Customer Reviews

Not Quite a Husband

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I will say that I agree with a previous review regarding the fact that this book sometimes seemed like two books - both a romance and a history lesson.
However, despite this I loved, loved, loved this book.

The heroine and hero were such unique characters, and I enjoyed their gradual "unveiling" by the author. Yes, the heroine seemed unusually unfeeling, but because the author had introduced her in the prologue with such skill,I trusted that her seeming heartlessness would be explained in good time.

And was it! I so enjoyed Bryony! Learning about her childhood broke my heart. Nothing so dramatic as being beaten or kidnapped. Just the small and all too common story of a beautiful, thoughtful little girl being ignored or emotionally abandoned by everyone she loved. She put up very high walls and no one but Leo had the inclination to scale them.

One thing I particularly loved was when it became clear that the hero was, in fact, in Serious Pursuit of the heroine - despite her unfeeling behavior. It became clear that not only did he love her now, but had always loved her. (Leo is my new crush!) And when she beat him in chess, it became clear that they were truly meant for each other.

I laughed, I cried, I savored every minute of the romance.

I admit, my eyes did start to glaze over a little with the historic, and geographic descriptions of the Hindu Kush. Until I realized that their journey was taking them to the Swat Valley - the very valley that is under such heavy fighting with the Taliban in the Pakistan border area today! From the moment I realized that, I read these pages with greater interest. History does repeat itself, and we are making some of the same discoveries that Leo and the British made over a hundred years ago.

So, a fabulous romance and a timely history lesson. That's why I read historical romances.

In my very humble opinion, Sherry Thomas is golden. Well, not just that, I think she truly has the Midas touch; everything she writes is golden. Not surprisingly, Not Quite A Husband has become my next keeper. And not just because it was written by Sherry Thomas - which pretty much guaranteed it a spot on some obscure shelf in my house anyway:P
What I love about this story in particular is that there's so much more to it than seems initially apparent. This is a very deftly woven second-chance/action/adventure & road romance about a couple whose brief & troubled marriage ended in an annulment about 4 years previous to the opening of the first chapter. The prologue deals very briefly with the dissolution of the marriage, and the rest of it unfolds throughout the course of the book in a series of concise and well-placed flashbacks. Leo Marsden (the hero) is in India to fetch his former wife Bryony Asquith (the heroine) home to England at the behest of her sister. Her estranged father has supposedly suffered a stroke, and Bryony's sister Callista, who maintains regular contact with Leo, has asked him to find her and bring her home so that her father can see her one last time before he passes away. Bryony is something of a globe-trotting physician, currently running a clinic in the Rumbur Valley, in the Northwest corner of India (actually Pakistan today). She is suspicious of her sister's request, as Callista is in the habit of spinning tall tales of imminent death and impending doom, in her long-standing and rather humorous attempts to reunite Leo and Bryony. Despite her initial misgivings that Leo is an unwitting pawn in yet another of Callista's hare-brained schemes, Bryony finally consents to go home.

Once their trek across treacherous (and in this case very hostile) mountain terrain is underway, Leo & Bryony become caught up in the events surrounding the Swat Valley Uprising of 1897 - which is part of the territory they have to cross on their journey. The stage is then set for the removal of the extraneous barriers to a second-chance romance for the H&H.
This story is much faster paced than Thomas's two previous works: Private Arrangements and Delicious, but the emotional depth readers have come to expect from Thomas is definitely still there. There are a lot of misunderstandings and communication issues between this couple, and those have led them down a very difficult and painful road. They both still love each other very much, and that becomes quickly apparent, but finding the ability to be candid with each other regarding their feelings and past mistakes is something that just doesn't seem possible without the breaking down of a few barriers. Thomas handles that deftly with external forces & the hostile setting, and it works. Really well. Where I initially had some difficulty in warming up to Bryony, once she begins to drop some of her formidable defenses and open up to Leo, she becomes a very sympathetic character, and I genuinely felt her pain.
Leo has made at least one very serious mistake of his own, and the revelation regarding the impact that mistake had on his & Bryony's marriage is an integral part of his character development, and his eventual understanding of the seemingly cold & emotionally aloof woman he was married to.
His humanity - the fact that he made this mistake and his grief when he realizes that it, and not his former wife's cold & unfeeling nature, ultimately destroyed his marriage - is part of what I loved about him. What might be perceived as somewhat disturbing character flaws in the hands of anyone less gifted than Thomas, is part of what makes Leo and Bryony more interesting and dimensional characters. By the second half of this book, I was fully immersed in their story and rooting hard for their HEA.

Thomas fans are sure to note the absence of her customary secondary romance, and may perhaps feel it lacks the depth of her previous books. As one of the few who, after reading Private Arrangements and Delicious, wondered what those stories would have been like had they not contained the secondary romances, I can say that this book is just as good, IMO, but different in a way that I'm not sure I have the vocabulary to express. The only way I know how to say it is that in regard to her secondary romances, what might seem like filler fluff or even a pesky distraction from the love story you're really interested in reading, is actually something more like another layer of something interesting sprinkled on top of an already tasty dish.... and I can't help the food analogies - Delicious did it to me:P
What it boils down to is that I would (and do) highly recommend this book to everyone, and that most especially includes everyone who found PA and Delicious somewhat lacking - perhaps even a little tedious - due to the frequent side-tracking of the secondary romances.
Ultimately, I think there's a lot here to recommend Not Quite A Husband to a wider audience than her work has otherwise appealed to. It's a relatively quick read; I think some readers could do this book in half the time I did and still get as much out of it. It's got that fairly fast-paced action/adventure romp thing going on, which is a departure from some of the angstiness of PA & Delicious, and it's also an older heroine/younger hero story, which I know a lot of romance readers enjoy as well. An aside to that is that they've known each other since childhood, and there's an added element of sweetness due to those circumstances and regarding Leo's feelings toward Bryony, but I'm not going to spoil that for anyone - you'll just have to read it yourselves:P

I gave it a an A- on my own personal ratings scale due to a couple of minor quibbles I had. The last chapter felt a little unneccesary to me. There are minor tie-ins to Delicious throughout the book, and snippets of a lovemaking marathon thrown into the last chapter that I really didn't think added much to wrapping up the story. Personally, I think she should have skipped that chapter and gone straight to the epilogue, but I also think there are a lot of people who are going to enjoy it. Without the little references to Delicious, this book would have made an excellent stand alone novel, and that's the best argument I could have made to the author for leaving them out - I'm more than a little tired of series books:P There was also a bit of a dangling plot thread regarding Bryony's inability to have children that was never fully elaborated on or explained, but other than noticing it, it really didn't detract much from my overall enjoyment of the story.

Grade: 4 1/2 stars
Sensuality Rating: R

I cannot believe I have waited until reading her third book to write a review. All of her books are superb. Her characters and plots are fascinating and fabulously developed, but it is her use of language which is phenomenal. Reviewers find her writing amazing in light of English being her second language, learned after she came to America at the age of 13. I find her use of language amazing period.

All three of her books (PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS; DELICIOUS; and NOT QUITE A HUSBAND) involve heroines whose strong characters lead them to make unusual life choices resulting in heartache. Each is given a second chance. The books use flashbacks to develop both the original choices and the second chances.

All of her characters are --- exuberant, in love and hate, in passion and rejection, and Thomas's writing depicts this exuberance perfectly. The rhythm of her sentences, the selection of details, the fresh descriptions, the sparkling dialogue: all are wonderful.

In this book, the heroine has learned to consider herself unlovable, and has poured all her passion into her profession - one of the pioneer women surgeons. The hero is recognized by all as totally lovable - a golden young man admired by everyone. They have known each other from childhood, she not that aware of the younger (by four years) boy; he intrigued by her intensity from afar.

In moments uncharacteristic for each, Fate brings them together (SHE proposes to him) and separates them (he, in a rare moment of self-doubt and nerves, betrays her). Four years pass, then Fate is at it again, bringing them together in the middle of a rebellion to give them a second chance.

Thomas's writing is exceptional, her stories satisfying. I highly recommend all three of her books.

I must admit that I dreaded reading this book because I knew it had three of my pet peeves. I am not a big fan of exotic locals like India. I am also not fond of turn of the century time periods - And I definitely don't enjoy warfare environments. But Sherry Thomas has a way with words! regardless of my feelings on the matter, I turned the pages with bated breath!

The hero Leo is to die for! He is a drop dead gorgeous younger questionable son of an earl that is craved and worshiped for his looks and wit. He's been in love with Bryony his whole life. No one quite understood why. She was not an exceptional beauty and actually had the audacity to rebel against society and become a doctor. Leo didn't care about society though, he married Bryony anyway, but the marriage fell apart because they both made foolish mistakes.

