Rating: 
Summary: the mature romance reader's all-nighter
Review: AFTER THE KISS is a beautifully written romance novel. All the impoverished widow, Margaret Esterly, intends to do is to sell three erotic journals left by her late husband. All Michael Hawthorne, Earl of Montraine intends to do is to marry an heiress so that his mother and sisters may continue to live in the exorbitant manner to which they've been accustomed. Margaret and Michael meet quite briefly and unexpectedly, only to find they can't stop thinking of each other. They meet again, due to Michael's persistence. Then there's the kiss. This story is about the passion and adventure that happens AFTER THE KISS. This is one of those rare books you might want to read a second time.
Rating: 
Summary: PASSION AND LOVE
Review: AFTER THE KISS is a beautifully written romance novel. All the impoverished widow, Margaret Esterly, intends to do is to sell three erotic journals left by her late husband. All Michael Hawthorne, Earl of Montraine intends to do is to marry an heiress so that his mother and sisters may continue to live in the exorbitant manner to which they've been accustomed. Margaret and Michael meet quite briefly and unexpectedly, only to find they can't stop thinking of each other. They meet again, due to Michael's persistence. Then there's the kiss. This story is about the passion and adventure that happens AFTER THE KISS. This is one of those rare books you might want to read a second time.
Rating:
Summary: This writter is tomorrows superstar in the romance genre
Review: AFTER THE KISS is a powerful Regency romantic mystery filled with more twists and turns than found in a private investigator novel. The technique of realistic surprises will please fans of historical mysteries as well as those who enjoy an ardent romance. The lead couple is charming and the villain is despicable even as he stays just outside the sight of the reader. Karen Ranney provides the sub-genre audience and a wider audience with a superb tale of suspense that will bring the author a new cadre of fans.Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A nobleman hero & commoner heroine & they don't even care!
Review: After the Kiss was such a splendid book! It is my second Karen Ranney book and much better than the previous one. This is a great romance story between two very likable characters. Both the hero and heroine are unique for romance writing and realistically portrayed. Michael Hawthorne, Earl of Montraine, is your typical, very attractive, self-confident and sexy historical English hero. He hates attending events of the Season or any such formal party or ball. His similarities to the typical hero end there. He is actually looking for a wife. It's not that he likes the idea of marriage so much - rather - he accepts it as fate and knows his future bride will have to be a rich heiress. His family is in need of funds after his father's poor handling of their estates and his mother's tremendous overspending. Margaret Esterly had been widowed several years earlier when a fire killed her husband and destroyed their home and bookstore. She has few funds to provide for her existence and lives the life of a poor woman. She has no ties to nobility and has no desire to even know anyone of that class. Margaret has in her possession three books that her husband had stored in their strong box prior to the devastating fire. Margaret had only been able to take the strong box with her as she barely escaped death. Now most of the money is gone and she must sell one of these valuable books. These three books are a set of highly sensual journals and she locates a list of possible buyers her husband had left in one of the journals. She arranges the sale of the first journal and travels to London to deliver it. When Margaret arrives at the home of the buyer, she sees that he is hosting a masquerade ball. After she completes the sale, she creeps into a garden to get a glimpse of the ball. While catching that peek of a masquerade ball in all its grandeur, the hero, Michael, spots Margaret and the two share an interesting interlude while dancing in the garden. Within a few moments of their meeting, Margaret flees to her hired hack and proceeds home. Behind her, Michael is left desiring her company and cannot forget her. He is determined to find her and claim that kiss she had almost given him prior to the interruption that had made her run away. Michael is basically a genius at mathematics and breaking codes. Although he is an earl, rank is of little importance to him. Most of his friends are not even members of the ton. He doesn't even require a wife that is a part of London society. However, he is viewed as a very serious man that is not overly friendly. In fact, his persistent look of brooding scares the ladies a little although they remain very attracted to him. His near obsession of Margaret really rankles him. He is used to a very structured life and is very self disciplined. His logical pursuit of a wife has become a necessity. But Margaret has a way of making him illogical. Margaret, in turn, is very drawn to Michael but does not believe they will ever have a relationship. Although Michael wants her for his mistress, she flatly refuses and will not consider any of his arguments. The tale of Michael and Margaret is a fascinating one. Michael does tend to be dominating and Margaret leans to sugariness but both are very balanced characters and mature. This is a book about their romance. Although there is the usual villain in the background, the author spends little time on the suspense or secondary characters. We are treated with page after page of great interaction between the two. That is definitely the way I most love romance writing. We are allowed time to see their relationship grow and there are no silly misunderstandings. The leads communicate truthfully with one another and genuinely like each other's company. There are some good sensual scenes that rate a solid 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).
