Narrated by Angela Dawe
Jennifer Ashley created a fun new series of Highlander romances with the MacKenzie family, set in the late 19th century. The eldest is Hart, “the Scottish Duke”, and along with his three brothers, they are setting London high society on its ear. The third brother in line, Lord Roland “Mac” MacKenzie, steals a debutante from her debut ball on a bet, falls for her madly, and marries her within hours. After three years, she obtains a legal separation, which is where they are when the series begins.
Choosing Angela Dawe as voice actor for the series was perfect. She has a voice that is very easy on the ears, and switches flawlessly between the various accents required. This includes the brothers’ subdued English-tinted Scots accents, the heroines’ British accents, and all the characters from low- to high-born English and Scot. Her pacing is wonderful, and even though I began to feel a pattern in tonality, it was soothing instead of annoying. She managed to infuse the various characters with age-appropriate levels and emotions – all in all a wonderful experience.
As one of my favorite plots in romance is the besotted hero, Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage is now one of my favorites. I fell for Ian MacKenzie, the autistic brother from The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie, because his romance and his heroine were so beguiling, but Mac stole my heart away for his passion. Mac is an artist and lives his life scandalously, on the edge, with no impulse ever controlled, as witnessed by his impetuous marriage to Isabella. He also indulges in liquor to the extreme, and his out-of-control behavior becomes less and less charming and more damaging to his marriage. The story takes up when Isabella returns to Mac with a mystery – who is copying Mac’s painting style and selling them as Mac MacKenzie originals? Dawe’s narrative is almost as compelling as her characters, and you sense Mac’s frustration and desperation as he tries to convince Isabella they still belong together, that she is his heart.
Very enjoyable listen – now impatiently awaiting the final installment at Audible!
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Melinda
AUDIOBOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage
AUTHOR: Jennifer Ashley
NARRATED BY: Angela Dawe
GENRE: Historical Romance
STEAM FACTOR: 5
REVIEWER: Melinda [button type=’link’ link=’http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FVG3SO/?tag=audiogalsnet-20′ size=’btn-lg’ variation=’btn-default’ target=’blank’]Buy Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley on Amazon[/button]
I absolutely adored Angela Dawe’s performance of Ashley’s The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. As it was an extreme favorite in print, I was doubtful that a narrator could pull it off to my satisfaction but Dawe did – making it even better in audio. Now I look forward to listening to the rest of the series.
*I’m looking forward to listening to the rest of the series as well, I like Jennifer Ashley’s writing style and getting to listen with all the excellent accents Angel Dawe adds is an added bonus.
*The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie was one I enjoyed on audio more than in print. I haven’t read any of the others and I’m looking forward to getting my hands (ears?) on the rest of the books in the series.