COUNTESS OF SCANDAL

Author: Laurel McKee ISBN: 9780446544788 2/2010 HISTORICAL Publisher: GRAND CENTRAL
Time Period: Ireland, late 1700s

As children, Eliza Blacknall and William Denton ran wild over the fields of southern Ireland and swore they would be friends forever. Then fate took Will away to England, while Eliza stayed behind to become a proper Irish countess. Years later, Will finally makes his way home-as an English soldier sent to crush the Irish uprising. When he spies the lovely Eliza, he is captivated by the passionate woman she has become. But Eliza's passions have led her to join the Irish rebel cause, and Will and Eliza now find themselves on opposite sides of a dangerous conflict. When Ireland explodes in bloody rebellion, Will's regiment is ordered to the front lines, and he is forced to choose between his duty to the English king and his love for Eliza and their Irish homeland.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

COUNTESS OF SCANDAL is the first book in the Daughters of Erin trilogy. I’ve got to say, I am completely hooked on the series already—and I was from nearly the first page of this book! Ms. McKee tells a masterful story of love, rebellion, and beneath it all, devotion to a land and people. I was entranced by this Irish tale, and I believe others will be, too.

Eliza and Will have a history, but the turmoil in their country and the history the events surrounding them is creating, makes owning their feelings almost too difficult for words. Their emotional attachment, as well as the obvious physical chemistry they share, leaps from the page, but the strife all around them makes every moment they share almost frightening! I worried they would be hurt, or separated permanently. Still, they find a way to each other—time and again—and their tale is compelling.

Only a cold-hearted reader would not feel deeply for Eliza. She is strong and determined, and her loyalty to her family and home runs deep. At one point she returns, saddle-weary to the bone, to Killian, her home. My heart nearly broke when she sees there is no activity, no fires from the chimneys and it looks like the castle is deserted. She wonders if her family has fled, and does not know what hides behind the front door, but she enters anyway. I wondered if I would have as much gumption if I were in her shoes.

All in all, this is a wonderful beginning to what I expect will be an engrossing trilogy. I enjoyed Eliza’s story, and look forward to reading the next sister’s tale!

Kay James