A Mad and Mindless Night

I’ve never read a book by Elizabeth Cole that I didn’t like, and A Mad and Mindless Night is no exception. This is definitely 5 stars. The tight, solid plot keeps the reader engaged from the beginning to the end. The characters are well written and complex. The backstories are not just inserted, but are woven into the story so that the reader comes to understand who these characters are and why. There is, of course, a villain or two determined to damage England in the war against France. The Zodiac is called on to thwart this effort. This time, however, it is the brother of an agent (Bruce Allander) who is convinced to take the mission to find a missing scientist. This twist makes the story even more interesting. Bruce and Ash have been estranged for years. Maybe this will be a second chance for the brothers. I don’t want to spoil the story. To peak your interest, I will tell you that the hero sees the heroine immediately upon his arrival at his destination (he thinks she might be a ghost), but it takes awhile for them to meet and work towards solving the mystery. There are multiple villains, all with different motives (one of them has a real doozie of a plan). You may ask if they succeed in thwarting the spies? Will the hero and heroine fall in love? Will the brothers be reconciled? Can Ash be rescued? You’ll have to read the story to find the answers, but it’s a great story and you’ll enjoy it. I will say that by the end of the story you will love Ash and Nora, want to hug Reggie, and pat Bruce on the back. The lesson for our characters (and the reader) is how important communication is – in understanding each other, falling in love, or winning a war. Communication – CODE for talk to each other.

A Mad and Mindless Night is the story of Ashley Allander and Elanora Morgan. The author had her work cut out for her in regards to Ash (as far as I was concerned...) because based on his previous appearances he wasn't a likable character, plus he is the brother of Bruce Allander (A Reckless Soul) who is one of my favorites. She did a great job with Ash and the story shows the other side of him (the good, the very good side of Ash). I did fall in love with him. Nora is a strong, intelligent woman, but I felt some times she was just a secondary character, to whom things happened to. I missed a certain connection with her or the appreciation of her as the "other half" of the story. The story itself is intriguing and suspenseful as the others in the Zodiac series which kept the book interesting . I wished there was closure as to what happened to Nora's invention and Ash's position/relationship with the Zodiac.

I came to Elizabeth’s Zodiac series by way of her Swordcross Knights series (which I LOVE!) “A Mad and Mindless Night” was a good Zodiac entry point for me because the heroine is intelligent (my favorite kind of heroine,) the hero is dashing (my favorite kind of hero,) and the pace is fast (my favorite kind of pace!) The reader gets to see different palces and a different villain from the usual. I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of historical romance!

A bad boy whose past isn't as shady as he's gotten credit for and a heroine with a keen mind and untapped passions. I was rooting for these two from the very beginning! I hope to see them working in more depth with the Zodiac in coming story lines. Their imperfections make them endearing and relatable. Well done...and please hurry with the next Zodiac installment!