ARC Review: Alec Mackenzie’s Art of Seduction by Jennifer Ashley

We are back in Medieval England and Scotland looking at the forefathers of the original Mackenzie brothers. Although everyone thinks that the Mackenzies were killed in Culloden, that’s not quite true, only two of the brothers perished. But, now Will Mackenzie is missing and Alec Mackenzie is on the hunt to find him, suspecting that the English are holding him in an secret prison. To find his brother, Alec thinks he would do whatever it takes…including manipulating and seducing an innocent young lady.

There is no doubt that Jennifer Ashley can write a fantastic historical romance and I very much enjoyed this instalment of the Mackenzie series. We get to go back even further in time and get a glimpse of a tumultuous time in British history and a peek at the Mackenzie ancestors. But, as much as I liked this book, it just doesn’t seem quite as intense as the first books with the original Mackenzie brothers…although it could be argued in a chronological sense these are the original brothers. Ian, Mac, Cameron and Hart managed to reach through the pages and get a firm grasp of my heart. However, with Alec’s book although I liked it, it isn’t a story that held the emotional grasp on me as they did.

But, the romance between Alec and Celia was good, they have immediate chemistry that only grew as the book went on. Ashley wrote to good characters who I liked immensely as I was reading, she’s particularly good ar writing intelligent heroines who you can like as much as the hero and this continued in Alec Makenzie’s Art of Seduction.

I now can’t wait to get a hold of Will’s book, he seems like a complex man with his mind always on the next intrigue. It’s sure to be a good read.