He doesn’t expect to care for her and he just hopes that the luxuries and wealth of being the Countess of Lorne will be enough to make up for being married to an insane man. He just never counted on Davina and her unwillingness to settle for less than what she wants…and she appears to want him.

This story has quite a bit of angst. He’s suffering and even though it’s apparent to the simplest reader what’s wrong, he doesn’t figure it out. Uh huh. Davina is quite brilliant herself and she doesn’t figure it out either…sure. That was my biggest beef with this story. If you can get past that, the rest of the plot is plausible and I wasn’t certain of the villain until the last part, suspicious but not certain. There’s a kind of side-story involving Davina’s aunt which doesn’t really pan out, instead the author gives the reader just enough glimpses of what’s going on to tie it into the main story. I’m not sure if that was to prepare readers for a possible future story starring the aunt or not, but that’s the only reason I can think of for doing so. For the most part, I just felt a certain distance from all the characters in this novel. I didn’t feel a growing connection between the hero and heroine, it just seemed that they woke up one day and cared for each other after very little interaction. Then they maintained a distance from other and yet the heroine was willing to do anything to save the hero. I just couldn’t buy it.

Karen Ranney is an author who’s had great success with her Highland stories. It could be that this particular book is not one of the best, but for whatever reason, “The Devil Wears Tartan” just didn’t gel for me. The characters stayed creatures on paper and the story didn’t hold much in the way of surprise. I did appreciate the humor in the ending and the wealth of information in Egyptology though. However, it wasn’t quite enough to make me truly enjoy the book.

[Ana María · Rating 5 out of 5]

Por fin una mujer, en histórica, con interés en el sexo previo a encontrarse con el amor de su vida!!!!
Es una novela que me sacó de lo de siempre.
Sin duda, lo que más me gustó fue el personaje de Davinia: de carácter fuerte y decidido, pero a la vez adaptado a la época (excepto su "desliz, claro).
Acepta casarse con un desconocido (loco pero noble y rico, claro) porque se da cuenta que no le queda otra posibilidad pero, cuando ve al "bombonazo" que su tía le eligió de marido, toma la iniciativa de lograr un matrimonio feliz aunque tenga que luchar contra viento y marea.

Y él también me gustó mucho, no al principio porqué pensé que era de esos traumados por el pasado que se niegan a la felicidad, etc. etc. etc. que ya me tienen podrida. Todo tiene una explicación de por qué él es así. No digo más...

No es una novela rosa, donde cantan los pajaritos. Es dura y oscura, porque la historia previa es difícil, con mucha maldad humana. Además, esa historia previa se proyecta en la actual directamente.
Aclaro que no hay nada paranormal.
Especial para cuando nos cansamos de lo de siempre.

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really shouldn't have judged this book by its cover. I mean, when I first picked it up, I thought it was going to be one of those books with the handsome warrior Laird from the Highlands, who would rescue the damsel in distress and then carry her off to the castle and ravish her until eternity. Little did I know, it was going to be the other way around.

Let's start with the hero, or the damsel, if I could really call him that. Marshall Ross, the Earl of Lorne (so much for being a Laird from the Highlands) is handsome, rich, smart,mysterious and all the other attributes to make women faint just by knowing him, but he keeps a terrible secret, one secret that has earned him the reputation as the "Devil of Ambrose." Then, add in the heroine, Davina McLaren, with her curious nature, her charming personality and a very stubborn streak, of course it was a recipe for disaster, thus her fall from grace. Now, without the prospect of suitors knocking on her door, her aunt was somehow able to arrange a marriage between her and a man they call the Devil...

When she met her unknown bridegroom during the wedding, he wasn't what she expected, he had neither horns nor tail, but a smile of an angel. Marshall was having second thoughts before he met his bride. He was wondering why a woman who has never met him but has heard of his reputation as the devil would agree to such an arrangement. The whole time he was thinking that she may have something disfigured, or she was a shrew or that she was greedy. But, he got even more curious when he met her and i quote:

His solicitor said she was pretty.
She wasn't.
His bride was radiant. Glorious. Perfect.

I guess you could call it love at first sight. Fast forward to their Wedding night, well, other than that they had it which I'm not going to discuss in detail, Davina was a bit disappointed, not by his performance I assure you, but because he didn't stay the night. And, like the curious cat that she is, she was determined to find out why. And so, the story goes on (which is better if you read it yourself, but i'll give you the VERY short version) with Davina finding out about his secret, with him adjusting to the fact that she knows it, a heartbreak, and an even greater heartbreak, a "kidnapping" , and then a most valiant rescue, enlightenment, reconciliation, and then ending with a happily ever after.

