You ever have a book that you buy because someone recommended it, but then you forget about it and it sits on your shelf or on your e-reader forever? I have so many of those, so sometimes it takes not just one or two mentions of a book, but repeated, beat-me-over-the-head mentions to get me to pick it up.
That's the case for The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. Amazon shows that I bought this book on a sale in October of 2013, but I never read it. Then I saw people mentioning last week that it was on sale again and Dear Author raved about it, so I dug it out the pile on my Kindle. And I'm so glad I did.
I know why I bought it in the first place--besides the recs. The hero has Asperger Syndrome (though it isn't defined as such within the story because, in those times, they would've just thought the person was mad.) My son is on the spectrum and leans closest to Asperger's. So I'm always curious to read stories when that's portrayed. Also, sometimes I'm scared to read them because if it isn't portrayed accurately or respectfully, I get annoyed. I'm happy to say that Jennifer Ashley did a splendid job with Lord Ian's portrayal as a high-functioning Aspie. He was smart and endearing and sometimes frustrating, but still a sexy, swoon-worthy hero. I also liked that she showed his frustration with himself because he can't help doing some things a certain way.
The story itself involves a bit of a mystery, but what I loved most was the couple. The heroine was a great fit for Ian--strong-willed and not letting him get away with anything. I also liked that she wasn't the typical historical heroine. She was an older heroine who has lived some life (she's a widow) and wasn't raised with wealth. That gave a different flavor to the story.
And boy was the story steamy--more so than I'm used to reading in historicals, so that was a fun surprise. :) Overall, I'm glad that I finally pulled this one off my virtual shelf and read it. And lucky for you, it's still on sale for $1.99 if you want to grab it! Just don't wait three years to read it like I did, lol.
What have you read lately that you're recommending to everyone?