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Mackinnon #7
If You Love Me
Historical Romance Large Print Edition
He had done the right thing for the wrong reason....
A man driven by despair and an unwillingness to forgive, William Woodville fled his native England, his title, and his duty. In the American wilderness he found the perfect vengeance: A woman. She was a captive handed from tribe to tribe in an odyssey of despair... until William purchased the untamed innocent on the auction block; married her, bedded her, and defiantly presented her to his father in England before he turned and left... alone.
Abandoned by the man she loved, she let the pain of betrayal make her strong....
Margery Mackinnon needed a family more than a husband, love and security more than an explanation, and time to discover the strange world about her. She blossomed from a primitive wildflower to a lady of the town: the woman she was destined to be. When William returned to the wife he left and the twin sons he never knew, he was captivated by a beguiling woman unwilling to forgive him. Now the man who abandoned love must fight to reclaim it....
329 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
11 people are currently reading
305 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Coffman
63 books116 followersBarbara Elaine Gunter was born in San Diego, California, to William Samuel Gunter, Jr., a naval officer and Edna Marie (née Davidson) Gunter, a homemaker. From the age of three she lived in Midland, Texas and graduated from Midland High School. After she received a degree in elementary education from North Texas State University, she taught elementary school in Midland, Texas, while working on her Master’s Degree and certification for Language and Learning Disabilities at Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Elaine currently resides in Austin, Texas, where her son, Chuck, also lives. She has two daughters, Lesley who resides in Raleigh, N.C. and Ashley, who lives in San Diego, California.
Elaine Coffman is a New York Times bestselling author with a large international following. She has penned novels in both the historical romance genre and suspense. A lover of history, she has penned several novels set in Scotland, Regency England, Italy and the American West. To date, she is the author of nineteen novels and five novellas.
While writing her first novel, My Enemy, My Love, she found herself inspired by a letter her great-great grandmother, Susannah Jane Dowell Shacklett wrote in 1920, telling about her journey from Brandeburg, Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas, and then going with an army escort to El Paso, Texas, where her brother, Ben Dowell, a veteran of the Mexican War, was El Paso's first mayor.
Elaine continued to write best-selling, award-winning books until the publication of her eleventh novel, If You Loved Me, which was the last book of her beloved Mackinnon series and her first book to hit the New York Times bestseller list.
Her first suspense novel, Alone in the Dark, was published by Pocket books in 2006.
Elaine currently resides in Austin, Texas, where her son, Chuck, also lives. She has two daughters, Lesley who resides in Raleigh, N.C. and Ashley, who lives in San Diego, California.
Elaine Coffman is a New York Times bestselling author with a large international following. She has penned novels in both the historical romance genre and suspense. A lover of history, she has penned several novels set in Scotland, Regency England, Italy and the American West. To date, she is the author of nineteen novels and five novellas.
While writing her first novel, My Enemy, My Love, she found herself inspired by a letter her great-great grandmother, Susannah Jane Dowell Shacklett wrote in 1920, telling about her journey from Brandeburg, Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas, and then going with an army escort to El Paso, Texas, where her brother, Ben Dowell, a veteran of the Mexican War, was El Paso's first mayor.
Elaine continued to write best-selling, award-winning books until the publication of her eleventh novel, If You Loved Me, which was the last book of her beloved Mackinnon series and her first book to hit the New York Times bestseller list.
Her first suspense novel, Alone in the Dark, was published by Pocket books in 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 7, 2021
Cinderella story
I really liked this story. It reminded me of Something Wonderful. The hero leaves an Indian captive in his England home, one that he bought and married, and returns to America only to come back two years later. She is now the toast of the ton. She also had twins while he was gone and transformed herself into a strong, self-reliant woman. He had been with his tutor in America for those years and he was dying of consumption, so he stayed with him. He missed her every day though and was faithful to her, which is very important to me. This book really dragged in places and at the end I was a little bored with the story. I expected more when she found her family but it just tell flat for some reason. I did like her welcome back 'gift' she gave him when he came home. It was cute plus he didn't know that he had twins either and there was some confusion there that was entertaining too. I really liked the series so far and I have been reading them out of order. They definitely stand on there own. Also free in KU
I really liked this story. It reminded me of Something Wonderful. The hero leaves an Indian captive in his England home, one that he bought and married, and returns to America only to come back two years later. She is now the toast of the ton. She also had twins while he was gone and transformed herself into a strong, self-reliant woman. He had been with his tutor in America for those years and he was dying of consumption, so he stayed with him. He missed her every day though and was faithful to her, which is very important to me. This book really dragged in places and at the end I was a little bored with the story. I expected more when she found her family but it just tell flat for some reason. I did like her welcome back 'gift' she gave him when he came home. It was cute plus he didn't know that he had twins either and there was some confusion there that was entertaining too. I really liked the series so far and I have been reading them out of order. They definitely stand on there own. Also free in KU
December 21, 2021
3.5 stars
April 14, 2021
I had this book in my TBR pile. I liked the premise of a white Indian captive rescued by a white man years later.
I found myself flinching several times early on in the story. I had to remind myself that it was written in 1997. So, 24 yrs later writing styles and history themed books have changed.
I was motivated to keep reading to see where it would go with the relationship with Margery and Will.
Would she ever find her family? Would Will ever get over his resentment and need to seek revenge on his dad? Would there be reconciliation? How the heck did he just leave her in such a hostile environment, regret his actions and never make it back? What happened to Daniel? We see him later, just a blink and you would miss it. I wouldn't have minded a fling between the 2 of them! He really liked her in the beginning, maybe loved her! For Will to be gone for 2 yrs and no communication is a long time. Head scratcher! Coffman solved some answers and difficulties too easy. Like, this happened and that happened. It was a rolling story of events without detail. Tying up loose ends for previous readers of the series?
Margery aged to mid 30's. When we meet her she is 27. Towards the end, details regarding her birth family became predictable, even made me roll my eyes again.
A previous reviewer also mentioned that it seemed unbelievable that Margery, reared with Indians, several tribes, could speak such good English (traveling priest?)and seem cultured and knowledgeable even after such a short time with Will's mom and family. I kinda expected her to be more "savage" and less white, more rebellious and less to conform to new lifestyle. More Indian traits and speech, references from Margery's life with the Indians. She become a lady too fast and normal for my liking. Oh, and pregnancy and birth of twins (no spoiler,it is mentioned on the back cover) Author just like, glossed over that,like she was pregnant and gave birth to twins and next topic. The father passed, next topic. I thought it was odd she named one after Will's dad who hated her and Will who had abandoned her! Indian names would have been great. I forgot as the story progressed that many years were passing between Will leaving and coming back. The reunion was awkward, could have been written so much differently! I did find the confusion of the twins to be creative and humorous. It was an odd transition back to the family and Margery, him demanding to see her, where was she. A bit extreme, more eye rolling. Will was not portrayed as likable at all!
I guess my issue, there was no excitement, other than Will and the family friend being chased by Indians on their out West excursion. Speaking of that, how the heck did Will and his pals just follow Indians around (will an artist) that was a hostile time for for white people and Indians. Did not seem plausible. Coffman packed a lot of details and experiences into the book, back and forth between settings and characters. Will's long absence was rather unbelievable. He just walked back into the house and other than his mom being surprised, it was rather anti-climactic!
I felt the few love scenes were well done and sweet, emotional, heartfelt, believable. I liked the their feelings were mutual and the sexual encounters were not forced but mutual desire.
After reading Coffman's letter at the back of the book, it makes more sense. I have not to my knowledge read the other Mackinnon stories. There were tidbits of information that made me think there had been previous stories. So, Margery's story was like a must write to appease her fans, "this is what happened to young Margery".but it seemed rushed to me. Not a lot of reviews here for a much requested story about Margery!
Like, this is what happened and this is how is was resolved , the end. Nicely cut and dried. Once again written in 1997. It may have been written different in today's writing expectations.
I found myself flinching several times early on in the story. I had to remind myself that it was written in 1997. So, 24 yrs later writing styles and history themed books have changed.
I was motivated to keep reading to see where it would go with the relationship with Margery and Will.
Would she ever find her family? Would Will ever get over his resentment and need to seek revenge on his dad? Would there be reconciliation? How the heck did he just leave her in such a hostile environment, regret his actions and never make it back? What happened to Daniel? We see him later, just a blink and you would miss it. I wouldn't have minded a fling between the 2 of them! He really liked her in the beginning, maybe loved her! For Will to be gone for 2 yrs and no communication is a long time. Head scratcher! Coffman solved some answers and difficulties too easy. Like, this happened and that happened. It was a rolling story of events without detail. Tying up loose ends for previous readers of the series?
