• The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband

  • A Bridgertons Prequel
  • By: Julia Quinn
  • Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
  • Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,820 ratings)

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The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband  By  cover art

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband

By: Julia Quinn
Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
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Publisher's summary

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.

When Edward comes to, he's more than a little confused. The blow to his head knocked out three months of his memory, but surely he would recall getting married. He knows who Cecilia Harcourt is - even if he does not recall her face - 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.

Cecilia risks her entire future by giving herself - completely - 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.

©2017 Julie Cotler Pottinger (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Featured Article: Breaking Down the Bridgerton Family Tree


It's hard not to fall in love with the Bridgerton family, which explains why there's a whole series of books all about, well, people falling in love with them. Even if you've only seen the Netflix show and have yet to dive into Julia Quinn's fun, fast-paced, and swoon-worthy romance series, you probably want to know more about the Bridgertons. Here's your guide to the siblings and their significant others—from who's who to who's romantically linked to whom.

What listeners say about The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful !

What a joyful tale of love, not just romantic love, though that part was so satisfying, but love of family, duty, friendship and honor. Julia Quinn at her best!! And Rosalyn Landor, my favorite narrator. What a treat. Well worth a credit.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

does contain steamy scenes

if you are looking for a "sweet" story be aware this book does contain bedroom details

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Hard review to Write

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 3.50

Audio Rating: 4.50 (not part of the overall rating)

Quick Thoughts: This is going to be a hard review to write because the last 1/3 of the story drove me freaking nuts. I am an ender aka how a book ends can change my view on the whole thing. My problem with this ending was that they had a WHOLE FREAKING BOOK to at least get to the big issue without having to rush all of it into a couple of chapters. It just all resolved too fast for my taste and I felt it totally shorted two characters who had earned a bit more satisfying HEA. This is just how I felt though and many have loved the story start to finish. I didn't hate it or dislike it just isn't my favorite by Julia. I highly recommend you decide on your own :)

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor /Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins


I adore Rosalyn Landor and her narration. She is so properly suited for historical romance (or most historical settings) that I get giddy when I see she is going to narrate something. I highly recommend you listen to this series so you get the full experience!

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Reviews

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Lacking the usual Quinn Wit

Unfortunately this story was lacking the wit, delight and sparkle that is present in all of the author's other novels. I had to check twice to ensure that this was indeed written by Julia Quinn :-(

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

another okay book from quinn

i always expect a lot from julia quinn. this one does not measure up. nothing really happens. not bad. just not good.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite Julia Quinn novel.

Sluggish until toward end, unlikeable female character. 1st novel in this series was excellent. I had anticipated another Quinn masterpiece and was left disappointed - for me and for Edward - he deserved better. The idea of the story was good, but even my favorite narrator could not solve the sluggish and unlikeable aspects. I hope Andrew has a better outcome.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

unhappy with x rated content

Any additional comments?

This is my first Julia Quinn novel and I had to skp a few chapters because of the content. Are all of her novels this way?

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Narrator

I love Julia Quinn books. This is a good book but not written with her normal humor & snappy dialogue. It is a sharp departure from her normal style. Many historical teaching about New York in the time period. The narrator is wonderful & tells the story quite well.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Thin story stretched to shredding point

I am a Quinn fan but this was painful to get through. Super thin story line stretched to the point it was shredding to bits by the end. The heroine wasn't interesting nor memorable though the hero was passable. stuck through it hoping Quinn would redeem herself before the end. She didn't.

There are heaps better Quinn novels. if you're new to her dont start w this.

narrator was good as usual.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • k
  • 03-21-18

Entertaining

It’s a good story but feel as the ending was rushed. Happy ending but still...

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2 people found this helpful