Karen Ranney can write a Scottish love story in her own unique way which no other author does. A SCOTTISH LOVE is one of those stories. There is depth to the characters, they don't just suddenly fall in love with each other. They each have to grow as the story grows, they each have their own problems both past and present to overcome, and they each have their own internal struggle against the most powerful emotion called love. I really loved the depth that Ranney gave these two characters. They felt more like people and not so fairytale happy-ever-afterish than some characters do. I will warn you though that some readers may not like the downside to this book. It is not all happily ever after, it is harsh it is cold and it is tragic as well. It is the story of personal struggle and the wonders of discovering you no longer have to struggle alone.

Gordon MacDermond should have everything his heart desires. He has been given a baronetcy for his valor and bravery under fire and he can have his pick of women anytime anyway. Yet he finds that the one thing he has always wanted has still managed to elude him...Shona Imrie the girl he was supposed to have married seven years ago. It wasn't as if he didn't ask her, because he did. It wasn't as if he didn't love her, for he did that too. It wasn't as if she didn't love him, he thought she did. But she refused him and his broken heart was swept away to war. Gordan is back and set on winning her hand this time around. No matter what he must do, no matter what the cost Gordon will see Shona as his wife.

Shona Imrie has lost everything. The husband she didn't love nor want, almost all of her family is gone the Imrie's are down to just her brother who was crippled in the war and herself. Left to provide for the household Shona's struggles are far from over. She was left widowed and penniless. Now Shona has reached the point where desperation is setting in. She has come to the realization that she must sell her ancestral home. Finding family of sorts in America interested in buying turns out to be the easy part of the task. Managing to survive their visit will be a true trial and now that her childhood love has returned Shona finds herself more confused than ever. She is strong, she is independent, and she is determined not to take Gordon's help if it is the last thing she does even if it is the only thing she truly wants to do.

There are clouds in Scotland and Ranney has truly shown them throughout this book. Ranney has depicted the Scottish war hero, the headstrong lass, the castle, the times, and even the ghostly essence of the place with stunning clarity. Life was hard, life is full of choices that we sometimes regret, and the fairytale ending does not come for everyone. The good thing about life is that some people get second chances, but you will have to read it to know if Shona and Gordon see the rainbow at the end of the storm.