There are not that many books that come so close to my idea of perfection in romance writing but this one does. Although After the Kiss is not one of my all time favorite books, it still has a definite place on my keeper shelf. I know I will enjoy reading this book more than once. And that is about the best thing I can say about any book.
Rating:
Summary: A nobleman hero & commoner heroine & they don't even care!
Review: After the Kiss was such a splendid book! It is my second Karen Ranney book and much better than the previous one. This is a great romance story between two very likable characters. Both the hero and heroine are unique for romance writing and realistically portrayed. Michael Hawthorne, Earl of Montraine, is your typical, very attractive, self-confident and sexy historical English hero. He hates attending events of the Season or any such formal party or ball. His similarities to the typical hero end there. He is actually looking for a wife. It's not that he likes the idea of marriage so much - rather - he accepts it as fate and knows his future bride will have to be a rich heiress. His family is in need of funds after his father's poor handling of their estates and his mother's tremendous overspending. Margaret Esterly had been widowed several years earlier when a fire killed her husband and destroyed their home and bookstore. She has few funds to provide for her existence and lives the life of a poor woman. She has no ties to nobility and has no desire to even know anyone of that class. Margaret has in her possession three books that her husband had stored in their strong box prior to the devastating fire. Margaret had only been able to take the strong box with her as she barely escaped death. Now most of the money is gone and she must sell one of these valuable books. These three books are a set of highly sensual journals and she locates a list of possible buyers her husband had left in one of the journals. She arranges the sale of the first journal and travels to London to deliver it. When Margaret arrives at the home of the buyer, she sees that he is hosting a masquerade ball. After she completes the sale, she creeps into a garden to get a glimpse of the ball. While catching that peek of a masquerade ball in all its grandeur, the hero, Michael, spots Margaret and the two share an interesting interlude while dancing in the garden. Within a few moments of their meeting, Margaret flees to her hired hack and proceeds home. Behind her, Michael is left desiring her company and cannot forget her. He is determined to find her and claim that kiss she had almost given him prior to the interruption that had made her run away. Michael is basically a genius at mathematics and breaking codes. Although he is an earl, rank is of little importance to him. Most of his friends are not even members of the ton. He doesn't even require a wife that is a part of London society. However, he is viewed as a very serious man that is not overly friendly. In fact, his persistent look of brooding scares the ladies a little although they remain very attracted to him. His near obsession of Margaret really rankles him. He is used to a very structured life and is very self disciplined. His logical pursuit of a wife has become a necessity. But Margaret has a way of making him illogical. Margaret, in turn, is very drawn to Michael but does not believe they will ever have a relationship. Although Michael wants her for his mistress, she flatly refuses and will not consider any of his arguments. The tale of Michael and Margaret is a fascinating one. Michael does tend to be dominating and Margaret leans to sugariness but both are very balanced characters and mature. This is a book about their romance. Although there is the usual villain in the background, the author spends little time on the suspense or secondary characters. We are treated with page after page of great interaction between the two. That is definitely the way I most love romance writing. We are allowed time to see their relationship grow and there are no silly misunderstandings. The leads communicate truthfully with one another and genuinely like each other's company. There are some good sensual scenes that rate a solid 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).
There are not that many books that come so close to my idea of perfection in romance writing but this one does. Although After the Kiss is not one of my all time favorite books, it still has a definite place on my keeper shelf. I know I will enjoy reading this book more than once. And that is about the best thing I can say about any book.
Rating:
Summary: the mature romance reader's all-nighter
Review: I agree with the reviewers who found this love story very compelling. I have not stayed up until 3 in the morning reading a romance for a long while. The tender yet fiery attraction between the earl and the widow is magnetic, and what keeps their relationship from consummation drives the plot marvelously, until about 3/4 of the book. When they really "get together," the plot's tension lost me considerably. I agree that the ending was lame, but not so much because it was abrupt, but rather, predictable and even drawn out after the relationship problem had been resolved. I like a romantic ending to resolve the romantic, not some outside, problem. The suspense element was not that suspenseful, and that is not primarily what drives a great romance, I believe. What I loved about this book is not so much the lack of antagonism between the principals, but that each, but especially Michael Hawthorne, the Earl of Montraine, is an intriguing person well worth knowing. He is no cookie cutter hero. He displays an almost excessive restraint and rationality in his thinking, while acting increasingly against this disposition. Still, Ms. Ranney is herself excessive in lecturing us about the grand meaning of realizations on the part of both lovers, but especially, again, the earl, who is taken by surprise when he falls in...love, of all things! The check on his inbred arrogance is, however, convincingly depicted. Her writing is lyrical, though nothing like Laura Kinsale, whom I miss (does anyone else?). I did find, as one negative reviewer did, that the historical context is treated too loosely--the earl does not act in good stead when he makes his critical decision about his family's vs. his own future as a peer of the realm. This even questions his nobility, though it may make him more superficially romantic. A bit more of that internal struggle, rather than the predictable unravelling of the code, would have captivated my curiosity. As for the heroine, she is less captivating though competent as a place-holder for the reader. This reader found her a bit too dispassionate in her attitude and thinking, though not in her uninhibited actions in bed! Somehow, this discrepancy is not as interesting in her as in the hero. In short, she was not feminine enough for my taste. Ranney is definitely worth reading generally for her complex, mature characters and engaging writing, despite all this nitpicking. AFTER THE KISS is a mature woman's all-nighter.
Rating:
Summary: After the Kiss is that rare ruby in a mountain of rocks
Review: I average about four full-length novels a week. Needless to say, it's been quite a while since I've read a book this good. Thus the ruby vs. rock comparison in my title. (this book is a gem compared to the other "rocks" that I've read for the last few months) I'm stumped as to why this book is not being raved about while other less books are. I've never sighed so much over a book in quite some time. I am so in love with the hero that it's overwhelming. Heck, HE overwhelms me with his passion and his hunger for our heroine. After he saw her, it's as if no other woman existed for him. <Sigh> He was so honest about his feelings for her. <Sigh> I've never been so jealous of a fictional heroine before! Karen Ranney did more than just tell me about it and describe it. She made me feel it. She delivered it down here in my gut. Yes, she delivers a good mystery & yada yada yada. But what really impressed me about this intelligent book is the breath-taking sexual tension that is so erotically charged and so intense at times that I was left quite breathless. Karen Ranney is to writing what Vincent Van Gogh is to Art. She really is a rare find and I am patting myself on the back for having picked this book up. Before Ranney, I never thought I'd find another author that could come close to Judith Ivory's (aka Judy Cuevas) sensual and lush masterpieces. Now I see why Ms. Ivory wrote an introduction for this book. Both deliver the goods on sexual tension and multi-dimensional characters that I care deeply about. But for those of you who MUST have action and mystery with your romance, Ranney's After the Kiss will be a better fix for you than Ivory.
Rating:
Summary: Oh my god - I bet you'll devour this book!
Review: I finished this book 24 hours ago and I'm still all a-flutter. Karen Ranney uses language beautifully and tells a great story, competely whipping this reader into a frenzy. Her characters are true to the genre and yet completely liberated to be so much more than what you normally see in a regency romance. And lastly, this element...goes way beyond the usual love scenes...
Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Love Story
Review: I have read two books by Ms. Ranney now and both of them have been unusual but in different ways. This one is a lovely love story that you will not be able to put down. I think I read it in two days. On vacation. With a husband around. The second was "Heaven Forbids." Quite different and wonderfully written with enough pathos to break your heart, but not enough to be maudlin. But read this one first. "After the Kiss" is what romance novels should be, written by a clearly talented writer who will not disappoint her readers.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary
Review: I love this book and highly recommend to everyone. Both heroine and hero are intelligent and lovable. Especially hero's decision for love is very touching. I've read Ms. Ranney's other books, "My Beloved" and "Upon a Wicked Time", and loved them as well. But "After the Kiss" is the best of three. I think Ms. Ranney always tries to create unusual story and unique characters and succeed it. She is great. Please just read.
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