Friday, 30 May 2014

Review ✪ Love and Shenanigans (Ballybeg #1) ✪ Zara Keane



Vows in Vegas...True Love in Ireland.

Three days before leaving
Ireland on the adventure of a lifetime, Fiona Byrne returns to her small Irish hometown to attend the family wedding from hell. When she discovers the drunken vows she exchanged with the groom during a wild Las Vegas trip eight years previously mean they're legally married, her future plans ricochet out of control. Can she untangle herself from the man who broke her heart so long ago? Does she even want to?

Gavin Maguire's life is low on drama, high on stability, and free of pets. But Gavin hadn't reckoned on Fiona blasting back into his life and crashing his wedding. In the space of twenty-four hours, he loses a fianc
ée and a job, and gains a wife and a labradoodle. Can he salvage his bland-but-stable life? More importantly, can he resist losing his heart to Fiona all over again?

WARNING: This book features a crashed wedding, a labradoodle with attitude, sexy times, and love and laughter, Irish-style.

ROMANCE TROPES: Second Chance at Love; Marriage in Trouble; Vegas Wedding; Irish hero.

ARC received from author via Netgalley for an honest review

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?  Or does it???

When this book started with Gavin's mother sending a text message so say that she would not be able to attend his wedding (really? A text message?!?)  I knew that this was not going to be the run of the mill, cookie-cutter romance.

Gavin is just days away from marrying Muireanne, the perfectly nice, perfectly stable woman to spend the rest of his life with.

Fiona is back in town to be in her cousin Muireanne's wedding.  Muiranne and her mother are just bitches, really did not like them at all. And they are out to make Fiona's time in Ballybeg hell.

I really, really like Fiona.  She was a breath of fresh air amongst the rich, snobbish family that surround Gavin and Muireanne. She's a combat boot wearing, outspoken whirlwind that comes back to town and stirs things up.  


She has come for wedding before taking of on an adventure of a life time to Australia.  But the best laid plans and all of that....

When she discovers something from back in her past, it affects more than just herself.  Gavin is in this thing up to his neck, and in just a few days his whole world is thrown into turmoil.  He loses pretty much everything with just one piece of paper.

OMG,for about the first 1/3 of the book, I so was not a fan of Gavin.  I wanted to scream at him to bloody well grow a pair and stop being everyone's doormat - his fianc`, her family, everyone except for his best friend just walked all over him. I could have cheered when he finally stood up to people - go Gavin, go Gavin!!

There was plenty of "shenanigans" in this book - of the fun kind and some possibly illegal ones  ` from the main characters, to their families, to the labradoodle dog, hideously named Wiggly Poo - I think he was acting out because of the name!! 

I very much enjoyed Love and Shenanigans.  I was drawn into the story and it kept my interest from the first to the last page.  There was a couple of twists and turns that I was not expecting.  I liked the writing style, loved the Irish-isms throughout.  I laughed at some of the antics, I got upset right along with the characters.

If you are after a light hearted, fun read, why not give Love and Shenanigans a go. 

Now, bring on the next book please Ms Keane!