Margery aged to mid 30's. When we meet her she is 27. Towards the end, details regarding her birth family became predictable, even made me roll my eyes again.
A previous reviewer also mentioned that it seemed unbelievable that Margery, reared with Indians, several tribes, could speak such good English (traveling priest?)and seem cultured and knowledgeable even after such a short time with Will's mom and family. I kinda expected her to be more "savage" and less white, more rebellious and less to conform to new lifestyle. More Indian traits and speech, references from Margery's life with the Indians. She become a lady too fast and normal for my liking. Oh, and pregnancy and birth of twins (no spoiler,it is mentioned on the back cover) Author just like, glossed over that,like she was pregnant and gave birth to twins and next topic. The father passed, next topic. I thought it was odd she named one after Will's dad who hated her and Will who had abandoned her! Indian names would have been great. I forgot as the story progressed that many years were passing between Will leaving and coming back. The reunion was awkward, could have been written so much differently! I did find the confusion of the twins to be creative and humorous. It was an odd transition back to the family and Margery, him demanding to see her, where was she. A bit extreme, more eye rolling. Will was not portrayed as likable at all!
I guess my issue, there was no excitement, other than Will and the family friend being chased by Indians on their out West excursion. Speaking of that, how the heck did Will and his pals just follow Indians around (will an artist) that was a hostile time for for white people and Indians. Did not seem plausible. Coffman packed a lot of details and experiences into the book, back and forth between settings and characters. Will's long absence was rather unbelievable. He just walked back into the house and other than his mom being surprised, it was rather anti-climactic!
I felt the few love scenes were well done and sweet, emotional, heartfelt, believable. I liked the their feelings were mutual and the sexual encounters were not forced but mutual desire.
After reading Coffman's letter at the back of the book, it makes more sense. I have not to my knowledge read the other Mackinnon stories. There were tidbits of information that made me think there had been previous stories. So, Margery's story was like a must write to appease her fans, "this is what happened to young Margery".but it seemed rushed to me. Not a lot of reviews here for a much requested story about Margery!
Like, this is what happened and this is how is was resolved , the end. Nicely cut and dried. Once again written in 1997. It may have been written different in today's writing expectations.
June 8, 2023
Miss Coffman has lot to say about the "civilized" white English and the "savage" and "dirty" brown native Americans. So far all I see is that Whites are better and clean (which completely negates the actual historical evidence of English being the least practiced in personal hygiene and not knowing about human grooming products like oils and shampoo until they colonised native trading lands like India and other parts of Asia etc) while the Native American way is dirty, who don't know how to bath and that their hair is smelly and greasy.
Ahem.
Anywho... Miss Coffman is a typical old white Christian lady who regards her English heritage in high standards so the book is full of the same moral incilnation that the British had when they decided to colonise and massacre half of the world in the name of "civilizing" the uncivilized.
And this author has a tendency to drop a death bomb and then run amock with her imagination. You would be reading pleasant and happy times everything mellow and slow until *boom* there's a death and the some out of the blue happening in the past that you would be like "Wait...what the fuck just happen?".
Miss Coffman is like that old lady on her occasional pills who then sits down and writes the craziest shit she could get out of her head in an hour goes into a frenzy and then dozes off.
Some things in this book were absolutely ridiculous. And not to mention there's very little romance between the MCs and more going on as fillers and shocking events of the past. For example the thing between the H and the woman named Lydia. WTF was that?
I was just going through the motion of reading just to finish the book at this point.
Ahem.
Anywho... Miss Coffman is a typical old white Christian lady who regards her English heritage in high standards so the book is full of the same moral incilnation that the British had when they decided to colonise and massacre half of the world in the name of "civilizing" the uncivilized.
And this author has a tendency to drop a death bomb and then run amock with her imagination. You would be reading pleasant and happy times everything mellow and slow until *boom* there's a death and the some out of the blue happening in the past that you would be like "Wait...what the fuck just happen?".
Miss Coffman is like that old lady on her occasional pills who then sits down and writes the craziest shit she could get out of her head in an hour goes into a frenzy and then dozes off.
