Come the Spring is Cole Clayborne’s story, who I fell in love with in the earlier books. I’ve been dying to read this, but reviews and comments from friends and other readers had me concerned that it might not measure up, which is why I waited so long. I had hoped that maybe if I put some time between my last reading and this one, Cole might stand a fighting chance, because For the Roses totally swept me off my feet and became an all time favorite feel good read. So yeah, it’s pretty hard to follow in those footsteps. I’d like to say that time away and the old “absence makes the heart grow fonder” adage was true, but that’s not the case. I won’t go into a lot of details about why I feel this way, but I will touch on some of my thoughts about the things I loved and didn’t love about this book.
This was a really sweet story, and incredibly sad, too.
Cole – in the previous books he was larger than life. He had such a strong presence, and this charisma about him that had me nearly drooling every time his name was mentioned. I didn’t see that in this book. To me, he was much more reserved, almost a watered down Cole Clayborne. He was still funny and I enjoyed him, but I have to be honest and say he’s not the Cole I remembered or was looking forward to revisiting.
Daniel Ryan – Finally we get to meet this US Federal Marshall who has been the bane of Cole’s existence ever since he lifted a compass off of Mama Rose that was a gift meant for Cole. What’s what, you say!? A Federal Marshall picking some poor woman’s pocket? Yes, that’s exactly what happened, and the story behind it and his reasons for it were pretty funny.
Now, despite my earlier comments, I do want to make it clear that this was a really sweet story. I enjoyed the romance, the mystery and the characters. It’s definitely worth reading to wrap up the series, it just didn’t have that magic that I’ve come to expect from a Julie Garwood historical, and I'm giving it a 3.5/5 stars.
I haven't read this one in years (since it was first released). I also loved For The Roses. By the way, NEVER, NEVER NEVER watch that Hallmark movie based on the book with Jennifer Garner in it. It is just awful. AWFUL. AWFUL. So off track from the book that it shouldn't have even been made.
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Anyhoo. I do remember being disappointed in Cole's story. I'd probably be more irriated if I read it now. But For the Roses is still one of my favorite of her novels along with Ransom. Have you read Ransom?
Yes, I have read every one of Julie Garwood's historicals and loved most of them. Ransom was wonderful! My favorites are For the Roses, The Prize, Honor's Splendour, The Secret, The Bride, The Wedding... ah hell, I loved them all, but this was was just ok. Defintely liked it, but it really did lack the magic of her earlier books.
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