The Bootlegger's Bride

Bryeton Books #2

by M.K. Chester

Aiden Palmer, a disenchanted WWI veteran, has gone from golden boy to troublemaker since his return from Europe. Hopping from job to job, looking for meaning and adventure, he finds himself running with a rowdy new crowd that puts pressure on him to join their illegal bootlegging runs. On the night the 18th Amendment goes into affect, he reconnects with a love from his past, Grace Currie, at a Prohibition Ball. 

Grace McAfee Currie is a teenaged war widow. On the night the Volstead Act becomes law, she searches for Aiden Palmer, the man she’d wanted to marry three years ago. Convincing him that she still loves him is no easy task. Will they be able to outmaneuver her power-hungry brother and outrun the competition and start a new life together?

Genres: Romance, Historical, Fiction

78 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2017

About the author

M.K Chester is an avid reader who began writing at an early age to entertain herself. She began to take writing seriously after college and her work developed timeless themes of redemption and second chances.

​​She won some RWA awards, published with The Wild Rose Press and Carina [Harlequin] and now considers herself a happy Indie.

​Her romance titles include something for everyone: historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance.

Reviews

[Danielle's · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this audiobook. Short stories sometimes leave you feeling like you want more but this one actually fits perfectly. Grace is from a family where finding love is less important than finding the right role in society. She’s always been in love with Aiden. Now her circumstances have changed Grace wants her happily ever after even if the cost is high. Set in the 1920s this is a story of escape. The narrator fits great and I enjoyed every minute. Highly recommended.

ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rellim · Rating 5 out of 5]

1/17/2023 - if you’re looking for a quick read/listen to celebrate “National Bootlegger’s Day”…

8/7/2021 - Relisten before the new audio of book 4, One & Only

Audible. This was listed as the 2nd book in the Bryeton series. Not only was this set in a different decade, but none of the characters/situations/locations were from book 1. So this can be enjoyed completely on its own.

Short stories/novellas can be quite difficult in that they are often bereft of the kinds of details that fully immerse the reader/listener into the story and it's world. M.K. Chester suffered no such issues here. I was delighted and intrigued by what she managed to convey in a mere 100 minutes.

This is a lovely second-chance romance set at the dawn of Prohibition. Grace & Aiden have both been transformed by the war and are now seeking to live their lives on their own terms. Grace is a young widow trying to break from her scheming political family while Aiden is eschewing his father's plans for his future. Chester gives us a beautiful love story along with a little suspense.

Brenda G Brown is a new-to-me narrator. I loved her accented voice as well as her ability to give each character their own unique sound. While I often find myself speeding up narrators, I almost felt she spoke a little too fast. There were also times where the chapter came across as one long run-on sentence. This caused changes in POV or time/location to be abrupt. She wasn't terrible and it wouldn't keep me from listening to her in the future, but I felt the pacing distracted a bit from the story.

Spoiler-ish note about "clean romance":
I believe the first book in this series was listed as a clean romance, which it was. I assumed (yeah, I know) that this was too. It doesn't claim to be and it's not. There is a short sex scene, nothing extremely raunchy or overly graphic IMHO, but it's definitely not closed door or fade-to-black. Honestly, I could care less as I read anything from clean to erotica ~ but another reviewer mentioned this was clean and I didn't want anyone to be thrown off by that.

While I received a free copy of this audiobook from Story Origin, I purchased Bryeton Books: A Vintage Romance Box Set.

[bluepits73 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version of this book.
Very fast paced quick clean listen. This is more of southern style classic that takes place during the time of prohibition. Considering that I haven't read this author before, I feel like this was a great 1st impression. Has potential to be expanded into more but is a good standalone. 

The narrator did a good job in this performance. I feel like her voice brough out the southern feel of the story and was able to add to the setting. Since this was so short, there weren't a whole lot of characters, but the characters we did encounter seemed to have good voice differentiation.

I received a review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

[Michele Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I offered to review this audiobook because I am such an an avid reader but also almost exclusively audio due to my schedule. Because of this, and the fact that a bad narrator can destroy a great series, I can be very critical of narrators. Especially when books have a single narrator required to speak with different voices for multiple characters. Most cannot do it without having some errors where they use the wrong 'voice' for the wrong character. Brenda Brown does a great job in narrating this book! It was a very enjoyable listen and I didn't have any issues distinguishing between characters.

As to the story, I am not one to give a lot of specific story details since I feel you should read the story for that. The Bootlegger's Bride is a short story in a series, but holds its own in a stand alone historical romance. It was great to see love win out over greed. The book includes interesting characters, with lots of twists and turns in the main story that will make you want to keep listening until the story is over.

I received a free review copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those fast listens that is packed full of action and romance! Taking place as prohibition is being executed, Aiden finds himself in a position to make some fast money. The love of his life, Grace is ready to reconnect with him, but with all families, we find a bad apple in Grace's! Now racing the clock to their new life, we get to see power hungry individuals try to block their happiness. Will they find their way? I loved this short story. MK Chester has a way of writing that is so easy to listen to and entertaining that I get lost in the story. The characters are well developed and the story does not feel rushed. The narration by Brenda G Brown is perfect, her southern drawl exactly what I would expect from the characters. Highly recommend this novella!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a free copy of this Audiobook In exchange for an honest review. Aiden has returned from world war 1 and his old flame Grace is now a war widow from His best friend. She comes from a well off and prestigious family. His family wants him to follow in the preaching tradition, but he is a rebel. He needs to make a lot of money so that Grace and Aiden can marry. Aiden soon finds himself in an illegal late night bootlegging run, he will need to be better than his competition and have some fancy moves to ensure Grace's powerful and crooked brother doesn't interfere with his and Grace's plan. Will they be able to be together and live happily ever after? Enjoyed this book.

[Kimberly Westrope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short romance that takes place during the Prohibition era. Great characters and story. It is fast-paced and full of action, emotion, and romance. This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and I liked this one better than the first one. I will definitely read more by this author.

I listened to the audio version of this book and narrator, Brenda G. Brown, did a really good job with this story.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this audio book for an honest review. I really enjoyed the storyline & the characters. My only issue was the narrator’s “southern accent”. Being that i’m from South Carolina, it was hard to focus on the story. I found myself having to stop a few times to clear my head before I could resume. The accent the narrator spoke in sounded fake. I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more had I read it vs listening to the audiobook.

[Patricia Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting historical romance set in a time and location not often used. Very original. The story was good. The narrator mispronounced several words, and (in my opinion) went overboard on the accent. I received a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jocelyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Bryeton Series. This is a short and sweet novella. Unfortunately, I had difficulties to stay focused, but I can't say why. The narration was okay.

[Sarah (Inkmates Read) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is SO short so it's hard to judge it appropriately. The story itself could be something really cute and romantic, but it felt like a sprint and so we didn't get any development, background, any particular depth to the characters, or understanding of their motivations. It's totally fine as a snapshot but I prefer more to my romances.

[Kimberly #Audiofile · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 star listen
Really short, historical romance.
Too short to really get invested in the characters or story in a negative or positive light.

Gifted audio in exchange for an honest review
I did however really enjoy the narration.

[Bri The Shameless Romance Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had some potential. I wish it was longer. As is it feels very rushed like I’m getting dropped into the middle of the story. I had few questions about the MC’s past relationship and this book just kinda glazed over it.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick Read

It was a good, quick romance read. I liked the main characters. It makes me glad to have the brother I do. Haha