Some things in this book were absolutely ridiculous. And not to mention there's very little romance between the MCs and more going on as fillers and shocking events of the past. For example the thing between the H and the woman named Lydia. WTF was that?
I was just going through the motion of reading just to finish the book at this point.
March 4, 2025
3.5 🌟
I read this as a standalone. I really like the abandoned wife trope. This one is well written. I loved the personality of h, Margery. The blend of innocence and intelligence was very well done. Her honesty was unabashed, pure, without guile. The tortured H, William, was harsh, cold, and moody. But, as us usual with these types, his emotions ran deep, and you could not help but like him, even when he was being a pig.
I'd like to read Daniel, Lord Waverly's story. He had such an attractive personality.
I read this as a standalone. I really like the abandoned wife trope. This one is well written. I loved the personality of h, Margery. The blend of innocence and intelligence was very well done. Her honesty was unabashed, pure, without guile. The tortured H, William, was harsh, cold, and moody. But, as us usual with these types, his emotions ran deep, and you could not help but like him, even when he was being a pig.
I'd like to read Daniel, Lord Waverly's story. He had such an attractive personality.
January 10, 2019
Will as a hero had absolutely no redeeming quality.
May 2, 2020
Unbelievable...the author is very talented...I like her. So much
August 22, 2023
It's so good, if you're having a reading slump then this will help you❤️❤️❤️
April 17, 2019
I tried to read this book but there were things that bothered me like the fact that the heroine, Margery learned English from a catholic priest while she was a slave in three different Indian tribes. Really? Are you kidding me? So these Indians in the 18th century was all christians right? How convenient. I mean she was kidnapped at six and was a slave for 22 years and yet her thoughts and demeanor were that of a civilized woman no different from any other romance heroine. This book was rediculous from the beginning. I read "Ride the Wind" the story of Cynthia Ann Parker and the contrast between the reality of a kidnapped white child and this Margery person was completely incomparible. Also, the hero was nothing to write home about. Honestly, other than the fact that he was angry at his father, you really don't get a sense of him at all. At least for as far as I got in the book. Ms. Coffman really didn't give much of a description in the first 50 pages which is all I will give a book to capture my attention. What we do get in this story is that the hero is the slender artistic dreamer type. He paints. In the early american west. This skinny english lord who paints among the cowboys and indians. Ok. Whatever. Personally I prefer the big tough alpha heros like Tor MacLeod.in "The Chief" or at least the super intelligent witty heros who exude charm and charisma like Ian Thornton in "Almost Heaven. Another thing that bothered me was that he turned his back on his English life but yet he cared enough about his title to go back. However, the thing that bothered me the most was the way he just saw this unrealistic slave and married her. It just seemed so made up to me. It was really kind of dumb. I gave up after they got married. I didn't even make it to the part where he brought her to England. I feel bad because I purchased the book based on the editorial and customer's reviews and really wanted to give it a chance. Can someone please give me a reason to pick this book up again and give it another go?
July 15, 2012
I enjoyed the book very much (I'm a sucker for a good betrayal) and this one had plenty of them. The H used the h in his battle of wills with his father and left her defenceless when he abandoned her to his family. He has a very large surprise when he returns and must work to keep his marriage. This book was the last of the MacKinnon series and wraps up the series very well.
May 28, 2012
Old fashioned love story. Enjoyed the premise: child kidnapped and raised into adulthood by Indians, rescued by hero. There was a lot of promise in this type of story, but it got bogged down with day-to-day details once Margery arrived in England. An okay read. 3 stars.
July 13, 2013
A bore fest...I don't know why I started with this in the first place. I like the theme but the characters were so unpalatable and absolutely boring. There is not one redeeming quality in this book.
April 18, 2016
Better the first half. Very promising. The second one becomes a predictable, almost boring story. What a pity.
February 14, 2016
H doesn't deserve h:(
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June 4, 2016Used - Good - binding worn
March 12, 2017
Adventurous and ambitious tale, spanning wild west, English ballrooms and Scotland, a betrayal, and a strong woman h. I admired h's single mindedness and no nonsense attitude present throughout. Some of it was unrealistic and some dragged on a bit but for the genre, this was an excellent easy read
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews