Audiobook Review: Rebellion by Raena Rood
Rebellion
Series: The Reverence Trilogy, Book Two
Author: Raena Rood
Narrator: Brittany Goodwin
Audio Published: December 10, 2025
Audiobook: 8 hours 51 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: December 17-22, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Kira always knew that her future in Vita Nova was a mandatory death at age sixty, just like every other citizen. But when she falls in love with Will Foster, one of the city’s revered Volunteers, and risks everything to escape the city’s iron grip, she begins to believe that a different life might be within reach.
With Will and young Teddy by her side, Kira ventures into the Unregulated Zone, desperate to find other survivors and a place free from Vita Nova’s oppressive rule—a place where freedom still exists.
Their journey brings them to Haven, a secluded community hidden deep in the Pennsylvania woods, led by the enigmatic Ghost. But Haven holds many secrets—secrets that could shatter Kira’s fragile hopes for the future and threaten the tenuous bond she’s forged with Will.
When a brutal attack shatters the fragile peace she’s found, Kira is forced into a deadly confrontation. Torn between protecting the people she loves and securing her own future, Kira must confront the true meaning of sacrifice—or risk becoming another victim of Vita Nova’s cruel justice.
Jessica’s Review:
Rebellion picks up immediately after Reverence ends. The reader along with Kira experiences more of the world outside of Vita Nova and meets new characters. This is a story about different types of love, actual family and people who become family, friendship and security. But most of all, FAITH. Rood gets her message across without being ‘overly preachy.’ Sometimes a book with Christian themes can turn readers away, especially if it is ‘overly preachy.’ This is a clean novel that would be appropriate for younger teens. Yes, characters we have become attached to over the course of these two novels die, but it is a dystopian world! The romance between Kira and Will is sweet and innocent, but does move very quickly. (Again, this is a dystopian world!). Some character deaths are more poignant than others.
We have a new character named Ghost, who is an enigma all on his own, and I liked him! I want to know more about him. The way these character’s lives are connected intertwines in just the right way. We are left with another cliffhanger at the end and I find myself wanting to find out how this story ends, which it will with Ransom as it is the final book in the trilogy.
We have a new narrator with Rebellion: Brittany Goodwin. She has a different take on Kira than the previous narrator whom I enjoyed. I had to get used to Goodwin’s narration as I had just recently finished Reverence. I ended up enjoying Goodwin’s narration. She has a good take on Kira and I could hear her growth over the course of the novel. From being naïve and a ‘sheltered city girl’ to becoming the woman she will ultimately become.
I received an Audible code from the author and enjoyed listening to Rebellion. Rood also just updated the covers, which focuses more on Kira and Will. I liked the older cover for Reverence as once I finished it, the images on the cover had more meaning for me.
I look forward to listening or reading Ransom. I want to know how this story ends. If the audiobook doesn’t come out soon, I might just have to read this one on my kindle!
ALC Review: My Husband’s Wife by Alice Fenney
My Husband’s Wife
Author: Alice Feeney
Narrators:
Bel Powley
Henry Rowley
Richard Armitage
To Be Published: January 20, 2026
Audiobook: 8 hours 58 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: December 23, 2025- January 5, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.
One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.
Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.
My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.
Jessica’s Review:
I’ve read a few novels by Alice Feeney, so when I hear she has a book coming out, I look into it. This one has an intriguing premise and I was excited to be granted an advanced copy to listen to and review. And once I started it, I was glad I got this advanced copy.
There are a lot of twists throughout the novel, and it goes in many directions that I was not expecting. And then… Add in a company that claims that it can predict when a person will die… WHAT!?!??!
We have four POVs:
Carter who is a police officer
Eden who is Harrison’s wife and an artist
Birdy who is comes back to Hope Falls and also a police officer.
Harrison who lives in Spyglass and married to Eden
So much happens that it could be hard to keep it all straight. I think the audiobook definitely helped me with this. It is all very implausible and something about the story just did not connect with me. I can’t figure out what it was. Sometimes books are for you and sometimes they just are not. My Husband’s Wife had a lot of promise, but it just ended up not being a book for me.
There are three narrators who did a great job and there are also ‘sound effects’ that enhanced and adds to this story! Nothing too distracting to affect me while I was driving. For example, one effect was when Eden was running you can hear her making those steps. And I just have to say the cover is gorgeous!
Many thanks to the publisher, Macmillan Audio for granting me a copy to listen to and review!
Pre-order Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Audiobook Review: The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware
The Woman in Suite 11
Series: Lo Blacklock #2
Author: Ruth Ware
Narrator: Imogen Church
Published: July 8, 2025
Audiobook: 15 hours 11 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: December 5-16, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
In this follow-up to #1 New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware’s multi-million copy mega-hit The Women in Cabin 10, Lo Blacklock returns to attend the opening of a luxury hotel, only to find herself in a white-knuckled race across Europe.
When the invitation to attend the press opening of a luxury Swiss hotel—owned by reclusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann—arrives, it’s like the answer to a prayer. Three years after the birth of her youngest child, Lo Blacklock is ready to reestablish her journalism career, but post-pandemic travel journalism is a very different landscape from the one she left ten years ago.
The chateau on the shores of Lake Geneva is everything Lo’s ever dreamed of, and she hopes she can snag an interview with Marcus. Unfortunately, he proves to be even more difficult to pin down than his reputation suggests. When Lo gets a late-night call asking her to come to Marcus’s hotel room, she agrees despite her own misgivings. She’s greeted, however, by a woman claiming to be Marcus’s mistress, and in life-or-death jeopardy.
What follows is a thrilling cat-and-mouse pursuit across Europe, forcing Lo to ask herself just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to save this woman…and if she can even trust her?
Jessica’s Review:
It’s been ten years since her ‘adventure’ on the Aurora and Lo Blacklock is back! The Woman in Suite 11 is Ruth Ware’s first sequel and it was written because fans wanted it. Did we need it, no, but I did enjoy it. It had been nine years since I listened to Cabin 10, so I went for a re-read before I listened to Suite 11.
In addition to the time having passed, Lo is now married with children. She receives an invite to the opening of a new luxury hotel which she takes up. She would like to revive her career and this invite might just be the way to do it.
When Lo arrives at the hotel it is a sort of reunion of folks who were on the Aurora ten years ago. Now, has Lo learned anything from her last adventure ten years ago? Apparently NOT! Lo makes one bad decision after another and gets herself into quite the cat and mouse game across Europe. My thoughts became ‘here we go again’ with every bad decision Lo made. But she had her own reasoning why each decision would work. It’s a bit crazy, but I did enjoy the ride despite rolling my eyes with every decision Lo made. I mean, how trusting can one person be?
Despite the craziness that occurs throughout the novel, I did enjoy it. And Anything Ruth Ware writes I will listen to! And of course, Imogen Church returns as narrator! I can’t really see anymore adventures occurring with Lo, how much more can one woman go through?
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK