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mjmreynolds's review against another edition
1.0
The writing is so bad. It was annoyingly poorly written. I hated the protagonist for half the book, and I disliked most of the characters. The protagonist does grow, and I didn't hate her as much by the end of the novel, but if you are expecting something as good as Gone With the Wind, you will be disappointed.
The plot also seemed sparse. Polites ignored so many opportunities to develop the story or the characters! I don't recommend this one. It is disappointing.
The plot also seemed sparse. Polites ignored so many opportunities to develop the story or the characters! I don't recommend this one. It is disappointing.
rebeccasreadingrambles's review against another edition
4.0
This book was not really what I expected, but I enjoyed it. It was much more raw and really showed what everyone was going through at this specific time in Alabama. Through the writing I could really feel everyone's high emotions and the struggles of each character. It really made me appreciate the struggles of both women and freedmen in the South after the Civil War. I believe the author did some extensive research for this novel. Though it was sad and a little crazed at time, I liked the ending and felt it was appropriate.
real_life_reading's review against another edition
4.0
This book was not what I was expecting. The narrator is a woman who's scalawag husband dies, and she is trying to survive in the Reconstruction South without her husband and without the fortune she thought he'd left. She written very dull and a little bit daft. She asks a lot of obvious questions and doesn't seem to grasp what is going on anywhere in the South. She seems to have live in a super oblivious world within herself. She doesn't know anything about her family, her servants, her husband's business, her land, or her friends. She seems to just live in her own head and memories. In that respect, it was really hard for me to believe her character.
It was an interesting story about the Reconstruction South though. With so much literature on the Civil War, it was interesting to read historical fiction about the post-war period, and how people coped with the upheaval of the war.
It was an interesting story about the Reconstruction South though. With so much literature on the Civil War, it was interesting to read historical fiction about the post-war period, and how people coped with the upheaval of the war.
sydlor93's review against another edition
4.0
At first, this book was kind of weird, how I didn't even know who the narrator was until like 10 pages in, and even then I was still a little lost. The story seemed like it jumped around a bit. I wasn't a fan of Gus as I felt she was pretty repetitive and sort of dull sounding (not in the stupid sense, in the boring sense).
Gus found out the hard way on who she can trust and who she can't as her world was turned upside down when Eli died. No one is who they seem anymore. Now poor as dirt and a hunt for unknown money lost, she finds an ally in who she really shouldn't for it being post Civil War in the South. Those she was basically trusting her life with were playing with her long before any of this happened.
I enjoyed the fast pace of the ending where I saw Gus do something I thought she would never do. It finished the story out well.
Gus found out the hard way on who she can trust and who she can't as her world was turned upside down when Eli died. No one is who they seem anymore. Now poor as dirt and a hunt for unknown money lost, she finds an ally in who she really shouldn't for it being post Civil War in the South. Those she was basically trusting her life with were playing with her long before any of this happened.
I enjoyed the fast pace of the ending where I saw Gus do something I thought she would never do. It finished the story out well.
meghanfulmer's review against another edition
4.0
This book was an impulse buy because it was 50% off and I couldn't pass up the deal. I am so glad I bought it! The Rebel Wife takes place in post-Civil War Alabama. The main character is a well-to-do white woman who was recently widowed, and there is some controversy surrounding her late husband's will. The cast of local women, house servants, and hired hands is wonderfully described. I really enjoy books about this time period, especially concerning relationships between the black and white races. I will admit that some parts left me a bit confused and some of the scenes seemed a bit far-fetched, but I loved the setting, the action, and the characters in this book.
amandanan's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating first person account of a widow after the Civil War living in northern Alabama. I found myself wanting to shake her, but ended up fist pumping her final act in the book. Rarely do I actually feel proud for a fictional character, but Polites made me do it. His intense study of all things reconstruction and southern for this time period are very apparent and extremely well done. Sometimes I find it difficult to read historical fiction or male writers writing female voices, but had no problems with either one with this book.
meghanmarion's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
I found "The Rebel Wife" to be a read that keeps you hooked. I began the novel anticipating a character similar to Scarlet O'Hara, but finished it finding a new Southern heroine. Polites' writing pulls the reader in and it is easy to imagine yourself right next Augusta Branson. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and would like to have a new and exciting reading experience. I look forward to the next novel written by Polites.
I found "The Rebel Wife" to be a read that keeps you hooked. I began the novel anticipating a character similar to Scarlet O'Hara, but finished it finding a new Southern heroine. Polites' writing pulls the reader in and it is easy to imagine yourself right next Augusta Branson. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and would like to have a new and exciting reading experience. I look forward to the next novel written by Polites.
rebeccasreadingrambles's review against another edition
4.0
This book was not really what I expected, but I enjoyed it. It was much more raw and really showed what everyone was going through at this specific time in Alabama. Through the writing I could really feel everyone's high emotions and the struggles of each character. It really made me appreciate the struggles of both women and freedmen in the South after the Civil War. I believe the author did some extensive research for this novel. Though it was sad and a little crazed at time, I liked the ending and felt it was appropriate.
truebookaddict's review against another edition
4.0
I must get one thing off my chest at the outset. Once again, I find myself very frustrated by how women were treated in the past. In our present times, when a woman's husband dies, she has rights. In most cases, she is the executor of her husband's estate and is usually the beneficiary of the life insurance and/or will. Of course, there are cases where a will may be in probate or a man may not leave anything to his wife (mostly in some cases of wealthy marriages), but for the most part, a woman has the right to her husband's possessions and/or money upon his death without having to worry about a family member (or other person) bullying in on her territory. Not so in ages past and nowhere is this fact more apparent than in The Rebel Wife. Augusta's husband, Eli, has died and she was under the impression that they were a well-off, well-settled family. Not according to her cousin, Judge. But she is getting conflicting stories from him and Eli's trusted and loyal servant as to the truth about the money. And Judge's treatment of Augusta, his literally taking over everything and treating her like she has no rights, is beyond infuriating. Mr. Polites does an excellent job of portraying exactly the situation that would have occurred back then and, although infuriating, it is the reality of the way things were.
Read the rest of my review at my blog: http://thetruebookaddict.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-tour-book-review-rebel-wife-by.html
Read the rest of my review at my blog: http://thetruebookaddict.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-tour-book-review-rebel-wife-by.html
candidceillie's review against another edition
1.0
Did not finish it. Three chapters in, everyone related to the main character is talking politics to her literally one day after her husband died, and it's irritating.