Customer Reviews

His Secondhand Wife (Harlequin Historical)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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?

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.

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!

Katherine Cutter had very small dreams...a family and somewhere to belong. Surely that wasn't asking too much. But when her husband gets shot, he leaves her pregnant and alone. Then his brother rides into town. Noah Cutter is a man who is used to living life on his own. He doesn't know what to do with a woman like Katherine. His scars run deep and he's not willing to let anyone in. But Katherine doesn't seem to know how to stay out. And gradually, Noah's not sure he wants her two. Together they can forge a new family...if only they can let go of the past, the pain.

St. John's ability to craft a deeply emotional story is amazing. His Secondhand Wife is another brilliant display of what this talented writer can do with a story!

Noah Cutter gets word that his younger brother Levi's been killed. He finds out that Levi was recently married and goes to inform his sister-in-law Katherine. There he finds Katherine living with her mother in a run down apartment and slaving away, working sun up to sun down doing laundry. He tells her about Levi and tells her he wants her to come live with him after he finds out she's pregnant. Katherine, realizing that Levi only married her because she wouldn't sleep with him without marriage feels deceived and used by him but wants better for herself and her baby and agrees.

Noah is frighteningly scarred from a childhood accident and lives his loner existence just fine. He's unprepared for the sociable and chatterbox that is Katherine. I've never wanted to slap a heroine more to tell her to shut up. Katherine is a Chatty Cathy and not really an endearing one. She babbles so much she always seems self involved and she is in a way. It's always about what she's thinking, what she wants to do, etc.

He's mystified by her verboseness and intrigued that she doesn't shy away from his scarred face and hands like everyone else does. He wants her to stay with him to feel closer to his brother and to be a good uncle to his brother's child. But Levi's mother and his domineering stepmother manipulates the two of them to keep Katherine around so she can play grandmother to the baby. Everyone keeps their distance from Noah but only Estelle is brutally cruel to him. Katherine finds herself standing up to Estelle and defending Noah on more than one account and Noah finds himself starting to like Katherine for her in spite of her chattiness but he still keeps her at arms length fearing he won't live up to his handsome brother who Katherine fell in love with enough to marry.

Overall: It was a cute book. Noah is a nice hero to read about BUT if I were you, I'd read the sample before purchasing it. Katherine is just too freaking talkative for me and it's overwhelmingly annoying. The sample gives you a good taste to how much she talks and how annoying her conversation is and it's a good place for you to decide if you want to read it or not.

This is the first book I've read from Cheryl St. John, and it has left me wanting to read more of her books. I thought she did an excellent job of engaging me in a tender and beautiful love story. Kate had married Levi Cutter, but after a couple of weeks, he told her he needed to find a good job and would come back for her. After five months of his absence, his brother, Noah shows up to tell her that Levi was shot. Kate soon realizes that Levi had no intention of coming back to her since he was off sleeping around with other women, so she doesn't hold onto any sentimental feelings for him.

When Noah witnesses Kate's mother talking down to her, he offers to take Kate to his ranch where he can provide for her and her unborn child. She accepts and off they go. I loved the fact that she was a chatterbox and he was silent. She was beautiful and he hides his face under long hair, a beard and a hat because of an accident that left him scarred. It reminded me of the movie "Beauty and the Beast". Noah has a good heart and does what he can to make things easy for her, which in turn, makes her feel useless and she begins to think he is only interested in his unborn nephew or niece rather than her.

Getting to know what both characters are thinking made me understand that he did care for her and this caring developed into love overtime. Afraid of losing her and her unborn child because of his step-mother's suggestion that Kate will find a man to marry, Noah proposes marriage. Considering that it will secure her and the baby's future, she agrees. Even from the moment they marry, it's apparent they care more for each other than the other one thinks. Noah's never been with a woman, which I found refreshing because of the many romances that do not have virgin heroes.

Since they aren't communicating what they really think, they assume what the other one is thinking. Noah fears that she feels obligated to be with him because he's providing for her. Kate fears that he is only doing his duty to her for the sake of the baby. This is a great book with two major themes: it's not the outward appearance that makes a person lovely and what we assume someone else is thinking can be wrong. I highly recommend this and will read more books by this author.

Synopsis:
NOAH CUTTER WAS A MAN OF HIS WORD...

Scarred in body and soul, rancher Noah didn't consider himself fit company for anyone. But when his brother's philandering finally caught up with him, honor dictated that Noah claim his brother's widow as his own....

Standing on her doorstep, with his collar turned up and a rifle by his side, Noah was about the most intimidating man Katherine had ever seen. And though one man's false promises had already dashed her dreams, she instinctively trusted this stranger. Even more, Kate suspected she'd only be a fool this time if she didn't take a chance on Noah for the sake of herself...and her unborn child!


My Review:
My friend gave this book 5 stars, so I thought I'd try it too. So glad I did. Perfect story. "Tortured or Scarred hero" is one of my favorite storylines and this is one of the best examples I've read. I love that Noah is a "good man", and not a former bad one injured in a fight, but instead through a accident. Book was very down to earth and real-wonderful hero and heroine, great secondary characters too. I plan to read more of this author's books in the future. Highly recommended-5 stars.

This was my first Cheryl St John book. I tried very hard to read it in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. At 4:00 am I gave in and went to bed.. St John's writing captured so many emotions I was drained. It was such a beautiful story of two people finding each other accepting the outside and loving the inside... We all do it everyday we just do it over time as looks fade and change . But the love grows stronger.. She reminds us that there special people out there who see past the outside .. This was the best love story I've ever read... I have continued to enjoy St johns books.

I like this story, because it starts moving along, right away. Not a dull moment, and it keeps you interested. The story seems possible, and the people in it, seem like people, not fantasy land.

You can't help but falling in love with Katy and Noah Cutter. Katy is not your usual simpering heroine. She is forthright and honest in her feelings. Noah is a masculine hero that women love because although he is tough and strong on the outside, there is a terrible hurt on the inside. Couldn't put this book by Cheryl St. John down!