A suspenseful mystery that is riveting. Civil Hearts is better than I expected.

Synopsis:

A widow with no family, web designer Liv Larson yearns for a big change. After all, she can work from anywhere, right? Why not throw a dart at the map? She heads out of the big city for the rural South and falls in love as soon as she arrives—with the Belle Bride, an abandoned antebellum mansion.

Heath Barrow loves his country life, managing his antique store in sleepy Camellia. But he’s lonely, and his condition—epilepsy—makes life uncertain. It’s already cost him a marriage. A new medication and the new girl in town have his heart hopeful again.

Sparks fly between Heath and Liv. But his first seizure sends Liv into a tailspin. Its mimics those her husband suffered before he died . . .

To make matters worse, Liv discovers she’s not living alone. Her challenge? Dealing with a Confederate soldier, one who clearly resents his Yankee roommate—even though he’s been dead for over a hundred and fifty years.

"I loved every page from start to finish. I enjoyed Civil Hearts so much, that I didn't want to stop reading and go to sleep.
Claire Gem knows how to pull you in, and keep you in, all the way through.

I found this to be an interesting read and enjoyed the story.

My thanks to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I had a hard time believing this story and I don't mean the ghost thing either. There were just too many coincidences to
be possible. I really liked Heath but Liv just had too much "poor me" attitude. I think the romance between them was very well played out andI liked the ending.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC.

A quote (from ARC):
“There was always a constant worry. Heath’s condition hovered at the back of his mind like a silent, hulking beast. His nemesis. One that threatened to do – or undo – things to his body he had no control over.”

A well-written, tranquil story with a wounded hero afflicted by a rarely addressed medical condition, “Civil Hearts” is a paranormal romance set in rural Alabama.
Heath’s condition is nicely interwoven throughout the story and the romantic relationship has a lovely, slow beginning.
The heroine’s pain is also depicted in a realist way.
I found the hero’s brief attraction for another woman an oddity in the story.

This is the first time I've read anything by this author, and she's clearly a seasoned pro. This story is told in alternating POV and tense, and done seamlessly. The heroines (forgot her name) parts are in first person, and Heath's in third.

I adored Heath, my heart went out to him, and I hated the way the heroine treated him, and the despair she made him feel, more than once.

And therein lays the issue that stopped me loving this story. The heroine...wait, let me go check the blurb. Right, Liv. Liv was a hard character for me to like. I get 'why' she was like she was, but come on, move on. Her cry me river-damsel in distress act-grew tiresome. And that's all I'll say on that front.

What appealed to me about this book was the spooky cover, one that lead me to believe this was a ghost story, and while this is a ghost story of sorts to be found here, this is very much a romance complete with woe-is-me drama.

Oh, another thing that really bothered me about Liv was her judgment of Ben. Sure, she realised how wrong she was in the end, but for me it was too little too late.

I'm giving this 3.75 stars and rounding up due to the story being engaging and, despite my misgivings, I kept turning the pages.

Copy received via the Read Now section of NetGalley.