Local history insists that a legendary pirate buried his treasure somewhere beneath Windward, the decayed Cooper estate on Winthrop Island, but Lucy Cooper never trusted the fable that broke her family apart. When a widowed Lucy returns with her young daughter to grieve her estranged father, she discovers the property’s buried under a mountain of debt, and Ben Ressler has just turned up on her doorstep.
Thirteen summers ago, a teenaged Lucy never meant to fall in love with Ben, a Dartmouth football star vacationing next door at the Peabody estate, and the object of an all-consuming crush by Laura Peabody, Lucy’s best friend. Those two weeks with Ben were the best and worst of Lucy’s life, dooming her friendship with Laura. Now Ben’s returned to live quietly in the Peabodys’ caretaker lodge, after a fatal accident ended his dazzling NFL career. He’s also the last person who saw Lucy’s father alive.
As Lucy reconstructs her father’s troubling final days, she uncovers his research on the frozen winter of 1717, when a desperately wounded pirate sought refuge on Winthrop Island with an enigmatic healer. To Lucy, this history points the way to a different kind of how to forgive yourself for the mistakes of the past and earn a second chance at love. But just as Lucy’s long-buried emotions sear to the surface, a shocking turn of events reveals that someone else on the island will do whatever it takes to claim the fabled plunder. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)
When You Loved Me was cleverly written, combining past experiences that bleed into present ones, all fueled by a deep-rooted history that provided plenty of mystery and adventure. A background seeped in piracy could have come off as hokey, but not once did the story ever feel that way to me. It was the best way to provide much-needed information so the reader could better understand the obsession Lucy’s dad has, and Lucy’s own perspective about it.
The unsaid connection between Lucy and Ben was pretty powerful. Despite the years, it’s still there, even though Lucy tries desperately to fight against it. She still deals with the leftover feelings she has from the fallout that had come from her past relationship with him, and there is plenty for her to distrust. But he’s the closest thing she has to learning more about her dad’s final days and trying to make sense of it. While doing so, she also reconnects with some old friends and others in her former small town, pushing her into reminiscing and dealing with her former past.
Woven into an otherwise historical romance genre is the risk Lucy finds herself in by returning to Winthrop Island. Someone else is just as obsessed with her dad’s research, doing anything they can to get their hands on it. The mystery of trying to figure out who it is added an additional level of intrigue for me. I loved how the storyline for Lucy while dealing with this seemed to parallel the same storyline the reader is given in regards to the frozen winter of 1717; characters from both eras deal with trying to hold it all together while fighting desperately to stay alive.
The standout character was Lucy’s daughter, Punkin. She was so adorable and very advanced for her age. She really was a scene stealer and helped to bring together unlikely characters, romantically, friendship-wise, or otherwise. In the end, truths are revealed, and Lucy has to decide on what will be the best future moving forward for her and her daughter. There are a lot of moments for various characters who are dealing with past traumas and pain, all worked out and shown through dialogue, and through the past experiences that end up shaping the present and future experiences for Winthrop Island. When You Loved Me was a definite five-star experience!
Thanks to Random House for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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