Scan barcode
knitnetic's review against another edition
4.0
Not Quite a Husband tells the story of Dr. ryony Asquith and her former husband, Quentin Leonidas Marsden. Their romance redevelops as Leo escorts Bryony home from India to be with her dying father. Along the way, they encounter illness, war...and love.
Much of what I loved about this book came from Ms. Thomas' choice of a late-Victorian (1897) setting. This allows for freedoms that are difficult to get in historical novels. Bryony is a surgeon and Leo is a mathematics professor, despite both being from well-to-do families. Bryony is able to travel on her own to the Continent, the United States, and India. Perhaps most importantly, they are able to obtain an annulment after 3 years of marriage without ruining either one socially.
The uniqueness of Ms. Thomas' main characters is not solely due to her choice of time period, however. She also makes their relationship with one another special in other ways -- Bryony proposes to Leo, and she is significantly (~5 years) older than he is.
Yet, the most unique thing about this book is the reason for their annulment and failed marriage. It's not that is unique in and of itself, but I love that it wasn't just another Big Misunderstanding that could be resolved through a simple conversation. In spite of the fact that the reason for their annulment is exposed at roughly the halfway point of the book, Bryony and Leo (and the reader, for that matter) are genuinely uncertain about their ability to live happily together until nearly the end.
Not all was wonderful about this book, however. I had real difficulty adjusting to the exotic setting, and often found myself so caught up in Indian geography and politics that I had lost track of the story entirely. In fact, this book sat on my Kindle for several months before I decided to power through the slow start and get to what turned out to be a fantastic story.
I would recommend this book to all fans of historical romance, particularly those who hate seeing limpid heroines swoon into their heroes' arms at every hint of danger. Though it gets off to a slow start, the story it tells is worth the wait.
Rating: 4.5/5
This book contains occasional, brief sex scenes.
Much of what I loved about this book came from Ms. Thomas' choice of a late-Victorian (1897) setting. This allows for freedoms that are difficult to get in historical novels. Bryony is a surgeon and Leo is a mathematics professor, despite both being from well-to-do families. Bryony is able to travel on her own to the Continent, the United States, and India. Perhaps most importantly, they are able to obtain an annulment after 3 years of marriage without ruining either one socially.
The uniqueness of Ms. Thomas' main characters is not solely due to her choice of time period, however. She also makes their relationship with one another special in other ways -- Bryony proposes to Leo, and she is significantly (~5 years) older than he is.
Yet, the most unique thing about this book is the reason for their annulment and failed marriage. It's not that
Spoiler
sleeping with another womanNot all was wonderful about this book, however. I had real difficulty adjusting to the exotic setting, and often found myself so caught up in Indian geography and politics that I had lost track of the story entirely. In fact, this book sat on my Kindle for several months before I decided to power through the slow start and get to what turned out to be a fantastic story.
I would recommend this book to all fans of historical romance, particularly those who hate seeing limpid heroines swoon into their heroes' arms at every hint of danger. Though it gets off to a slow start, the story it tells is worth the wait.
Rating: 4.5/5
This book contains occasional, brief sex scenes.
bookmamanumber9's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Sherry Thomas is amazing, I loved the action filled plot and the romance was very good - I don't find the FMC relatable so that takes me out of it a bit but very good.
thefullbronte's review against another edition
5.0
Review Haiku:
Wish I'd written this,
though perhaps with more consent.
Love can be messy.
Wish I'd written this,
though perhaps with more consent.
Love can be messy.
limeykiss's review against another edition
5.0
An absolute triumph of a book. Sherry Thomas writes each setting with breathtaking details that make a reader feel as though she is right in the grip of the conflict along with the characters. The romance between Leo and Bryony is beautiful and heart wrenching and a delight to read. This is one of the best historical romances I have ever had the pleasure of consuming!
wanderlust_romance's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Colonisation, and War
sewster314's review against another edition
4.0
This is my third ST novel, and I definitely enjoyed this one more than Ravishing the Heiress (which everyone seems to talk about). The thing about ST novels is that I find the premise for each book pretty ridiculous, but ultimately I love the emotions and the journeys she puts the characters on. Her characters are not simple people, and they do make horrible mistakes, but I’m here for drama and entertainment.
For this book, I think I needed more of a reason for the MMC to commit the betrayal he did. You can’t tell me this dude loved her basically his entire life (unbeknownst to her), and then he did what he did for almost no reason. Even still, overall I enjoyed the story.
For this book, I think I needed more of a reason for the MMC to commit the betrayal he did. You can’t tell me this dude loved her basically his entire life (unbeknownst to her), and then he did what he did for almost no reason. Even still, overall I enjoyed the story.
bythunder's review against another edition
Sherry, I am going to read every book you’ve ever written but I can NOT look past the somnophilia thing
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape