“Love Me Tender”: A Romance of Convenience

What a great idea to title and theme your romances so each matches an Elvis song. I picked up this book because of the title, so I guess it works. Love Me Tender, By Mimi Barbour, is a true romance, although the circumsatances unfold and solutions resolve a little too conveniently. Girl meets boy, falls in love, but numerous obstacles keep them apart until the story unfolds and they have an epiphany that they must be together and they live happily ever after.

Love Me Tender is a touching and compelling story of what happens when two very different worlds collide. Anne comes from France to stay on a Texas ranch, owned by Rose and her husband, where she falls for the rancher’s son, Clint. They have one night together, which he was too drunk to remember, but Anne comes away with a precious keepsake of that night, her son, Max. After eight years, Rose is dying and she asks Anne to return to help her granddaughter adjust to the eventual loss. But, Anne isn’t the only one with a secret and Clint’s ex-wife is back in town. Can Anne break through the hardened shell that Clint has surrounded himself with?

This romance has all the right elements, but conflict seems to be resolved too easily. I give Love Me Tender three quills.