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erica_reads_itall 's review for:
The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband
by Julia Quinn
Cecilia Harcourt travels from England to the Colonies during the Revolutionary War, fleeing a dicey situation at home and in search of her brother, a soldier who is missing in action. She doesn't find the brother, but she does find his wounded best friend, Edward. Cecilia and Edward have had a correspondence of sorts, and she's half in love with him, so of course she wants to nurse him back to health - but to do so she must tell his comrades she's his wife. When he wakes up, he recognizes her but doesn't remember anything, and he is surprised but willing to accept that they are, in fact, married. Cecilia continues the lie in order to get his help finding her brother - all the while fearing the moment he remembers that they aren't, in fact, husband and wife.
This book has taken a lot of heat on Goodreads for the lies at its center. Plenty of romances are based on one character hiding something from the other - but in this case, the lie wasn't all that interesting, and Cecilia's guilt used up nearly all of the story's energy. Interesting issues that could have been explored more thoroughly (the suspicious disappearance of Cecilia's brother and for that matter Edward himself; the difference in wealth and station between the pair; their feelings about the war) were neglected in favor of many repetitions of Cecilia's prevarications and Edward's confusion. Neither character was allowed to evolve very much, and although the book was a pleasant enough read and the ending was sweet, the plot and characterizations were both too shallow to be compelling.
3.5 stars, rounded down because Quinn is capable of so much more.
This book has taken a lot of heat on Goodreads for the lies at its center. Plenty of romances are based on one character hiding something from the other - but in this case, the lie wasn't all that interesting, and Cecilia's guilt used up nearly all of the story's energy. Interesting issues that could have been explored more thoroughly (the suspicious disappearance of Cecilia's brother and for that matter Edward himself; the difference in wealth and station between the pair; their feelings about the war) were neglected in favor of many repetitions of Cecilia's prevarications and Edward's confusion. Neither character was allowed to evolve very much, and although the book was a pleasant enough read and the ending was sweet, the plot and characterizations were both too shallow to be compelling.
3.5 stars, rounded down because Quinn is capable of so much more.