Love, Come to Me is set in Concord, Massachusetts not long after the end of the Civil War. This is a historical period that I always find fascinating; heart breaking but compelling, nonetheless. Lucinda is a spoiled, sheltered Northern (Yankee) girl and Heath is a cynical, jaded, war-scarred man (Rebel) from the South. I really expected this to be a story about opposites attracting and flourishing together against the odds. And I guess, to a certain degree, that was the case but Heath and Lucinda were so annoying as characters. They started off all right but them their characters did a 180 and I felt like I was reading an entirely different book. Heath went from charming and caring to an over bearing, manipulative control freak. And Lucinda started off as a funny and strong woman who then became weak spined and whiny. It was so weird and utterly annoying. I kept having hope for the book and Lucinda and Heath but they just continued to annoy.
The worst part of the book for me was a manipulative, heart wrenching scene just over halfway through. It was borderline rape in my opinion and that is the exact opposite reason why I read romance novels. The scene was emotionally and physically manipulative and it made me sick. Both Lucinda and Heath were jerks in this whole scene but there is never, ever any excuse for physical manipulation and near-rape in my opinion. No always means no, period.
The most interesting part of Love, Come to Me was Heath's interest in newspapers. My grandparents worked for one of our local newspapers for years and I have fond memories of it as a child. I did love this part of the book but unfortunately it didn't make up for the rest of it. Even with a so-called happy ending, I don't recommend this book. Sorry, Lisa Kleypas. I normally adore you but this one was a complete miss for me.
I usually like Lisa Kleypas but this sounds like a miss for me. I do think Heath's interest in newspapers is intriguing. I feel like there is something to learn there. Something different.
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