Friday, August 22, 2014

Not Quite a Wife by Mary Jo Putney

Not Quite a Wife by Mary Jo Putney

Laurel lives in Bristol, working at a medical clinic with her brother, a doctor, in the 1800s.  She is content with her life helping others, but her past life comes rushing back when her estranged husband is brought in both beaten and delirious from an oncoming malarial attack.  He’s delirious, she’s (apparently, even though she left him ten years ago) missing him, and one thing leads to another…and she’s pregnant.  So starts this lackluster, unbelievable tale of weird romance.

I try not to say bad things about books in my blog because I feel that just because I didn’t really like something doesn’t mean that someone else won’t like it, possibly even love it.  But I can’t think of anything good to say about this title.  The characters are thin, the dialogue seems anachronistic and repetitive (if she said she was “increasing” instead of finding another way to say pregnant I was going to lose it) and I just didn’t get the two main characters.  They couldn’t find a way around their differences in the past ten years?  Argh!  I’m sorry, but I really can’t say who would like this book.  May be good for a mindless diversion, but there are so many better choices.