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A review by seraphjewel
The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband by Julia Quinn
2.0
I thought to start with these prequel books in diving into Julia Quinn. I would say that if I were rating this on just the romance, it would be three stars or even three and-a-half. What knocks it down is the stretched out liar reveal story. There's also so much repeating that if it was all cut out, the book would've been a lot shorter.
Let's start with the liar reveal story. I knew going in that Cecelia lies to Edward about them being married by proxy, and his amnesia keeps him from knowing she's lying. I don't really mind her lying to other officers, since it makes sense in that era that a single lady wouldn't be given nearly as much respect or attention as a lady married to a military officer/earl. My problem is that Cecelia never tells Edward what she's done until it's far too late. The fake marriage trope would've still worked if he was in on the lie from the start. It only makes later elements so much more uncomfortable, since Cecelia let Edward keep thinking they're married to the point where they had sex together. What really gets me about that in particular is Cecelia knew it was wrong but never came clean.
Edward was just so sweet to her. He really didn't deserve how Cecelia treated him. Through about half of the book, he blames himself for not remembering and worries that he's broken somehow. It was cruel of Cecelia to keep dragging things out and letting him feel this way. He even expresses his worries to her on multiple occasions and gives her plenty of chances to tell him the truth. She never does! It was driving me crazy.
Also, the book was kind of boring at times. Maybe if the fake marriage trope was done better, I would think differently. The growing romance between these two was definitely the best part. There was just nothing else going on. Sometimes I forgot they were in New York and in the middle of the Revolutionary War. Yes, battles led to Edward's injuries and Thomas's fate, but that was about it.
As I said, the romance was the best part. The two of them were very cute falling in love. Edward in particular was so sweet and cute with how excited he was to be married. I guess it lucked out that he was okay with Cecelia lying to him and being cruel, and it did sort of even out since he did something similar to her later in the story. I just wish the book hadn't repeated the same information over and over in ten different ways. The plot isn't that hard to follow.
I don't think I would've finished this book if I read it. Going the audio route made it a little more tolerable, so I'll be doing that again with another of Quinn's novels. We'll see if I become a fan.
Let's start with the liar reveal story. I knew going in that Cecelia lies to Edward about them being married by proxy, and his amnesia keeps him from knowing she's lying. I don't really mind her lying to other officers, since it makes sense in that era that a single lady wouldn't be given nearly as much respect or attention as a lady married to a military officer/earl. My problem is that Cecelia never tells Edward what she's done until it's far too late. The fake marriage trope would've still worked if he was in on the lie from the start. It only makes later elements so much more uncomfortable, since Cecelia let Edward keep thinking they're married to the point where they had sex together. What really gets me about that in particular is Cecelia knew it was wrong but never came clean.
Edward was just so sweet to her. He really didn't deserve how Cecelia treated him. Through about half of the book, he blames himself for not remembering and worries that he's broken somehow. It was cruel of Cecelia to keep dragging things out and letting him feel this way. He even expresses his worries to her on multiple occasions and gives her plenty of chances to tell him the truth. She never does! It was driving me crazy.
Also, the book was kind of boring at times. Maybe if the fake marriage trope was done better, I would think differently. The growing romance between these two was definitely the best part. There was just nothing else going on. Sometimes I forgot they were in New York and in the middle of the Revolutionary War. Yes, battles led to Edward's injuries and Thomas's fate, but that was about it.
As I said, the romance was the best part. The two of them were very cute falling in love. Edward in particular was so sweet and cute with how excited he was to be married. I guess it lucked out that he was okay with Cecelia lying to him and being cruel, and it did sort of even out since he did something similar to her later in the story. I just wish the book hadn't repeated the same information over and over in ten different ways. The plot isn't that hard to follow.
I don't think I would've finished this book if I read it. Going the audio route made it a little more tolerable, so I'll be doing that again with another of Quinn's novels. We'll see if I become a fan.