The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie: Highland Pleasures, Book 1

This was one of my favorite reads of 2010
Who knew that being odd could so be hot!
One thing makes this book exciting, fresh and captivating; Lord Ian Mackenzie.
I love, love the way Ms. Ashley took this unconventional hero and turned him into one my most endearing characters, and hopefully one of yours.
Institutionalized since the age of twelve, Ian Mackenzie is brilliant to the point that borderline madness, but thanks to his brother intervention he was rescued, and has being living a semi normal life, that is, until Beth Ackerly walks into his life.

Once thing Lord Ian knows, is how to value, and the authenticity of a treasure, and when he meets Beth for the first time, he immediately recognizes her worth, and he???s determined not to let it go to waste with her broke and unappreciative fianc????. With tunnel vision and uncompromising determination he decides, he will make Beth his wife.
Beth is a nice complement to Ian, and one of the few people that quickly recognized his brilliance, and she undoubtedly helps him bring it to the front.
But things are never easy, are they?
With that, we get a story with so many elements that won't allow you and won???t want to pause for a minute. This novel has it all; mystery, murder, entertaining dialogue, humor, a nicely paced and scorching romance (did I say I love Ian?) not to mention great secondary characters that will have you coming back for more, which BTW, I haven???t done yet, but I assure you that I???m highly anticipating the next audio release.
This was a fantastic introduction to the series, and a must listen for all Historical Romance fans.

Narration:
When I found out that Angela Dawe was going to be narrating this novel, I had to admit I have doubts, not because she???s not a capable narrator, but because I had envision how nicely Susan Ericksen would have brought this novel to life.
But what do I know? It turns out that Angela Dawe was the perfect choice; she beautifully and with commended accuracy brought the characters and the story to life.
Angela???s tone, pace and approach were precisely what the story demanded.
I had no problem at all distinguishing the voices; the only small flaw I found was her Scottish accents, let???s just say I???ve heard better; nevertheless, this was a very good performance.

Genre: Historical Romance
Sensuality: HOT

I decided to get this book on a whim but am very grateful that I did! It was amazing. Beth is able to look inside of Ian and see him for what an amazing person he is. He is so focused on her from the start that she can be a bit overwhelmed, that is until she learns to welcome his attentions and share in his "madness". I believe that Ian could have a small case of autism. He is afraid to look Beth directly in the eyes because he gets so obsessed he can't look away. He has also struggled in his family relationships and Beth helps him to reconnect with his brothers in meaningful and heartfelt ways. Wonderfully enchanting and I definitely suggest we all have a little "Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie".

I never thought I would get hooked on historical romances, but I read this one...and loved it! I still re-read it. Jennifer Ashley steps outside of the box by giving us an autistic hero, and she does a brilliant job portraying him and how others react to him. Ian and Beth are a truly endearing couple. They make appearances in future books, and I never get tired of them.
When I saw that Ian and Beth's book was coming out as an audiobook I was over the moon, and downloaded it as soon as I could. The narrator did a good job, and I will definitely be listening to this book again. I really hope Tantor produces the entire series. My first historical romance is still the best historical romance.

An amazing spin on the historical romance. Lord Ian MacKenzie, youngest of 4 Scottish brothers who's father ( a Duke) had abused them all as children. He believed he was "fixing them"
Ian wouldn't look at people , he could play complex music just by hearing it, he would refuse to speak for days so his father placed him in a institution because he was "mad
(more likely he was mildly autistic).

Ian meets a beautiful newly wealthy widow, and decides he must marry her.

Beth is a sweet girl who understands Ian and wants to protect him from people who want to destroy Ian and his brother, the currant Duke.

The brothers are difficult and complex, but they have a very close relationship, and will protect each other with their lives.

I loved Angela Dawe's narration, she has a melodic voice that really grabbed me.

I have read the whole series, and I was so excited to see the audio-book.
I can't wait for the rest of the series. Each book is fantastic, each brother has their own tragic life that becomes less tragic with the help of a special woman.

Well worth the credit.. You won't be disappointed.

The plot was typical Victorian romance. But the hero was fascinating. He was institutionalized most of his childhood, and today would have been labeled autistic. At the same time he was the classically good looking and brilliant hero. The heroine had a great sense of humor and chattered mindlessly whenever she was nervous. All of which was lost on the hero. Yet somehow they made the perfect couple. They made the book. Truly a joy to get to know. The narrator was OK. She handled the heroine well, but wasn't quite up to all the Scottish male characters.

The plot was typical Victorian romance. But the hero was fascinating. He was institutionalized most of his childhood, and today would have been labeled autistic. At the same time he was the classically good looking and brilliant hero. The heroine had a great sense of humor and chattered mindlessly whenever she was nervous. All of which was lost on the hero. Yet somehow they made the perfect couple. They made the book. Truly a joy to get to know. The narrator was OK. She handled the heroine well, but wasn't quite up to all the Scottish male characters.

I have not read all of the reviews of this book but honestly ??? everyone was gushing over Lord Ian ??? but BETH ??? she is hilarious. I loved her dry sense of humor and laughed out loud several times. Poor Ian just didn???t get it, he understood finally that she was joking, but she was laugh out loud funny! Her humor is very dry, and really added to the mystery/tragedy of the Mackenzie???s.

The story was unexpected; Lord Ian is surprising and empathy producing; Beth is strong, brave, funny, unique, and yet very much like ???everyone???. I recommend it and I will listen to it again.

The narrator was spot on. She delivered!

.."Is this what love feels like?" He whispered to her. "I don't like it, my Beth. It hurts too much"

**swoon** I'm in love with Ian Mackenzie...I resisted getting this book because I had my reservations about a hero with high functioning Autism. It had such high ratings that I decided to try it. And I loved. I loved it to pieces!!! I don't like to give spoilers so I'll just say that by the end of this book I was in love with the hero, I really liked the heroine and I was very intrigued to know more about the other Mackenzie brothers. And it is HOT! When you can't communicate well with words, you let your body do the talking. And Ian was a master at that **sigh** This is one of those series that I don't just read, I devour and obsess about.

Narration: I've listened to several other books narrated by Angela Dawe and she is a good narrator. The way she portrayed Ian was amazing. I really liked the voice she gave to him. But she does sound very American and there is not one American character on that book. She tried the Scottish accent and failed miserably. The story was so good that I really didn't mind the accent.

This book is a must listen. It is worth every penny and every second you spend on it. <3

The Mackenzie family was interesting as a whole, but the character of Ian was very captivating. The concept is very unique and was well executed by the author. Overall, this is one of the best historical romance novels I have read. The only negatives of this book was some odd comments made by the heroine, Beth. Sometimes her reactions seemed forced or unnatural, even odd. Also, the author tends to repeat unimportant information multiple times throughout the book... it is distracting.

I am so glad I got this book based on other Audible reviews. I can't believe how much I liked it. I don't particularly like the title or cover art and I expected this one to be a fluffy romance. Wow, was I wrong! I was hooked from the very beginning. It had interesting and unique characters, mystery, romance and some surprising plot twists. I'm not a huge fan of historical romances, but this one was amazing. I was up at all hours of the night listening. Just excellent.

5 Stars!!