I'll give this book some points for keeping me reading. It had a strong plot, but I was constantly irritated by the inaccuracy of the portrayal of Ireland and the characters' relationship to it. It didn't ring true. The author apparently has no sense of the geography around Galway. Also, the characters' use of the Irish language seemed unrealistic for people of their class at that time period. ( )

Predictable and pedantic, clumsily written in places, but not a chore to read... 1.5, rounded down because the main conflict is unresolved at the end. ( )

When Keira steps in for her cousin Lily, she doesn’t mean to assume Lily’s identity as the new Countess of Ashwood, but she finds herself increasingly drawn into her lie and its growing complexity. To further exasperate her situation, Declan, a neighbor from her home in Ireland, appears bringing danger both to her secret and to her heart. ( )

This was a great book. I loved it from the beginning. Keira is a wild young Irish girl who is supposed to marry a man she's sure she doesn't love. Lily her English cousin was about to go on holiday until she because a countess. So begins the plot. Instead of Lily going to England she sends Keira in her stead and goes to Italy. Only when Keira gets there the countess is desperately needed so she must assume her Identity. What she finds when she get there is more trouble than she bargained for. There is a theft from the past that an innocent man hanged for, and a young sexy Lord from her past that she still loves but has wronged in many ways. Will she solve the crime before Lily get s there? Also will Declan help her solve this case and heal there past? ( )

The Year of Living Scandalously (the cover itself is quite scandalously enough for me!) was a tale of star-crossed lovers whose passion reaches the stars. Nope. I’m lying to you. It’s actually about a girl turned woman whose beauty and charm attracts man out of their wits and an earl who loves horses. The rape and suicide of a childhood friend leave them both haunted and in hatred/guilt in each other’s presence.

But when Lily, Kiera’s cousin, finds herself a new title her desire to travel abroad overcomes her sense of duty and enlists the help of Keira to maintain her newest property. Keira finds Ashwood barely hanging on—a clear cry from when it held the grandest party of all time. There, she runs into Declan who plans to purchase a fine horse from the estate and cajoles him into helping her. Keira is determined that Ashwood stay afloat despite a new neighbor who is out to get the family and discovered what truly happened to the family jewels that led to one woman’s death and her cousin’s sudden arrival to her home.

Keira may find more than she ever bargained for.

The first thing that made me pause and think about the novel was the prologue and epilogue. See, they are both told in Lily’s perspective while the rest of the novel is told through Keira. It was such an odd match that I had to look up the synopsis of the novel to figure that the novel focuses on. The prologue was a much longer chapter than I expected and set things up more so for the sequel rather than this installment. It set the ball rolling for The Year of Living Scandalously but doesn’t play the biggest role in the romancing of Declan and Keira.

Declan and Keira are well suited for each other: both being born in Ireland, wanting to travel and experience life, and a strong liking to horses. They are both also like horses or rather mules—stubborn, head strong, doesn’t exactly think things through carefully before acting and reacting. Going with their guy instincts. Oddly enough, this is an appealing characteristic to the novel as the novel is direct about the plot while amusing as the two butt heads.

The novel ends roughly, which leaves plenty of tidying up to do in the sequel for Lily as she comes back from her trip. ( )