Rebellious

A Best Friends-to-Lovers Romance

By: Kristy Marie

Narrated by: Heather Firth, Stephen Dexter

Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

From best-selling author Kristy Marie comes Rebellious, the highly anticipated love story of star-crossed lovers, Aspen and Bennett - characters from the international best-selling novel IOU.

A love controlled by guilt, contained by rules....

One summer will change everything.

No kissing. No cuddling. No blah, blah, blah. He wrote the rules onto our skin - every ink stroke tragically smeared by the lines we’d crossed. He claimed it was the only way we could be together - the only way we wouldn’t destroy our families.

But there was an exception to his rules - one he never saw coming.

All I needed was opportunity and a sunburn. The girl who played by his rules is gone. This girl...is not his “friend”.

©2021 Kristy Marie (P)2021 Kristy Marie

Absolutely Perfect!

Edit after second reread was with audiobook-
I thought reading the book was amazing, the audiobook just took this the next level up!
Most narrators talk to slow and I have to speed up their speech, these two are perfect just the way they are. Great pace, their voices sucked me in.

I stick to my original book review:
10 Stars! No joke!
OMG! This was epic!
Warning: Compulsive read! Plan wisely.
This book almost threatened my job as I couldn’t put it down. Time passed so quickly while I was sucked into this vortex and I couldn’t escape. I didn’t want to escape.

Immediately in the Prelude, I’m smiling, laughing, and missing these characters horribly. This is a clear sign it is time for a reread of CiB.

The book started off strong and stayed consistently strong throughout. No low points. To me, it was absolute perfection!
Trying hard to find one little thing I didn’t like and can’t find a single flaw.
Gah, so many emotions! I just can’t get over how amazing this book was. I want to start it over again because it was epic!
This is a MUST Read! Recommend reading the prior books, however it can be a stand alone.

Love it!

Loved it when I read it, even more better listening to this story. I enjoyed listening to Bennett and Aspen's story. My favorite character from Kristy's books was Cade who is Bennett's dad and he is so like his father it's no wonder Bennett is my new favorite. The love he has for his family and the sacrifices he makes it's hard not to fall for him. Aspen who has loved Bennett since she has been two and has never stopped and was willing to go along with Bennett's rules just to be with him, but love how she pushes his buttons. This was beautiful, emotional, steamy and funny. I'm a sucker for banter and this one delivers. Also love Theo and Cade make appearances in this story. I did like the narrators tell the story but now this is just my preference I like when there are two narrators that the male takes on the male characters and the female take on the female characters just so the characters have the same voice throughout the book. Here the narrators alternated chapters, so characters voices changed. It isn't a big deal and it doesn't take anything from the story. Now if it could be made into a movie I'd be one happy lady.

Top read of 2021

When I read this book way back when it was my top read of 2021. That statement still holds true with the audio. Heather and Stephen did an amazing job bringing Aspen and Bennett to life!!

Absolutely amazing I strongly recommend this book

I didn't think I could love this book, these characters anymore until I listened to it! This is by far one of my favorite audiobooks. Stephen and Heather did a great job bringing Aspen and Bennett to life. Great story and great narration!

These narrators made a FIVE STAR book SIX STARS!!!

What do you do when you've finished one of your most anticipated reads and your emotions are all over the place? K Marie has done it once again and made me laugh and cry, and want to move right in with this family who found each other by life's circumstances. This "family" is made up of several families chosen by friendship and camaraderie, not by blood. Their bond is one that remains to be rivaled by any other book world I have read, and the added younger generation has added even more passion, fun, laughs and love between them all and has started the Legacies series with a bang.

From the first scene that Aspen Von Bremen and Bennett Jameson hit the pages of IOU I was doing a standing ovation for these children of the beloved Theo & Anniston Von Bremen and Cade & Breck Jameson. Bennett & Aspen hold so many traits of their parents, yet each have their own unique qualities that make them their own. Bennett is the younger version of his broody dad, Cade; while Aspen is both competitive like her father and sassy like her mom. But what makes them so different is that both Bennett & Aspen wear their emotions on their sleeve. Whereas the older generation had walls and hard ridges to break down, this younger crew has been softened by witnessing their parents and family's love and compassion.

