Not Quite a Husband

Wonderful!!!

What a truly heartbreaking, beautiful story. Please, read it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wow. Must read. Must own!

A touching story of lost love found amid an uprising in 1897 India. Great characters and a moving, lovely romance. I was very sorry to see it end. I loved that they found their love again as we saw their past story in flashbacks. Bravo!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great read

I never read Thomas before so I was happily surprised with this novel. She obviously did her research and her characters were believably flawed but not annoyingly so. Well, sometimes I thought the heroine was a bit harsh but she admitted her problems and her needs to overcome them by the end. Some of the steamier scenes seemed a bit unrealistic for the heroine to engage in because of her emotional issues. I get really tired of romance novels having a madman threatening their safety but their danger was believable and surmountable, a welcome addition instead of a plot stretcher! I'll likely pick up another Thomas novel the next time I get the chance.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

sherry's best

I haven't read a book this good in a very long time! this is sherry's best so far. the characters are so vivid, the imagery so alive. i wasn't able to put the book down! simply the best!
just wish it had a better cover -- like the first private arrangement cover. sherry's previous two books stood out from the pack because they were different. oh well, do not judge the book by it's cover...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved it--but had to get past the cover ;-)

This is a much better book than the cover gives the impression of. It is very character-driven, as most of the story is told internally, through flashbacks and through the thoughts of the two main characters. Basically it's about two people who loved each other once, though they never admitted it either to each other or to themselves who have allowed circumstances and misunderstandings to separate them. Yep, a whole lot of drama. But it's good drama...the good kind of angst, that eventually leads to something positive and that comes from a source that (once you know what it is) actually makes sense, unlike the annoying whining of say, Harry Potter in book five (the thought still makes me want to smack him--get over it already! Argh!). Had a hard time putting this one down.

Amazing story!

This book swept me away. Not Quite a Husband is one of the most original stories I've read in a long time. I finished the book too quickly. I already want to go back and savor it again.

Touching Novel

I just finished reading this book and I absolutely loved it. Not only was there depth to the characters, the plot was excellent and the love scenes were tactfully written. I found myself crying during certain parts of the book, it was that touching. I highly recommend reading this book and I look forward to reading other books by this author.

ANOTHER ONE OF A KIND 5 STAR BOOK FROM SHERRY THOMAS

ANOTHER ONE OF A KIND 5 STAR BOOK FROM SHERRY, June 14, 2010


This review is from: Not Quite a Husband (Mass Market Paperback)
I wish I'd done this review immediately after reading the book. Better late than never, my tribute to an amazing author. Leo and Bryony have a marriage that has elements of Classical Greek Tragedy. They love each other deeply and yet their marriage was over before the wedding ceremony even took place. Bryony is a strong woman, a very successful doctor in a time when women were only beginning to make their way into professions, even then it was not well taken. She has lived believing she is without anyone truly loving her for most of her life. Leo is a prodigy, and a beautiful man with a beautiful brilliant mind. He has loved Briony since he was a child. Both have an "hamartia", a fatal flaw, that brings tragedy to their lives and relationship. Their love is complex and flawed, their lives are complex and they end up in a situation that forces them to really look at their individual lives, motivations, and love. This is another Sherry Thomas masterwork! The use of language is beautiful, perfect. The words draw the reader into the emotions of the characters in such a way that it is almost impossible for the reader not to deeply feel the joy, the sorrow and the love. Another laugh, cry, laugh some more and cry some more until reaching the ultimate end. I LOVE THIS BOOK! This book also makes me think Sherry Thomas shares Robin Schone's genius. This is my favorite Sherry Thomas book. Sherry Thomas, like Robin Schone, is one of my very favorite authors of any genre. I highly recommend all of Sherry Thomas' books in addition to the recommendations listed below.

I sooo loved this book! A love at first sight, romantic Romance!

This author was new to me, and with this book "Not Quite a Husband" the author establishes herself as a wonderful and talented author.

This book is about love at first sight for Leo Marsden, he hero in the book (he is 2 years old, and his beloved is 6), love in his teens for his beloved (he runs and gives her flowers as she is driving away to medical school), love as adults. Leo completely loves his beloved, Byrony Asquith, but she thinks she is, doesn't know if she is, thinks she isn't, knows she is pretending she isn't, and finally, ahhhh, at last admits that she has always loved Leo and acts like it!! Is this a great book or what!!?

This is indeed a great book and a unique book and story. First, it is the man, Leo, who is completely smitten with his beloved and never gives up. Okay sure, so we find out he had a moment of fear and confusion and makes a big mistake---alrighttt!!, a very big mistake, but he thinks that Byrony will never find out. Unfortunately, Byrony does find out and it is heart-wrenching scene when she finds out, and this is when I really, really start to understand and like Byrony. She carries on. As unloved and lonely as she feels almost all her life after her step-mom died, she carries on with her life as a good and giving doctor. It is even more heart wrenching when both of them finally talk about Leo's mistake, and my wonderful sweet, Leo cannot forgive himself for his mistake now doublely bad because his mistake is what doomed their failed marriage. Leo understands now why Byrony was cold with him, in bed and in the marriage. *Guh, and gulp* I'm tellling you, a better romance book and Man you will not find (except maybe in a Julie Garwood story).

Please read this book. It will make you believe in love and loyalty between a man and his beloved.

As gripping as Ms. Thomas' first two books, owing to well-drawn characters and a well-plotted story.

Bryony Asquith is in India when after years of estrangement Leo Marsden brings her word of her father's illness and to escort her home. (He's always known where she is, whether in America or Germany and has managed to work in those places and keep an eye on her). In the weeks they're together we feel their pull and their tension and learn the back story: Hers was a lonely childhood, except for 3 short glorious years with beloved stepmother Toddy who died in childbirth. Neglect taught her to withdraw into a frosty, unforgiving shell. Her career as a surgeon, socially off-putting for a woman, keeps her that way. But at the edges of her demeanor she is more and more drawn to the magnetic Leo and falls madly in love with him. He's quite the renowned mathematical genius as well as immensely charismatic and handsome. He's loved Bryony since he was a small child (he's 4 years younger); in fact the happiest day of his life was when Bryony proposed to him. It's such a strange match that deep down Leo doesn't trust that he can change her. And Bryony is untrusting of his love because she doesn't believe that anyone can love her. In bits and pieces we learn of the moment on the eve of their wedding when Bryony witnessed his dalliance with an old flame, went ahead with the marriage, but much to his bewilderment shut herself off from him, until after a year of misery she asked for an annulment. All the misunderstanding, lack of communication (Leo had felt guilty at his impulsive indiscretion, but didn't know that she had seen them), comes out on their long trek from India back to England. It's a perilous journey, physically (Leo's malaria; steep mountain passes) and psychologically (being together doesn't permit her to shut herself away from her past, her love and Leo's pull). And much is resolved when imminent death is upon them at a besieged fort.
(From "Delicious", brothers Will, Matthew, and Jeremy Marsden appear tangentially as do Stuart Somerset and Lady Vera Drake who meets with Leo to ask about her godson [son], now journalist Michael Robbins).

Definitely a keeper!

Bryony Asquith left her tumultous marriage behind and went to India, not expecting that one day, her ex-husband Leo Marsden would come after her. Leo, whose smile had felled her. Leo, who broke her heart before they could say their vows. Leo, whom she still loved.

The short review: I laughed and cried as I read this book. And cried again. Definitely a keeper!

The long review:

I have to gush about Leo. He's a totally to-die-for hero. I think his most endearing quality is that he has loved Bryony since his youth, and even after the terrible things Bryony has done to him, he still continued to love her, protect her and stayed faithful to her. Throughout the book, we can see Leo taking care of her, making sure she's comfortable, that she's not hungry, etc. And I like that he decided to trust Bryony in the end--trust her regarding their future. This is a powerful story of how love makes us a better person.

I especially love the last paragraph of the book. Read it and I dare you not to get tears in your eyes.

Bryony comes across as prickly and antagonistic toward Leo, at least in the beginning, but she has reason. Good reason, though I don't know why she couldn't have confronted Leo with the truth in the first place. Maybe because of the shame she felt, the shame which shut her mouth. Others may this decry this as The Big Miscommunication issue that could've been resolved easily enough, but I feel that the author carried this off well enough due to the emotions that the character was feeling. Moreover, even if Bryony and Leo had talked about this during the first few months of their marriage, the problem might still have existed, because as Leo said (not exact words), there is something about war that distills everything into the essential: that only love matters, in the end.

When one is near death, or close to, because in war, one never knows, one then realizes the things that are truly important.

Though most of the book happened in war-torn India, the author's vivid descriptions made this exotic setting come alive. However, most of the descriptions of the different tribes and the animosity between and among them went right over my head because, to be honest, I truly don't have any idea what these tribes are and I also couldn't be bothered to go look for a map while I'm the grip of the story. Except for Swat Valley, of course.

Sherry Thomas is simply amazing with this book, combining a vivid description of the setting with a sweet, powerful story of love that touches the heart. Highly recommended.

Wonderful Mastery of the English Language

Sherry Thomas' writing style guides you through a story like a good sherpa would take you to the top of Everest - confident that you can follow without a complete description of every step to come and without repeating every thought in every chapter. You get to know the characters layer by layer. You come to sympathize with them and their inability to be themselves with eachother, but that comes as the story unravels. You're not even quite sure, until the end, that they will find a way to acknowledge that they desparately want to be together.

I read every page of Ms. Thomas' books, do not skip to read the end, and place them on my shelf when finished so they can be read again in a couple of years. When's the next one due?

An Unusual Historical

And that's how I found this author, at the blog Unusual Historicals. This isn't your standard "drawing room" romance and the protagonists' painful attraction to one another is poignant. They certainly go to great lengths, and distances, because of that attraction. It's definitely on my keeper shelf.

Pour me another Sherry

A little more worldly than Sherry's first 2 books, and it had a more serious undertone with the war in India. Like her other books, Sherry has a way to draw readers into her venus flytrap and keep us there, wanting to know where the relationship went wrong - and praying that it goes right eventually. I believe this is the first woman doctor who has graced the historical romance genre - and frankly, I really appreciated this unique aspect of Byrony where her first husband is her medical profession and Leo must play a second fiddle.

Can't get enough Sherry Thomas

Lisa Kleypas calls Sherry Thomas 'the most powerfully original historical romance author writing today.' I have to admit, I am just as much a fan. After an unabashed love affair with both Private Arrangements and Delicious, I sprinted to my local bookseller almost the minute I heard Not Quite a Husband was out. I then let it languish on my desk for days.

I follow Sherry on Twitter, where she had bemoaned some revisions and agonized over word usage. I hadn't had a good week. I needed an indulgent treat - what if NQAH didn't live up to my expectations? On the third day, I gathered my courage and eased open the cover.

Silly me, of little faith. I finally surfaced to the realization that it was hours past my bedtime.

If there is one thing that sets Sherry Thomas apart from the crowd, it is her prose. I think I would read anything she wrote just to wallow in the richness of her language. Fortunately, she uses that wonderful voice to create unique unforgettable characters, toss them into a fully-developed historical backdrop, and then poke and prod at their strengths, weaknesses, dreams, and insecurities until they emerge into a strong, balanced relationship. Did I mention the inviting historical tidbits? Did I mention Sherry does her research?

Finally, the one thing I can't do is categorize "what to expect" from a Sherry Thomas novel (except the prose thing; I think I covered that). Private Arrangements drew me in with it's unexpected plot and character twists. Delicious was food porn. (Sorry Sherry, I know there were people, but I was salivating too much to pay attention to them.) Not Quite a Husband locked me in a vice grip of emotional intensity that sweeps back over me every time I glance at the cover. The besieged fort in the middle of India's Swat valley went almost unnoticed next to the emotional battles Bryony and Leo are waging.

What's next, Ms. Thomas? I'll be reading!

A really good story

I enjoyed the entire book and stayed up late into the night to finish it. The imagery was really wonderful, describing India and the uprisings in the very late 1800's. Bryony and Leo are such a compelling couple, both are extremely intelligent and masters of their chosen fields, medicine and mathematics and well as excellent chess players. Leo is the golden boy to whom everything comes easily, to whom people gravitate to at parties, and he has loved Bryony forever. She is very introverted, having lost the one perfect person (at least to her) who ever showed her love when her stepmother died. When Leo agreed to marry her she thought the perfect person was hers again.

When it turned out that Leo was human and could make a mistake, Bryony kept the hurt inside and never told Leo that she knew. Their marriage became a prison for her and she asked to end it. Leo allowed this but has followed her around the world, just to be near her. Now he has an opportunity to actually go to her and ask her to come back to England as her father is sick.

Their journey through India is more than just travel, it is a journey back to their marriage. Ms. Thomas is an excellend storyteller.

terrific late Victorian romance

In 1893 although Bryony Asquith married Leo Marsden because she loved him (she even proposed), she expects him to leave as he is a society darling and she is a pariah for becoming a doctor. Her prophecy proves right when a misunderstanding based on what she assumes is his betrayal has her demanding an annulment. ---

Heartbroken and unable to cope with a scandal, Bryony leaves England to practice medicine while Leo stays in England conducting advanced mathematics lectures. However, he still loves Bryony and so in 1897 with her father dying, he vows to bring her home to say goodbye to him. He goes to India as malaria and rebellion threaten everyone, but he remains steadfast about escorting her home; preferably as his wife as he still loves her and never cheated on her nor would he as his mistress is mathematics.
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NOT QUITE A HUSBAND is a terrific late Victorian romance starring two stubborn lead protagonists who both understand the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line but instead a curve if those points are people and the line is love. Loaded with interesting interwoven subplots that bring to life India in 1897, fans will enjoy the antics of the latest Marsden (see DELICIOUS) and his beloved female doctor as love defies the plane rules of Euclidian geometry.
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Harriet Klausner

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No text was provided for this review.