Zara Keane

Love and Shenanigans in the first novel is Zara Keane’s Ballybeg series. I picked up the five-novel boxed set ages ago and it’s been on my ereader for almost as long. Zara is someone I’ve known in Romanceland since before she was a published author, but I’ve had no contact with her for the last couple of years since we’re not on the same social media platforms anymore.

This month’s TBR theme is “favorite trope,” which I had a bit of trouble with because I don’t really read show more by trope. But I do like certain setups and relationships more than others, no question. I like pretty much any form of romance that involves people who already know each other, whether it’s friends to lovers, second chance at love, friends of siblings, etc. And I’m a total sucker for marriage of convenience. I also have a weakness for small-town romance despite all the problems with those and despite the fact that (or perhaps because) I have never lived in anything remotely approaching a small town. I dug around in my TBR, considered and discarded a few possibilities, and then rediscovered Zara’s books on my ereader.

Love and Shenanigans features a heaping helping of tropes I gravitate toward: small-town childhood friends who discover that their supposedly annulled Las Vegas marriage wasn’t annulled after all. And if that isn’t enough, they find out on the eve of the hero’s marriage to the heroine’s cousin. Talk about piling on. But it totally works, because the main couple are down to earth and fun, and also because the writing doesn’t wink at the reader or camp it up. Yes it’s a ridiculous situation but I bought the whole thing (OK, maybe not the drunken marriage itself, but everything else). Keane is Irish and she writes the heck out of an Irish setting without condescending. It reminded me of Ballykissangel in a good way, i.e., less cloying and clichéd. If you step back and think about it then yes there are stereotypes, but they aren’t hitting you over the head.

On to the story. Fiona comes home to Ballybeg to be Maid of Honor at her unpleasant cousin Muireann’s wedding to Gavin. She doesn’t really want to but she wants to please her Aunt Bridie, and it’s her last act before going to Asia and Australia on her sabbatical year from teaching. But then she discovers that her fake marriage to Gavin nine years ago wasn’t as fake as they thought and the fat is in the fire. The fallout at the wedding ceremony results in a hospital visit for Bridie, and Fiona is the only one around who can pick up the slack.

Meanwhile, Gavin is confronting the disastrous consequences of still being married. Muireann is out for blood and so is her powerful real-estate developer father, Bernard. Fiona and Gavin can’t avoid each other because they are next-door neighbors, and they soon find that their long-ago feelings aren’t completely gone.

We meet any number of residents of the town, some of whom will definitely go on to star in future installments of the series. Fiona and Gavin’s relationship develops slowly and believably, and by the end some of the villains of the piece get their comeuppance. I appreciated that Muireann wasn’t totally demonized despite her selfish and vindictive behavior; she isn’t a particularly nice person, but she develops self-awareness over the course of the story and Gavin recognizes that she wasn’t the only one screwing up their relationship.

I believe this was Keane’s first novel, but it doesn’t read like one. I liked the voice enough to go on and read the next installment right away, which was a novella featuring a marriage in jeopardy plot (Love and Blarney). It was more novella-ish, for good and ill, but it was enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to the other three stories in the box set I have. show less

Part of the Balleybeg series. This installment features Ruairi McCarthy, whom we met in the first novel, and his estranged wife Jayme King. We knew that Ruairi gave up a lucrative and high-status job as a stockbroker in New York to come back and run his family’s pub, but we didn’t know why. At the very end of Love and Shenanigans we discovered, along with the rest of Ballybeg, that Ruairi had not only left his job but also his wife, whom he had married years ago without telling any of show more his family.

All this comes to light when Jayme shows up in Ballybeg, unannounced and unexpected. She decided to make the journey because the divorce is about to be finalized and she wants to make sure this is really what they both want to do. She wants Ruairi to talk to her face-to-face. Ruairi, as you can imagine, is gobsmacked to see her, and he gets into serious trouble with all the women in his life when his wife, mother, and sisters find out he never told his family in Ireland he was married. For what it’s worth, he didn’t tell Jayme why he suddenly had to return either. So we have the Big Mis and the Big Secrets.

After everyone simmers down, Jayme and Ruairi begin to talk about their marriage and the possibilities for the future. They have refreshingly adult conversations where both parties think about what they might have done differently rather than harping on what the other did. The resolution has to come pretty quickly since it’s a novella, and that truncated aspects of the story I would have liked to see developed better, but other than that everything is well handled.

I particularly appreciated the way Ruairi’s family is depicted. His father is genuinely horrible and abusive and one of his brothers takes after the old man. His mother and siblings aren’t presented as enabling or long-suffering in a stereotypical way, but it’s clear how social and cultural norms can make this kind of situation persist. I also liked seeing his sister Sharon again, whom we met in the first novel and who will be starring in her own installment. She’s a great character.

My one other criticism, aside from issues related to the brevity of the format, is that Jayme’s Big Secret, the reason she didn’t contact Ruairi sooner, was pregnancy-related. I would really like to see a heroine who hides a medical condition from the hero and have it been something Just Medical. The men in our lives care about us even when babies aren’t involved. I want romances that portray that.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this and am forcing myself not to glom the whole series so I don’t burn out. Thank you Zara Keane for writing fun, authentic-feeling small-town stories set in a place that all too often gets the Finian’s Rainbow treatment. show less

As with any collection like this, the stories in Banged are a bit of a mixed bag. Standouts include:

Three Nights with a Rock Star - compelling characters and mysterious pasts made this story more than just sex. Definitely interested in reading more in this world.

Dirty - I loved how much backstory this snippet gave, completely whetting my appetite for more. I cannot wait to delve deeper into the Horus group and discover all their secrets.

Less successful would include The Rock Star's Secret show more Baby, which just did not grab my attention. I didn't feel interested in this adventure story at all.

Readers looking for new series' to fall in love with will definitely find it here. A fun and HOT compilation. show less

Wow! This book is pure twists and turns. Shane (cousin of Lar from book 1) of the Triskelion Team suddenly hooks up with his lost crush Ruthie. Little does he know this tough little scrapper from his past has been hired to look into he and his family. As she slowly works her way into his heart, she's also trying hard to learn his family secrets. Since his jerk of a father and thuggish brothers are in the underbelly of Ireland, one would think there's a lot to discover. Meanwhile Shane's show more father Frank has him spying on his best friend/cousin Lar. Frank wants to know all there is to know about the event at the Lucky Leprechaun in Boston. Family and friends died that day and people are blaming everyone they can find. Unbeknown to them, a mysterious agency also hired Ruthie to learn about the Leprechaun. What happened that day that has everyone all riled up. Shane has two worthless brothers and a sister he rarely sees thanks to her abusive husband. Ruthie also has a brother who has many problems of his own. In fact it's due to his MASSIVE gambling debts she agrees to help this shadow agency. Her beloved brother is off his meds and bipolar. Factor in the gambling debts and it's one giant mess. Everyone is keeping secrets from everyone else. Some for good reasons, and some not so much. Believe me when I say there is more to be revealed by the end of this book. Not to mention a shocker and adventure or two. Twists and turns, love and hate, intrigue and suspense. ...all rolled up into one amazing book. This series and author in particular NEVER let you down. So put your feet up and dive in for a trip to the seedy underbelly of Ireland. Filled with passion, brotherhood, friendship, lost loves, deception and lots of surprises! show less