[Dalia Idris · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really like karen ranney's work..but what got my attention first was the cover :D ...who could resist a handsome highlander with those eyes !! ..
after i read it, i did love it..i loved the characters especially the her ofcourse :D
it was well written and the plot was..genius (Y)
i totally was gonna have a heartattack wheni thought he would have died at te end :S
i would totally recommend it (y) simple amazing

[Sonia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Just awful. I think Ranney is a good author but this book was very difficult to read. The romance is lackluster and the mystery has far too many red herrings. Save your money!

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing

Sorry, this book was not for me. The story started well, with an unconventional heroine who caught my attention. However, Davina didn't really do anything bold until the very end of the story. There wasn't really any chemistry between Davina and Marshall. The sub-plot with Theresa and the siege at the end seemed far fetched. Got bored around the 30% mark, kept reading because I wanted to find out 'what happened in China'. Just wasn't invested in the characters of plot.

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tortured hero meets his salvation?

Curious Davina McLaren has done a scandalous act and because of her actions she has sullied her name. No ‘decent’ man will have her now. Except Marshall Ross, the Earl of Lorne, aka the Devil of Ambrose, a recluse who does not really care for crowds.

The book was good, there is a mystery of sorts throughout the book. Marshall keeps having visions and he believes is due to his time in service for the Queen. To be honest I figured out pretty quickly that he was being drugged, it was too obvious! What was surprising was finding out who the real culprit was, which you don’t get to find out until the very end.

The book is very wordy, in the sense that both heroes spend a lot of time in their own heads but when they do interact it was entertaining.

What really surprised me was how blasé Davina was about her actions. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with her … if it was the here and now. But it doesn’t coincide with the times. During those times a woman’s virtue was everything, if you lost that, bye bye good marriage match. I can’t believe she did not think about that or seemed to care to be honest!

Another frustrating thing about the book was that it kept jumping POVs without notice. You’re reading from Davina’s POV and suddenly it jumps to her aunt or Marshall’s uncle without you realising. There was no proper stopping point from one person’s thought to another.

Overall it was an OK book but it could have been better.

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Davina McLaren has been ruined and is now unmarriageable so when an offer came from Marshall Ross, Earl of Lorne (nicknamed the Devil of Ambrose) that he was looking for a bride, Davina’s aunt accepted. Davina was a reluctant bride since she had never met her husband and had heard of stories about him (that he is mad and dangerous). Marshall wants an heir so is not fussed on what is wife will be like.

When they do meet , Marshall is taken by her beauty and Davina by his handsomeness and they are rocked by an unexpected desire that only leaves them yearning for more but the pleasures of the marriage bed cannot protect them from the sins of the past and Marshall has a past that he does not feel he can share.

This story was told differently than others, Marshall’s father had been a lover of everything Egyptian so there is a lot of discussion around Egyptian artifacts. Marshall himself had served the Crown in the Orient but after what happened to him there he hates everything oriental.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read this book several times. I've always loved the siege at the end. Davina is sometimes naive and sometimes wise. She's a bit of a whiner about all the bad that's happened to her but then brushes herself off and moves forward. I find her mood swings tiring but tolerable. I liked Marshall okay although he doesn't do much. He doesn't know he's being dosed and instead thinks he's going mad. It's scary to think of how easily one could find themselves in a mental institution. I wonder if/how different it is today.

The author is a good storyteller although I didn't feel a true romance. The possibility was there, certainly. But it needed something. Maybe some humor in the interactions between the hero and heroine, I don't know.

November 2018: Despite the above mentioned issued, I still like this story a lot.

[Lucimar · Rating 3 out of 5]

O começo foi excelente,com diálogos divertidos, mocinha decidida, mocinho carinhoso e considerado que sabia respeitar as pessoas e os sentimentos dela. Não se importou ao descobrir que ela não era mais virgem... Mas, o final não me agradou, pois a autora se estendeu no final, deu um indicativo que seguia uma linha de raciocínio e não continuou por ela e com isso tornou a leitura monótona e cansativa, surpreendente, mas insosso.

[Atunah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one. The tortured hero, the curious heroine, I loved both of them. Really from the beginning, I could feel that they were meant for each other.
Karen Ranney knows how to write emotional charged scenes, in and out of the bed. That is how you do it.

I read this one in almost one sitting. It just had everything I needed at the time.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a clever twist to the typical "I'm a bad guy, but really a good guy waiting for you to save me" theme. I loved it!! You hurt so much for Marshall and his family. Definitely worth reading.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually 3.5 for me. It would have been 4 stars except I did not like a part near the end.

[Brenda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate when I waste my time! No fun, no hot, no love, no nothing! Boring as fuck. Nothing really happened. The "problem" was so obvious. He behaved like an asshole and she like a stupid. Awful.

[Trenchologist · Rating 2 out of 5]

2+

Not sure where to rate this one. This is the first book by Ranney I've read and I get the feeling she's a better writer than this book serves her -- there's good emotional moments and turns of phrase -- but it's also a tonal mismash, the characters distant, and had too much nonstarter plot elements going on for her to wrangle, and so everything got away from her (and any tight editing).

I unwound the plot in the first several pages. Some of that is too much critical reading & plot devising of my own; some of that is it's just obvious. This isn't a knock on Ranney btw; a lot of suspense and mystery plots give breadcrumbs or the whole loaf from the jump and then it's a matter of watching the characters figure it out. But here that just didn't work. Why?

It's baldfaced what's happening to afflict the hero.

Which made me incredulous that it occurred to no one at all in the book why every time hero did Certain Thing Of Habit he had the madness, and anytime he didn't do Certain Thing Of Habit he did not. Especially as he has long experience with the intake and then effects, and the heroine is supposed to be endlessly curious and obstinate and loves an intellectual challenge.

She never lives up to that. She gets under his skin, learns something about Egyptology, and the leaves in a huff, going against everything we've been told is who she is. She stays away, and then in the hurried and condensed ending toward the HEA, rushes back to playact a siege that isn't in tone with any of the rest of this brooding book. This *after* she has all the clues to put the parts together to tell him what's up and scupper the wrongdoing.

We can almost excuse the hero is traumatized and suffering ptsd and doesn't /want to deal or solve this/ but his own obstinacy -- cleaving himself to unending misery -- gets tiresome. With her there, and the spark of life she brings back to him, he should have stirred to do a little something more on their behalf than 'with her, yay' 'stay away for her, agony.'

No one gets agency to save him. It's all done through machinations and he's cured and the villain vanquished-and-killed by circumstance. Super frustrating.

There's that tonal mismash: the ending belonged to a rolicking romp, not a beast in a castle fairy tale. It got the job done to resolve the conflicts and mystery, but not fittingly or well.

Why was the heroine denied saving him with her curiosity and intellect? With the very thing that made her a misfit in society but he had grown to appreciate?

She gets under his skin, and is an eager lover, and we're supposed to believe in their growing bond because he doesn't mock her smarts and she soothes his rages. I think. There's shades of 'healing cock' here, except it's healing fornication (fucking, which he tells her in disdain they'll do and then wants her to stop saying). But that didn't gel for me either. I feel like from here they'll be happy and doting and enjoy life, but it doesn't feel like a counterweight to all that misery endured, because they didn't earn it.

Many characters have a double life, which is a potentially interesting metaphor given his affliction and past etc, but the threads of that happen mostly off-page and are given courtesy treatment, not importance or depth to culminate in a gratifying Big Finish.

Like, why the sacrifices and actions the aunt makes if she doesn't get some part in the ensuing resolution? She was superfluous to it, despite being "part of it." It's not a great sign when she could have been edited out and the whole left to a few ~~and then things happened~~~ paragraphs of exposition.

The uncle is treated like a red herring even tho he is the bad guy. No comeuppance on page. No evil plotting on page either. Again, a ~~and then things happened~~~ paragraphs of exposition would have served as handily.

Just, excise both of them and leave it as the revenge kernel within. Or make it clear why the uncle and the inside man work together (and did they? even after reading I'm not sure).

The hero's parents' story *almost* comes to something useful, but then doesn't. Again, they offered a piece of the solve-the-mystery-puzzle. That the inquisitive and intelligent heroine reads. Finds nothing notable. Passes them along to the hero after her pique-and-depart. And then he reads them, likewise sees nothing of note, but then pronounces ah that clue! from mum's journals and an unxpected dryout in an asylum, I'm cured.

And why all the Egyptology, and yet no metaphors or clues there and it wasn't even really well positioned as any 'refuge,' except maybe the author did a lot of research or knows a lot and wanted to talk about it.

Bad handling of tantalizingly promising elements.

The more I think about this book, the more heavy-sigh-plus-meh I get, lol. So I'll leave it there.

