Ever Yours, Annabelle: A Rescued from Ruin Prequel

Rescued from Ruin Series, Book 0.5

De: Elisa Braden

Narrado por: Mary Sarah

She's not one for half measures.

Lady Annabelle Huxley believes anything worth doing is worth doing boldly, and that includes adoring Robert Conrad. As a girl, she chased him with reckless abandon, and he always rescued her when she pushed too far...until the day rescuing her cost him everything - and lost her the boy she loved as no other.

He's not the boy she remembers.

The accident that shattered his body and his future left Robert Conrad fighting a battle only the hardest men win. After seven hellish years, even his tough soldier of a grandfather thinks he needs a wife to "civilize" him. But the season's sole temptation is Annabelle, no longer a worshipful girl, now a siren with a womanly laugh, sarcastic mouth, and curves to make an uncivilized man sweat.

Love this powerful is not so easily broken.

Her habit of chasing trouble hasn't changed. Neither has his driving need to protect her. So, when a scandalous secret draws danger too close, he'll wield his weapons ruthlessly - blackmail, betrothal, seduction - to keep her safe once more. And when his strength is all that stands between her and a perilous abyss, she's reminded why loving Robert Conrad has always been the hardest habit to break.

Contains mature themes.

©2019 Elisa Braden (P)2021 Tantor

Magical story of childhood crush turned soul mates story!

Wooooooooooowwwwww this was a BEAUTIFUL book! I loved every moment of it! Childhood crush turned lovers with a finger-licking HEA is my personal catnip. I absolutely adore it! This story brings in a little extra magic as well because while Annabelle has strong feelings of love for Robert from the very beginning, Robert doesn’t consider Annabelle a pest AT ALL! They have a connection of the soul that grows from platonic to romantic as they grow.

This book reminded me a lot of one of my all time favorite contemporary romances: To Love Jason Thorne by Ella Maise. Heroine’s brother is best friend to the hero, heroine crushes HARD on hero as a young girl, hero indulges heroine but doesn’t yet have romantic feelings towards heroine, hero crushes hopes and dreams of heroine. However that is where the story diverges. I don’t want to spoil to much but it is important to note that from an early age the hero is her protector. He really cares about her and is truly her hero. It is that relationship and connection that causes trouble and ultimately drives them apart. There were a number of plot points that I was not expecting. Some twists and turns that weren’t predictable at all. But the love and sacrifices that each made for the other are so heartbreaking and poignant I just couldn’t put it down.

There is a period of separation for the two as they grow up and heal in some ways and break apart in others. But they grow in to individuals during this time (that time doesn’t really happen on page except via letters that Annabelle writes but never sends to Robert) and they develop quirks and character they might not have otherwise. One of those is the heroine’s tale t for drawing charactatures which I thought was a neat talent which she eventually sells to a gossip paper. Early on I would have said that my one complaint was how the heroine seemed to bow to the paper owner’s demands for sketch revisions: she isn’t poor and/or desperate... she doesn’t NEED to sketch to survive. It’s a hobby. For fun. She doesn’t HAVE to post cruel, false cartoons in the paper. So this moral struggle felt pretty weak. But it was relevant to another plot point so I guess I’ll let it slide. There wasn’t a ton of action in this book other than in the last half or so. There was a bit of a mystery but it was very secondary and simply moved the romance along.

There was definitely something magical about this book. I’m enjoying how Elisa Braden is bringing in some very light supernatural elements that help you believe in magic and soul mates because man did this book deliver that feeling!

Beginning of one of the best historical romance series ever …

This story is a prequel to the Rescue from Ruin series … one of the best series I have ever interacted with. In Ever Yours, Annabelle we are introduced to numerous characters whom receive focus or their own story in the series. I am registering the series. It has been several years plus I was craving a quality story / series. The last one I enjoyed of the same calibre as this is the Bedwyn Saga by Mary Balogh - I recommend it as well.

Ever Yours is full of intrigue, romance, many relationships both familial and other. It makes one want to know more about the characters, their stories, their families and all the liaisons and conflicts. This particular tale actually had me sobbing in the first few chapters, truly sobbing. I can be moved by a good story, but this particular episode was so well written that I was overwhelmed with despair. As the plot played out, I was further drawn in and my emotions played like a roller coaster. Honestly, this book is fantastically good as is the entire series. I highly recommend it.

I have listened to several books narrated by Mary Sarah. As is usual, she does a great job, but she excels at the emotional and the sensual. It brings even more impact to the tale. If you are looking for a great series, this is it. Each book could stand alone, but reading (or listening to) the series in order adds additional layers and insight that enhances enjoyment.

Awesome Had Me From Page 1

Truly a wonderful story I love a story that starts at a tender age and the love grows. Yes there were obstacles and both felt the pain of bad decisions. Yet their true love shined through. Plus I like a little intrigue and this book had it. The narrator was a little over the top at times but she had a good male and female voice. Buy it. This book is worth the credit. In fact I have the series all are great.

Prequel to a favorite series

I enjoyed reading this book. Bought Audible copy for whispersync benefits. Voice squeaky and uneven. Detracted from story!

Absolutely loved this story!

Such a strong love story that you can feel it with each turn of the page, definitely magical. The author story are each unique and plenty twist a turn that are unexpected. Loved the love letters through out the years of separation.

A great start to a value-packed series

Once this drops out of Audible Plus, consider that this book is .5 of Volume One, a four book collection. Four books for one credit and all of them filled with the regency formulas I adore. Dark, dangerous lords and sunny, earnest ladies. Compared to most regency romance, this author writes stories that are heavier on the angsty side, but this author makes up for it with sweet emotional punch. Each book gives 2-4 steamy scenes, another plus over those miserly books that slow build to a single scene. Each book builds off the previous one until the last book brings the couples together to put a final end to a series intrigue arc. Volumes Two and Three continue with overlapping stories and characters, and are consistently solid, especially in bundle format.

The couples from this series have cameos in the Midnight in Scotland series, which has a different narrator but much of the same formulas.

I recommend sampling the narration, but not dismissing it at first blush. The narration was very breathy and over-acted as well as over-accented. It took me aback and grated for the first chapter or two. However, I upped the speed to 1.3x and soon found that i actually liked the over-the-top delivery.
Similar to Lady Whistledown’s saucy sound bites in The Bridgertons, the narrator draws you into these bodice rippers with a wink and a grin. There’s even fun introductions to chapters by the Dowager Marchioness of Wellingham which would make Lady Whistledown

This book’s story is charming:

“Oh, bumblebee!”
I was hooked by the end of chapter 1, as soulmates Annabelle and Robert are ripped apart as teens.
Then, it’s the stubborn bull versus the precocious bumble bee as the two reconnect and re-combat during a London season. Features a lummox of a horse named Dewdrop and a gaggle of kittens.

Excellent story

Loved Con and Annabelle’s story. They were made for each other. I love the entire series.

Barely OK

I’m glad it was a free listen! Love the narrator!! She’s one of my faves! The story was too long and unrealistic view of “I love you too much to marry you”. There are some other great stories in this series. This story was barely tolerable.

Creepy story creepy narration

I got through half of it and couldn’t continue. The narrator’s annoying overacting and sighing was bad enough. But then the male’s creepy sounding voice ended up making him sound like a gross stalker rather than someone in love. Why do they not do better quality control on these narrators? They ruin so many otherwise interesting books.

Liked the story but...

Oh no, the narration made it difficult to continue on. The narrator had a decent range in terms of character identification but our H sounded like he was a weird kind of superhero, whispering all the time...and most sentences throughout were ended on a breathy “sigh”- leaving me very agitated! It became a burden listening despite the storyline being pretty good. I will have to return this audible version and purchase the book. Sorry!