Audio Review ~ Reese's Bride ~ Kat Martin #AudioChallenge #ShelfLove

Reese's Bride by Kat Martin
Brides Trilogy #2
Narrated by: Anna Parker-Naples
Release Date: March 28, 2017
Genre: Adult, Historical Romance
Source: I received a complimentary copy from Tantor Audio. This did not affect my rating and my review is voluntarily provided. 
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #AudioChallenge, #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
Years ago, love-struck Reese departed his home at Briarwood with a promise from raven-haired Elizabeth Clemens that she would make a life with him upon his return. But mere months later, she married the Earl of Aldridge, attaining wealth and status Reese could never match. Memories of that betrayal make his homecoming far more bitter than sweet. Seeing Elizabeth on his doorstep dressed in widow's garb twists the knife even deeper. But fear for her young son's safety has overcome her pride: She begs Reese for protection from those who would see the boy dead to possess his fortune. He agrees to an uneasy alliance, sensing Elizabeth still harbors deep secrets - and Reese knows that he's placing himself in danger...of losing his heart all over again.

KMartin continues to impress me with her storytelling skills. I'm currently listening to book #3 in the trilogy. :)

Highlights:

• Favorite Trope
  Second chance romances is one of my most favorite romance tropes and Reese and Elizabeth's second chance, while hard earned, was deserved and sweet. There were a lot of emotions surrounding the reasons they were kept apart but the primary emotion - love - remained strong.
• Plot & Sub-plots
  The element that brings Reese and Elizabeth back together provided for tension and suspense but one of the things I find I enjoy about KMartin is her ability to weave in sub-plots that keep me riveted without detracting from the main plot. One of the subplots incorporated a character from Royal's story as well as introducing a new character and I liked how KMartin wove these two characters together.
• Romance
  Not only do we get to see Reese and Elizabeth work their way back to each other but KMartin gives us a secondary romance as well and in this case it was also a second chance of sorts so I was doubly delighted.
• Characters
  KMartin delivers a well-drawn cast of characters and her cast is rather large so that is impressive. From Reese and his brothers down to the security men and even the villain, she has me intrigued by, cheering for, and despising her characters as warranted. That many characters appeared in both Reese's and Royal's stories (and hopefully Rule's) is a bonus since I got a little attached. :)
• Narration
  Anna Parker-Naples once again had me admiring her delivery. She's able to keep the pacing perfect, evoke all the emotions, as well as keep me engaged. She does have a slight issue with male voices but overall her voices and accents bring to life this large cast.