[Kathy Golden]

The Devil Wears Tartan https://amzn.to/2BiCxTE

I didn't rate The Devil Wears Tartan, but I decided to review it just to share how much I liked Davina and Marshall. Karen Ranney does the most engaging things with the interaction of her hero and heroine. I enjoy the way their conversations can be the exact opposites of their thoughts. They behave as though each has accepted the boulder hindering true commitment and true love and have decided, instead, to focus on trying to get to know one another in bed and out. All the while, there is this undercurrent of how much both of them desperately want their relationship to work. Their interactions and verbal spars and humor are wonderful to read. They feel so much like real people, both in moments of internal reflection and in their moments of honesty with each other. They are both attractive people, but this isn't stated over and over as a stand-alone fact, but shared as the way the two perceive each other.

There are some interesting integrations of historical facts into the plot. The sex scenes are explicit. The story is written in third person. In addition to the POVs of Davina and Marshall, there are a few others. This is my second book by this author. I finished it in a day. I'm definitely going to give another book a try.

I will say that the title is deceptive. The Madman of Ambrose would have been a more adequate one.

[Ti · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a 'nice' book. An intriguing premise and plot. Somehow the story and characters did not grab me and pull me along through the story as I was hoping. But still, a well written and readable book.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. But it seems that the female was always chasing after the male. Its not the type of books I favor.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story very much but I wish they had figured what was going on sooner and some action from the uncle, housekeeper or the valet that is why I didn't give the book five stars.

[Linda Klages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Will enjoy reading more from author Karen Ranney.

[Pilar Descalza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonita aunque con demasiadas reflexiones de los protagonistas que la hacen lenta.

[Jesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow read. I would have enjoyed Aunt Theresa's adventures more

[Marika · Rating 1 out of 5]

⛔️

[Samantha Bowler · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very long book with not much happening. I kept reading because i loved the Characters

[Rebecca]

Surprisingly melancholy.

[Tara ✨booksbeersbattlestargalactica✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Angels · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry to say this book was not for me. I almost did not finish reading it. The only thing positive for me was Davina. I loved her she was outspoken and witty despite what society thought of her . She was the only person that kept me reading this book because i was waiting to see what she did next. She is pretty much forced by her Aunt to marry and Earl named Marshall Ross with whispered rumors that he was mad. Her Aunt says this is Davina's only chance to she her wed and to have children as she is ruined in society. She marries this man she never met and the only thing he demands of her is to provide him with and heir and take care of his needs and that is all. He really does not want a wife and he is hiding secrets from his past. He is losing is mind along with his wife. Davina tries her best to form some sort of marriage but the Earl is not making it easy for her at all and she finally flees him. Upon learning that he husband is being transferred to a mad house she returns home to try again to help her husband. Learning that havoc is about she raises and army to rescue him.I think what want wrong for me is the constant brooding and being cruelty to her that got me. It was obvious that he had a troubled past from being in war and was having outbursts and nightmares.Davina had be patient and kind and helping him and he was always cruel and kept pushing her away and she still stayed fell in love him. How do you love or fall in love someone like that ? Not me for sure.But she returned again when she heard he was in need and got to the bottom of plot that someone was trying to kill him learning what was causing his madness . Now all of a sudden he loves her and everything is fine and dandy and a happily ever after ... to unbelievable for me .Sorry this story was just not for me.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just so horrible! Marshall was addicted to opium from his time in China and has “fits” at night. He knows he must carry on the family line. He must marry and produce an heir. So, his solicitor picks Davina, a ruined woman (not a virgin anymore), who has little choice but to marry Marshall. They have a good time in bed together their wedding night. The next morning everything seems more distant. Davina tries to get her husband to come back to her bed. Of course, Marshall is afraid of hurting her, or worse. There are several characters in this book who lead “double” lives and are not who they appear to be on the surface- Marshall’s uncle, Davina’s aunt, and the housekeeper.

I must say the first 130 pages were so boring I skimmed the rest of the book. There is no chemistry between Marshall and Davina. There was never any sexual tension in the book either, which for me, is a must (at some level) in any type of romance. And worst of all I hated the hero and the heroine!! I found Davina very snobbish and sometimes mean, and had absolutely no respect for Marshall. I love dark brooding heroes, but unfortunately…. He wasn’t brooding. He was just boring and 2-deminsional! I have so far enjoyed all the other Karen Ranney books I’ve read and have the highest respect for her writing. I just didn’t like this book.