Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this. At first I was hooked and eager to see where this story was going - but I was struggling writing style, so after the on page trauma (would have preferred a content warning for that) I was out.

This had an interesting blurb but unfortunately it was not for me. I didn't like the opening scene and wasn't a fan of the writing either so i had to DNF it.

This was not what I was expecting.
The plot was quite confusing at times, and I did not enjoy what I was reading half of the time.
Overall, not bad and not great.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The initial concept seemed heart wrenching and interesting. But very quickly I found myself questioning the logic and reasoning.
A stubborn man child gets sick and refuses to let his wife help him. His dumb choices and actions inflict pain, suffering and chaos on everyone around him.
The spice is 1/5. It's all mostly off page and CW should include BDSM, rape, animal abuse and suicide.
The kicker is the logic. I could not follow the authors reasoning at all.
Every chapter lead me to another "What the actual F is going on?". The author must be a bit familiar with long term illness to some degree. But marriage and the dynamics of a long term relationship and what an illness does to your marriage. It goes off the mark, down the hill and into a dumpster fire.

I read this book as a digital copy from NetGalley, and sitting down to write this review, I honestly don’t even know where to begin. The idea of putting my thoughts and feelings about this book into words has been a daunting task.
When I first read the description of this book, I was intrigued by the concept of a terminally ill man seeking a replacement for his wife after his passing. Initially, I didn’t request the book, but the premise lingered in my mind for days. It felt like a sign to give it a try. Spoiler alert: I should have stuck with my initial instinct of leaving it behind.
Unfortunately, this book doesn’t live up to the description. The content warnings provided—grief, betrayal, loss, emotional healing, and self-discovery—are misleading. In reality, the story also touches on themes of sexual assault, suicidal thoughts and actions, and mistreatment of animals, which were not mentioned in the description. These added elements felt jarring and unnecessary.
I didn’t find this book to be a slow burn, nor did I find it empowering for women in any way. Vivianne is never in a position where she can decide her own fate. Rather she is used and manipulated throughout this whole story. The plot was all over the place, and while I can see the potential for some of the storylines, the way they were combined made it feel overwhelming and disconnected. Many storylines also felt abandoned and unfinished. It seemed like the book was trying to emulate the vibe of “Yellowstone”, but missed the mark entirely.
I’m a glutton for punishment and managed to finish the book, but I wouldn’t recommend it to others.

This was absolutely delish to devour.

I admit, I was expecting something a bit different when I read the summary and then started the book- but the way that this was laid out was so unique to me.

The writing, conversation, and character plots flowed very well to me and the storyline was simple to comprehend. I loved that instead of just a classic "romance" this was a novel that grabbed your attention and made you question all that makes up our mortality, desires, and wishes for our loved ones. It was so much deeper than advertised and I absolutely loved the journey that this took me on.

“The Replacement Husband by C.J. Love-Jones” is an emotional book through the end. It has slow burn, love, healing and you name it. What I really liked was how the author captivated us from her writing style.

At first I didn’t understand why Nick would want to find as he calls it, A replacement husband for his wife Vivian but we can understand throughout the book why.

And then Wes come to the picture. Wes is Nick’s brother and they have a messy history but he helped Viv to navigate through the process of grieving and It was so sweet to see how their bond grew. Also, I loved the names of the horses and how fierce viv is when it comes to animals.

Sinopsis en español:

En un plan desesperado para asegurar el futuro de su esposa más allá de su vida, Nicholas Copperude recurre a las citas en línea y a las audiciones secretas para encontrar al hombre perfecto que ocupe su lugar. Pero sus audaces elecciones desataron una cascada de consecuencias que nunca imaginó, alterando para siempre la vida de aquellos que más ama.

A medida que se desarrollan las consecuencias del plan mal concebido de Nick, Vivian Copperude, una heroína ferozmente independiente, se queda lidiando con el dolor, la traición y la inesperada llegada de un vaquero melancólico que ahora vive sobre su granero. Desgarrada entre el peso de su pasado y la innegable química que ni puede resistir ni negar, debe decidir si está lista para dejar que el amor vuelva a su vida.

Aislados dentro de los impresionantes paisajes de Montana y acompañados por caballos rescatados, dos extraños encuentran consuelo en la ruptura del otro. Pero a medida que su conexión se profundiza, los fantasmas del pasado resurgen y su nueva felicidad se ve amenazada. Vivian debe tomar el control de su propio destino y demostrar que, en materia de amor y vida, solo ella determina su destino, y nadie, vivo o vivo, puede decidir su futuro.

El viaje de Vivian da giros inesperados a medida que la proximidad forzada, la pérdida compartida y el poder curativo del amor chocan en una historia que demuestra que a veces la persona más difícil de dejar ir es la que nunca viste venir.






Reseña: la sinopsis me pareció atractiva, lamentablemente el desarrollo no me gustó.

Ya que mi calificación es baja no lo pondré en mi Goodreads.



Gracias NetGalley por el ARC.

I won't be submitting a review online, as I did not finish this book and I do not feel it would be fair to both the author and the target audience. I do, however, want to provide you with feedback.

If you are going to include a graphic description of sexual assault and/or animal abuse, there should be a trigger warning of some sort. I was prepared for a lot of things because the element of sickness, potential death and grief were described in the plot summary. I was not prepared for this kind of assault. Even if the perpetrator does not actually physically enter her body, her lying naked, gagged and bound while he threatens her with a cattle prod was very jarring to me. I would have skipped the book if I had known it contained this kind of content, and I feel it would be fair to include a warning, especially to paying readers.

Apart from the trigger, I feel like the assault is a terrible plot point as well. Although I felt Nick's plan to find a replacement husband was a bit farfetched, I could go along with it. Him caring about the dick size of his replacement felt a bit off for a chauvinistic cowboy, but hey, why not. The scenes in which he's trying to test the men were very funny and although this was not the tone of the book I was expecting, I really enjoyed reading it. From the minute he invites the last guy to the house, the book lost me completely. No Montana-based rugged cowboy is going to tell some guy he never met before: "hey dude, I want to find a husband for my wife, so just seduce her, forcefully if needed. .And oh yeah by the way, she likes it rough". This does not make any sense. It doesn't fit the character at all. It seemed like a desperate attempt to throw in Wes (who I am sure will be the eventual romantic interest) as a saviour, but it just felt horrible to Nick's characer and was so unbelievable it completely threw me out of the story.

To me, this story has some great potential, as the set up is interesting and I liked both Nick and Viv as characters. For that reason I will give two stars, instead of the one I wanted to give after reading the sexual assault scene.

Please, change the past about the sexual assault (and the abuse of that poor horse) or at least put up decent warnings for the audience.

“The Replacement Husband by C.J. Love-Jones” is an emotional slow burn through love, grief, and healing. The writing style had been captivated from the very start! Be prepared to have tissues on hand if you’re someone who is sensitive to emotional stories.

At first I didn’t understand why Nick would want to secure someone for his wife Vivian, but throughout the book it became clear that his love for her was what pushed him to not make it hard on her. Though that should have been her decision, to stick by his side and be able to grieve, even though he didn’t want to see her become like his own mother.

Wes came into play and helped her navigate through the process of grieving and even became her own form of solace. It was honestly sweet to see how their bond grew, and in the end, healed themselves from grief.

I do wish the we would’ve had been able to see more of Sheldon and even Bill, it did feel like at times they didn’t have significant roles. Also, I absolutely LOVED the names that they gave the horses.

I was provided an Arc by English House Publishing in exchange for an honest review of the book.

A sweet and heartwarming story filled with tender moments and a romance to root for. A cowboy story beyond other cowboy stories.