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Lone Star Canyon #3
Wife In Disguise
Josie Fitzgerald Scott was athletic, competitive and stubborn as sin - until an accident changed her life. Now she simply sought closure with unforgettable Del Scott - the man she'd once lovingly wed, passionately bedded then contrarily fled...
Amazingly, Del didn't recognize Josie's reconstructed contours. Yet her secy ex-husband seemed oddly, instantly drawn to this soft, delicate "stranger," despite her new curves. Which gave Josie - as "Rose" - a second chance: to woo and win back Del's fierce male passion. But would limping, less than honestly, down memory lane unleash a landslide of trouble? Or - miraculously - lead Josie home to love?
Amazingly, Del didn't recognize Josie's reconstructed contours. Yet her secy ex-husband seemed oddly, instantly drawn to this soft, delicate "stranger," despite her new curves. Which gave Josie - as "Rose" - a second chance: to woo and win back Del's fierce male passion. But would limping, less than honestly, down memory lane unleash a landslide of trouble? Or - miraculously - lead Josie home to love?
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
178 people are currently reading
443 people want to read
About the author
Susan Mallery
863 books15.5k followers#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming and humorous novels about the relationships that define women's lives—family, friendship, romance. She's best known for putting nuanced characters into emotionally complex, real-life situations with twists that surprise readers to laughter. Because Susan is passionate about animal welfare, pets play a big role in her books. Beloved by millions of readers worldwide, her books have been translated into 28 languages.
Critics have dubbed Mallery "the new queen of romantic fiction." (Walmart) Booklist says, "Romance novels don't get much better than Mallery's expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling," and RT Book Reviews puts her "in a class by herself!" It's no wonder that her books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list.
Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool's Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.
Susan lives in Washington state with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.
Critics have dubbed Mallery "the new queen of romantic fiction." (Walmart) Booklist says, "Romance novels don't get much better than Mallery's expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling," and RT Book Reviews puts her "in a class by herself!" It's no wonder that her books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list.
Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool's Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.
Susan lives in Washington state with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 12, 2021
Second chance story of a couple who married young, fought constantly and then divorced after a few years. The turning point for the heroine occurs when she is in a near-fatal car accident. After a year in the hospital, she decides to look up her ex for “closure.”
Hero doesn’t recognize her because her face has been reconstructed, her voice is lower because of vocal cord damage, her hair is longer, she wears feminine, floaty dresses and she walks with a cane. Heroine decides on the spot to not reveal her true identity and to buy (and have him renovate) the house they had planned make their own as a couple.
Hero quickly falls for this new improved version of his ex-wife and tells her all about what went wrong with his first marriage. Heroine is shattered that he had such a low opinion of her. But she has vowed to change her life and grow up, so she takes it all on the chin. (This is lovely angst as you can imagine).
Eventually the hero finds out heroine’s identity and is very angry. Unfortunately, the heroine has a relapse and winds up in the hospital. Hero ends up taking care of her and that’s where the real reconciliation occurs.
I can’t say I loved this hero or heroine – but I understood them. It was obvious why their first attempt at marriage was a disaster. Hero was a mollycoddled only child who expected the heroine to wait on him. Heroine was from a big family and encouraged to be independent and not show emotion. She was hyper and athletic and ambitious – all things the hero liked before they were married, but not after.
A family friend had to explain to the hero what he did wrong in the marriage (even the heroine couldn’t figure it out). Basically, he would announce “compromises” without the heroine’s input and then blame her for being stubborn when she wouldn’t capitulate. He had a sophisticated gaslighting thing going on – making him the good guy always and the heroine the bad guy always. All of their problems were small domestic matters, but the way they handled them was toxic and immature.
However, when a real problem hit them (heroine’s debilitating injuries) they were able to show their love and increased maturity. This was just an interesting story and I believed their reconciliation. I also enjoyed the 1990’s renovation details.
Hero was not celibate after the divorce. Heroine dated, but nothing serious.
Hero doesn’t recognize her because her face has been reconstructed, her voice is lower because of vocal cord damage, her hair is longer, she wears feminine, floaty dresses and she walks with a cane. Heroine decides on the spot to not reveal her true identity and to buy (and have him renovate) the house they had planned make their own as a couple.
Hero quickly falls for this new improved version of his ex-wife and tells her all about what went wrong with his first marriage. Heroine is shattered that he had such a low opinion of her. But she has vowed to change her life and grow up, so she takes it all on the chin. (This is lovely angst as you can imagine).
Eventually the hero finds out heroine’s identity and is very angry. Unfortunately, the heroine has a relapse and winds up in the hospital. Hero ends up taking care of her and that’s where the real reconciliation occurs.
I can’t say I loved this hero or heroine – but I understood them. It was obvious why their first attempt at marriage was a disaster. Hero was a mollycoddled only child who expected the heroine to wait on him. Heroine was from a big family and encouraged to be independent and not show emotion. She was hyper and athletic and ambitious – all things the hero liked before they were married, but not after.
A family friend had to explain to the hero what he did wrong in the marriage (even the heroine couldn’t figure it out). Basically, he would announce “compromises” without the heroine’s input and then blame her for being stubborn when she wouldn’t capitulate. He had a sophisticated gaslighting thing going on – making him the good guy always and the heroine the bad guy always. All of their problems were small domestic matters, but the way they handled them was toxic and immature.
However, when a real problem hit them (heroine’s debilitating injuries) they were able to show their love and increased maturity. This was just an interesting story and I believed their reconciliation. I also enjoyed the 1990’s renovation details.
Hero was not celibate after the divorce. Heroine dated, but nothing serious.
October 19, 2013
I'm a sucker for this type of story line. The masquerade bit, I mean. I'm not generally fond of 2nd chance at love stories. This one was very well done. The heroine goes back to find some sort of closure with her ex husband. She's grown up in the last 3 years especially the year since her accident. She wants to apologize for how she treated him when they were married. They married very young and didn't do a very good job of it.
When her ex doesn't recognize her, in a weak moment she doesn't tell him who she is. They become friends and she can't help but ask about his ex wife. It is very angsty as she learns what he thought of their marriage.
Of course he learns eventually who she is and they both come to an understanding of what went wrong in their marriage. The hero especially had to learn to accept that an equal share of the blame for the bad marriage was his. He had totally been unable to see it before.
When her ex doesn't recognize her, in a weak moment she doesn't tell him who she is. They become friends and she can't help but ask about his ex wife. It is very angsty as she learns what he thought of their marriage.
Of course he learns eventually who she is and they both come to an understanding of what went wrong in their marriage. The hero especially had to learn to accept that an equal share of the blame for the bad marriage was his. He had totally been unable to see it before.
Read
January 25, 2018Note to self. Avoid! Annoying heroine!
December 10, 2021
Reread 12/9/2021… tough characters to like and it needed an epilogue.
dnf
October 20, 2020Yikes. So first of all, she's in a horrible accident but the reconstructive surgery makes her hotter (she's got higher cheekbones now!) and sexier (her damaged vocal chords are now husky). Yeah, that skeeved me out.
But then I realized (yeah, I might have been slow here) that the book was literally going to be the main character lying to her ex and pretending to be someone else so she could win him back.
Gross. DNF.
But then I realized (yeah, I might have been slow here) that the book was literally going to be the main character lying to her ex and pretending to be someone else so she could win him back.
Gross. DNF.
July 11, 2021
Brutal!
Who hasn’t had the fantasy of an ex secretly pining, missing and wanting you back all along. Thats what the heroine in this story hopes to find out, when after an accident and reconstructive surgery, she goes back to her home town and her divorced husband doesn’t recognize her.
What she gets is “Huh, my ex-wife…GOOD RIDDANCE!!
😱ouch!!
Yeah, no pining heart broken husband here! Actually its ironic he is very attracted to his “new” client (his ex wife) since she embodies literally everything opposite of what his wife was.
The heroine used to be a very athletic, physical person, who wouldn’t slow down, very independent and a tomboy always in jeans with a short boyish haircut.
Because of her injuries the heroine now has to wear dresses, because getting into pants are difficult with her injuries, her figure is fuller and curvier since she’s been recovering for a year and can barely walk. Her hair is long because she hasn’t bothered to cut it in a year! And for someone so independent she is by necessity super dependent on others.
The Hero likes everything about her now. So in a way, though he is attracted to her, it’s heartbreaking and painful because its like reading about him falling for someone else.
When finally the Hero figures it out, he is angry but the heroine collapses and needs to be rushed to the hospital. Despite everything he is a decent guy and still feels responsible for her, so he agrees to take care of her. This gives them the chance to talk about their past, and discuss what went wrong.
Its lovely to see them or rather the Hero fall in love with his wife again. She has never gotten over him. But in the end even he admits that while he felt hurt the first time she left him, he now knows he will be absolutely devastated if she ever leaves him again.
So yes, while it ended well, and Im confident in their happy ever after, some parts were very realistic and a bit hard to swallow.
Who hasn’t had the fantasy of an ex secretly pining, missing and wanting you back all along. Thats what the heroine in this story hopes to find out, when after an accident and reconstructive surgery, she goes back to her home town and her divorced husband doesn’t recognize her.
What she gets is “Huh, my ex-wife…GOOD RIDDANCE!!
😱ouch!!
Yeah, no pining heart broken husband here! Actually its ironic he is very attracted to his “new” client (his ex wife) since she embodies literally everything opposite of what his wife was.
The heroine used to be a very athletic, physical person, who wouldn’t slow down, very independent and a tomboy always in jeans with a short boyish haircut.
Because of her injuries the heroine now has to wear dresses, because getting into pants are difficult with her injuries, her figure is fuller and curvier since she’s been recovering for a year and can barely walk. Her hair is long because she hasn’t bothered to cut it in a year! And for someone so independent she is by necessity super dependent on others.
The Hero likes everything about her now. So in a way, though he is attracted to her, it’s heartbreaking and painful because its like reading about him falling for someone else.
When finally the Hero figures it out, he is angry but the heroine collapses and needs to be rushed to the hospital. Despite everything he is a decent guy and still feels responsible for her, so he agrees to take care of her. This gives them the chance to talk about their past, and discuss what went wrong.
Its lovely to see them or rather the Hero fall in love with his wife again. She has never gotten over him. But in the end even he admits that while he felt hurt the first time she left him, he now knows he will be absolutely devastated if she ever leaves him again.
So yes, while it ended well, and Im confident in their happy ever after, some parts were very realistic and a bit hard to swallow.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2024
This was an emotional revisiting of past errors made by both Josie and Del. Although they had been divorced for 3 years there was still chemistry between them. This time they were able to learn from their mistakes and find a loving passionate relationship to build the foundation of their lives again.
July 6, 2019
Josie Scott was involved in an auto accident that caused injuries that totally changed her looks and limited her mobility. When she was nearly recovered, she went back to the town where her ex-husband lived to seek closure to their relationship or so she told herself. Are do-overs possible?
May 31, 2022
Second Chances. A year after her accident, Josie returns for closure with her ex. After seeing the Del doesn't recognize her, she makes up a false name.
While getting to know her, Del lists Josie's flaws. I'm glad Annie Mae and her wisdom were there to revel the true picture.
While getting to know her, Del lists Josie's flaws. I'm glad Annie Mae and her wisdom were there to revel the true picture.
August 27, 2024
Wife In Disguise
This was a cute story with 2 main characters. It was easy to follow the story line. They got back together after they had been divorced for 3 yrs. Each had a different outlook on life and grew back together.
This was a cute story with 2 main characters. It was easy to follow the story line. They got back together after they had been divorced for 3 yrs. Each had a different outlook on life and grew back together.
December 16, 2018
I love this book it's a must read.
June 17, 2019
Josie and Del
Needed to figure out what went wrong with their first attempt at marriage and work on a second chance as two older wiser people.
Needed to figure out what went wrong with their first attempt at marriage and work on a second chance as two older wiser people.
March 22, 2024
Nothing special, but kind of sweet.