Leo wore his heart on his sleeves through out the whole book and it only made him more appealing. That is huge coming from me because I usually like a hero that's hard to get until the very end. It was just too hard not to fall in love with Leo though. His character development was superb. The things he did and said showed you exactly what kind of a man he was. Even in the mist of their horrible first marriage, he fought for Bryony's love until it ended. He's a hero with action and not just words. I also thought Bryony's character was very refreshing. She was a fleshed out character with life like feelings and emotions. I totally understood why she was so cold to him in their first marriage. It was only a natural human emotion to act the way she did after what he'd done to her. And I loved how every conflict in this story heightened the sexual tension between them and made the love scenes even more enjoyable. I was also thrilled to see that there was only one romance taking place in the book this time, which gave the hero and heroine more time with each other. Everything in this book came together wonderfully - even the setting and the time period - but I still wished most of the book took place in England and not India,[just my preference]. Don't let the setting stop you from reading this book though because you will surely miss out on a great read if you do!

There were several elements of this book that were different than those more typically used in romances - and they elevated my enjoyment of it. That was a bit of a surprise for me, since initially I thought those very elements might have the opposite effect. These inlcude a somewhat lengthy separation of the characters, which I have seen handled with varying degress of success.

**spoilers ahead**

I can't recall another historical romance where the hero is 4 years younger than the heroine and HE was the one who had developed unrequited love for the her while still a child. As the author revealed more snapshots from their past, and we (along with Bryony) saw evidence of Leo's devotion, it was truly touching. And it put their more recent past and current relationship in perspective.

I have to applaud Ms. Thomas for her deft handling of what could have been truly off-putting - namely, how cold and unfeeling Bryony seemed. She gave us just enough glimpses into the deep feelings that were hidden, and when she finally showed via flashback what had happened to change Bryony's attitudes towards Leo from the start of their marriage... well, my heart broke for her. He had been her magical savior, bringing her back to life in a way she hadn't been since her beloved stepmother, Toddy, had died - and then he proved far too human.

I had initially thought that this story was going to follow the often over-traveled path of a hero or heroine pulling back from love, and their feelings, because they feared being hurt again. Better to act aloof and not fully feel, than to make oneself truly vulnerable again. When the full story was revealed - when we learned what had encased Bryony's heart in ice - I almost wanted to cheer, notwithstanding the pain of it.

Amazingly enough, Ms. Thomas actually managed to redeem Leo. He was devastated by his actions and the damage they wrought in Bryony and their fledgling marriage. We saw it was a final, stupid moment of youth that would forever change their lives in ways he didn't initially understand. She had done - and continued to do - a good job showing how much more there was to Leo beyond that foolish, destructive moment.

For me, the real Leo was the one who gave Bryony flowers the day she left for medical school. The one who bought her a microscope in a desperate last attempt to please her and get their marriage back on track. And, even though she'd kicked him in the teeth and he didn't yet know why, he literally followed her around the globe so that she wouldn't be thousands of miles away from someone who could help her should the need ever arise.

These characters were richly drawn. My heart also hurt for Bryony when we got to see how much Toddy had meant to her, and how it devastated her life when she died.

In the end, though - even though they lost so much time together - they were better for the pain they went through and the journey back to each other. Because they now are together as two honest, fully-faceted HUMANS. They know each other deeply and have taken each other off their pedestals. I fully believed in their "happily-ever-after" and can picture them growing old, savoring their battles over the chess board.

Here's why I picked up NOT QUITE A HUSBAND: (1) It won the RITA award for Best Historical Romance of 2010 (2) It now appears on All About Romance's Top 100 Romances of ALL TIME list (3) Meredith Duran lists it as one of HER top 10 favorite romances of all time.

Having said that, I avoided buying this book for quite a while because of the publisher's blurb. It gave me totally the wrong idea about NOT QUITE A HUSBAND, and it took a series of really insanely laudatory accolades to make me believe the blurb must be misleading. First I read: female surgeon. That made me think: the heroine is going to be a sensible, no-nonsense sort of gal. Not so. Bryony is an intensely emotional woman - she's actually just generally, all around intense - the human equivalent of a shaken champagne bottle.

Because I'd assumed Bryony would be the practical type, the prospect of a road trip depressed me. I figured it would also be practical, dry and annoying. Again, not so. Every stop on Bryony & Leo's journey to the coast is described in the most gorgeous, vivid prose. The atmosphere itself drenches the couple in romance, like the mountains themselves are conspiring to reunite the couple.

