Many years ago, I used to belong to the Harlequin Historicals book club, which meant that I received several new books each month, many of which I never got around to reading. The Return of Chase Cordell is one of those books that has been languishing on my TBR shelf all this time. I finally picked it up this month as part of a reading challenges in which I’m participating. The story takes place during the Civil War, although there’s little in the way of actual warfare detailed in the plot. Instead it’s the story of a hero who had a whirlwind romance with the heroine that lasted a mere two weeks before they married, and then he immediately went off to fight for the Union. After being wounded in battle, he’s now returned to the small town of Mainfield, Texas, where they live, a community that seems to be on the fence in the war effort. There are those from both sides who live there, as well as those who pledge no allegiance to any cause, but instead, are willing do whatever it takes to line their pockets off the backs of others who might already be suffering. It was a nice story, and overall, the characters were likable. But I have to admit that it’s very slow paced, with things only picking up during the last third or so of the book. I also saw some missed opportunities for deepening character development as well. So while I can say that I liked the book, I didn’t love it. However, the strong ending helped make up for some of the earlier deficiencies and earned it an extra half-star.

The story opens with Chase, the title character, returning from war with an injured hip and the loss of his memory. The catch, though, is that he hasn’t told a single soul, not even the doctor who treated him, that he can no longer remember his past life. All he knows about himself is what he learned from the things others told him and the letters he’d received from his wife, so he’s returning home with no idea what to expect and trying to hide his infirmity. However, not long after his return, pieces of the puzzle start falling into place, making him realize he did something questionable in his past life before heading out to war, something that he fears might have even been illegal. A part of me simply didn’t understand why he kept his memory loss a secret. Chase’s reasoning supposedly is that, while he hit his head during the fall after being wounded, it left little more than a small bump. Because of this, he doesn’t think the cause is medical, but he does know (though I can’t recall how) that his grandfather lost his mind and he thinks that it might be hereditary. So he spends his first few months at home muddling though while wracking his brain for any small memory he can dredge up. He also owns the local newspaper, although we don’t know if it was a family business that was handed down or what, so he uses the papers to look for clues to his past. This made for an unusual sort of mystery, but at the same time, the clues weren’t adding up quite fast enough to suit me.

While all this is happening, Chase is also falling in love with his wife all over again. He may not remember her, but she stirs something within him that he can’t deny. He begins to suspect that he may not have been a great husband in the past and vows to do better. This part of the plot reminded me a little of the movie, Regarding Henry, so it didn’t surprise me when I read in the author’s note at the end, that this was one of her inspirations for the book. However, because of Chase’s deception, he spends a lot of time trying to avoid Linese even though she makes it clear that she would welcome him back into her bed. Again this is something I didn’t entirely understand. His reason is supposedly because he fears that he’ll do something in bed that will tip her off to his memory loss, but I wasn’t entirely buying it. After a couple of false starts, he does finally give in with pleasant results all the way around, and I liked that he also eventually came clean with her about why he’d been distant. Once they finally reconnected, I liked Chase pretty well. He turns into a caring, passionate, and attentive husband. When he finally realizes what he’d been doing before the war and all the puzzle pieces start falling into place, I admired his honorable nature and willingness to die for a worthy cause, but at the same time, I thought perhaps he should have tried a little harder to find another solution, especially considering he had a family by then.

Linese is a sweet heroine, which I typically like, but I felt like there was something missing in her characterization. For starters, when details begin to emerge regarding how Chase and Linese met, I can’t say that I fully understood what made her fall for him in the first place. I can get on board with a confident hero who has a touch of arrogance on occasion, but if I’d had a strange man just walk up to me and state (not ask, mind you) that he was going to marry me, I have serious doubts that he would have won me over. When we finally get the whole story of the meeting, I still wasn’t particularly impressed. Linese even told Chase he’d have to get past her aunt who was a tough customer, but we never did find out what he did to persuade the older woman.

Anyway, first meeting aside, I could see why she would fall for the new and improved Chase, so that part was OK. I think it’s just that because we know so little about Linese, she never became a memorable heroine for me. She was raised by two maiden aunts, although I don’t believe the reason for that was given. I assume it was probably due to the death of her parents, but she has very little backstory to speak of. One of the most interesting things about her, IMHO, is the fact that despite Chase expressing some chauvinistic views about a proper woman’s place before leaving, she had been working at the newspaper and even writing the editorials for the past two years. When we first see her, she’s finishing her last article before going to greet her husband. I thought perhaps some conflict might arise out of this situation, but nothing really came of it. After Chase returns, Linese simply resumes her place as his dutiful wife, and even after she finally confesses that she was the editorial writer for the paper all that time, it’s basically a non-issue. I also thought it rather bold that Linese befriended the ladies from the local bordello even though it was far from proper, but again, no conflict of any kind arises from it. It was cute, though, that she got one of the prostitutes to teach her about how to pleasure a man, so that she could seduce her husband. Overall Linese was certainly a kind, gentle, and likable heroine, but in the end, she was a little on the bland side.

Once things started moving on the mystery part of the plot, I was much more engaged. I liked the connections to the Underground Railroad and how the author managed to fairly balance the sentiments on both side of the war without engaging in demonization. The townspeople were a mixed lot of good guys and bad guys, some of which were obvious and others whom it was fun to figure out. Chase’s “crazy” grandfather was an interesting character who’s a lot more than he seems at first glance. Once Chase and Linese got past the things that are keeping them apart, I could feel the connection between them, which was a plus. Other than a lack of contractions in dialogue which made it rather stilted, I thought the writing itself was pretty strong. So overall, The Return of Chase Cordell was definitely a worthwhile read, particularly for anyone who likes romances centering around the Civil War era. ( )

Coming home from the Civil War, injured and without any memory of himself, his wife or is life, Major Chase Cordell decided it would be better not to let anyone know about his loss. Hoping he could piece his life back together by watching and reading past issues of the ‘Gazette’ (the newspaper he owned and wrote for), Chase bided his time, but the one person her could not fool would be his wife (Linese Beaufort Cordell), so avoidance seemed the best coarse of action. The two years of waiting was finally over, her husband was coming home to her, but how would he react if he found out what she had been doing in his absence? All Linese wanted and expected changed when she began to get to know the post War Chase.

This book really is a standard Historical Romance, nothing super great about the writing or even the characters. But I really enjoy this one. I have read it several times, it is one of the first books that I was able to read straight through in under a month (back in 1997), so I think it sort of has a sentimental quality that makes it a better story to me than to others (so the slightly higher rating). The plot line and the ending is predictable, the characters are good but like so many others they are difficult to get completely invested in. Like I said, just a standard Historical Romance set during the American Civil War. ( )