The Last Original Wife

By: Dorothea Benton Frank

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Leslie Anne Greene Carter is the Last Original Wife among her husband Wesley's wildly successful Atlanta social set. His cronies have all traded in the mothers of their children they promised to love and cherish - till death did them part - for tanned-and-toned young Barbie brides.

If losing the social life and close friends she adored wasn't painful enough, a series of setbacks shake Les's world and push her to the edge. She's had enough of playing the good wife to a husband who thinks he's doing her a favor keeping her around. Now, she's going to take some time forherself - in the familiar comforts and stunning beauty of Charleston, her beloved hometown. In her brother's stately historic home, she's going to reclaim the carefree girl who spent lazy summers sharing steamy kisses with her first love on Sullivan's Island. Daring to listen to her inner voice, she will realize what she wants...and find the life of which she's always dreamed.

Told in the alternating voices of Les and Wes, The Last Original Wife is classic Dorothea Benton Frank: an intoxicating tale of family, friendship, self-discovery, and love, that is as salty as a low country breeze and as invigorating as a dip in Carolina waters on a sizzling summer day.

©2013 Dorothea Benton Frank (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

Liberating

Saucy & Spicy with Lowcountry Sweet & Nicey! Delightfully funny & liberating for middle-aged women who feel stuck in life.

Entertaining and empowering.

I loved the premise, the details were more than satisfying and I found myself cheering throughout.

Absolutely wonderful!!!

What a wonderful romp through the love lives of these characters! You absolutely have to listen to this book, especially if you’re the wife of a “runaway husband”. It was funny, sad, uplifting and very entertaining. This author is great. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A Great Novel by one of the a Greatest Authors

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! Dorothea Benton Frank is one of the Great Southern Fiction Authors and in this Novel she does not disappoint!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Oh my favorite was Les! She has finesse, dignity, wit, and stamina all while going through a difficult time and having to make a very difficult decision. All the while she continues to maintain her beautiful spirit and character!!!

Any additional comments?

I anxiously await Dorothea Benton Frank's next novel!!!

Accent

Any additional comments?

The story was good, but the accents distracted from it. Please, just read the story. No one can successfully fake a southern accent. I have lived in the South all of my life and I don't know anyone who talks like these characters did.

Something light and fun

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'd recommend this book as "beach reading". A great little paperback summer read.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I loved the ending. . . Even though things were "tied up" in Les's family a little too neatly for me.

What didn’t you like about Robin Miles’s performance?

That accent! Has she really never visited South Carolina? TOO heavy. Les sounded like an idiot for half the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not in one sitting, but over a long weekend. I liked the length.

A Listening Pleasure

This story is a Dottie Frank classic and Robin Miles is fantastic as the narrator! You’ll want to listen more than once.

Just ok ...

I always look forward to Dorethea Benton Frank's books, but this is the first one to let me down. It started off really slow and depressing, but by the end of the book it was better. In spite of this, I still look forward to her next book.

narration is terrible!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The story was average. The narration is one of the worst I've ever heard.

Would you be willing to try another book from Dorothea Benton Frank? Why or why not?

With another narrator' maybe.

What didn’t you like about Robin Miles’s performance?

The accent was part southern (nobody from the south talks like this), the 'ou' sound was canadian, and sometimes I heard British too. Really bad!

Do you think The Last Original Wife needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No as the add tory ended on a final and good note.

Winning Combo

I first read this book a few years ago. It was my first book by Dorothea Benton Frank and my first time to hear Robin Miles as a narrator. I became a die hard fan of both. Ms. Benton’s witty southern humor and Ms. Miles incredible talent as a narrator are always a winning combination!