REVIEW: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

About the book:

The year is 1881. Meet the Mackenzie family--rich, powerful, dangerous, eccentric. A lady couldn't be seen with them without ruin. Rumors surround them--of tragic violence, of their mistresses, of their dark appetites, of scandals that set England and Scotland abuzz.

The youngest brother, Ian, known as the Mad Mackenzie, spent most of his young life in an asylum, and everyone agrees he is decidedly odd. He's also hard and handsome and has a penchant for Ming pottery and beautiful women.

Beth Ackerley, widow, has recently come into a fortune. She has decided that she wants no more drama in her life. She was raised in drama--an alcoholic father who drove them into the workhouse, a frail mother she had to nurse until her death, a fussy old lady she became constant companion to. No, she wants to take her money and find peace, to travel, to learn art, to sit back and fondly remember her brief but happy marriage to her late husband.

                                      And then Ian Mackenzie decides he wants her.

My Review

“My Beth,” he whispered, his breath hot on her swollen lips. “Thank you.”
“For what?” Beth couldn’t stop crying, but she smiled, her face aching with it.
“Setting me free.” 

Okay so let me start off by saying that if I hadn't seen such a wonderful review on this book I probably wouldn't have read it. So I'm so glad that Goodreads updates us on peoples reviews because this book was a wonderful read. This book is filled with romance, steamy scenes and craziness. 

Everyone considers Ian to be Mad since her was a little boy because he keeps to himself. He doesn't speak to anyone unless he has something that needs to be said, he doesn't laugh, doesn't smile. He has Asperger Syndrome which makes him a sheltered soul. He doesn't know how to love, doesn't know when a joke is being made, and can't read emotions. His life is so sad that you just want to gather him in your arms and hold him there. Well maybe not just hold him only...and you will understand why when you read this book!  

His life is filled with sadness until Beth arrives.

“I do not think of him as Lord Ian Mackenzie, aristocratic brother of a duke and well beyond my reach; not as the Mad Mackenzie, an eccentric people stare at and whisper about.

To me, he is simply Ian.” 

I have to say that I enjoyed Beth because of her inquisitiveness and her tenacity. She fought for those she loved, she didn't put up with being manhandled, and she wasn't ignorant to the life around her. She not only took Ian by surprise but also me as a reader. Any person would have found it hard to put up with the life the Mackenzie's lived, but not Beth. She had her own sad upbringing but that just helped her understand Ian and the life of his brothers better.

“He pulled her close. "Your being with me makes it stop. It's like the Ming bowls - when I touch them and feel them, everything stops. You are the same. That is why I brought you here, to keep you with me, where you can please make...everything...stop.”  

Together Ian and Beth's story is so exceptionally beautiful and explosive! We as the reader see the development of Ian's character and see him learn how to laugh at the joys in life, how to live and finally what love is and feels like.

Of course there is the suspense in the book which makes this book a thrilling read. Ian is being framed and its up to Beth to clear his name. Then there are the other Mackenzie men, each with a different personality, but intriguing and hilarious in their own way. We also get a peek at Mac Mackenzie's wife, Isabella, who gives Beth an inside look into being the wife of a Mackenzie. I liked Isabella and can't wait to read her story next!

Overall this book was a great read. My only complaint is that the story dragged at times. 

Buy this. Read it. Love it.

Buy at: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Happy Reading!