I LOVED every connection between Bennett & Aspen from the flashbacks to their childhood to teen years to every interaction in which Aspen loved pushing all of Bennett's buttons. Their love is one that is rare - it started from when they were too young to even understand it, and was fated from the start. Even though they are surrounded by loving and supportive parents, siblings and friends, these two navigate a rough road to each other because of Bennett's compulsive need to protect his father and their families' friendships. He is absolutely loyal to a fault, selfless, and OH SO swoony with his "yes sir" and southern boy charm. When he lets his guard down with Aspen, you will sigh and fan yourself over this possessive and passionate man. I loved every moment that they joked, ribbed each other, ganged up on their siblings, bonded with the other's parents - but especially when they let themselves just love the other without any "rules".

Aspen's determination combined with her feisty spirit, passionate heart, and unwavering love for Bennett all surge her forward to never give up hope for the man she loves. Every move she made, every joke she played on him and every rule of his that she followed (or broke) led her further down the path to a love that could break her heart. But she never gave up - she gave him her all, and I admired her for putting her heart on the line over and over again. I could FEEL her love for him through the pages and I shed many tears not only for her, but for Bennett as well.

K Marie combines her witty humor with an emotional storyline and beloved characters from CiB to create an unforgettable love story. Theo Von Bremen is a scene stealer more than once and I loved every second of him and Cade; and both Fenn VB and Drew Jameson have stories to tell that I am more than ready for!! I'm SO thankful that this author decided to write a 2nd generation for this CiB crew and cannot wait for what's to come! Well done once again K Marie!!

This story will give you ALL THE FEELS!

Ok, so I'll start with the various three-word combinations:
I Loved It.
It Slayed Me.
I Ugly-Cried.
This Was EVERYTHING.

Rebellious was like being reunited with an old friend, being wrapped in a warm blanket, or returning to your childhood home for a visit. I haven’t realized just how much I missed the commander crew until Theo and Cade came back into my life. This family that Kristy created is unlike any other, and while I know it’s “just a book” I can’t help but love, cherish and care for these characters as if they were real.

Heartfelt, beautiful, and exquisitely written, with blazing snark attacks and Kristy’s unique brand of humor, this book has snagged a permanent spot in my heart (and soon on my bookshelf!).
It is hands down, one of the easiest books for me to rave about and wholeheartedly recommend to anyone and everyone.

10 stars and a Rule.

5 Breaking All the Rules Stars!!!

Not only do I love reading Ms. Marie's books, I have recently become a fan of listening to her audiobooks too. Especially when it's a book I loved so much I hated for it to end! This is my first lisenting experience with Ms. Firth and she did a phenomenal job of bringing Aspen to life for me. There are so many nuances to Bennett and Aspen that listening to Ms. Firth and Mr. Dexter was a true listening pleasure. Their relationship is somewhat complicated and as I was listening to this story I found little things that I had missed while reading it and so it was like picking it up for the first time!! This is why choosing the right narrator(s) for a story is so important and Ms. Marie's decision to cast Heather and Stephen in these roles was a fabulous choice!!!

......

I love reading second generation books and when it’s the Commander in Briefs kids it’s that much more fun and emotional of a read! I absolutely fell in love with Bennett and Aspen because their love story started the day Bennett was born and Aspen first laid her eyes on him!

I can honestly say this is one of my most favorite friends-to-lovers books because I became fully invested in these characters. Their connection is rock solid and as they grow up, feelings change and while Aspen is fully on board with wanting so much more, Bennett is dead set against it for so many reasons. His solution is a list of rules that aren’t to be broken…seems easy, but really not so much!!

There were so many moments of laugh out loud hilarity and then before I knew it, my eyes were tearing up because there’s so much beneath the surface of Bennett that he’s been holding close to his heart and I can understand where he’s coming from because if it doesn’t work out he may lose the most important friendship of his life. But a person can only resist their greatest desire for so long and oh my goodness these two together are like fireworks going off!!

When you add in their entire “family” it’s the perfect recipe for a book I couldn’t put down! Ms. Marie has written a book that will draw you in with all the feels while mixing it up with swoon worthy moments and you’ll be as addicted to this family as I am.

Rebellious

Another fantastic book from Kristy Marie! By this point she has earned her spot as one of my favorite authors.

Bennett and Aspen's story was one I was really looking forward to because they are the children of characters from the Commander in Briefs series. They have loved each other since they were little kids and I thought the stories of their childhood were so sweet. Sometimes childhood sweetheart stories don't work for me if I don't feel the connection between the hero and heroine. That is not the case here. There was so much chemistry, emotion, and angst that there was no doubting their connection. I absolutely loved every second of reading this and seeing these characters grow and their relationship evolve.

Rebellious can be read as a standalone, but there are lots of easter eggs and fun moments for those who have read Kristy's other books. I loved that Aspen and Bennett's parents played such big roles in the book. It was fun to catch up with them and they added so much humor and heart to the book.

The narrators were perfect for Aspen and Bennett! I loved how they brought the story to life. Audiobooks can be hit or miss for me but I loved this one!

love this book. read comander in briefs series to.

if you love this book read the comander in briefs series first to understand more. I read backwards and am even more in love with it now.

Great Summer Read

“𝒪𝓊𝓇 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝓈𝒶𝒸𝓇𝒾𝒻𝒾𝒸𝑒. 𝒪𝓃𝑒, 𝐼 𝓃𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝒶𝓎.”

What would you do if you met your soulmate when you were only thirty minutes old? Aspen Von Bremen and Bennett Jameson have always been close. Growing up together on the same property with their families interconnected, the two were scared of changing their relationship from best friends to more. So to make sure that no feelings were ever hurt they came up with a series of rules. When Aspen graduates from college to start her journey in the real world, the two of them come up with the plan to have a summer without the rules that have boxed in their relationship.

“𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝓁𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒, 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓈𝑒𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒.”

Bennett has a heart of gold that is hard to reach with his bruty exterior. Wanting to be anywhere as long as it is with Aspen he bends the rules he creates to make exceptions for Aspen’s pushes. Aspen is an adventurous lady. She will do whatever she can to blur the boundaries set for them. Both of them love each other fiercely but with the barriers in front of them, it’s emotional to see them not together.

“𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝓂𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓎...𝑀𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓅, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝒹 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒹. 𝑀𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑒...𝒴𝑜𝓊’𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑒, 𝒜𝓈𝓅. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈...𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑒𝓎𝑒𝓈.”

WOWZA this book sizzled. The tension that these two share is explosive. Kristy Marie is an expert of making your heart hurt in the best way when reading. Thank you to Heather Firth and Stephen Dexter for narrating because they made some of the simplest touches so steamy. If you like the angst that comes with a friends-to-lovers this is the book for you.

𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕣𝕓

𝒩ℴ 𝓀𝒾𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃ℊ.
𝒩ℴ 𝒸𝓊𝒹𝒹𝓁𝒾𝓃ℊ.
𝒩ℴ 𝒷𝓁𝒶𝒽, 𝒷𝓁𝒶𝒽, 𝒷𝓁𝒶𝒽.

He wrote the rules onto our skin—every ink stroke tragically smeared by the lines we’d crossed.
He claimed it was the only way we could be together—the only way we wouldn’t destroy our families.
But there was an exception to his rules—one he never saw coming.
All I needed was opportunity and a sunburn.

The girl who played by his rules is gone.
𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 ℊ𝒾𝓇𝓁... 𝒾𝓈 𝓃ℴ𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝓈 “𝒻𝓇𝒾ℯ𝓃𝒹.”