Overall Response

I liked Mac and Isabella so much in The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie that I remember pre-ordering this book, staying up until it downloaded onto my Nook at like 12:15 AM and then reading the whole thing in a few hours. One of my absolute favorite tropes in romance is a story in which the characters marry either at the beginning or shortly after the book begins. One of the tropes I actually like less is marriages in which there have been separations and now they’re reuniting. This is generally because when a married couple separates, particularly in this time period, it’s usually through the bad behavior of one of them. I actually hate unfaithful couples — it’s so hard for me to look past it. I know, it’s prudish of me, but I know what I like.

That was not the issue here, thankfully. Mac and Isabella separated three years prior to the beginning of this story because Mac was too much–he drank too much, he partied too much, and he just wasn’t really emotionally healthfully enough to be in a marriage, and I think Isabella was just too young to really know how to do anything about it until it reached the breaking point.

I loved watching them find their way back to one another and deal with life throughout the book. There is a decent amount of plot in this book with a wide supporting cast, but it never feels like overkill. It just feels like Isabella and Mac are getting to know each other again, realizing who they are underneath it all. I loved this book so much — almost more than the first book though that’s pretty difficult to say.

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