Love Come to Me

Rating:
Summary: Historical Data Bogs Down The Story. ** Grade: C **
Review: Lisa Kleypas began her successful writing career with the Onyx (New American Library) publishing group. She wrote four books for this company before moving over to Avon Books. LOVE, COME TO ME was the second of the four. Recently, I found a rare copy. It contains 411 pages, typed in a small font, and reveals Kleypas' budding bright future.

Unfortunately, this is not the time Kleypas achieved brilliance. Why? Anytime I can close a book in the middle of some defining moment to go do housework -- well! LOVE, COME TO ME is such a book. Yet, I don't think it was the writer's fault, no I think the editor should take the blame. The romance was never allowed to grow, to build, to hold the reader. Instead, the reader is subject to lengthy discussions surrounding the country's problems after the Civil War and the newspaper scene of 1870's Boston. In a romance book, historical facts are fine as a backdrop, but such details shouldn't take over the story. The editor should have edited this book better, cutting down on the educational lessons, editing to create a better romance.

Lucinda Caldwell is a New England lass. Her doting father raised her, a father who pampered and spoiled her. Fate has nicely tied up Lucinda's future. She will marry her childhood love and become part of Concord, Massachusetts' elite society. She will marry -- if only her beau will commit himself.

Heath Rayne is a displaced southern gentleman. He is very interested in Lucinda. He remains in Concord, watching the engaged couple, hoping for cracks in the relationship. Fate grants Heath his wish; Lucinda is now his. Now his mission is to humor his spoiled wife. Kleypas's strong suit is her ability to write a love scene, and here she shows her fine beginnings. The best parts of this book are our couple in solitary confinement.

Would I recommend LOVE, COME TO ME? Only if you find it at a very reasonable price. Don't go to the secondary market and pay big dollars. Too many current books deliver far better romance.

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

Rating:
Summary: I love stories written in and around the civil war era.
Review: This book was a great find! It is a keeper for many reasons. First enter the sassy northern girl who breaks rules and manages to get herself into awkward situations. Enter The Southern gentleman who has come to concord, mass for unknown reasons and happens to be there to pull lucinda out of a watery death. He nurses her to health but because of propriety (being alone with a man for 2 days and a southerner at that, mercy) they must remain public "strangers"> Heath is in love at first sight with this northern spitfire (having been badly burnt by a simpering southern belle) but Lucy is engaged to an arrogant anti southern cold fish yankee. Of course Heath always causes a stir when he tries to mix in this society. There are so many threads to this story. Heath is a hunk who ultimately is attempting to imprvoe the situation bet the north and south during the 10 yrears of reconstruction. He fought for the south but is anti slavery. He sees the good and bad on both sides but mostly just sees the horror of the war and the loss of life. "cin" and heath have to work out the problems of their different worlds, society and history itself. There is not a boring moment in this page turner. Especially when the simpering belle turns up, and when cin is ostracized into marrying heath, and treated badly by her jerk financee.......The love scenes were wonderful and the issues were real..I loved this book. It's hard to find but its worth the bother. good job lisa k. thanks.

Rating:
Summary: I loved this one
Review: This was the first Kleypas book I read. I got it for half a dollar from a used books store and let's say it was well worth it =). It got me reading her other novels, although I still prefer this one to the later ones and return to it from time to time.

I liked both the hero who was dashing and dangerous, very sexy. I presume I could have fallen in love with him. He was a headstrong but relaxed sort of fellow in an uptight environment and the heroine had a little more backbone and a little less naiveté than historical romance heroines generally do. The development of their romance was on the whole believable and I could identify with most of their actions. Kleypas is a good storyteller who creates tension in this novel by adding disease, jealousy and traditional fear of acknowledging one's true feelings. Even though these are classic romance novel traits I did not have the much too common feeling that everything was predictable.

The love scenes were well written and engaging. I also liked the fact that it wasn't "mere romance": a crucial plot element is the American civil war and the relationships between southerners and northerners. You could say there's a bit of Romeo and Juliet in the novel since the southerner hero is a persona non grata in the heroine's northern hometown. But fortunately these two young people are stronger than Romeo and Juliet and therefore manage to make much better of their lives. I like survivor spirit in a novel character.

The less important characters and the newspaper subplot are well chosen to develop the story. One final romantic touch that moved me was the conduct of the hero's business associate at the last pages of the novel. But let's not say anything more about it, I don't want to spoil it for you if you find it somewhere. Too bad this is out of print.