What I liked: The hero is not a rake. In fact, he's only been with his first wife (deceased) and his second wife, whom he married to be 'motherness' (mother + governess) to his 3 daughters.What I disliked: The hero going on about how much he loved Abigail (first wife). Even though he admits at the end to Juliet that Abigail had been a manipulative shrew (his words), I find it hard to accept that someone like him would hold on to the memories of his first wife and treat a great catch like Juliet as badly as he did. Also, he thought he'd be marrying the prettier sister, so he comes off as pretty shallow and presumptuous (that's Juliet cognomen for him- Lord Presumptuous).I couldn't stand the shrieking of Olivia (secondary/tertiary character - Marcus's sister), and people with sociopathic tendencies like hers are not 'crazy' enough to be locked up like she was destined to be... Anything to do with mental illness really puts my back up since so many people used to be condemned to terrible facilities based on flimsy evidence of mental illness... still are in many parts of the world...The main story between Patrick and Juliet and the three girls is likeable for the most part. Audiobook narrated by Louisa Murray. I never really connected with this book. After reading the synopsis and reviews, I was expecting a different kind of story line. I'm not sure if it was the narration by Ms Murray or the story itself but I was expecting something more light and funny. The mix up of who he was suppose to marry was the best part but even that was just ok. Once that part was over the book just kinda fell flat for me. I'm not a big fan of Louisa Murray's narration. It sounded like she was simply reading the book paragraph by paragraph without any emotions. I personally prefer the narrators who make the story come to life like Kirsten Potter, Marian Hussey, Nicholas Boulton and Rosalyn Landor.
What do You think about Her Secondhand Groom (2000)?
Loved the book although he made me mad at times.
—Esandoz
