Joan Hohl Come Home to Love

Come Home to Love

Joan Hohl

Signature Select, Jan 2005, $4.99

ISBN: 0373836899

In high school, Matthew Martin asked Katherine out, but she informed him that she was seeing Kevin Acker. He brusquely walked away from her. Katherine and Kevin eventually married while Matthew accrued wealth. Years later, Katherine becomes a widow. After allowing some time to pass Matthew offers her a marriage of convenience that seems so cold to Katherine, but is her only option from a bleak lonely life. She agrees to serve as his hostess at his business galas and to sleep with him though the latter frightens her even as a mature woman as she has not slept with any man except Kevin.

Her children detest the fact that their mom remarried; his sister Elizabeth "the queen" feels the same way reminding Matthew that this woman rejected him years ago. Soon Katherine falls in love with her spouse; Matthew has loved her since he was a star teenage baseball player. However, neither will step forward revealing their heart's desire as both fear ridicule and rejection; his sister fosters their lack of confidence towards one another flaunting her pal DeeDee at her brother while Matthew wonders whether his spouse will run off with his brother.

This interesting second chance at love tale is filled with secondary characters who, for the most part, want to weaken the shaky relationship between the lead couple until it implodes. Even his brother who worries about his sister-in-law tries to protect her by not encouraging her to work things out with Matthew. Though a little communication could have gone a long way to bringing love home, readers will appreciate this family drama pondering throughout whether the marriage is doomed even with a child and love to anchor it.

Harriet Klausner