Blog Tour Review: The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband by Julia Quinn

Posted June 7, 2017 by Cocktails and Books in Blog Tour, Reviews / 8 Comments

Blog Tour Review: The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband by Julia QuinnThe Girl with the Make-Believe Husband (Rokesbys, #2) by Julia Quinn
Series: Rokesbys #2
Published by Avon Publication Date: May 30th 2017
Pages: 384
Buy on Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Bookshop.org
Find on: Goodreads
three-stars


While you were sleeping...

With her brother Thomas injured on the battlefront in the Colonies, orphaned Cecilia Harcourt has two unbearable choices: move in with a maiden aunt or marry a scheming cousin. Instead, she chooses option three and travels across the Atlantic, determined to nurse her brother back to health. But after a week of searching, she finds not her brother but his best friend, the handsome officer Edward Rokesby. He's unconscious and in desperate need of her care, and Cecilia vows that she will save this soldier's life, even if staying by his side means telling one little lie...

I told everyone I was your wife

When Edward comes to, he's more than a little confused. The blow to his head knocked out six months of his memory, but surely he would recall getting married. He knows who Cecilia Harcourt isβ€”even if he does not recall her faceβ€”and with everyone calling her his wife, he decides it must be true, even though he'd always assumed he'd marry his neighbor back in England.

If only it were true...

Cecilia risks her entire future by giving herselfβ€”completelyβ€”to the man she loves. But when the truth comes out, Edward may have a few surprises of his own for the new Mrs. Rokesby.

Cocktails and Books received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.

Cecilia Harcourt loved her brother Thomas. They were all each other had. They had a father but he wasn’t there for them in the way they were there for each other. Cecilia wrote to her brother who was in the army constantly. In writing to her brother she got to know her brother’s best friend and roommate Edward Rokesby.

So when she finds herself in Manhattan Island looking for her brother, she doesn’t hesitate to come to the aid of Edward. Cecilia learns Edward is in the hospital and poses as his wife. When Edward wakes up and can’t remember anything from the last four months Cecilia lets him believe they are married. Β Cecilia and Edward both are trying to find out what happened to Thomas who is missing. Edward is also trying to recover his memories.

Although the book is a bit predictable, it is a good story that is thoroughly entertaining. Cecilia has a great personality and courage that is sometimes lacking in some classic heroines. Edward is predictably overprotective. He is immediately upset when he learns of the housing arrangements for Cecilia and demands she be placed somewhere better. I love how they both love each other despite having never met in person before. I really enjoyed it and the slight plot twists made the story different and kept me engaged. Cecilia and Edward fall in love and inevitably Edward regains his memory and the mystery is solved. However this brings about new challenges for them both.Β 

