This was my first book my Jennifer Ashley. I was attracted mainly because it had such high reviews and the summary sounded very intriguing! I started reading and couldn't put it down until the very last word!
Here is the blurb: "It was whispered all through London Society that Ian Mackenzie was mad, that he'd spent his youth in an asylum, and was not to be trusted-especially with a lady. Yet Beth found herself inexorably drawn to the Scottish lord. Despite his decadence and his intimidating intelligence, she could see that he needed help- her help. Because suddenly the only thing that made sense to her was...the Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie."
Ian McKenzie is notorious, mysterious and widely feared by the ton. He is the youngest brother of the Duke of Kilmorgan, a very wealthy and powerful man who seems to at once protect and stifle his little brother.
Beth Ackerly is a widow who had served as a companion for an elderly heiress. When the old woman died, she left everything she had to Beth making her an independently wealthy woman in her own right.
They are both two lonely souls who upon meeting immediately find a sort of solace in each other's company.
Ian had a childhood that is the stuff of nightmares spent of his life locked in an asylum by his own father's decree. He is only recently free after his father's death and his brother succession to the title. He is a genius of sorts but lacks pragmatic social skills and doesn't form close relationships with people outside his family. He uses sex as a way to block out the pain of his past, suffers from headaches and generally suffers from an inability to quiet the "noise" in his head. That is, until he meets Beth. As soon as he sees her blue eyes, the noise is quieted and feels a calm he hasn't ever known. He decides that Beth must be part of his life permanently. He doesn't waste any time setting out to make this a reality.
Beth is on the verge on accepting an offer of marriage form the very respectable Lord Mather. She knows Ian's reputation and when she meets him, she is amazed to find herself drawn to him. She also sees a vulnerability in him that she feels compelled to protect.
This was a unique story. Ian exhibits behaviors of someone that society might label autistic today. He clearly has some emotional and mental health issues. It was nice to see a character like this portrayed as a normal man with normal desires. I loved how Beth understood him and how much he loved and needed Beth. They are so well suited and make a great team. This was an achingly sweet love story where the hero was in need of rescuing himself.
They have wonderful sexual chemistry and those scenes are so well written and so intimate.
This the first of the MacKenzie family series. I love stories where family's (especially brothers) are openly loving towards each other. Ian and his brothers have a bond forged by the common experience of a traumatic upbringing. Although Ian appears to have received the brunt of his father's cruelty, none of them escaped unscathed. But this a family of survivors--and they rely on each other greatly for support and love.
Great read!