Then I went on to read: scheming sister tries to reunite Bryony with her ex-husband. When I read "scheming sister" I think...hijinks. I imagine I'll be reading a book full of ridiculous contrivances and forced hilarity. Cues like "scheming sister" are more likely to make me avoid a book than pick it up. Well, there is a scheming sister but she has a very small role to play. There are no hijinks and no ridiculous contrivances and no forced hilarity. This book would be better described by words like...well, "intense," "epic," "sweeping" "heartwrenching" and "gorgeous."

And then there's the fact that this couple was previously married, which made me worry that I'd have to read about the hero groveling a lot, and I don't enjoy that. But no, there's no groveling in this book at all.

I just figure, if I am the kind of person who will LOVE love love love this book, why is the blurb designed to make me think I will hate it? Am I crazy or is this a total failure of marketing? By the time I was done reading I was feeling...well, mostly I was feeling like my heart had melted like a ball of wax, because this is a fantastically romantic book, but I was also feeling FURIOUS with the blurb. Because I might have missed out on this absolutely fabulous book because of it.

As a final note - if the first paragraph of this review, with its insanely laudatory accolades, isn't enough to make you think NOT QUITE A HUSBAND is an amazing book, here's one last pitch. If you like Loretta Chase or Judith Ivory, if you thought the RAVEN/LEOPARD/SERPENT PRINCE trilogy was fantastic, were over the moon about THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE, or call DUKE OF SHADOWS by Meredith Duran a Desert Island Keeper...you will probably LOVE love love NOT QUITE A HUSBAND by Sherry Thomas.

The only reason this did not get 5 stars from me was because I had to skim some parts. When she would be talking about India and the places there I completly lost track of things. I loved it when she focased on the relationship. During the "war", I felt how much they loved one another. Leo was a sweet hero that made a mistake before they were married, and Bryony was a scared woman that could not deal with trouble or heartache well. I would give a 3 if it was for my confusion in parts, and a 5 for the love story. So I will meet in the middle and give it a solid 4.

I love Ms. Thomas' writing style but I wasn't as thrilled with this story as I was with Private Arrangements. I have yet to read Delicious but plan to. I didn't find Bryony very likeable and wondered what drew Leo to her. Ms. Thomas is such a good writer I still flew through the book but didn't find myself as emotionally involved as I would have liked. They can't all be your favorite and I have observed many readers prefered this book to her others, so it really comes down to personal taste I guess. Whether it becomes a favorite book or not this talented writer is definately worth your time.

Plot Summary: Leo and Bryony's marriage wilted and died several years ago. Since then, Bryony has traveled the globe, acting in her capacity as a doctor when needed, and trying to forget her biggest failure. While in a remote corner of India, Leo shows up with unexpected news - her father is dying, and she must return to England. Their journey back to the coast is waylayed by illness, storms, and rebellion, and along the way Leo and Bryony have ample time to rehash what went wrong, and who was to blame for their failed wreck of a marriage. They've also discovered that the burning attraction which first drew them together is alive and well.

Despite the typical `regency rake' cover, Not Quite A Husband is atypical in many ways. Set in 1897 India, the heroine is a physician who has travelled the world on her own, but true to Victorian mores, she is a repressed, buttoned-up prude. As the story unfolds, it first seems that Bryony's cold-hearted nature - both emotionally and physically - are to blame for their failed marriage, but this book proves that no one person is ever to blame for the failure of a relationship. The question remains whether they can overcome their past and be together, and since this is a romance, I know the answer will be yes, but that doesn't make the journey any less interesting. At times, their obstacles to couple-dom seem insurmountable.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love all of it. The beginning dragged a bit, the middle was fantastic, and the end was satisfactory. I wanted to love it the whole way through, but I still admired several unique facets of this story, and one of those included the sex scenes. They were novel and refreshing in ways that I cannot detail here (even I have my limits), but let's just say that sex is not always the typical `insert tab A into slot B' variety. I appreciated the variety and realism.

I can see why many regard Sherry Thomas as a rising star in the historical romance genre, and I intend to try His At Night next.

What I liked about this story is that it was different from the normal elements of romantic plots. It is the prime example that communication is key in a relationship. What I could have done without was the longer than need be descriptions of the surroundings. Skimmed most of those parts.