After the Kiss (Avon Romantic Treasures)

By Karen Ranney

No longer the proper English wife she always was, Margaret kissed a handsome stranger.Now the dashing earl will not rest until the beautiful widow he held in his arms so briefly is his forever. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380812983
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Avon
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

A nobleman hero & commoner heroine & they don't even care!

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 th

Wow, what a fantasy

Karen Ranney has created the perfect hero in Michael Hawthorne, Earl of Montraine. Margaret Esterly, a young woman widowed and poverty stricken following a fire which destroyed her bookstore, has managed to save only three volumes of rare erotica. She must sell them to survive. While bringing the first of them to a wealthy earl, she and Montraine meet accidentally. Amidst their love story lurks a mystery. The writing is intelligent and lyrical, the love scenes lushly erotic, the mystery deftly woven through the plot. A wonderful, can't put it down read.

After the Kiss is that rare ruby in a mountain of rocks

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. He was so honest about his feelings for her. 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.

Sweet love story and terrific sensuality

Karen Ranney has carefully sculpted a gentle love story about two lonely souls who are destined for each other. I have read all of Ms. Ranney's books and this is the best by far. Margaret, a woman widowed by a violent fire, seeks to enrich her meager living by selling a rare book of erotic to a titled gentleman. In the process, she meets a stranger - a lonely man who believes he must mary an heiress to save his family's fortune.The characters are well drawn - even the secondary ones. The main characters are both lovable and real. There is a sense of sweet sexuality that pervades the book, even while the hero and heroine are getting to know each other and overcoming the problems in their relationship.If you are a fan of Christina Dodd, Stephanie Laurens or Julia Quinn, I highly recommend this book. It is a sweet and satisfying read.