January 31, 2025
Angsty .. but their insights into what was wrong in their marriage was right on and instructive.
Too steamy for me.
Too steamy for me.
June 18, 2011
Wow!! I loved this story!! This is the best among the Lone Star canyon Series... Both Josie and Del's story was heart-touching and very sweet...
I, especially loved the way how they got to learn each other all over again.. Second chance is very rare and they both did not give up on the chance they got...
Josie character grew tremendously... The person she became in the end was heart-warming... :) The growth was gradual and smooth... My heart cried for he when Del spoke about her faults and their relationship when she pretended to be Rose...
This book we clearly see how both think and how they both were at fault and that lead to their divorce.. Later in the end we also see what mistakes Del did too... I simply loved this story.. It lingers in your mind even after you have completed reading this book..
Susan is one of my favorites and I loved the way she writes and weaves the story.. Like a moth I am totally involved in her story.. When I read them it feels like I am sitting beside a window and seeing everything happen in front of my eyes... :)
I don't know.. I am not able to write a good review now... I won't be able to give justice to the story by reviewing it... It is very simple and easy read... You won't regret reading it... This is stand alone book. You don't have to read the whole series...
The best part is... the book is only about Del and Josie and how they work out with their marriage... None of their family interferes... and doesn't take up any more pages with their banter... I won't say i hate family and friends interference... that just drags the story.. But sometimes it is essential part of the story and most of the time it is not... But, Susan has a way in weaving the story.. all the characters are important in some way or other....
Must have for all Susan fans!! You won't be disappointed.
I, especially loved the way how they got to learn each other all over again.. Second chance is very rare and they both did not give up on the chance they got...
Josie character grew tremendously... The person she became in the end was heart-warming... :) The growth was gradual and smooth... My heart cried for he when Del spoke about her faults and their relationship when she pretended to be Rose...
This book we clearly see how both think and how they both were at fault and that lead to their divorce.. Later in the end we also see what mistakes Del did too... I simply loved this story.. It lingers in your mind even after you have completed reading this book..
Susan is one of my favorites and I loved the way she writes and weaves the story.. Like a moth I am totally involved in her story.. When I read them it feels like I am sitting beside a window and seeing everything happen in front of my eyes... :)
I don't know.. I am not able to write a good review now... I won't be able to give justice to the story by reviewing it... It is very simple and easy read... You won't regret reading it... This is stand alone book. You don't have to read the whole series...
The best part is... the book is only about Del and Josie and how they work out with their marriage... None of their family interferes... and doesn't take up any more pages with their banter... I won't say i hate family and friends interference... that just drags the story.. But sometimes it is essential part of the story and most of the time it is not... But, Susan has a way in weaving the story.. all the characters are important in some way or other....
Must have for all Susan fans!! You won't be disappointed.
June 1, 2020
Third in the Lone Star Canyon series, this one is possibly the best of the three. Josie has been in a terrible car accident with a year's worth of reconstructive surgery. When she goes back to see her ex-husband Del, he doesn't recognize her. And she doesn't tell him at first. Use your imagination from there. Or better yet, read the book. My only wish is that it could have had a bit more about the renovation of her house, always something I enjoy - in detail.
February 18, 2019
So I thought I will like it since I've been looking for this kind of story, the wife coming back with a new face, may it be a real wife or fake wife but as long pretending to be the real wife, I may sound ridiculous but I liked that kind of plot, and I though it's gonna be like this but it is not. I read it and read it but it was just tooooooo draggy? I don't know, I just had to finish it and upon finishing I was relieved that it is done. lol
June 17, 2013
Sometimes I'm just in the mood for a simple Harlequin style romance, and I can always count on a good,romantic story from Susan Mallery.
August 12, 2014
I got interested right away and read it straight through. Good.
August 4, 2015
2.5 stars
April 6, 2015
Loved this story
This story has to be one of my favorites. It was honest, loving and showed how people change and grow. Would highly recommend this book.
This story has to be one of my favorites. It was honest, loving and showed how people change and grow. Would highly recommend this book.
May 4, 2016
this was a surprisingly good read.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews