The Rebel Wife

By: Elizabeth Bramwell

Narrated by: Julia Eve

Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

Married out of the schoolroom to her childhood hero, Kate had believed that life would finally hand her a happy ending - right up until her husband abandoned her for foreign shores less than an hour after their wedding. Since then she has forged a place for herself in society, and endured the cruel gossip about the state of her marriage, for even though she has been forced to face the Ton alone, she is still a Duchess. 

Alexander Weatherly, the Duke of Lexborough, thought he could go through with the marriage, only to find that his child bride was too young for him to place the burdens of the Dukedom upon her. He left her in the hands of his mother as he set sail of Europe, always intending to come home one day...only to find 10 years have passed him by.

While Kate believes that she has done a good job managing the family affairs during her husband's absence, Alex is horrified to learn that it was not his man of business but his young wife who has been in control all this time. As he tries to wrest back control of his obligations from staff more loyal to his wife than to him, it is inevitable that Alex and Kate will clash on just about every issue under the sun. If they can only get past their feud long enough to see reason, they just might discover that love can be a part of their marriage, after all.

©2017 Gemma Noon (P)2019 Gemma Noon

What Fun!

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and any opinions expressed herein are my own.

This is the fourth book in the Regency Romps series. Each book is a standalone and can be read without having to read any of the prior books in the series.

What fun! Here, Kate marries a Duke, who within an hour of their wedding flees the country. Now, ten years later he returns, completely oblivious to what has been occurring in his household while he was gone and that Kate is now all grown up. There a lot of missteps by the Duke and humorous moments as he tries to establish his dominance. The story develops, at a good pace, into a very nice HEA romance. There is a very entertaining sub story involving the Duke's sibling.

The narrator, Julia Eve, was generally very good. However, weirdly, the MC Kate is 26 years old but the voice provided by the narrator sounded like she was an elderly woman, which threw off the story a bit.

So he returns

The Duke left his bride the same day they married and only returns 10 years later. Kate-the Duchess had been managing the control of the estate and it's surrounds while the Duke-Alex- was gone. Yet, he thought that during his absence it was his mother who was managing things. Yet it was his wife, who he thought was the same shy reserved little girl he married. He was wrong! This is a fast pace and lovely story with colorful characters to make it more fun to listen too.

The return

Alexander left after his wedding to a teenaged bride because he felt she was too young at 16 to be a wife. Even though it was the right thing to do, he didn't return for 10 years. In that time his father passed away and left his mother to take care of the estate. When he returns for a short visit he finds his wife to be beautiful and charming. When he finds out she is in charge of everything he doubts himself and must decide to stay and love his wife or leave once again because if his foolish pride. I received a complimentary audio and this review is voluntary

A good no. 4 in the series...

Book 4 in the series has as main characters a lady you admire from page one and a gentleman you'd like to smack on the head again and again and again...:) Kate is strong, loveable, sensible and ready to sacrifice everything for those she deems family; Alex, her estranged husband, is a man who has been absent for so long that he doesn't really know his own world any more... not to mention his own wife... He assumes his title is enough to gain him respect and obedience - and that's where he's in for a big surprise:)
I have to admit I didn't think I'd like Alex much at first, but the further the story developed the more I took to him, I definitely liked Kate a lot, and I thought she had patience of the Sphinx to put up with everything the Weatherlies threw her way:)

Anyway, as in all the other books in the series, the plot is fast-paced, with a lot going on, the HEA is guaranteed and the way to it is relaxing, entertaining and really funny:) As for the characters, the focus is mainly on 4 of them - Kate and Alex, obviously, and Alex's siblings Arthur and Helen - with the supporting ones really taking the back seat this time, but it doesn't make the book less interesting, as the main 4 are very well drawn; they do feel live and real, and their interactions make up a fantastic emotional web:)

As for the narration, I generally liked it, but as with all the previous books I'd like Ms Eve to read a bit faster - I did speed it up quite a bit. I rated the previous books at 4 stars for the narration, this time it's only three for one main reason - I really hated Kate's voice, it clashed so much with her personality. She's supposed to be about 25 years old yet she sounds more like 60, so blase and so bored with life that even an earthquake would not break her every day ennui...

Generally, it's a very good addition to the series:)

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Enjoyable

Book 4 in this series and in my opinion, the most enjoyable. It has a good plot and the characters are well developed and interesting. These are stand alones but each book does have characters from the previous. For the most part, the narrative was good, I did have trouble with understanding occasional words/meaning. There was some mild cussing in it of which I wasn't expecting, that was a downer for me. I've determined Regancy isn't for me, but I am glad I finished out the series.

