The husband list

by Janet Evanovich

Other authorsDorien Kelly

Paper Book, 2013

Publication

New York : St. Martin's Press, 2013.

Collection

Highlands

Call number

Fiction E

Physical description

309 p.; 25 cm

Status

Available

Call number

Fiction E

Description

Pressured by her mother to marry a proper gentleman, Caroline Maxwell reluctantly considers Lord Bremerton while harboring a secret longing for adventure and passion with her brother's world-traveling friend, Jack, whose new money and lack of title render him an unsuitable candidate in her mother's eyes.

User reviews

LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne

Modern characters in historic dress.

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LibraryThing member erinhill01

The Husband List is a delightful novel that is laugh out loud funny, sensually romantic, and all together heartwarming. It contains all the necessary ingredients for a good romance; forbidden love, a super hunky hero, and even a variation of a love triangle.

Caroline’s mother wants her to marry a

potential duke; Caroline wants to marry for love, not prestige. As Caroline’s feelings for long time family friend, Jack, escalate the tension between mother, daughter, and even the potential duke rise to uncomfortable heights.

The only slightly negative comments I have on this novel are the fairly predictable plot-line and the title. The Husband list is only mentioned a couple times in passing throughout the book with almost no emphasis put on it.

Overall a quick and fun historical romance that I definitely recommend.

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LibraryThing member BrokeBookBank

I won this book in a First Reads Giveaway and am really glad I did.

I loved it or at least really, really liked it. There are a few minor things that I wish was more flushed out, more brought out but it was such an enjoyable, quick, funny read. The story line isn't new or shocking or original. It

was pretty standard fair but I thought it was well done and there's nothing wrong with liking this kind of story. The titled Husband list is mentioned only a few times and I thought the book would take a different track due to the title. I actually liked how the romance wasn't peddle to the metal like in typical romances. I felt the connection between the two and loved seeing it blossom. I found it sweet. Maybe this cynic has a soft spot after all. I must admit though I loved Jack's response to Romeo & Juliet.

I think it did the historical time very well and I think that shows from the romance, the clothes, the attitudes. It wasn't bogged down in a lot of information regarding the times or anything. It was mostly little things that kept it real for me like the ridiculous claim of having a Cherokee princess as a great grandmother. That's inline with the time and reasoning given behind these claims. Of course, that claim is still around passed down from generation to generation but anyone who does research knows that it's wrong. The story kept it pretty tight to what was needed for what was included in the story and left it as that. It was wonderful diving in and seeing how this outspoken woman would be in the time.

I found Caroline very funny and witty and liked her very much. Caroline does have the spoiled rich girl syndrome but let's face it, most of the characters do. Caroline does admit to feeling selfish and bad about it. The ending made her appreciate things and drove the point home to her. The ending and the mystery was a bit of a let down. I wish it was more thorough, and well, just more. The mystery was minor and the ending felt rushed. It was merely pages to wrap it all up and it really would have benefited from taking more time on it. Honestly, I was expecting more from our bad guy here as well. It felt so lame. It didn't match up to how great the story was going.

All in all though, I still enjoyed it. If there's another book about the sisters, I'd probably pick it up. (Though if there's another book and they don't go into detail about what happened in this ending, it will be disappointing.) I can see it going bestseller but the ending knocks it down from great to good.

I think this would be a great book for those who like historical romance though I don't think it's a proper bodice ripper. It's really a short, easy beach kind of read.

FYI : Admittedly, I loved Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series until she dragged out the love triangle, didn't progress Stephanie's character and the plots were just..ugh. So I give low marks to the later books and wished Janet had given the series a proper ending and kept up the standards. I've never read her other work and am tentative about her work due to the let down of Stephanie Plum.

I've never read a Dorien Kelly book. I'm not big in the historical romantic genre but I like exploring and delving into a bunch of different genres. I also haven't read the book Love In A Nutshell where the family first appeared. (Though after reading this book I am interested in reading it. )

So my context is reading it as a stand alone novel.

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LibraryThing member scoutmomskf

Fun book and not the authors' usual style. Caroline is an American heiress in 1894. She is intelligent, determined and outspoken. She is also stuck with a mother who is determined to marry her off to an English title. Caroline had evaded that particular fate the previous summer while in England but

now there is an Englishman who has made it plain that he wants Caroline - or at least her money - for his own and he will do anything to get it. Caroline isn't interested; as a matter of fact he gives her the creeps. What she does want is the chance for travel, for adventure and to marry for love. She has been in love with Jack, her brother's best friend, for years. But her mother considers Jack, a first generation Irish-American, to be far beneath what she wants for her daughter. Jack has always thought of Caroline as his friend's little sister until recently when he started to notice her as a woman. He knows that her mother doesn't consider him suitable, but Caroline's feelings about Bremerton echo his own. I loved seeing Caroline use her wits to avoid Bremerton as much as possible. There are quite a few amusing moments when we see how she goes about it. She also makes sure that Jack knows how she feels. I really enjoyed their conversations and seeing how much he appreciates her for who she is. I loved her directness and how she made Jack promise that he would always be honest with her. Jack was another fantastic character. He is rich but has earned his money by his own hard work. He isn't afraid to work and I enjoyed seeing him do what he does so well. I thought all the characters were very well portrayed. Besides Jack and Caroline there is Caroline's mother who I just detested. She was so focused on Bremerton's title that she refused to listen to anyone else's opinions even when told about the rumors about him. Caroline's brother was done pretty well, as were her sisters. I loved Jack's dad and his obvious love for his son. The addition of Flora, a rather scandalous woman from Patrick's past made a great addition to the cast, especially when Caroline became friends with her. The setting showed the lifestyles of the people of the time very well. Bremerton's character was suitably devious and certainly easy to detest. I really enjoyed the ending, especially seeing that Caroline was able to take some of the matter into her own hands. While this book was in no way as good as a Stephanie Laurens or Jo Beverley it was a fun book to read. I'd love to see a book for Caroline's brother Eddie.

