My Enemy, My Love [Mass Market Paperback]

Elaine Coffman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1988

Set at the time of the Civil War, My Enemy, My Love tells the unforgettable story of Mourning Howard, an impetuous, gently reared girl from Memphis, and Clint Kincaid, the worldly heir to a magnificent Texas ranch. A novel so enchanting readers will never want it to end. Original.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Dell Publishing Company (September 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440202841
• ISBN-13: 978-0440202844
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,309,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The gap in the story time-line was annoying!!, April 17, 2008

By 

L "fairytales&dreams" (Where unicorns and fairies play) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: My Enemy, My Love (Mass Market Paperback)

I really wanted to like this book, I truly did, but there were a couple things that truly grated on my nerves.

First off, let me say that I had been looking for this book for a few years now. I had read a short blurb of the opening chapter in another historical romance book and for the longest time I couldn't remember the title of this book. All I remembered was the opening scene of the hero and heroine meeting for the first time in the barn of the heroine's Aunt and Uncle's home in Tennessee. That scene was very memorable and so I had high hopes for this book and once I found it at a local used bookstore I was very excited. This book is set in 1860s Tennessee and Texas. Mourning Howard meets her stepbrother Clint Kincaid who is to take her to Texas to be with her mother, who married Clint's father a few years before. They are at odds from the very beginning and this pretty much sums up their entire relationship.

Well, what did I find wrong with this book? For starters, the heroine, Mourning Howard, was just clueless and annoying. Oh, I have no problem with the young, innocent heroine who is naive but she just came across as dumb every time she was with the hero, Clint Kincaid. She would be speechless with fear or awe (although she was portrayed as feisty and stubborn, it didn't show when she was with the hero. It was obvious who had the upper hand and it wasn't Mourning). I think the author tried to make up for her melting in the hero's presence by making her so fiery, but it wasn't effective. It just made the heroine come across as over-the-top, and a clumsy and awkward walking disaster!

The personality of the hero also didn't make much sense. The author described him as being a hard and dangerous man, skirting death and others viewing him as a reckless man when it came to his own well-being. Okay, that would be easy to see and understand in a strong or alpha hero, but in Clint's case it didn't work because there was no description of his past or current life to give credence to that depiction of Clint. The author doesn't delve into any of his past history to shed light on what has caused him to be so hard and why he is so wary of women and not giving in to commitment and love. He had a troubling beginning the first 6 years of his life, but I felt that wasn't an adequate enough explanation about how he could be the way he is 22 years later as a man. Yes, he was a Texan and during the history this book is set, in the 1800s, it was a hard land but again, you aren't privy to any of the events in his past life. It would have been helpful to have seen something that shaped why he is the way he is. Why he is such a loner and not trusting of women except for a one night stand.

Not only were the hero and heroine not believable, but I couldn't believe they fell in love. In Mourning's case I can see how a young and sheltered girl would fall for a man like Clint. He is smooth and seduces her every time he is with her. In Clint's case, it wasn't as easy to understand or see. No where during their time together did Clint profess love to her, he doesn't do anything but bait her, tease her, get angry at her, or walk all over her.

But what I really disliked about this book was the gaps in the time-line of the story. What I mean by that is one part (the book is divided into "parts") ends on a chapter with Mourning and Clint together. The next chapter is a *year* later and Mourning is all alone and Clint not in the picture and I thought to myself, "What the heck happened during the intervening time!?!".

The author tells what happened in a "flashback", Mourning's flashback, and this is where the reader learns Clint had left her, and went to war, and also where we learn she is pregnant with his child. If that isn't frustrating enough, the author does it again where 4 years pass, and Clint has finally returned to find Mourning is caring for his children. Yep, you guessed it, Clint has come back to declare his love for Mourning, after leaving her without a word over 4 years previously.

I felt this book could have had potential, but sadly the story didn't work because of the hero and heroine. Plus, it is very jarring for a reader to not know what the heck is going on because the timeline jumps from present to future from literally one page to the next. In my opinion, it was a disaster for the author to format the story in this way, glossing over important details or not mentioning them at all, and leaves the reader bewildered and wondering what has happened.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, funny, endearing romance, October 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: My Enemy, My Love (Paperback)

I couldn't agree more with the other comments. This book is truly one of the best romances, even novels, out there. I too would love to see Cad and Anna's story, or that of Mourning's daughter. I have never given this book to anyone who didn't love it!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking!, August 14, 1999

By 

Cathy <[e-mail]> (Guam USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Enemy, My Love (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book more than 10 years ago and I am still in love with it! There have been many history/romance novels I have read since then. However, none of them have compared to the way this book touched my heart. I encourage all you history/romance fanatics to read this. You won't regret it!!!