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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's "Good" but somehow lacking, August 1, 2005
This review is from: His Secondhand Wife (Harlequin Historical) (Mass Market Paperback)
There's just something not "there" about this romance. Despite all the good things about this book, something is lacking.
The basic plot is tightly written and a good one. Katherine (Kate), is abandoned by her husband (who married her basically because he wanted sex with her & she wasn't offering it without marriage). She's taken into her brother-in-law Noah's home, after the husband is killed in a brawl. Noah is outwardly scarred from a terrible accident involving barbed wire when he was a young teenager, and inwardly scarred due to his cold upbringing by his stepmonster. (Not a typo.) Kate is due to have her husband's baby in a few months. Yet they gradually feel attracted and eventually marry, falling in love with each other as they learn about each other.
The writing is all right; the romance is warm and heartfelt, developing slowly (which I like), and the characters are believably motivated. Noah and Katherine have depth, and I really appreciate Kate's determination to make a go of her new life and her hope for a stronger love with Noah than she'd experienced with his brother. And yet, somehow, the book is not a keeper. Maybe it's because the writing is just "all right", that I'm not feeling it. Some of the writing is a little abrupt, a little flat, perhaps.
It's a good book, even a very good book, but even though it touched all the bases, I feel disappointed with the fact that it wasn't "more". Odd, isn't it, how one person's hit is another's miss?
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT BOOK, March 1, 2006
This review is from: His Secondhand Wife (Harlequin Historical) (Mass Market Paperback)
After her husband leaves her and never returns, Katie Cutter has tucked her dreams away. She has lost all hope of having a family of her own. Every day washing clothes at the local laundry house makes her bitter and resentful at this abandonment as he has left her pregnant and alone.
A stranger appears at her mother's doorstep informing her that he is Noah Cutter, her brother in law - and that her husband has been killed. He offers her to come with him and Katie jumps at the opportunity to leave Boulder CO and start her life away from her mother's constant harping and meanness.
Noah offers to bring Katherine to his ranch. Although he has no use for women and has been around very few, he feels obligated to give his brother's widow and unborn child a home and sanctuary.
Katherine is a pretty little thing and as chatty as a magpie. She is outspoken and honest - always saying what is on her mind. He is a shadowed man, who speaks little and feels even less. His scars run deep - physically and emotionally so he has learned to avoid people and their censure.
St. John's marvelous storyline and character development in this book is sensational. It is a tender and sweet tribute of two people that find their need and love for each other. This was a great book - the love scenes where tender and the story lovely. Enjoy.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXCELLENTLY ENTERTAINING - GOOD READ, September 21, 2005
This review is from: His Secondhand Wife (Harlequin Historical) (Mass Market Paperback)
I find it beneficial to reconsider a book before reviewing it.
Sometimes the mood I am in at the time of reading colors my perception of the story.
Noah Cutter was scarred inside and out. His perceptions of others reactions were colored by the treatment he received after his injury. [I find that our perceptions of others are never accurate.]
Katherine Cutter was pregnant and no longer hopeful of having a better life, especially for her child. On her mother: [You fast loose your emotional connections to someone who keeps putting you down.]
Noah loved his brother, yet still knew him in reality. His brother, Levi was not one to acknowledge responsibility.
Was it really the child he wanted to protect or the young woman he brother had claimed in marriage?
Noah found it easier to take Kate into his home as she didn't seem to find him different or repulsive. Her acceptance went a long way to changing his life.
Kate was finding it hard to live with Noah, as he kept telling her she didn't have to do anything. How would she spend her time? She was used to working.
This is a tender romance with a lot of changes to live through and misunderstandings to clear up. MaMa Cutter had definitely developed into a person with class distinctions as a rule to live by. [I would like to know where her income came from?]
A nice change of pace with some past history to clear up and an entertaining read.
Definitely Recommend - Again - Try it you may like it!
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