Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage

Highland Pleasures, Book 2

By: Jennifer Ashley

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Lady Isabella Scranton scandalized London by leaving her husband, notorious artist Lord Mac Mackenzie, after only three turbulent years of marriage. But Mac has a few tricks to get the Lady back in his life, and more importantly, back into his bed.

©2010 Jennifer Ashley (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Ashley works her magic to create a unique love story brimming over with depth of emotion, unforgettable characters, sizzling passion, mystery, and a story that reaches out and grabs your heart. Brava!" ( Romantic Times)

Suffers by comparison -- but not by much!

The worst thing that can be said about this book is that it isn't the first book -- which was magnificent. The best thing that can be said is that it continues the story of the Mackenzie family, since Ian and Beth, and all the others, make appearances here. In between, there is a passionate love affair between a married couple, whose separation has emotional depth and a satisfying resolution. And it has the most bizarre villain, ever!

Mac is a tortured painter and ex-alcoholic. He screwed up bad in his marriage, and as a result, his wife asked for a separation. He feels guilty and unworthy, but he loves her desperately, and wants another chance now that he's cleaned up his act.

Isabella is gun shy when it comes to Mac. He hurt her very badly when he left her alone at a time when she needed him the most. She loves him, but she can't let herself trust him.

They both know it's time to try again, but how? They haven't spoken to each other in 3 years.

Enter a mysterious villain who threatens both their lives, bringing them together for mutual survival. The villain is original and strange, and I loved it. Although, there are a few things I would have tweaked: some unexplained details about the bad guy, for instance, and the silly over-the-top adoption. Still, I enjoyed this story very much. The sex scenes were passionate and believable, and by the end, I was in love with Mac.

Highly Recommended! (just not in all-caps!)


Angela Dawe did another fine job with narration.

A Highland Pleasure Indeed! - Fantastic Narration

This is the second book in the Highland Pleasures series by Jennifer Ashley. All of the books have been narrated by the very talented Angela Dawe. How she manages to do a proper English lady and a Scotsman plus a half dozen other regular characters I don't know. I have to admit I got the audiobook rather than just the kindle because I enjoyed the narration on the first book so much.

The story is a different twist on the romance and in particular the historical romance genre. Most romance novels follow a formula. Two people fall madly in love, then suffer a misunderstanding or misfortune, finally to be reunited and live happily ever after. Lady Isabella's and Mack are already married and are in the midst of a scandalous separation. It's set in the late Victorian era but the story could fit in modern times as well which made it that more relatable and enjoyable.

I'd definitely recommend the entire series and anything narrated by Angela Dawe. I learned the hard way that a good narrator makes or breaks a good story so when I find one I like I remember.

A wonderful book..But a not so good narrator..

Would you consider the audio edition of Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage to be better than the print version?

NO!

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Angela Dawe?

Katherine Kelligren, Moira Quirk, anyone other than Dawe.

Any additional comments?

I really liked this book. Not as much as Ian's story but good just the same. Loved Isabella and Mac. Loved seeing Ian, Beth, Cameron, Daniel, etc.
Payne was a trifle whacked and ended up getting what he deserved. An overall great read. However, The narrator just kept hesitating in the middle of a sentence before going on. I thought it would get better but it never did. It was so annoying! I can't see myself listening to another book narrated by her, unless I try speeding up her voice on my iPad.

I really liked this series.

The author made all the characters in this series real. They had human flaws and tried to become better people. Read the series in order or you will be lost.

I wish I could rate 3.5 stars

I enjoyed the first book better than this second installment. At times the story kept my interest but it other times it seem tedious. The conflict was lukewarm and didn't capture any real momentum or excitement. It was OK but you would be fine to skip it.

A Clinical Glance "Fruit"

If you could sum up Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage in three words, what would they be?

Listen for humor.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mac, in this one, as he has all the best traits. Humor, macho, and devotion. When Mac sings with cymbals shows off the author's talent.

What does Angela Dawe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love Ms Dawe talents. Note: if you want to be a devoted fan, then try the new 1.25x speed as it brings the action the author intended. I have over 100 of her reads and her male and children voices are good. All her Scots/Irish accent read stories are NOT to be missed.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Actually I read this series out of order. They are stand alone stories linked by the brothers. All the heroines are great and strong so which ever order you read, you will not be disappointed in the story. This story was last in my order, and it was a mistake to leave it to last. Many of the reviewers wanted the same action as in book #1, but the author chose to give you a different spin so she wouldn't have to compete with book #1. This book is less darker than all the rest, and it is not to be missed.

Fantastic story

A delightful romp. Learning why the lovely Lady Isabella and the rakish Lord Mac Mackenzie were separated was highly entertaining. I do enjoy a good historical romance and Jennifer Ashley does a good job of writing one. No one has ever said the road to happy-ever-after is easy. This couple seemed to have a harder time than some tripping down that road. Miscommunication and misunderstanding abound. Not to mention just being tied up in their own issues and related angst. It is a wonder they ever made it down that road. But they eventually did, as happens with any good romance. It was a joy to take that trip with them. Narration? The acting part, where she did different voices for the dialog, was really quite good. It was easy to follow along and keep track of who was speaking. The rest, the actual narration between dialog . . . To me, the voice sounded stilted. One of the terms that came to mind while I listened to this was "Shatneresk." Then I thought of Walter Cronkite reading the news. It wasn't exactly bad, but I often found it irritating. Thank goodness for the fabulous dialog work and fantastic story.

They had separated, but neither had stopped loving

She had moved out and sent a letter, via his brother, Ian, to ensure that he understood her determination.
Three and a half years later, he had sobered up and had decided that it was time they were reunited.
He forgot to ask her, her opinion.
However, she was always one step ahead of him, and was determined that the same mistakes would not occur again.

Different Narrator...

...would have made the story much better. Angela Dawe is ok, but her accents are awkward and sound fake. They just seem overdone.

Love This Series!

This second installment to the series was very good. I didn't think it was as good as book one but I think my expectations were too high. Sometimes that happens. That being said - I still enjoyed this book! I thought the story of Isabella and Mac was intriguing. They had a lot of struggles but Mac was very determined! I will definitely listen to the remainder of this series.