Excerpt

Manhattan Island
July 1779

His head hurt.
Correction, his head really hurt.
It was hard to tell, though, just what sort of pain it was. He might have been shot through the head with a musket ball. That seemed plausible, given his current location in New York (or was it Connecticut?) and his current occupation as a captain in His Majesty’s army.
There was a war going on, in case one hadn’t noticed.
But this particular poundingβ€”the one that felt more like someone was bashing his skull with a cannon (not a cannonball, mind you, but an actual cannon) seemed to indicate that he had been attacked with a blunter instrument than a bullet.
An anvil, perhaps. Dropped from a second-story window.
But if one cared to look on the bright side, a pain such as this did seem to indicate that he wasn’t dead, which was also a plausible fate, given all the same facts that had led him to believe he might have been shot.
That war he’d mentioned… people did die.
With alarming regularity.
So he wasn’t dead. That was good. But he also wasn’t sure where he was, precisely. The obvious next step would be to open his eyes, but his eyelids were translucent enough for him to realize that it was the middle of the day, and while he did like to look on the metaphorical bright side, he was fairly certain that the literal one would prove blinding.
So he kept his eyes closed.
But he listened.
He wasn’t alone. He couldn’t make out any actual conversation, but a low buzz of words and activity filtered through the air. People were moving about, setting objects on tables, maybe pulling a chair across the floor.
Someone was moaning in pain.
Most of the voices were male, but there was at least one lady nearby. She was close enough that he could hear her breathing. She made little noises as she went about her business, which he soon realized included tucking blankets around him and touching his forehead with the back of her hand.
He liked these little noises, the tiny little mmms and sighs she probably had no idea she was making. And she smelled nice, a bit like lemons, a bit like soap.
And a bit like hard work.
He knew that smell. He’d worn it himself, albeit usually only briefly until it turned into a full-fledged stink.
On her, though, it was more than pleasant. Perhaps a little earthy. And he wondered who she was, to be tending to him so diligently.
β€œHow is he today?”
Edward held himself still. This male voice was new, and he wasn’t sure he wanted anyone to know he was awake yet.
Although he wasn’t sure why he felt this hesitancy.
β€œThe same,” came the woman’s reply.
β€œI am concerned. If he doesn’t wake up soon…”
β€œI know,” the woman said. There was a touch of irritation in her voice, which Edward found curious.
β€œHave you been able to get him to take broth?”
β€œJust a few spoonfuls. I was afraid he would choke if I attempted any more than that.”
The man made a vague noise of approval. β€œRemind me how long he has been like this?”
β€œA week, sir. Four days before I arrived, and three since.”
A week. Edward thought about this. A week meant it must be… March? April?
No, maybe it was only February. And this was probably New York, not Connecticut.
But that still didn’t explain why his head hurt so bloody much. Clearly he’d been in some sort of an accident. Or had he been attacked?
β€œThere has been no change at all?” the man asked, even though the lady had just said as much.
But she must have had far more patience than Edward, because she replied in a quiet, clear voice, β€œNo, sir. None.”
The man made a noise that wasn’t quite a grunt. Edward found it impossible to interpret.
β€œEr…” The woman cleared her throat. β€œHave you any news of my brother?”
Her brother? Who was her brother?
β€œI am afraid not, Mrs. Rokesby.”
Mrs. Rokesby?
β€œIt has been nearly two months,” she said quietly.
Mrs. Rokesby? Edward really wanted them to get back to that point. There was only one Rokesby in North America as far as he knew, and that was him. So if she was Mrs. Rokesby…
β€œI think,” the male voice said, β€œthat your energies would be better spent tending to your husband.”
Husband?
β€œI assure you,” she said, and there was that touch of irritation again, β€œthat I have been caring for him most faithfully.”
Husband? They were calling him her husband? Was he married? He couldn’t be married. How could he be married and not remember it?
Who was this woman?
Edward’s heart began to pound. What the devil was happening to him?
β€œDid he just make a noise?” the man asked.
β€œI… I don’t think so.”
She moved then, quickly. Hands touched him, his cheek, then his chest, and even through her obvious concern, there was something soothing in her motions, something undeniably right.
β€œEdward?” she asked, taking his hand. She stroked it several times, her fingers brushing lightly over his skin. β€œCan you hear me?”
He ought to respond. She was worried. What kind of gentleman did not act to relieve a lady’s distress?
β€œI fear he may be lost to us,” the man said, with far less gentleness than Edward thought appropriate.
β€œHe still breathes,” the woman said in a steely voice.
The man said nothing, but his expression must have been one of pity, because she said it again, more loudly this time.
β€œHe still breathes.”
β€œMrs. Rokesby…”
Edward felt her hand tighten around his. Then she placed her other on top, her fingers resting lightly on his knuckles. It was the smallest sort of embrace, but Edward felt it down to his soul.
β€œHe still breathes, Colonel,” she said with quiet resolve. β€œAnd while he does, I will be here. I may not be able to help Thomas, but—”
Thomas. Thomas Harcourt. That was the connection. This must be his sister. Cecilia. He knew her well.
Or not. He’d never actually met the lady, he felt like he knew her. She wrote to her brother with a diligence that was unmatched in the regiment. Thomas received twice as much mail as Edward, and Edward had four siblings to Thomas’s one.
Cecilia Harcourt. What on earth was she doing in North America? She was supposed to be in Derbyshire, in that little town Thomas had been so eager to leave. The one with the hot springs. Matlock. No, Matlock Bath.
Edward had never been, but he thought it sounded charming. Not the way Thomas described it, of course; he liked the bustle of city life and couldn’t wait to take a commission and depart his village. But Cecilia was different. In her letters, the small Derbyshire town came alive, and Edward almost felt that he would recognize her neighbors if he ever went to visit.
She was witty. Lord, she was witty. Thomas used to laugh so much at her missives that Edward finally made him read them out loud.
Then one day, when Thomas was penning his response, Edward interrupted so many times that Thomas finally shoved out his chair and held forth his quill.
β€œYou write to her,” he’d said.
So he did.
Not on his own, of course. Edward could never have written to her directly. It would have been the worst sort of impropriety, and he would not have insulted her in such a manner. But he took to scribbling a few lines at the end of Thomas’s letters, and whenever she replied, she had a few lines for him.
Thomas carried a miniature of her, and even though he said it was several years old, Edward had found himself staring at it, studying the small portrait of the young woman, wondering if her hair really was that remarkable golden color, or if she really did smile that way, lips closed and mysterious.
Somehow he thought not. She did not strike him as a woman with secrets. Her smile would be sunny and free. Edward had even thought he’d like to meet her once this godforsaken war was over. He’d never said anything to Thomas, though.
That would have been strange.
Now Cecilia was here. In the colonies. Which made absolutely no sense, but then again, what did? Edward’s head was injured, and Thomas seemed to be missing, and…
Edward thought hard.
…and he seemed to have married Cecilia Harcourt.
He opened his eyes and tried to focus on the green-eyed woman peering down at him.
β€œCecilia?”

 

Julia QuinnΒ is theΒ New York TimesΒ bestselling author of twenty-five novels for Avon Books, and one of only sixteen authors ever to be inducted in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.


 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

8 responses to “Blog Tour Review: The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband by Julia Quinn

  1. Hi I am so delighted I found your blog page, I really found you by mistake, while I was searching on Yahoo for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thank you for a incredible post
    and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read
    it all at the minute but I have saved it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time
    I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the
    great work.
    spearment rhino las vegas recently posted…spearment rhino las vegasMy Profile

  2. An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a co-worker who
    was conducting a little homework on this. And he in fact ordered me breakfast because
    I found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
    Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending the time to
    discuss this matter here on your website.
    visit link recently posted…visit linkMy Profile

  3. I was recommended this blog by way of my cousin. I am now not
    certain whether this put up is written through
    him as nobody else realize such unique about my trouble.
    You are wonderful! Thank you!
    web address recently posted…web addressMy Profile

  4. In addition to the, folks who experience regular orgasms, especially women, feel more challenging.
    In these institutions, the thing is typically
    linked to personal growth and development together with occupation and career
    preparedness. Readymade vagina This will enable you to definitely
    stay relaxed and truly take note of exactly everything you’re experiencing.

    It is far better to only install one custom content piece at the
    time, that way you understand which was corrupted or you cannot compatible with the game or computer.
    In order to boost your desire and anticipation, your lover should very slowly insert
    their finger or toy allowing the sphincter muscle to unwind.
    pocket pussy demo been recently posted…pocket pussy demo beenMy Profile

  5. You are so awesome! I do not think I have read something like this before.
    So good to find another person with a few genuine thoughts
    on this subject. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up.
    This website is one thing that is needed on the web, someone with
    a little originality!
    29970 Technology Drive recently posted…29970 Technology DriveMy Profile

  6. I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out
    right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored
    subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get
    bought an shakiness over that you wish be delivering the following.

    unwell unquestionably come further formerly again since exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this increase.
    commercial interviews recently posted…commercial interviewsMy Profile