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LibraryThing member khiemstra631

Authors Evanovich and Kelly have issued their second jointly authored book, The Husband List. The book takes place in New York City, Newport, RI and at its end, England. Caroline Maxwell, an American heiress, has a mother who wants her to marry a British nobleman, and she will take the first one

who offers for Caroline. That turns out to be Lord Bremerton, who is not quite what he seems. Caroline, meanwhile, is exactly what she seems, which is very forthright and outspoken. She also happens to have fallen in love with first-generation Irish American Jack Culhane, the best friend of her brother Eddie. While suitable for a friendship with her brother, Caroline's mother deems him most unsuitable as a potential husband for Caroline. Naturally, a battle ensures between mother and daughter. The book is written in a completely different style from the usual Evanovich novel, possibly due to Kelly's influence and is really an enjoyable read for the first 200 or so pages. After that point, it turned into the typical romance novel, and this reader just wanted it to wrap up. Nonetheless, I smiled periodically until I reached the end because the book has many amusing moments. It also tries really hard to make its readers understand the excesses of the Gilded Age in American when the Vanderbilts and their ilk ruled and servants did not have it nearly so good. Not to be missed by Evanovich fans who like romance. Those who strictly read mysteries may want to pass.

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LibraryThing member LissaJ

I picked up this book solely based on the fact that I am a fan of the Stephanie Plum series (although those have been decreasing in substance). I liked some parts of this book but it felt rushed the entire time and then just ended. The main characters, Caroline and Jack, were likable enough but I

wasn't really rooting for them. I honestly kept hoping the villain would end up having redeemable qualities and would actually be competition for Caroline's hand. Also, the mother was DREADFUL and I don't think she nearly got what she deserved at the end. Overall, this felt like a rush job by two authors and I was not too impressed.

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LibraryThing member dd196406

Listened to this through Audible.com. Cute little departure for Evanovich as she goes back in time to the Gilded Age where many English lords were looking for American wives with money to shore up the family estate. The story was interesting and the characters were people I wanted to know more

about. Hard to imagine the motivations of the people during that time period. So thankful for the women's liberation movement!

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LibraryThing member SunnySD

Caroline Maxwell is an independent 1890's woman... or at least she'd like to be. Unfortunately she's blessed with a managing mother who'd like nothing more than to see Caroline married off to an English title - and mother dearest even has one all picked out. Caroline's husband list runs more to one

name: Jack Culhane, an Irish brewery owner whose friendship with Caroline's brother Eddie is appropriate, but whose marriage to Caroline would definitely not meet with parental approval.

Cute, fluffy, and amazingly forgettable.

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LibraryThing member lmcalister

I expected this to not be very good but it was okay. If you are expecting a Janet Evanovich book, you will be disappointed. I didnt see a lot of her writing in the book. If you just read it as an historical romance, it was not bad, not great but not bad

LibraryThing member bakersfieldbarbara

THE HUSBAND LIST: NYC 1894, Heiress Caroline Maxwell has a domineering mother who provides her with a list of men for a suitable groom for the daughter. Caroline wants, passion, adventure and equality like her brother and his friend have, and love. Is Jack the one, even though he is considered

unacceptable in mom's eyes? Danger looms but for that part of the pLot, read this entertaining and captivating novel by our favorite authors Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly. A great summer beach read.

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LibraryThing member DebbieMcCauley

1894 New York City. Independent thinker Caroline Maxwell longs to join her brother Eddie and his friend Jack Culhane, adventuring all over the world, buying up businesses. Instead her mother is keen to push her into marriage with Lord Bremerton. Caroline can't stop thinking of Jack, an

Irish-American bachelor with new money and no title. Good to see something different from Evanovich.

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LibraryThing member mlake

This was an okay popcorn read - goes down easy but not really nutritional.

LibraryThing member JenniferRobb

I got this at a library book sale as an audiobook along with the first book in the Culhane Family series. The first book in the series is a contemporary romance while this book is historical romance. I believe the audiobook reader is the same one who does Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series which can

throw me off when I hear a certain voice and associate it with one of that series's characters (who is not in this series). I wouldn't really say I enjoyed either book but if I had to pick, the first book in the series would be the one I preferred.

One of the things that almost always strikes me in historical settings is how little freedom most women had.

I'd actually been unaware of the push for American heiresses to wed titled foreigners (English, French, etc.) until a few years ago. Apparently, the cost to run the estates etc. was so much that the infusion of cash from the bride's dowry or family was needed. There are probably numerous non-fiction books about it out there though I think the one I read was called "To Marry An English Lord".

In this case, Mother Maxwell seems intent on her daughter marrying into a title. Father Bernard Maxwell seems to be pretty hands off until such time as undeniable and undesirable facts are presented to him. (At one point, I thought Amelia might end up being the one who married the soon-to-be-Duke since she seemed so caught up in the "romance" of it, while Caroline preferred to marry for love rather than status.)

I also don't get the "old money"/"new money" divide that permeated the "old money" families thinking, but that's an entirely different issue.

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LibraryThing member Megan_Demers

This book started out slow and I thought it was going to be a bad book at first but it turned into a really good book and I loved it.

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