I received this for free and am leaving an unbiased review.

incredible

I received a free code to listen to this book and I did so willingly

An excellent example of what an award winning series should be. Remarkable

Enjoyable second chance at love historical romance

His Rebel Wife is an enjoyable second chance at love historical romance written by Elizabeth Bramwell. It is the 4th book in the Regency Romps series and it is the longest book in the series so far, with the audiobook running nearly 6 1/2 hours. Julia Eve does a wonderful job narrating the story, using a variety of voices to bring the characters to life.

The story begins when Kate marries the heir to a dukedom when she is only 15-years old. Sparing her a wedding night due to her tender age, Alex runs off to Italy for an archeological dig only an hour after the nuptials. However, he doesn’t come home when his father dies a few years into the marriage and he stays away for 10 long years. Kate meanwhile assumes all of the duties befalling the estate and she does an admirable job. When Alex finally comes home so he can purchase property in Northumberland -- with the intent to leave immediately afterwards -- he still sees Kate as the young teen he married, rather than the stately duchess who is greatly admired by the Ton.

The story is at its best when Alex attempts to make a few decisions about the running of the estate with outdated notions. Kate countermands almost every move and the staff follows her lead, rather than Alex’s. Even though we never learn what kept Alex away for so long — especially why he didn’t return when his father died [even soldiers return from war when their fathers die] -- I really enjoyed listening to this story. I loved how Alex learns to appreciate Kate and how she is a force to be reckoned with, as well as his slow realization that being a duke isn’t just a title, but a responsibility that affects the lives of all who reside on the estate. As a bonus, we get a substantial glimpse into the lives of Alex's brother and sister who will, hopefully, receive their own audiobooks soon. I, for one, am really looking forward to the next audiobook in this entertaining series!

It’s becoming one of my favorite series

Kate and Alex have been married for more than a decade,however, they have never spent a minute in the same room. Alex ran away an hour after he said I do. Kate had to brave the Ton all on her own and run a Dukedom.
Alex comes back excepting the girl he married but finds a woman in her place.

This story is a sweet tale of falling in love and getting that second chance. Both of them had to learn about the other through new eyes.
I laughed a lot through this book. The series is becoming one of my faves. It’s so sweet and light and just helps you to escape the world your in.
#MyBookObsessionApproved
#AudiobookObsessionReview

Kate Triumphs!

Kate, Duchess of Lexborough, married young, and her husband promptly left for a decade on an archaeological dig. Soon after her husband Alex’s father died, Kate takes up the reigns of running the household and of running the estate. After ten years, Alex her husband, Duke of Lexborough suddenly reappears and comes home to a wife, sister, and brother that he really doesn’t know. He certainly isn’t aware that his wife has been running the show, and she is the toast of the Ton while he has been gone. Because of his absence for so many years, Alex is clueless, he has been gone and now tries to take on his role of Duke, with a lot to learn – as in which Duchess was really in charge while he was gone, his mother or his wife.

In this book Kate is the shining star. I absolutely loved how Kate was so loyal to Alex’s family; she always did what was she thought was right and supported them. I could really relate to Kate’s character, as so many times we just try to do our best for those we love, even if those around us do not appreciate us – did someone say Helena? Her relationship with Alex’s brother Arthur was very sweet. Eugenia was truly terrible, but I wonder if Elizabeth will bring her back and redeem her in her new Putney Brothers series?

Elizabeth Bramwell is an amazing storyteller. I would love to live in the supportive world of characters that Elizabeth Bramwell has created in this Regency Romp series. Her dialogue always sparkles. I especially loved the scenes where Kate replaced the candles with pig tallow candles and the shooting competition.

I admit that at one point toward the end, I cried because of the triumph of Kate. I felt a real appreciation for where she came from and who she became --- against great odds. I give this a five star rating. I have read the book, I also listened to the audiobook. Julia Eve is a talented voice, and I loved her voice when Arthur became bosky -- such fun!.

A Duchess of Value!

In this story you will find a Duchess who from the tender age of about 16 had to develop a very strong personality because her husband of less than an hour up and left her to go overseas and for 10 years she has had to run his household, make a place for herself in society and face the gossipers about her marriage on her own.
He returns and doesn't realise that it was his wife who ran his household so successfully for all those years and of course his decisions now are hardly ever the correct ones, which is very amusing.
After a while he finds that he cares for her and this blossoms into a love.
There are many lovely scenes where it becomes clear to him that in her he has an ideal wife and he has to work hard to woo her.
It was a really interesting, fun and entertaining story which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The narrator, Julia Eve, did a splendid job with her many 'voices' and this made the book come to life for me.
I requested and listened to the audiobook version and my voluntary review above is unbiased.