I read this book for one reason only. Lydia H, your publicist at Putnam, said I would love it. Lydia H, though, is not a romance reader (but we do share a love for the PJ Tracy series, Monkeewrench) and I’m always a bit leery of non romance reader recommendations. Plus, this book was a time travel and anyone who knows me knows I am not a fan of time travel books. But Lydia was so excited about this book and she never recommends anything to me that I had to give it a try. I promised myself I would only have to read the first chapter but by the end of the first chapter, I knew that this book was for me.

I’m going to write a somewhat spoiler-y book review because I feel that is the only way I can convince my die hard romance reader followers that this book is going to hit their sweet spots. For those readers who don’t want spoilers and are going to give this book a try, let me give you a two sentence summary (or you can read Ms. Williams’ debut questionnaire here).

This is kind of a “what if Time Travelers Wife wasn’t so tragic and unhappy” sort of book. Julian, a billionaire hedge fund manager, and Kate, a low level analyst at an investment bank, share a past and depending on the time period (WWI or modern day) only one of them is aware of it.

Slight spoilers ahoy:

Make no mistake. Despite the vague title and the strange and meaningless cover, this is a romance book through and through. Julian is helplessly and devotedly in love with Kate. Kate is helplessly and devotedly in love with Julian but she is afraid. She’s afraid of being seduced by Julian’s money; she is afraid of losing herself in him; but mostly she is afraid that their time together is imperiled by Julian’s secretiveness.

The story begins with a young American woman, standing in the rain outside the Amiens cathedral where the Honorable Julian Laurence Spencer Ashford is saying his prayers. Captain Ashford is a religious man and he is to be sent on another tour in a little over forty eight hours. It is all the time that Kate has to convince Ashford of a wild and improbable truth and to hopefully save his life. When the young woman faints, we fast forward to New York City, December 2007. Most of the book will take place in modern day New York and Connecticut.

In chapter one, we meet Kate Wilson, a low level investment analyst working at an investment bank. She is charged with preparing projections for an investment that the bank wants to sell to a hedge fund owned by billionaire Julian Laurence. (I may be getting some of these terms wrong) Unfortunately, despite all her hard work, Kate is dismissed before the meeting starts by her boss but not before Julian sees her and subsequently seeks her out.

I picked up my silent BlackBerry from the counter and made my way back through the maze of identical heather-gray cubicles to my own, where I stopped short.

A tall lean man stood there in perfect stillness, resting one hand on the back of my chair. His curling hair gleamed dark gold in the remorseless office lighting; his back, broad and immaculate, bent forward a degree or two toward my desktop.

“I’m sorry,” I snapped. “Can I help you with something?”

He straightened and turned to me. “Kate,” he whispered.

I flinched in shock.

Kate and Julian form a tentative bond, exchanging cute texts over the holidays until Julian sends her an abrupt message which signals the end of a flirtation. Kate is reeling, unsure of what happened and what it means other than she is somewhat broken hearted even though their relationship, if she could call it that, consisted of one evening of intense discussion and a flurry of holiday texts. Julian re-enters her life a short time later, apparently because even though he thinks separation is for their own good, he simply cannot stay away.

There are two things that bothered me in this book. First, Julian lies to Kate from time to time to “protect” her. I understood his justification at the end but it made me wonder how often he would be willing to intentionally mislead her. Second, Kate begins the book as a business analyst. Part of her objection to Julian’s great wealth and his willingness and desire to buy the world for her is that if she accepts that, she becomes simply an appendage of Julian’s empire but when she loses her job, she does little to seek out a new one even though she was saving for B school. Granted, much of the story does not involve her working, but she is supposed to have some kind of ambition but it’s not evident from the text. She spends much of her time waiting for Julian.

But those problems were overcome by a few things. The book is very romantic. Julian is of the big gesture school.

“Yes,” I said. “I just can’t quite believe this is happening.” “This?”

“You. Me. This. I’ve never felt this way. As though I know you perfectly, but not at all. And then you say ridiculous things like that, when we haven’t even . . .”

“Haven’t what?”

“You know.” I felt the blush climb relentlessly in my cheeks. “Even kissed.”

A chuckle. “Well, and whose bloody fault is that? Coffee breath, for God’s sake. Little minx. Anyway, I did kiss you last night. And this morning.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

He fell silent for a few seconds, and then the car swerved across three lines of traffic into the exit lane and slammed to a halt. “What are you doing?” I yelled, gripping my seat. SUVs and delivery trucks zoomed past us, horns howling in outrage.

“Kissing you,” he replied, and he took my face in his large long-fingered hands and bent his lips into mine.

And, (and this is a big spoiler)

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

While there are separations, they largely take place off page so most of the book is spent with Kate and Julian together. Julian is quintessentially British and the patterns of speech evidenced by Kate and Julian were so different and distinct that there was no need for dialogue tags. I was impressed by how “in character” every one stayed during the duration of the book.

I struggled with the time travel aspect, even breaking down to write you for clarification. That said, I kind of had an epiphany the other day explaining the book to Robin so I believe I finally get it. I’m thinking I might like time travel after all because what is more romantic than a love that transcends time.  Oh, and of course, ends happily.

Best regards,

Jane

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It’s no secret that I love your books. The Winter Sea and The Rose Garden made my Best of 2010 and Best of 2011 lists, respectively, so it’s probably past time that I let one of my DA colleagues have a chance to review you. But when I heard that Mariana was being re-released in the US, I couldn’t resist pulling it out of my TBR.

Mariana opens with a prologue in which our narrator, Julia Barrett, sees a grey stone house that she immediately realizes is “her” house. Since she’s five at the time and passes it while her family is traveling home, her parents don’t pay much attention. She sees the house, Greyweathers, twice more in her 20s, and it has the same effect. So a few years later, when she receives an unexpectedly large inheritance and Greyweathers is on the market, she buys it. Julia has never known why she is so certain the house and she belong together, but after she moves in she finds herself experiencing the life of Mariana Farr, who moved from London to Greyweathers in the 1660s and lived there with her uncle’s family to escape the plague after her mother succumbed. At first frightened that she is losing her mind, Julia seeks advice from her brother, Tom, a vicar who suggests that she might well be the reincarnation of Mariana and thus carries the latter’s memories and experiences.

Julia moves between her new life in Greyweathers and the village of Exbury, and Mariana’s life in 1665. She quickly makes friends with Vivien Wells, the owner of the village pub, as well as Vivien’s good friend (who may be more than that), Ian Sumner. Julia becomes more and more drawn to living Mariana’s life, and she experiences Mariana’s growing romance with Richard de Mornay of Crofton Hall. It makes her wonder if her attraction to his contemporary relative, Geoffrey de Mornay, the current handsome and wealthy owner of the Hall, is because he is the reincarnation of Richard. Meanwhile, Mariana and Richard’s growing and intense love for each other is fraught with danger, both because of her uncle’s plans for her and from intrigues in the larger political sphere.

There are some similarities between Mariana and The Rose Garden, even though they were published more than fifteen years apart. Like the newer novel, Mariana features a narrator who travels back and forth to an exciting, dangerous time. Like Eva in The Rose Garden and even Carrie in The Winter Sea to an extent, Julia gets caught up in the earlier era and its inhabitants to the point that she sometimes feels more attached to them than to friends and family in the present day.

But there are important differences as well. In Mariana, Julia isn’t herself in the past, but rather inhabits the body of a long-dead woman. She cannot insert herself into that world. She experiences whatever Mariana went through without the ability to change events, and some of those experiences are deeply sad. And unlike Eva, Julia seems really to enjoy her life in Greyweathers and the village of Exbury. She wants to find her own happiness and contentment in the present day. She grows attached to Vivien, Ian, and the other residents of the village, and she has a strong bond with her brother, Tom. Sure, she wonders if Geoffrey is the reincarnation of Richard, but I got the impression that was because she was somewhat attracted to Geoffrey, not because she was trying to recreate Mariana’s life.

I enjoyed the reincarnation storyline. It’s not how I envision reincarnation to work (hey, I’m Hindu, I had the Official Version drilled into me early), but I liked the way it was presented in the book, and it made sense as a device. It also means that the reader looks for Mariana/Julia’s partner in the present day. Geoffrey seems like a reasonable candidate, but for much of the book the romance doesn’t seem quite there. Julia’s relationships with Tom and her new friends seem at least as important if not more. I really didn’t know how you would resolve the loose ends, but the last pages rewarded me immensely. I cannot say more for fear of spoilers, but readers, if you’re a peek-at-the-end type, don’t do it. Just don’t. I promise you, though, that you will believe it is a worthy successor to the love Mariana and Richard shared in their era.

I really enjoyed the various relationships in the novel. Julia has strong relationships with women in the present as well as in the past, and her relationship with her brother Tom is a pleasure to read. I get tired of stories in which the hero and heroine only have eyes and ears for each other. And Julia has a real career, one that brings her a great deal of fulfillment. Even when she is immersed in the past, her professional obligations are always part of her consciousness.

The historical context, as always, is first-rate. You evoke the tone and rhythm of earlier speech without using dialect, and you demarcate the different eras’ worldviews subtly, through language and characterization. The writing isn’t quite as polished as in your later books, but there is a directness and emotional immediacy in the reading which more than makes up for it.

And oh, that ending. It’s why I read romance. Grade: A-

~ Sunita

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The re-release of one of your only time travel novel provided a perfect excuse for a re-read. Son of the Morning was first published in 1997. It’s an unusual romance in that for much of the story, Grace and Niall, the two main protagonists are separated by the dimension of time. While I remembering enjoying Son of the Morning when it first came out, I think I appreciated the richness of the development more this time around, likely because I knew what awaited me. This book is time travel + mysticism + suspense all in one volume.

Grace St. John lives an ordinary and fulfilling life with her husband Ford. She met Ford through her brother Bryant and everyone has remained close (Bryant lives on the other side of the duplex that she and Bryant inherited). Grace is a translator of ancient texts. One night she traipses next door to receive computer assistance from her nineteen year old genius neighbor, Kristian. She returns home only to see her husband and her brother killed by her boss, Parrish. Devastated and terrified, Grace flees. After some time, Grace becomes convinced that the reason Parrish is determined to kill her is because in the course of her work she comes across a document pertaining to the Knights Templar. (I think it is important to remember the date in which this book was published because it predates all the Dan Brown stuff).

Grace is actually translating the 700 year old writings of Black Niall. At the time of her husband’s death, Grace has only managed to translate 10% of this document but she is determined that the text holds the answer to Ford and Bryant’s killings.

Niall of Scotland becomes a Templar, a warrior monk, because, well, the text of the book explains it best:

Niall had been forced into the Brotherhood, for of course a monk could never be king; a king must have at least the possibility of children, for kingdoms were built on continuity. His illegitimacy should have been an unsurmountable barrier, but even at a young age Niall had been tall and proud, intelligent, cunning, ruthless, a born leader; in short, he had all the characteristics of a great king. The choices had been simple: kill him, or make it impossible for him to be king. Niall was loved by his father and half-brother, so there had really been no choice. The young man would be a servant of God.

His half brother is, of course, Robert the Bruce. Over time, Niall’s believe in God erodes as he watches his Templar brothers hunted, burned, killed all under God’s name. Throughout time, his family became his brothers of the Knights Templar and as they died one by one, Niall’s devotion became embittered. When he is called upon to be the Guardian, Niall refuses to swear to God, but instead promises on the blood of his brothers to protect the treasures imbued to his defense.

The story really revolves around Grace. With the help of her genius neighbor, Grace gets enough money to leave town. She’s only got one goal in mind: survive to find the answer of her husband’s death. Grace is inept at it at first. She gets mugged at an ATM. She spends too much replenishing basics at the big box store. She makes a believable transformation from timid scholar to capable fugitive. She uses every skill at her disposal: her intelligence; her quick wittedness; her determination. She’s not physically strong and described as petite and small. But she’s observant and thinks on her feet. Through her research and translation, she becomes closer to Niall. She begins to view him as her talisman. She thinks about what he would have done in her shoes. The thought of him provides her courage and encouragement.  What she begins to feel for Niall is at odds with her grief. I felt the discovery of a new love was well done, not diminishing her feelings for Ford, but allowing a place for Niall.

Niall shares equal page time. There are plenty of scenes from his point of view. Niall’s character arc mirrors Grace’s a bit. He grieves the loss of his brothers and while he might not admit it, his faith. He spends his time alone, his task one only he can carry out.  But Niall doesn’t undergo a transformation.  He’s accepted his role, albeit reluctantly.

While Grace and Niall don’t meet face to face, they share mutual dreams of each other. Hot, lusting dreams and their mental bonds draw each other closer until its brings them physically together. I think this is a clever use of the time travel concept because it skirts the issues of time travel books bring up as it relates to parallel dimensions. Niall’s duty as Guardian is to protect the artifacts of Jerusalem at all costs. It is this power that sends him throughout time to dispatch this duty. Thus Niall isn’t immortal, exactly, it’s just that time affects him differently. The mysticism is bound up on the intent of the action. “Only for the sake of God may the secret be used.”

This is not a perfect story. A little too much emphasis is placed on Grace’s ordinary looks and her loss of weight over the course of her adventure (although it should be noted that Grace’s husband adored her). Grace and Niall are separate for most of the book. In some ways, this is a fated mate story. Destiny draws Grace and Niall together and their feelings for each other develop in ways that require some leap of faith.  There are some convenient occurrences that allow Grace to prevail on more than one occasion and probably some historical inaccuracies (although I didn’t notice any).

Yet, it’s a compelling story and imbued with the fun of adventure, conspiracy and mysticism. There is a great blend between nerdy translation of texts and action and danger as Grace tries again and again to avoid capture.  Grace is a fantastic heroine and Niall is a classic Howard hero. It’s hard to grade this book but I’d probably give it a B+.

Best regards,

Jane

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Dear Ms. Kearsley,

Your novel, The Winter Sea, blew me away last year. It was one of my Best of 2010 books, and I’ve recommended it not only to everyone I know, but to total strangers as well. When I was offered the chance to review your new novel, of course I jumped at it. But while that decision was easy, it was a little more difficult to decide just how to approach it as a reader and reviewer. A book that completely hits every mark for me is a rare and precious experience, but it also means that it takes extra effort to keep those memories from overshadowing the next read.

The Rose Garden is very much a Kearsley novel. Your voice is unmistakable, and there are aspects of structure and style that are similar to The Winter Sea. But it is also quite different in some ways. It would be wrong to categorize it as a genre romance novel, even though there is a very satisfying romance at the core of it and several smaller romantic sub-plots. It feels like a cross between a romance, a journey story (although not exactly women’s fiction), and a straight fiction novel with a strong sense of place and a wide variety of characters.

Eva, our narrator, journeys to Cornwall after the death of her movie-star sister, Katrina, in order to scatter Katrina’s ashes, grieve, and then decide what she wants to do with her life. Although their family had lived in several different countries, their summers in Cornwall held a special significance for both sisters. A successful public relations executive, Eva had settled in Los Angeles to be near to and work with Katrina. Now she is alone, and when the Halletts invite her to stay at Trelowarth while she considers the future, she accepts. She is drawn in to their world: Mark, the son and proprietor of Trelowarth Roses; Susan, his younger sister whose plans to help Trelowarth achieve a sounder financial footing make Mark uncomfortable; and Claire, their artist stepmother who provides a loving home and a link to the past.

As Eva settles in and picks up the threads of her old life, she suddenly finds herself briefly thrown back in time to Trelowarth in an earlier and more dangerous era (which readers of The Winter Sea will recognize, albeit from a different angle). At first she thinks she’s hallucinating from stress, grief, and exhaustion. But the episodes continue, and soon Eva meets the 18th-century inhabitants of the house: Daniel Butler, a sea captain, and his Irish friend and collaborator, Fergal. Daniel, Fergal, and Daniel’s charming and erratic brother Jack are enmeshed in Jacobite plotting against the Crown, as well as more run of the mill smuggling, and as Eva involuntarily goes back and forth in time her risk of being captured as a confederate of the two grows. But so does her attraction to Daniel and her friendship with Fergal, and even though she knows a great deal about what might happen to them, as well as tantalizing details about their individual futures, she falls in love with Daniel, and she is increasingly drawn to life in that period. But how can she stay in the early 18th century, and what will happen to the Eva of the 21st century and the people around her if she succeeds in going back permanently?

I am not a fan of time-travel novels as a rule, but I’m happily making an exception for your books. I really appreciate the way you deal with the small and not-so-small details, like Eva’s clothing. When Eva goes backward and forward in time, she arrives wearing time-inappropriate attire. This is manageable in the present, but the stock of clothing available to her in 1715 is much smaller. Not only do you pay attention to the dangers and ramifications of this problem, but you use it to show how Eva and Daniel’s relationship progresses, and it leads to a lovely moment in the story. When Eva is finally wearing clothing that is intended for her alone, it means something.

Equally insightful and appealing to me is how you portray gender issues. While time-travel romances tend to focus on the differences for women across the centuries, here Eva and Daniel discuss the constraints and opportunities for both men and women. Eva is frustrated by the limitations she faces in the early 1700s, but Daniel reminds her that although he has more freedom to make decisions and take public action, he too is constrained in ways that Eva realizes are different that those men face in the present:

‘I assure you, Eva, I do have a high regard for liberty.’

‘I know you do.’

‘And whatever custom may decree in public, in my family every woman has been free to speak her mind.’

‘Behind closed doors.’

He smiled and said, ‘I’ve found that there are many things more safely done behind closed doors than in the public view, by men as well as women.’ Then, more serious, ‘Do you think I am free to say exactly what I please, and when? In truth you’d be mistaken. If I stated my opinion of the current state of politics, I’d soon be clapped in irons for treason.’

He was right, I knew. ‘But even if you can’t state your opinions, you can act on them.’

‘Not openly. No, you and I are both confined to showing but one part of us in public, and another to our friends. As for the whole of us … well, that must be reserved for those few people we are fortunate enough to love and trust.’

The 18th century is so exciting, both for Eva and for the reader, that the contemporary story pales somewhat by comparison. The potential secondary and tertiary romances are enjoyable but not particularly gripping, but the Hallett family is well drawn and their individual and collective stories are engaging.

As always, the setting is beautifully depicted. I could smell the sea of Cornwall and feel the walks up The Hill, and the historical background is terrific. There is a strong sense of context without any dreaded infodumps, and the reader is immersed in the period without feeling like she’s attending a lecture.

The most difficult aspect of time-travel romance is finding a way to have an HEA that seems to make sense and that doesn’t cause too much sadness for those who are left behind. You come up with an ingenious and surprising solution to this problem, but one that is sufficiently complicated that I had to go back and read it again. So readers, be warned: when the book nears the end and the suspense is killing you, make sure to slow down while you read. I can’t explain without massive spoilers, and I’m not sure I entirely buy it, but hey, it’s a time-travel, so I can live with that. Readers can rest assured that Eva and Daniel have a satisfying HEA, and a couple of the secondary threads wrap up with happy surprises.

This novel is an example of how a story can be utterly, completely romantic in tone without having explicit sex or even many romantic interludes between the hero and heroine. It is worth keeping in mind that it does not follow the conventions of a genre romance. A key focus of the story is on Eva’s journey from a grieving sister to a woman who looks forward to her future with the man she loves (however unusually she’s reached that point), and her friendships with Fergal, Claire, and the rest of the Halletts are critical parts of that journey. The first part of the novel is accordingly quite sad, although I didn’t find it depressing. As Eva recuperates at Trelowarth and becomes involved in the Hallett’s lives, and then even more entwined in the lives of Daniel, Fergal, and Jack, the sadness recedes (although it never goes away completely, and how can it?).

The first line of this story is devastating, but the last line is filled with happiness. They make powerful bookends to a memorable novel.

Grade: A-

~ Sunita

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I was really intrigued by the description of your book, No Proper Lady, which touts itself as a being a cross between Terminator and My Fair Lady. And indeed, this is a very apt description for the plot of this book. More importantly, based upon the excerpt I read before deciding to review the book, the heroine seemed to fit my current desire for a female protagonist who is neither attractive nor particularly good. So I gave it a shot and I was happy I did.

The book opens in the middle of battle. Joan, daughter of Arthur and Leia, stands in a circle of blue as priests chant. Beyond this circle, she can hear the sounds of death and destruction. The sounds of people she loves dying. This ritual—a ritual designed to detach Joan from time and space and send her into the past, never to return to this moment—is the last chance the human race has against the demons and monsters that have invaded the world.  But the novel is not spent in Joan’s time, circa 2188. It occurs in Victorian era England. That is the time—as the priests have learned—where the dark magician, who will open gates to other worlds and let the demonic into ours, lives. This is the pivotal point. The point when humanity’s hope for a future without the death, the destruction, and the demons that shape daily life in 2188 is still a possibility. This is the time to which Joan has been sent in order to kill Alex Reynell and his horrible book before he can open the gates to other, hellish worlds, and never close them.

Simon Grenville is riding the forest, riding off his frustration and sorrow.  He and his sister Eleanor have retreated to the country. In London, there are still whispers of scandal attached to his sister’s name. Nobody knows the truth. What rumors and innuendoes are exchanged—that Eleanor was ruined, that Simon tried to kill Alex Reynell—all suppose a more human, a more mundane cause.  The truth is much more unbelievable and far darker than anything Society might conceive of. Though they were once the best of friends, Simon had begun to suspect that Alex was no longer just dabbling in dark magic. He had begun to keep his distance, detach himself from his old friend. But he never would have believed that Alex would do what he did. So when Simon stumbles upon the strange woman in the blue circle of light on his property, he is not surprised. Another attack by Alex convinces him to trust the woman, Joan, because she saves his life. It isn’t before long that they realize that they have a mutual enemy in Alex Reynell.

So much could have gone wrong in this story that didn’t. As a long time fantasy reader, one of my chief pet peeves concerns the problem of world-building. I would argue that any book, regardless of whether or not it slides into the Sci-fi/Fantasy genre, requires a certain deftness with constructing a world. Too often I see books in which the magic seems to have no rules, the plot and the conceit gets bogged down in minutiae, and the complexity of our actual histories (with their attendant religions, politics, various cultures, foods, music, perspectives, attitudes etc.—and that’s just this week!) get reduced down to a singular and rather unimaginative How-It-Works-In-This-World-Is-Like-This. For simplicity is always less imaginative than complexity. This is particularly so when one has to balance the world-building and adventure that is a part of the fantasy genre with the focus on the central love relationship that is the hallmark of romance.

So I was leery, author. Very leery, indeed, when I opened this book.  But my fears of a sloppy magical world or alternate England were almost immediately put to rest. The world-building in this novel is, perhaps, one of the most seamless and effortless examples I have seen in a long time. Fantasy has the unfortunate tendency to proselytize a certain ideology (-coughs- Philip Pullman –cough-), which is all well and good if you don’t notice. Because once you, the reader, start asking questions about how the world operates, you know you’ve stopped caring about the characters. If you are more concerned with how the mail works, then it’s over.  No Proper Lady, I’m happy to report, does not make you question train schedules in Victorian England, or magic rituals. Instead, it weaves an apocalyptic future in which mankind is enslaved to demonic forces with Victorian era England in such a way that you don’t notice the threads.

One of the other strengths of this book is the heroine, Joan. Joan is another thing that could have gone horribly wrong but didn’t. Aren’t you tired, readers, of kick-ass heroines? I am. All that ass-kicking in leather pants and a halter top really is rather chaffing. What’s particularly awesome about Joan is that she’s a person. It seems so silly to say that, to have to point that out as the thing that, at least, I am looking for in a heroine, but there it is. She’s a person. And as a person, even though she’s tough, and even though she’s a warrior, she’s also vulnerable and scared and overwhelmed with the duty she has been sent to the past to perform. Like anyone would be. So Joan, like anyone, finding themselves in a strange world with no friends or family ties, is a little lost. Nor is she afraid to admit to Simon that she is:

“No, please,” Simon insisted. “I must know. Is something wrong here? Has anyone been uncivil to you—were the girls—” Improbable—impossible—for Joan to be crying over what a bunch of village chits thought or said or did. He knew that even before Joan shook her head. “No. It’s nothing you did. Nothing anyone here did. I just—”

She stopped and looked at Simon, then swiftly away again, at the desk and the opened book on it. A flush crept up her neck and over her face. “What the hell,” she said, in a tight voice he’d never heard from her before. “If I’m going to act like a six-year-old anyhow—I want my mother. And my dad, and my friends, and the world I knew. It was a shitty world, but it was mine, and everyone I love is there. Was there.” At the last her voice cracked.

Joan spun around to face the bookshelves, but Simon saw her face before she did: stripped of control at last, a study in weariness and far and stark bleeding grief. The pain there made his own look like a stubbed toe. “Oh,” he said, sounding awkward and insufficient to his own ears. “But—won’t you see them again?”

“No.”

What I like about this exchange is that Joan wants her mother. I think that is a very telling desire. Joan, for all that she is a highly trained, extremely efficient soldier, is still a daughter in a family—not a dysfunctional family—but a family that was proud of her, that she wants to see again, that she’s not going to see again. This emotional and human aspect to Joan’s character is directly a result of the world-building because, as Joan explains a little further on:

“There were rituals,” Joan said. “I’m cut loose from time. That’s how I could come back, and I guess it lets me survive any changes I make by being here. But that’s just me. If I succeed . . . then there’ll be a different world two hundred years from now. Mine won’t be there anymore.”

Character arc, world-building, and the progress of the relationship are all interwoven in this one small exchange. And what’s even more extraordinary is that this aspect of magic, the limitations of the world, and previously unknown aspects of Joan herself, is not information forced upon us through some roughly inserted exposition or awkward dialogue, but comes to us readers through what I think is one of the central components of romance: conversation. They are talking, talking because Simon caught Joan crying. How normal! And in world where demons exist, to boot!

In fact, the greatest strength of this book is that our understanding of each time period comes through the encounter of that period by one of the characters. What I mean is, that instead of being told what such and such a place is like for Joan or Simon, we experience their wonder or terror or joy, etc. along with them. Moreover, we understand what kind of a magical world we are operating in through those encounters—not just with places, or things, or manners, but with each other. Joan starts out as a foreign object in Simon’s eyes. He can’t even decide what she looks like beyond being utterly strange. A concept like beauty or plain or ugly can’t be applied to her because she is a person, a being totally outside his experience. He cannot place or categorize her. Joan, conversely, can take nothing for granted. The world she came from was diseased and bleak. Where every moment was shadowed. Where every moment was a beat in an ongoing war. She has trouble adjusting to world with sunshine and grass. Her first experience of a living, breathing city is overwhelming. We understand what Joan’s world is like not because she tells us, but because in her reactions to Victorian England we are able to deduce what the place and time she came from were like.

Neither does this book try to answer all the metaphysical questions fantasy novels inevitably evoke. Things like what is time? What is evil? Why are there other worlds? Is there a God? What kind? Maybe Gods? A conscious universe? Where does consciousness come from? Is there life after death? It does, in some ways, address these questions, but it does not answer them definitively: for they can’t be answered in fictional world anymore definitely than they can be in our world. They are answered, in a limited and ambiguous way, in the experiences of the characters. And as a person who has read far too many SF/F novels who attempt to explain everything, I appreciate that underlying ambiguity that still maintains a resolution of the pertinent plot points.

If there was any weakness to this book, then it was that I wasn’t totally emotionally invested in the outcome. I read the first half quite quickly and then put it down. I had to because I had to go to work. But then, instead of rushing home to finish reading it, I just didn’t. I just didn’t pick it up again. Even I find this strange, what with all my previous praise. But there you go. I’ve had trouble writing this review because even though I truly believe from an objective perspective that this is a solid and very good piece of writing, I somehow didn’t emotionally connect to it. When I was reading it, I enjoyed it, but I was not enthralled by it. There wasn’t a visceral connection for me, and that really signals the difference between an A book and B book in my mind.

Perhaps this lack of an emotional connection was because I wasn’t as invested in the romance as I was in the adventure. I remember the action much better than I remember the love scenes. I found the romance between Joan and Simon almost entirely forgettable. Nothing about it stood out for me. Joan, as a character, does somewhat but mostly because of her unusualness. Simon has dark hair, I think, and that’s all I can remember except for the fact that he is a very honorable man. The magic and the fantastic elements of the novel are quite well done. The prose was smooth and easy to fall into. The villain, Alex Reynell, is probably the most memorable of the characters. Partly, I think, because unlike so many other villains in romance, Reynell is both complex and evil.  He is frightening, and not just because of the things he does but the way he does them. He is frightening because, as Simon’s friend and in Simon’s memories, especially, we see that he was not always this way.  Yet . . . like two people on a first date who ought to be soul mates, who have all sorts of things in common, this novel and I found ourselves unable to relate to one another on a fundamental level.

So, yes. This is a strongly written, well-constructed magical world with complex characters. More importantly, Ms. Cooper doesn’t tell or show when she can imply. But for me, even though this book and I ought to be compatible by all 142 eHarmony points of compatibility or whatever, we simply didn’t quite click. There was a certain spark missing from the whole experience for me. And so I give this book a very well-deserved B+ with the full acknowledgement that for some other girl, this one’s a keeper.

Lazaraspaste

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You’re a new-to-me author who was included in the last batch of books Jane sent to me. I actually thought this novel was your debut until I went to your author site and discovered this was your second novel and it was the second in a series! Not once did I ever get that impression while reading Wishful Thinking so that was a major plus in my book. (Then I discovered its sequel status was mentioned on the cover flap of the ARC. Shows how much I pay attention to those!)

Hazel Snow was an adopted child. Except her adoptive mother, Wendy, died when she was young, causing her adoptive father, Roy, to fall apart and become an alcoholic. This led to Hazel having a broken childhood of bouncing around various foster homes, interspersed by the times Roy cleaned up his act, only to fall off the wagon again. As a result, she’s always wondered what it would have been like to grow up with her birth mother. On Hazel’s eighteenth birthday, she gets her chance. Roy gives her an envelope left to her by Wendy. Inside is a slip of paper containing the name of her birth mother.

Hazel does some leg work and discovers that her birth mother lives in the area and in fact, there will be a gala held in her honor. But to attend, she needs something to wear. She’s lucky in that she actually has a dress that would be suitable but it has a tear in it (it was a thrift store find). Luckily — and personally, I would have been suspicious at this point — the dress has a business card pinned to it containing the name of a seamstress.

But when she picks up the dress, Hazel discovers the seamstress didn’t mend it at all. Instead, she gave her a completely different dress. Confused but out of time, Hazel puts the dress on anyway, finds that it fits like a dream, and attends the gala. Unfortunately, her dreams are crushed. Her birth mother is dead and the gala is being held posthumously.

Understandably upset, Hazel wishes she could have had the chance to get to know her mother and wakes up to find herself on the opposite coast of the United States and in the past. The woman she believed to be her birth mother is alive and Hazel has been delivered practically onto her doorstep. This is the opportunity she’s been wishing for.

What’s more, she finds that she now has two other dresses, the original torn dress, and a note from the seamstress. Each dress can grant her one wish. She’s made one wish already, which means she has two left. The question is how she will use those remaining wishes, since everything she does in the past has the potential to affect her future.

I admit I’m not a big fan of time travel stories. They just don’t do it for me. But strangely enough, I was invested enough in Hazel’s story that by the time I did realize this was a time travel story, I was willing to ignore that element and see how things unfolded.

The biggest thing that jumped out at me, however, was the lack of sense about era. The locations (Marin County/San Francisco and Martha’s Vineyard) seemed all right, but the absent grounding in time was jarring. It wasn’t so much the scenes taking place in present time that were the issue, but the majority of the book takes place in the past. Nearly two decades in the past. It struck me as peculiar that no contrasts or differences were noticed on the part of Hazel. I wasn’t expecting hijinks, but eighteen years is a long time especially in terms of technology and pop culture — both things that I think are reasonable for a teenager to keep abreast of.

I had a brief DNW moment in the beginning when we were introduced to Hazel’s love interest because it was initially believed he was one person when in reality he turned out to be someone else. (Keeping it vague to avoid spoilers here.) Thank goodness! So if anyone picks up this book and encounters that point in the narrative, I can safely assure you not to worry. It’s not what you think it is. Maybe I should have had more faith that a writer would not go in that direction but we’ve been exposed to enough books with taboo-breaking premises and couplings here at Dear Author that I no longer believe anything is out of bounds. On the other hand, perhaps because of that initial response, I never warmed up to the romantic storyline and thought it superfluous and tacked on.

I did think Hazel was a bit slow on the uptake when it came to the circumstances surrounding her birth mother. But I also believe people can grow so enamored with the idea of a person that they fail to see the reality. That said, I really do think she should have realized the truth a little sooner than she did.

I don’t know if it’s because this premise and particular kind of story is so well-known in the SF genres but I wasn’t especially surprised by any of the plot. Even the average moviegoer will probably know the plotline where someone goes back in time to change things but the more they do, the more they bring the present-day to come to pass. I do wish there had been a few more surprises in the narrative since it’s such a well-trodden concept.

I think reader response to this book will depend on their fondness for this kind of plot. If you want a story about traveling back into the past, to possibly change the present but instead keep coming closer to bringing it to pass, then this is exactly the book for you. But if you want a few twists and turns along the way, you might want to pick up something else. I will also say that as a result of the resolution — to both Hazel’s vacation in the past and her romantic subplot — the novel left me with a bittersweet feeling. It fit the story well, but readers wedded to the idea of an HEA might not be so keen. C

My regards,
Jia

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I honestly had no idea what I was getting in for when I read Blackwolf’s Redemption. It was a Harlequin Presents and 8 of those are delivered to my Harlequin digital account monthly via my subscription. I assumed that it was just another HP but instead it’s a time travel, only this time the time travel only takes us back to 1975, the land of bell bottoms and bra burnings.

(I thought the epigraph by Monty Python “And now for something completely different” was spot on).

Sienna Cummings, a graduate student in anthropology, has come to observe the summer solstice in Blackwolf Canyon, Montana. The land had once been owned by the Blackwolf family, the last known descendant was Jesse Blackwolf, who fought in Vietnam and then virtually disappeared, at least Sienna could find little information for him.

Shortly before solstice, an electrical storm whips up and then next thing Sienna knows, she’s lying on a rock in the middle of a canyon with some strange shirtless man leaning over her.

Jesse Blackwolf has raised on this land in Montana and had been taught by his father of the precious and almost mystical tie his people had with the land. But when Jesse came back from Vietnam, the idea of something spiritual in the land filled him with revulsion. He could no longer tolerate the mysticism and the superstitions and he would sell the land as the first of his efforts to eradicate such childish idealism.

Something has brought Jesse to the sacred rock on the summer solstice. The papers are ready to sell the land and for Jesse to move, for good, to San Francisco. A strange lightning storm occurs and suddenly Jesse sees a body on the sacred rock. Jesse first thinks Sienna is a thief, there to take artifacts, but soon discards that notion. Something is off about her, but he can’t deny the attraction he has toward her.

I think the thing I longed for the most in this book was more. The bits where Sienna employs her future knowledge are too few but good when utilized. I enjoyed the descriptions of the land and the relationship that Jesse had with his parents, but again felt like I wanted more. The “fish out of water” trope is used for comedic effect particularly when Sienna is tired of being treated as a nonentity in Jesse’s business world but only occasionally.

Sienna spent quite a bit of time running very hot and very cold. It was almost cruel the number of times she excited the hero and he got no release. (and I don’t say this very often). At least she apologizes. Jesse is not at all the harsh alpha male trying to exact revenge on the heroine for some perceived slight, but much is made of his warrior ancestry and certainly the way he was portrayed was as someone strong and capable. Together the two were very combustible.

Amusingly, Jesse Blackwolf solves all his conflicts by kissing the stuffing out of the conflictee or whatever. In this case, our dear heroine. Seriously. When she doesn’t believe he is real, he kisses her. When she argues about flying to San Francisco, he kisses her. When Sienna causes a scene in a restaurant declaring that women’s rights will change their insulated little world, Jesse hustles her out of the restaurant and kisses her. When she tries to tell Jesse that she’s a time traveler from the future, he kisses her silent.

I guess it’s better than duct tape?

I did enjoy this “something different” and would read more Marton in the future, but I confess that the book left me wanting, much like poor Jesse after Sienna had worked him up. I hate giving the book a C+ because the writing is very good and I felt it was on the cusp of being a keeper but I don’t have any urge to re-read it again. Having said that, it was entertaining and I don’t regret any time I spent reading the story. B-?

Best regards,

Jane

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Time travel romances aren’t for everyone. It often takes almost too huge of a leap of faith for some readers, in part, I think because it is partly grounded on reality. There are a lot of conveniences that a reader has to look past in order to enjoy the story. That said, I enjoy a fish out of water tale and this delivered in that respect.

Lucy Rossano is a rare book dealer who came into the possession of a book by Leonardo Da Vinci. She shows it to a friend of hers, Dr. Brad Steadman, who freaks out. A sketch inside the book reveals a machine that Steadman tells Lucy exists. Not only does it exist, but the book shows how to work the device which Lucy understands to be a time machine.

Dr. Steadman and a military man, Colonel Casey, agree that no one can be told of Lucy’s book or the machine itself but that someone must test it. Steadman and Casey both turn to Lucy who agrees. Somehow, she feels as if this is her destiny. But time machines are tricky things and somehow Lucy ends up back in the present time, only with a wounded Icelander on her hands, one Galen Valgarssen who lives in 912.

Lucy soon discovers that she is being chased down by Colonel Casey for her book and the time machine itself and she must take Galen and run. Fortunately for Lucy, her neighbor is a guy who has been squirreling away guns and money for just such an event. Even more conveniently, her neighbor has a boat with which Galen and Lucy can escape along with the weapons and money. The problem is that Lucy needs to get to the time machine to return Galen to his time but Casey and Steadman have the time machine.

In order to have any enjoyment with this book, one must swallow the conveniences, the contrivances, and the kitschy nature of the villains. Galen’s fish of water or Nord out of Iceland act is entertaining. He is used to being the strong one, the defender; yet in this strange world he “had no value. He did not speak as these people did. No one wore swords, not even Jake, who owned one, so Galen’s skill with one would not be valued.
…

She obviously despised him for his weakness. Her tone was clearly ordering. She had actually threatened him with starvation if he didn’t take her hellish tablets.”

I really enjoyed the interaction with Lucy and Galen. Galen wanted to prove his worth to Lucy and one area that he was convinced he could show her he was superior was with his body. Lucy was attracted to Galen but also cognizant of her need to return him to his time, while also trying to hide his presence from outsiders.

I thought the time spent with Brad and Casey was less interesting, in part, because these two were almost comical in their evilness. Casey was already evil and power hungry and Lucy running off with some man made her enemy number one for Brad.

I always wonder at people’s quick acceptance of something so unfathomable but I guess the moral of the story is that love conquers all. This is a lighter book than other Squires’ novels such as Danegeld, relying more of the humorous aspects of the unfamiliar to drive the action. Because of all the early conveniences, it was hard for me to drum up any kind of suspenseful feeling toward the story. All would end well, it was just a matter of how.

Lucy and Galen were able to converse with one another in Latin (the language of the Christ Cult) and I felt like you had put forth great effort in making the language barrier very authentic although toward the middle, Galen picks up English fairly quickly.

If a reader doesn’t like time travel romances, this is not a book she would enjoy. Further, many of the issues of time travel are not addressed here such as what happens if you change one thing in the past such as removing Galen from 912 and placing him in the present time; whether there are parallel dimensions or whether time travel is just movement along one continuous space/time continuum. But as a character sketch, it’s entertaining and romantic. C+ because I ended the book curious about the others who will be affected by the machine and the book.

Best regards,

Jane

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I was excited to read Steamed, mostly because I haven’t found a lot of romance authors making a foray into the subgenre of steampunk and I’m always curious to see how worlds develop. It’s also nice to take a break from vampires, weres and futuristic worlds that have a general tendency to be dystopian. Of course, I’d already made a generalization that the book wouldn’t be as dark as many of the other sci/fi paranormals out there simply because it was a steampunk subgenre . I apologize for that in advance.

Jack Fletcher is some sort of computer technician who’s into steampunk goth bands and has a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time but somehow ending up looking like a hero. He’s working in his company’s lab when his sister, Hallie, shows up. Hallie is attempting to set Jack up on a blind date with a woman who has similar interestes as he does. While she’s talking to him, she’s shaking a can of liquid helium (why this wasn’t removed from her immediate vicinity is beyond me). Hallie ends up misaligning the lid of the can, causing an explosion and blowing them to Steampunk Land. Kinda like when Dora and Boots end up in Fairytale Land. Now that I think about it, just like that. I wanted to kill Boots for being an idiot and falling for the witch’s bullshit. Just like I wanted to kill Hallie for being such an unforgivable idiot in a lab. The book nearly met the wall at that moment, but since Hallie wasn’t our heroine, I continued to read.

Octavia Pye is an Aerocorps captain on her maiden voyage, and knows she’s being tested by her crew and has been given a small shipping route until she proves herself to the Corps. The last thing she needs are two stowaways, which could ruin her standing in the Corps, and if she doesn’t handle them correctly, lose the trust and respect she’s trying to earn from her crew. On top of everything, Octavia is a woman with quite a few secrets that she wants to keep from her crew, the stowaways and the Aerocorps.

One of the biggest issues I had with this book is that it’s written in alternating first person, from either Jack or Olivia’s perspective. Chapter breaks  are when  the viewpoint switches, which provides clarity, but first person alternating is probably one of my least favorite ways to read romance.   I feel that this kept me from really getting the chemistry between Jack and Octavia, and there was a serious lack of total physical description other than a few body parts here and there (i.e., Octavia’s red hair and Jack’s eyes are two different colors). I also had issues with both the hero and heroine. Jack is a supposed Quaker who swears, drinks and draws the line at shooting a weapon, but will engage in a fight. I went to a Quaker school, and I know it means more than being a CO, so I found this a bit strange. He’s also a guy who happens to have received a lot of accolades for not a heck of a lot of heroism. He seemed a bit beta, but not capable, adorable beta. Just oblivious beta.

My problems with Octavia are a lot deeper, mostly because the majority of the book is written from her perspective, or at least it felt that way. Octavia doesn’t have a handle on her crew; they swear, make come-ons, question her authority, and blatantly go against orders. Rather than whipping them into shape with a firm but fair hand, she huffs, shrugs, and kinda lets it roll off her back. She has a respectable captaincy in the Aerocorps after 16 years of service, but the feeling I got is that if she couldn’t handle this small shipping run, she’d lose her position. She also has what seem to be an FBI building full of secrets, she’s had liasons with nearly all of the most powerful men in her world, yet she has no standing at all and can’t get anything done on her own. I found that it just didn’t seem to make sense. Then there was this:

“Your mind says no, but your body says yes,” he said, gently, persistently tugging me closer to him.

While this isn’t as bad as “your mouth says no…” it comes pretty damn close. Jack is a borderline letch, and his version of a compliment is not what I find complementary.

Lastly, the steampunk world seems to be an afterthought. Not the steam functionality, or mechanical machines, but rather the actual world. The different (and warring) factions seemed almost cartoonish, making the entire thing feel unstable and very unrealistic. Every time Etienne Briel is mentioned I had an image of Bomb Voyage in my head, rather than Olivier Martinez. Trust me, I kept trying to switch that mental image, but it wasn’t happening. This world wasn’t a punk dystopia, but it didn’t achieve a level of plausiblity at which I could suspend my disbelief and comfortably enter it. C

~ Shuzluva

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Though the classification of your first book, Outlander, as a romance has apparently been a bone of contention for you, I have to say that it was Outlander that started me on romance reading 15 years ago. I had joined a mail-order book club, one of those where you get nine books for a penny and then have to commit to buying a certain number of books over a certain period of time. Leafing through their catalog one day, I came upon an offer for the first three books in your Outlander series: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager at a special price. I don’t remember what hooked me – the description of the plot or the possibility of knocking three books off of my commitment at once. In any case, I ordered them, and my life as a reader changed.

I was hooked on Outlander from page 1; I cried buckets at the end of Dragonfly in Amber when Jamie and Claire parted, and was incredibly grateful that I had Voyager at the ready to start immediately after finishing the second book. In fact, I had to flip to Jamie and Claire’s reunion in Voyager, and then go back and read the first 300 or so pages; yes, I knew I was “ruining” it for myself but I would not have been able to function otherwise.

These books got me started on romance; I began to try to recreate the incredible reading experience I had with them. Easier said than done, I soon found, but I did end up, through much trial and error (The Flame and the Flower…shudder) finding other books in the genre that I loved. So even if Outlander is not a romance, I have it to thank for that.

Meanwhile, after finishing Voyager, I had three long years to wait for Drums of Autumn to come out (and I remember the day I bought that book; strange, when I can’t remember what happened last week!), and another four years for each successive book in the series. Which brings me to 2009, and the release of An Echo in the Bone.

My experience of this series has changed as the series itself has evolved – I no longer devour each book the minute it comes out. The books have gotten longer, and the storylines more complex. I bought An Echo in the Bone within a week of its release, but it took me until January 1 to finish (it’s a bit over 800 pages). This wasn’t a reflection on the quality of the book; some of it was merely logistical (the book was too heavy to tote everywhere, especially after I broke my wrist at the end of November). I think there’s also often a psychological factor related to how long it takes me to finish long, complex books; when I want to read in bed for 10 minutes before turning the light out, picking up a tome like An Echo in the Bone and trying to get back into the complicated story and (seeming) cast of thousands just feels like too much work.

A word about that complicated story and huge cast of characters: I have very little memory retention for what I read any more. I used to have an excellent memory, but that all changed around age 30, and I’m 10 years past that now. I have trouble remembering the plots of books I read and loved in 2009. So it goes without saying that there are huge holes in my memory where important plot points of previous books in this series should be. Since it took me so long to read, I actually forgot plot points from earlier in An Echo in the Bone by the time I was halfway through reading it. It’s sad, I know. I would actually love to find decent synopses of the entire series somewhere. I should check out The Outlandish Companion to see which books it synopsizes. It’s actually the later books I have more of a problem with; I remember the first two pretty well.

Okay, to end this digression and get back to An Echo in the Bone – I liked it a lot. I wasn’t sure I would, because honestly, the previous two books in the series, The Fiery Cross and A Breath of Snow and Ashes were uneven for me. I particularly recall A Breath of Snow and Ashes as feeling like it was comprised of bits of thrilling action interspersed with hundreds of pages of boring minutiae about colonial rural life. I still gave the book a B+, but it’s my least favorite of the series, so I did approach An Echo in the Bone with some apprehension.

I needn’t have worried – the quotient of thrilling action in this book is quite high. I’m very impressed with that; it seems like quite a feat to write 800 pages and not have, in my opinion, any notable stretches where the story lags. I think it helps enormously that the story follows quite a few different characters. Outlander was told in the first person from Claire’s point of view; I want to say that all the subsequent books have added other perspectives, but my sense (I’d have to look back at the books themselves to be sure) is that each book has had a wider scope in terms of the number of characters that are given voice and the time spent in their POVs (although only Claire’s is first-person; the others are third-person). In An Echo in the Bone, in addition to Claire, we get inside the heads of Jamie, Brianna, Roger, Jamie’s nephew Ian, Lord John Grey, his stepson (and Jamie’s secret illegitimate son) William, a young Quaker named Rachel Hunter, and perhaps a few others I’m forgetting.

I appreciate this for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that after seven books, I have a bit of Claire-fatigue. I don’t dislike Claire, exactly…but I don’t like her a lot either, at this point. She’s hard for me to warm up to as a reader, because she doesn’t show very much vulnerability and at times she seems a little too pleased with herself. I feel bad saying this, in part because it feels vaguely anti-feminist (I think to some degree I am indicting her for not being feminine enough, for being so darn capable and in charge) and in part because it just feels wrong to say that I don’t really like the heroine of what is one of my favorite series of all time. But there you have it.

(For what it’s worth, Brianna has the same effect on me; she’s definitely her mother’s daughter.)

So, the plot. The modern part of An Echo in the Bone takes place Scotland in 1980; Roger and Brianna have returned from the past, a return necessitated by their daughter’s heart condition. Amanda is fine now, having had surgery in Boston, and the family settles into Lallybroch, the ancient family homestead that was Jamie Fraser’s childhood home. The children, Mandy and Jem, adjust to modern life well, but Brianna misses her parents, and Roger feels at loose ends back in the 20th century. Their lives are eventually disrupted by a very unexpected visitor, and their family is threatened by an enemy whose motives remain unclear even by the end of the book.

The 18th century part (which cover from about 1776 to 1778) chiefly follows Jamie and Claire as they leave their home at Fraser’s Ridge, preparing to travel back to Scotland to deal with unfinished business, both personal and professional (Jamie wants to retrieve a printing press he has in Edinburgh; he intends to use it to print seditious pamphlets back in America). The trip is delayed and beset by so many of the usual sorts of calamities that Jamie and Claire regularly seem to confront in these books (their ship is fired upon and then commandeered, for one), I began to think they wouldn’t reach Scotland at all in this book (eventually, they do).

Lord John Grey’s stepson William, who is of course Jamie’s secret illegitimate son, is featured extensively for the first time, and he’s a very appealing character. He’s young and raw, but he has the strong sense of honor that both Jamie and John share, and a strong desire to acquit himself well in the British military as the conflict in America deepens. He’s attracted to Rachel Hunter, a young Quaker whom he encounters when injured. He reminded me of a younger (English) Jamie crossed with a younger (straight) John, and that’s a good thing.

Ian, Jamie’s nephew, continues to mature in this book; he’s involved in an unavoidable tragedy early in the book that haunts him for the rest of the story. He also becomes enamored of Rachel (as is typical in this series, Rachel, Ian and William’s paths cross so often you’d swear they were confined to small village they shared with only a couple of dozen other people, rather than roaming all over the colonies peopled by a couple of million). But Ian also has to reconcile his feelings for his first wife, an Mohawk Indian whom he encounters along with her new husband. I’ve had a soft spot for young Ian since he first appeared in Voyager, and really want to see him happy – he’s been put through the wringer over the past few books.

We also get to visit familiar and well-loved characters such as Jamie’s adopted son Fergus and his wife Marsali (who herself is Jamie’s stepdaughter from his marriage to Laoghaire); a subplot involving a medical emergency for Fergus and Marsali’s son Henri-Christian, who suffers from a form of dwarfism, is pretty engrossing. (I do like the medical facts you include in these books; they are generally described in layman’s terms so I feel like I’m learning something while being just lurid enough to entertain.)

As I mentioned above, I had trouble keeping track of some of events in the book simply because the story is so long and byzantine. There were some characters whose purpose in the story was unclear to me, even at book’s end. These characters were chiefly related to an espionage (I guess?) subplot which I assume will play out in future books. But their appearances were so few and far between and the scenes involving them were so murky, the existence of the subplot felt pointless, at least for me. I won’t remember any of this in the next book because I hardly understood it in this one. (This is causing me to muse that you aren’t much given to the sort of awkward info-dump exposition that some other authors who write series indulge in. I’m mostly quite glad about that, because awkward info-dumps are well, awkward and break up the flow of the narrative. On the other hand, a few more reminders in the text refreshing my memory about characters and events long forgotten wouldn’t be amiss.)

I mentioned the characters running into each other; that and other improbable coincidences are hallmarks of your books, and I can see why some readers might roll their eyes occasionally at them. On the other hand, there is, of course, a pretty strong paranormal element that forms the bedrock of this series; somehow that makes story elements that aren’t exactly realistic more palatable to me as a reader. I rather enjoy all the opportunities various characters have to exclaim, “You!” in surprise when encountering each other unexpectedly in the course of the story.

My chief criticism of An Echo in the Bone has to do with a development late in the book that I thoroughly disapproved of. I don’t want to spoil it, but I will say that it did not feel true to the characters, and instead felt as if it were a cheap manipulation of those characters for the purpose of creating conflict. Though it did not change my opinion of the book that much over all, I kind of dread having to deal with the consequences of this development in the next book.

Still and all, An Echo in the Bone is an excellent addition to the series. My grade is an A-.

Best regards,

Jennie

This book can be purchased at Amazon (affiliate link), Kindle (non affiliate link), Books on Board (non affiliate link) or other etailers.

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When Tina submitted a list of new books to Dear Author for possible review, “Falling Through Glass” grabbed my attention. Hmmm, time travel to 19th century Japan in the waning days of samurai warriors. Can’t get much more different than that.

Since I’m feeling lazy this morning. I’m just going to steal the blurb at Liquid Silver.

Los Angeles
Present Day

Japanese-American Emiko Maeda set aside her film school studies following the sudden death of her father. At odds with her mother and burdened with the guilt over her role in the tragic accident, she moves in with her uncle Jake and comes into possession of an antique mirror. While accompanying Jake to Japan on a film shoot, Emmi is caught in a freak storm and plunged through time–into Feudal Japan and the world of samurai.

Kyoto, Japan
1864

The city of Kyoto is ablaze with violence and on the brink of civil war. Nakagawa Kaemon is a young samurai with a secret. He gathers information on those who claim to "Revere the emperor" but harbor their own agenda to control the country. Kae is honor bound to execute anyone who poses a threat to the throne even if it is Emmi, the unusual young woman he has come to love.

The first 50 pages of this book almost lost me. Way too much telling and not showing. I had actually put the book down at this point only to rethink it the next morning. I want to promote different times and places in books so I hefted it up and kept going. I’m not sure if it was my determination to finish the book or at this point you started more showing and less telling but it’s then that things started to pick up and become more interesting.

But I have to ask, what is with heroine casually accepting that her Uncle Jake has time traveled? I’d be all “WTF?!” but she just brushes it off in the conversation almost like Jake was merely saying he’d gone to San Diego for the day. Then when she tells Kae she’s from the future, he does the same. Or at least initially, though later he does think a little on what she’s said. But it’s more that he wants to see this future than any freaked out, “OMG! (or Japanese equivalent), she says she’s from the freakin’ future!” Emmi’s g-g-g-whatever grandfather is the same. His “visions” were never actually explained to my satisfaction. Ditto how Emmi’s mother’s monk works in the story.

Emmi is young – and she does act it at times. Pouting when Kae leaves her alone, excited about her wedding night – let loose your inner slut!, hasn’t had her maternal hormones kick in yet as seen when she takes Matsuhito out slumming through the festival, worries about possible STDs after her hot wedding night. Emmi also creates a ruckus whenever she’s let loose. I just wish she’d take a little more responsibility for the people she injured and the property she destroyed. Instead she pouts some more and tries to put the blame on everyone but herself. It takes possible deadly consequences to others (Emmi have you ever heard of seppuku?) before she finally does realize when she’s done something wrong.

Lucky for Emmi that Kae can look deep into her eyes and “just tell” that she’s not a traitor. Which he’ll believe until she does something – yet again – to make him rethink his position on that. At one point, Kae thinks that he wished he had more time to just sit with Emmi and get to know her. So did I. These two fall in love fairly quickly given all the unusual aspects of how they meet and get to know each other.

At first, I wondered if we’d get Emmi’s view of how things differ from her world vs 1864. Specific things and not just, “wow I’m in the past.” I loved her thoughts on the Shimabara brothel district, the palace, the hair gunk and face paint, the whole physical process of dressing for the wedding and actually walking in her outfit. This made the story more immediate and interesting to me.

Along the same lines, the scenes of the fair when Emmi and Kae attend as well as when she takes Prince Matsuhito there, are fun and a wonderful way to “show” the past and how Emmi views it.

The use of the historical actions as a way to decide whether or not Emmi’d stay in the past or return to the present is great. With TT books, I dislike any lingering regrets of “should I stay or should I go?” You remove all doubts about this. I was a little lost at times with regard to the historical action going on at this point in Japan but not enough for the story to lose me.

I hope that she and Kae work out their differing views on marriage and a woman’s place in it. But hey, at least he’ll buy her lingerie! Oh, loved the haiku poem but did you not want to include any of Emmi’s crappy poetry?

Like Mrs. Giggles, I also got the impression that this is a sequel to some other book. That I was missing some information that would allow some of the incidents in this book to make sense. There is a lot I like in the story and I wish I could give this book a higher rating but with all the issues I have with it, I’m afraid not.

~Jayne

FTC discloser – A free copy of this ebook was provided to Dear Author by the publisher for a potential review.

This book can be purchased at Liquid Silver Books.

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You are easily one of my favorite authors.   These days it’s very rare for me to follow a series past a certain point, but I find myself doing that for the novels you write under both the Michelle Sagara and Michelle West names.   It also helps that thus far, they haven’t disappointed me which goes a long way to keeping this reader’s loyalty.

Cast in Silence is the fifth book in your Elantra series published by Luna.   The Cast books follow Kaylin Neya, a private in the Hawks, the police force that helps protect the city of Elantra.   Kaylin is stubborn, hot-headed, and at times immature, traits which prove unsurprising given her background.   Still, she’s a useful member of the force despite her flaws.

Unfortunately for Kaylin, she’s also gifted with an unusual magical talent of alarming proportions, the signs of which are evident in the black marks that cover her skin and have, in fact, continued to spread across her body.   The only thing she finds useful from this talent is her ability to heal, which she exercises often at the expense of her health.   Other people, however, don’t see it that way.   An Outcaste Barrani lord who rules over the fief Kaylin spent her childhood in has marked her.   The dragons who rule Elantra have seen fit to give her magic lessons.   The time is coming when Kaylin will have to face the Dragon Emperor himself but thankfully for her, that day has not yet come.

While the previous novel, Cast in Fury, was a direct continuation of its predecessor, Cast in Secret, Silence brings readers back to the format of the first two novels — installments which stand alone but build upon what has happened before.   One of the things that has remained a mystery to readers is what happened during that six-month period in Kaylin’s life after she fled the fief of Nightshade when the person she’d idolized, Severn, killed two of her dearest friends to protect Kaylin, but before she joined the Hawk.   Cast in Silence finally answers that question.

I didn’t find it surprising to learn what Kaylin did during those six months.   She had to have learned certain skills somewhere and given my impression of her time with Severn, I never thought it would have been with him.   What I did find surprising, however, was how she came to join the Hawks.   It fit, and it certainly didn’t come out of left field; in fact, it made a certain sort of sense why the dynamic in the Hawk is the way it is when it comes to Kaylin.   But I’d be lying if I said I had predicted it.

This brings us back to why exactly Kaylin’s past was finally revealed.   There’s an anomaly in the heart of fiefs and Kaylin is sent to investigate, accompanied by Severn, who is now her partner, and Tiamaris, a Dragon who works with the Hawks.   The assignment brings her back to Barren, which is the fief to which she fled after she ran from Severn all those years ago.   And it’s here that we finally learn what is at the heart of the fiefs, why Elantra was built around it, and why exactly the Dragons chose to make their home here.

While Cast in Silence is a return to the standalone episode structure that characterized the earlier novels, I will say it’s probably more introspective than its predecessors.   There are many flashbacks.   I thought they were well-handled and in fact, I believe the plotline supported their use, but I know some readers dislike them a great deal and thought it appropriate to point out.   For some reason, those sections — where Kaylin switches from flashbacks to the present timeline — reminded me a great deal of the novels you write under the Michelle West name.   There’s something in the structure that recalls those other books.

There is one other thing I’m dying to talk about with other people who’ve read the book, but I’ll leave it unsaid here because it is a large spoiler.   But for those who have read the novel, did anyone else feel like a paradox was created by the events that happened to Kaylin, Severn, and Tiamaris?

And finally, I think I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the subject of Severn and Nightshade.   I’ve said before that I am firmly on Team Severn, but that has no bearing on what I’m about to say.   Readers who are expecting major developments in Kaylin’s relationships with these two men will be disappointed.   There are some implications about Kaylin’s feelings towards Severn that, at best, can only be described as ambiguous but those who are on Team Nightshade might be annoyed at the lack of forward movement here.   It doesn’t bother me particularly but I have been a longtime fan of the Michelle West books and anyone who’s read those knows that a main character in that universe (Jewel) has had what might possibly be the one of the most drawn out ambiguous relationships with men in fictional history.   So take what I just said with a spoonful of salt.   I’m not especially surprised by the lack, but I can certainly see how readers expecting there to be could feel like they were being strung along needlessly.

Considering what we discovered in this novel and how it ended, I am definitely curious to see what will happen next.   I’m wondering if Kaylin’s time to meet with the Dragons has finally come.   That said, I’m not holding my breath regarding the issue of Severn and Nightshade.   B

My regards,
Jia

This book can be purchased at Harlequin or in ebook format from Sony or other etailers.

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Dear Ms. Sheehan,

I’m glad that your publishers have figured out how to spell your first name. On the arc I received, it is spelled without a ‘c.’ When I checked the spelling to make sure I had your first name correct, I noticed it should have a ‘c’ in it. Such things make me think your publisher doesn’t love you. I hope that isn’t the case.

Anna O’Shea has hit what she thinks is rock bottom. After three miscarriages, her husband has left her. After a trip to Ireland, she arrives home to discover that her nephew is in trouble with the law in New Jersey and her older brother has been in a terrible car accident on his way from Massachusetts to get him. After driving to get Joseph herself and falling exhausted into bed, she awakes to discover her nephew going through her still packed suitcase and opening a package given to her in Ireland by a strange woman. And then the really weird stuff starts to happen.

Anna has never given much thought to the possibilities of time travel but it’s the only explanation that makes sense after she feels like she’s been turned inside out and sucked through the ocean. She’s pretty sure Joseph was along with her but now she’s alone on a cold, rocky shoreline until a local couple rescue her. As a lawyer, Anna has been trained to weigh possibilities. Once she’s eliminated most of the ones she’s faced with, the only one that makes sense is that somehow, she’s been flung back 164 years in time.

Joseph finds himself in a strange situation as well. Wisely he keeps his mouth shut as he begins to settle into an existence totally different from his modern life. Anna and Joseph both wonder about the other but it’s Anna who actively seeks her nephew while Joseph revels in a world in which he’s finally on top of the heap. Will they ever find each other and their way back home? Or will discovering why they’ve traveled back in time force them to give up all they’ve found in the past?

After reading the back blurb and the info letter included in the arc, I still wasn’t sure if this was a traditional romance or something different so forgive me if I flipped to the end to see what would be in store for me before committing to read the book. I can stand bittersweet endings but would rather know ahead of time. Whether or not readers will like the ending for “Now and Then” will depend on if they feel that this is a romance that should come complete with a HEA.

I enjoyed discovering the two different strata of society as seen through the experiences of Anna and Joseph. And also watching as both characters were inverted from what they were used to in modern life. Anna’s been a successful lawyer with all the trappings who now finds herself living in an Irish blacksmith’s hovel among smugglers who must finesse their way through the harsh, repressive laws under which they’re forced to live. Joseph has always been on the bottom of the hierarchy in school but suddenly finds himself living the high life under the patronage of an English landowner. It’s a wonderful way to show, as you put it, the “political shennanigans” of the time.

You don’t spend much time explaining how the time travel works. Which is fine with me. I find TT books work better for me if an author just presents it as a fait accompli and then gets on with the story. The historical details are well done without being overdone. Anna and Joseph notice certain things that are especially important to them which adds a nice “fish out of water” feel to the story without bogging the narrative down with too many details.

Thank you for not forcing faux Irish brogue dialogue on me. One character mentions to Anna how Gaelic speech patterns are different from English ones and it appears that this is what you attempted to replicate at times. Though I’ll be honest and say that I wish you had done more with this. Most of the time, the Irish characters speak more like English ones than anything else.

The humor sprinkled throughout the book is delightful. The opening chapters are more wry, black humor whereas the exchanges between Donal and Anna seem a little different in ways I’m finding hard to categorize. For instance when Anna tells Donal that “I’ve never ridden much,” Donal replies, “Both the horse and I have noticed.” And then there’s the tooth extraction scene. If anyone ever told me I’d laugh myself silly to read something like this, I’d have looked at them like they were demented. I also love the list of modern terms that Anna empties herself of like a burst balloon when she reaches the point that she can’t hold them in anymore. Fucking A, Anna.

Warning: Here Be Spoilers

My first exposure to a time travel book was “Knight in Shining Armor.” I loved it, once I’d gotten past the first 50 some pages. The ending made the book for me. But when presented with such an ending, like Anna, I need to know that there’s a damn good reason for it. And you gave me a damn good reason. What’s already happened can’t and shouldn’t be changed but lifetimes of pain are over and the poison which had coursed through the lives of the O’Shea family is finally at an end. I do think that Anna comes out of the experience with slightly more than Joseph does though I am happy to see his newfound maturity and confidence.

End of spoilers

“Now and Then” is certainly different from what I normally read but different in a good way. The descriptions of nineteenth century Ireland are vivid, the people are believable, and I was totally caught up in their experiences. While I might have wanted a more romantic HEA, it’s not the book you wrote and truthfully such an ending would not have dovetailed with the reality of the upcoming Great Famine. My final grade? B

PS. loved the Irish Wolfhounds!

~Jayne

This book can be purchased at Amazon or in ebook format from Sony or other etailers.

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I was pleasantly surprised at your book, Wicked Burn, which was released last fall by Berkley. Erotic romance is difficult to pull off but yours had a good plot, character development and smoking hot love scenes which made me excited for your next release.   While Daring Time is well written and has interesting characters, it read like an homage to Chicago.   At times, I felt the love story involved the city and its history than one between a man and a woman.

Ryan Daire is given a gorgeous mansion from an old friend and mentor, Alistair Franklin.   The reason behind Franklin’s gift isn’t well articulated until the end of the story and it was hard to believe that Franklin would gift the mansion to Ryan. But the house sets up the entire story so Ryan has to have some reason to have it.   Something about the house speaks to Ryan and one night he spends the night there and is visited by a ghostly apparition.   After an aborted attempt to copulate with the ephemeral being, Ryan begins to realize that he isn’t going crazy exactly but that the woman he keeps seeing in his home is actually a person who lived in the early 1900s. He finds a book of hers and writes his name and information, including the date in the margin.

The ghost though is actually flesh and blood Hope Stillwater and through the energy produced by their sexual attraction the two can crossover the space/time continuum.    Hope lives in 1906 Chicago with her wealthy father who heads up the Purity Foundation, a group devoted to saving young women from the white slavers.   Hope and her father work to shut down brothels and save as many soiled doves as possible.   Their arch nemesis, Diamond Jack Fletcher, is intent on stifling the Stillwater voices by whatever means possible.

Hope finds the inscription by Ryan on the page of her favorite sonnet and begins to believe her erotic dreams are something more. (mirror sex is all I can say here).   Ryan recognizes that Hope is in danger and finds a way to enter her time. Ryan introduces Hope to the physical pleasures of life while also trying to crush Diamond Jack before he can kill Hope and trap Ryan in the past. When Ryan figures out the key to the time travel, he and Hope are able to move back and forth in time but the spirits of the past follow them everywhere.

For the squeamish, I feel compelled to mention that Ryan and Hope are captured by Diamond Jack Fletcher and Ryan is forced to “take” Hope in a sexual manner while others are watching.

During the time travel, we are treated to a lot of historical discourse about the city including important landmarks, Chicago World’s Fair, Field Museum, Sears Tower, Navy Pier, etc. etc. as the two compared the 1906 Chicago versus the present time Chicago.

I confess that as I was reading it, I wasn’t so taken aback by the ridiculousness of the plot set up as   I am now summarizing the book for the review. It reads more naturally than it sounds, but there are a lot of problems with the time travel that are never addressed.

All the decisions in Ryan’s life have set the stage for the climactic encounter between him, Jim Donahue, and Ryan’s love life.    Problem is that predestiny/fate v. chance is never an issue explored even though the implications of such are there. In other words, the time travel was just a device used to provide a vehicle for the plot rather than providing a philosophical, theological or even scientific foundation for the arc of the story.

The concept here is that souls live forever. Problematically is the question of where is Daire’s soul and Hope’s soul and why they are able to travel through time and others are not.   Apparently their sexual mojo can create rifts in the space/time continuum.   That’s some kind of true love. However, for all my criticisms, I recognize that erotic romance is very difficult to write and the spicy sex scenes definitely advanced the plot and seemed integrated into the story not apart from it. C

Best regards,

Jane

This book can be purchased in trade from an independent bookstore or ebook format from the Sony Store and other etailers.

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One thing I know is that I’ll always get something new and different when I begin one of your stories. I realize I mention the unusual settings you utilize in almost every review but I appreciate it so darn much that it just has to be said. And this is one of the most interesting ways of doing TT though one that’s hard to read at times. But thanks for not pulling any punches here. Sorry, no joke intended as spousal abuse is no laughing matter.

Time travel novels can irk me. Will the time traveler wander about babbling “this just can’t be happening?” or will he/she act too modern? Will the person in the correct time freak out or accept things too easily? TT novels have ‘issues’ but you’ve dealt with them in ways that worked for me.

Victoria is puzzled at first when she wakes in the body of Mayati and still thinks she’s in modern times. The two weeks of dreams / images / thoughts she gets after collapsing in fear that her husband will find her are enough to convince her of what’s happened. I like how you don’t magically make her be over her long term fear of her modern husband – she knows he’s not here, that he can’t hurt her there but still sudden movements and people quietly coming up behind her frighten her. I also like how you didn’t make the two women almost identical twins and that Victoria has to get used to a new physical body. Thank you for having Victoria have to learn to deal with life as it is there – ie the bare breasts, sheer linen skirts, and going almost nude in heat instead of acting too modern.

The fact that being a priest of Osiris makes Khaemhat already believe in the dead coming back to life solves half of his problems with what has happened. Being an Egyptian takes care of any problems he might have had with soul transference. There, my usual TT niggles are done away with and in a manner that makes sense with the setting and time. He seems awfully willing to go without any nookie for a long time. Very Phil Donahue. I think that the hotter sexuality than normally found in your historicals and contemps fit the context of the story while also being hawt. I love the inscriptions that Khaemhat brings home from his work.

"I breathe the sweet breath from which comes forth from Thy mouth," he started whispering in her ear. "I behold Thy beauty every day. It is my desire that I may hear Thy sweet voice, even on the north wind, that my limbs may be rejuvenated with life through love of Thee. Give me Thy hands, holding Thy spirit, that I may receive it and may live by it. Call Thou upon my name unto eternity, and it shall never fail."

Who wouldn’t love a guy who sees that and thinks of you?

The descriptions of the gardens, tombs and land were all very realistic and I loved reading about the everyday details of life running an ancient Egyptian estate though Victoria seems to learn her new role as mistress of the household fairly easily. I was surprised that none of the servants ever suspected anything.

What was the reason for the almost TT transference back? To give complete closure of Victoria’s past? Aso, her thoughts and questions to herself about why she never left her husband kinda put too much blame on *her* for what happened to her. She had an education, could have left and found new job anywhere, could have evaded Neal. It all sort of makes her seem dumb too. But then if she had left, she never would have traveled back and found Khaemhat.

on to Egyptian Days –

Victoria has to finally deal with others finding out about Mayati’s past and the swicheroo. Which makes sense based on what you said about Mayati in book one. Somebody had to notice the difference or they all would have come across as thick as as Nile mud. Victoria also got to make amends for what Mayati did in the past and use her knowledge to solve a murder. Maybe that will help poor Mayati’s ka find some kind of eventual resting place. I love what Khaemhat did to their tomb to ensure (at least in his own mind) that Mayati’s ka won’t be with him for eternity!

It was inventive how you used this form of TT with an Egyptian setting since they were the masters of worrying about one’s ka for eternity. This book is a little more sex heavy than the first which also makes sense as Victoria and Khaemhat were only just getting to know each other in “Egyptian Nights.” I like that when the bell finally tolled for what Mayati did in the past (sleazy ho) Victoria and Khaemhat didn’t panic. They used the knowledge for good and saw to the punishment of a killer and the restoration of their family relations. And both books have got great covers too. B for each.

~Jayne

ebooks from Fictionwise or Linden Bay Romances

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Wow, what a great way to start off my new year’s reading. Yes, I actually finished this novella in early January but took my sweet time actually writing a letter about it. Real life is a beotch, doncha know?

I want to congratulate you on a wonderful, inventive plot. It’s one I’ve never seen the equal of in TT stories though I did end up with a few questions about it. Your spare economy with words does a great job of painting a picture of not only the location of the story but also of the characters and their thoughts and reactions.

A bullet would’ve been kinder. Right between her haughty eyebrows.

She edged away, slender hands raised in self-defense. Flecks of gravel dented her palms. Lips scrubbed clean of color formed a hollow circle around the shock, while her baby blue eyes stretched wide.

Mark acknowledged those painful little details, a mirror to his past, but his brain clenched around one thought: I can’t do this again.

Anger pumped in his blood, the best drug. Cheap and easy.

“You people wear me out," he said. "It’s 1958. Deal with it.”

“You’re insane.”

“Go ahead." He tossed his chin back up to Piazza Tasso. "Ask them, since you seem to know the language. Ask them what year it is and see who’s crazy.”

She shook her head. "A bad dream.”

Throaty. Not quite British. A morning voice, warm like her coloring-’all sticky caramels.

“No way," he said, fighting a flash of lust. "Dreams aren’t this lucid.”

“Was I kidnapped?”

“Sure. Why not?" He shrugged, took a drag. "Or maybe you’re having a bad trip. Maybe "just say no’ doesn’t do it for you.”

“This isn’t happening.”

“Use your eyes, goddamn it!" He smacked the metal rail, suffering her wounded flinch more deeply than the sting in his palm. "You don’t look like a ditz, so don’t act like one.”

Mumbling a numb mantra, she rocked like the boats moored far below in Marina Piccola. Those wide baby blues circled in search of help. Or maybe proof.

“Screw this." Mark stood and shook sensation into his legs. He stalked up the footpath, safe in the knowledge that he’d tried. The last thing he needed was another stupid protégé, one to pester him, blame him-’abandon him. Better to make a clean break, or do them both the favor of that bullet.

But now he knew her name. He’d been an idiot to ask. Amber. Cool and warm together, like her. And she was from his future. Finally.

He turned back with a curse, using his anger to strangle a quiet voice of hope.

Fishing a card and a wad of lira from his shirt pocket, Mark forced her icy hands to take the offerings. "Come find me when you’re ready.”

Mark comes off as a putz at first but then we see why and it all makes sense – his loneliness and despair at ever getting home, his youth when he time traveled, his sexual inexperience and frustration though he has a good reason for it which actually shows that he was raised right, the hard edge from having to suddenly “grow up” and provide for himself while dealing with frightening situation he was in. I will admit to being squeemish about how Mark goes about supporting himself and wondered where he got his hands on what he sold.

Amber’s slightly older age shows in how quickly she accepts what’s happened to her and begins to make a life for herself in Italy. At first I wondered why you had made her older than Mark but after thinking a little, it all made sense. Amber’s vocabulary and phrases work well to make her sound ‘English’ to this American reader. I also liked that these two, though initially attracted to each other, hold off on any sexual relationship until their feelings have grown beyond the merely physical.

During the first part of the story, you didn’t really go too much into TT mechanics and it didn’t bother me until now when I’m thinking back and want to know why was Sorrento the “center” of the time traveling? Why did people go to there and not from there to other places? Since Amber did travel through stone in Istanbul it seems that it could be done. What was involved in being able to travel? Why were those certain people able to and not everyone?

I enjoyed watching you link everything together and can see that you put a lot of time into it. It was nice to remember and pick up on things such as the tie in with the bracelet. There were also certain mind twisting aspects — for instance when Amber asks how old the hotel is and Mark says the correct question is when was it built and do the math based on your time in history. I thoroughly enjoyed “Sundial” and am looking forward to your upcoming release. B+

~Jayne

available as an ebook

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I greatly enjoyed the first batch of books Shomi published last year, so I’ve been looking forward to the imprint’s second offering. Yours is the first of those I’ve read, and for the most part, I am not disappointed.

Abbey Shore works her way through architectural school by flipping houses. Her latest project is the neighborhood haunted house, which has a ghostly reputation that far exceeds the reality. In fact, the only thing dangerous about it is the fact that several dead bodies are turning up in its general vicinity. Then one night, Abbey knocks down a wall while renovating and discovers a giant, spinning hourglass submerged in a tank of hydrogen peroxide. And that’s where her troubles begin.

I’ve never been a fan of time travel stories, so I was initially put off by that aspect. Thankfully the novel also promised a post-apocalyptic future, which is something I am fond of, and that was enough to overrule my misgivings. I’m glad that was the case because otherwise I would have missed out on an entertaining read. The first three Shomi books taught me to expect a fast pace and lots of action, and Twist certainly lived up to that promise. The instant Abbey steps through the time twister, we’re greeted by action, action, action. (That’s not criticism, by the way.)

The post-apocalyptic future portrayed in the book reminds me of I Am Legend, with its rundown cities and vampiric monsters. We’ve already seen similar futuristic landscapes in other Shomi novels like Driven and Moongazer, but in both those cases, the cause for the apocalypse was largely environmental. In Twist, the world’s population was nearly wiped out by a virulent strain of the bird flu and the survivors are hunted down by alien-spawned vampires, colloquially known here as ticks. I’ve mentioned before that I’m tired of vampires but these were different and monstrous enough for me to work past that pre-existing bias.

I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Abbey and Shane. In the present day, they’re both shy and unable to work up the courage to talk to each other. But in the future, Abbey’s confused by her recent time travel and Shane, who’d been turned into a vampire by Queen Tick Lucinda, is angry about the last 150 years. Abbey disappeared through the time twister shortly before their first date, and it was her failure to show up that led to his disastrous encounter with Lucinda. Shane’s struggle to work past his bitterness to realize the current state of the world isn’t Abbey’s fault and Abbey’s attempts to reconcile the Shane she knew and the future Shane both provided a nice emotional backdrop for the book.

I do have one complaint, however, and it’s one that comes up again and again with the Shomi books: the antagonist is two-dimensional. Lucinda is a member of a conquering alien race, and the one sent to Earth. Her only goal seems to be killing Abbey and any members of her special bloodline. Everything else — creating more ticks, destroying the world — is an offshoot of that one thing, and it becomes tedious. After all, when you have such a two-dimensional antagonist, is there any doubt the heroine will triumph in the end? Especially when that heroine is apparently the best fighter ever seen in that post-apocalyptic future?

That said, I enjoyed Abbey’s story and how her time in the future teaches her to be a braver person. I do think her fighting prowess and special abilities were introduced abruptly and without much lead up, as was the special bond between Abbey and Shane, but I loved her interactions with Shane’s band of post-apocalyptic survivors, who were a nicely varied bunch. And kudos for the cover as well; in general, the Shomi covers have not been my cup of tea but this one I like. B for me.

My regards,

Jia

This book can be purchased in mass market or ebook format.

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This is only the second book of yours that I have read, so I am still basically a novice regarding your style and vision. The Conqueror was the first book of yours I read, and I did not have a positive experience with it. When I heard good things about your new paranormal series, I thought it a perfect time to try your work again. This book, Dark Rival, the second installment in the Masters of Time series, was definitely an easier read for me, but unfortunately, not a very satisfying one.

It took me more than three weeks to read this book, partly out of frustration and partly out of disengagement with the characters and the plot. My frustration came from what felt like a kitchen sink approach to the paranormal aspects of the novel (time travel, spiritual masters, a healing heroine, demons, crimes of pleasure, and more), historical anachronisms, and character inconsistencies, while my lack of engagement grew along with my inability to suspend disbelief over all of these things. Perhaps if I had read the first book in the series some things would have made more sense to me, but I still believe that a reader should be able to pick up any book in a genre Romance series and have the major elements of the world building make sense, especially because readership often grows with the popularity of a series.

Dark Rival‘s heroine is Allie Monroe, Healer and best friend to three other women, all of whom have particular talents perfect for their work with the Center for Demonic Activities (CDA). There’s Brianna who has “the Sight,” Tabby, who “when she wasn’t practicing spells and scrying for evil, . . . was practicing yoga,” and Sam, the demon hunter. Allie is able to heal the sick, injured, and dying with her pure white light, a gift she inherited from her now-dead mother, and her gift is critical in the fight against Satan-bred demons, who feed off of human power (which they extract through the act of sexual seduction). There are rumors of a mysterious race of god-like Warriors who fight for Innocence to triumph over the Satanic evil, and when one of these warriors unexpectedly appears at a Southampton party (or South Hampton, as it’s spelled in the book), along with one of the demon big wigs, Allie is entranced by this big, bad, Highland hunk, sent from another time to protect her from the demon who wants her -and her power — for his own nefarious purposes. Besides the obvious sequel set-up so early in the book, I also felt a sense of liberal borrowing from various television shows and other paranormal Romances. I realize that very little seems new these days, but there were just so many elements introduced so early on, that I felt like I needed to start taking notes rather than feeling sucked into the world of the novel.

When the Highlander grabs Allie and jumps through time with her, the book begins to move quickly, or at least the characters do. Having recently been told by Tarot-reading friend Tabby that she would meet her mate, a “golden warrior,” Allie realizes that Highlander Royce is he. Virtually without reflection or question, Allie dubs him her own personal “uber hero,” and the woman who has never been in love is smitten. Never mind that a virtual stranger who took her away from all of her friends and family has left her in the Highlands. Never mind that she has no real clue what’s going on. Without a second thought Allie ventures into town for some seductive attire and awaits the return of her Highland warrior, who has been waiting 600 years to take her, in contrast to Allie’s 24 hours of anticipation. Because Master of Time Royce came all the way from 1430 to protect Allie at that Hamptons party, and he must return to that time lest he encounter his future self (there is a rule in the Code against such a thing), he jumped back to the 15^th century and ostensibly moved normally through time until the day in 2007 he knows he will return to the place he left Allie to keep her safe from the uber-demon Moffat. So Royce is a bit randy when he comes home to his 21^st century Highland estate and finds Allie waiting for him. And after lusty reunion, Allie is certain she’s in love. While Royce realizes that he is now bound to protect Allie from Moffat, he insists that he has no heart to give, having lost it hundreds of years ago when his wife was kidnapped, beaten, and raped by another demon, which led her to reject Royce and their marriage, steeling Royce against ever getting attached to another woman in that way.

If all of this sounds complicated, it’s among the most straightforward part of the book’s plotting, most of which centers around Royce’s quest to protect Allie but resist her allure, and Allie’s insistent pursuit of Royce through time and through the calcified walls of his heart. The majority of the novel’s action takes place in 1430, where Allie follows Royce after their night of passion (with the help of another Master, Aidan, who I assume will be paired up with one of Allie’s friends in a future book), insistent on forcing him to recognize that he is also in love.

Before I describe the problems I had with Dark Rival, I want to mention the things I enjoyed. First is Allie’s independent nature and sexual freedom. The first chapter of the novel finds her in her bedroom, her most recent lover asleep in the background. It is still refreshing to encounter heroines who are unashamed of their sexuality, and this scene especially was a nice riff on the many opening scenes where we see the rakish hero fresh from his lover’s bed. Also, having enjoyed Shelley Laurenston’s Pack series so much, I am now drawn to books that center around strong women with strong bonds of friendship. On Royce’s side, I have to admit that I cracked up when he told Allie that she talked too much in bed, and I appreciated the fact that he didn’t lead her on; in fact, it was a nice turn about to watch Allie pursue Royce so overtly and to watch him attempt to resist her increasingly assertive moves. And while I really think the Highland hero has been overdone, I don’t know if I could ever feel that way about Medieval Europe, so to have most of the book set there was also something I appreciated.

Unfortunately, some of my difficulties with Dark Rival are related to those very things I enjoyed. For example, there is an uncomfortable tension between Allie’s fixation on Royce as an object of love and lust and her responsibilities as a Healer. When she finds herself in 1430, for example, her thoughts are on Royce:

She had been grieving and confused and she had not expected such a cold, even hostile welcome. She hadn’t expected a super-medieval, chauvinistic, and heartless pig. Currently he was the jerk of all time, but one day, he would be her lover – and the lover of her life. She corrected herself. He was the love of her life, he just didn’t know it yet.

There was hope.

She was a healer before anything else, but she was a fighter, too.

The thing is, I didn’t really see the “healer first” in Allie. Instead I saw a woman who, within hours of landing in Medieval Scotland, was worried about dressing in the “long, shapeless linen dresses” of the time, because, “Would Royce even look twice at her in such clothing?” So she sends Royce’s friend and fellow Master, Aidan, back to the future to fetch her modern clothes, completely uncaring about how she would appear to the 15^th century residents who had never seen a thong, jeans, tank tops, and sleeveless red Escada gowns. And when she ventures into the local village to heal someone (against Royce’s explicit orders), she faces suspicion of witchcraft, NOT, apparently, for her strange garb, but for demonstrating her powers. After Allie explains that witches in 17^th century America were burned at the stake, Royce warns her about his time: “Witches are imprisoned, stoned, or outlawed. Take yer pick!”

Allie tells Royce in that last scene that she doesn’t know much about history, and unfortunately she is right, as even her anecdote is incorrect. Those accused of witchcraft in colonial New England were hanged (I think one man might have been stoned); none were burned. Also, as I was reading this book around Talk Like a Pirate Day, I realized that Royce’s strange dialect – neither Middle English nor Highland Gaelic – sounded more pirate speak than historical pronunciation. “Yer,” for example, seemed to function as both ‘your’ and ‘you’re,’ and “ye” substituted for you, sounding old, I guess, but not authentically so. One of the women in Royce’s castle provides the direction to the village to Allie in kilometers, and Allie persistently uses the word “medieval” as an adjective synonymous with primitive, savage, and uncivilized (she refers to Royce as Mr. Medieval, which would be funny if not for the string of historical errors).

Of course, the first scene we have of the 15^th century Royce is that of him “jerk[ing] mercilessly” on his charger’s reins, and then kicking him “in the ribs, hard” upon dismount (the horse had reared up). Although I suppose we are supposed to see a hard man in this scene, I was more confused by his actions, because medieval chargers were as much weapons and soldiers as men and their metal blades. They were prized for their fierceness and aggressive nature, and were incredibly expensive and valuable. So for me, Royce’s actions appeared more ignorant of sensible horsemanship than anything else, which undermined my respect for him as a skilled warrior. But Royce seems as disjointed as Allie in many way, in one moment a hard-hearted medieval warrior who cares about the feelings and sexual satisfaction of the serving women with whom he satisfies his prodigious lust. He claims he never loved his wife, but vows he will never marry again or care about a woman after Bridghe rejects him.

Then there are the time travel elements of the novel and the implications of the Code. While Masters are forbidden from changing the past or the future, the quest Royce and Allie embark on will do just that, in a significant way (although there is mention of some mysterious spell Allie’s friends mention about “Fate corrected”). The demons can time travel, as well, but Allie spends a good deal of time alone, even as the men are fearful she will be abducted. I’m not certain why so much energy went into waging and defending massive attacks by the demons and their human minions, when ultimately no such violence is needed to bring Allie into the clutches of the demons. Also, Allie spends the entire book jealous of other women in Royce’s sphere, but when she is transported back in time to the moments before Bridghe rejects a rescuing Royce, she begs Bridghe not to blame Royce for her kidnapping and torture. And at one point, Allie goes back to 2007 New York to find that her family doesn’t know her but her friends still do, something I still can’t work out logically, although I have to admit that by that point I had stopped trying to map it all out.

One of the most interesting things about writing this review is that it had me thinking about how I differentiate craft and taste issues. For example, when I recoiled at the description of Royce’s “huge club-like manhood,” and the “slab” of his pecs, I thought about how language so impacts what I find romantic or not. Although it is difficult for me to imagine how a “club-like” penis is intended to be appealing, I realize that my response to that description and others like it (lots of descriptions of how Allie is “drenching,” “trickling” moisture down her thighs from the sight of Royce’s “engorged” penis, scenes where Allie’s small body is almost rent by Royce’s huge erection) is primarily a matter of taste. As, I think, is my inability to really connect to the prose. However, I think my taste issues did intersect with some of the craft issues in the novel. For example, when Allie and Royce embark on a quest to find out if Allie’s mother is still alive and in Moffat’s hands, she is grief-stricken one moment at the thought of her mother’s fate, and exhilarated the next at the idea that Royce wants to see her in a beautiful gown, on edge at the idea of finding her mother quickly and then distracted by the codpiece of another master (and entertaining visions of matchmaking with her friend Sam). It all felt discordant, as if there were really two novels here that had been document merged.

Several things in the book had interesting potential for me. That the demons committed crimes of pleasure, in which they seduced humans and took all their life-force, was similar to how the Masters could also take energy from humans. Although the similarity is remarked on in the book (when Royce breaks the Code by sampling Allie’s energy), the parallel isn’t really explored. Nor was the nature of “good” and “evil” – both were simply posited, despite the rich potential to nuance the characters a bit with some of the contrasts they each displayed. In some ways, this book really felt like a first draft, and I thought several times that more editing could have yielded great benefit to both the prose and the consistency issues. As it stands, however, I have to give Dark Rival a D, with the hope that other readers will enjoy it much more than I did.

Best regards,

Janet

This book can be purchased as a mass market paperback or an ebook.

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I bought “Beaudry’s Ghost” a few years ago (when LTD Books was still in business) and have had it on my IPAQ for almost as long. I’ve got a long list of books TBR on that sucker. I needed something different to read and thought, “Ghost story. Not too many of those being written in these days of vampires, Vampires, and more VAMPIRES! Why not?” Turns out to have been a good choice.

Jared Beaudry’s enraged spirit has been roaming the Outer Banks of North Carolina for over 130 years, hungering for the one thing he cannot have–revenge against the mad Confederate officer who took his limbs, his life, and worst of all, his honor. During a reenactment of the Civil War battle in which he died, Jared takes a desperate leap of faith–setting in motion a deadly chain of events nothing can stop. Taylor Brannon can only stand by, helpless, as her entire reenacting unit is taken over by spirits of long-dead Civil War soldiers. Terrified, she has two choices. She can run, or she can stand her ground and try to ensure the safety of her friends, and somehow help Jared’s restless spirit find peace. Taylor finds herself fighting for the life–and love–of a ghost. The cost could be her soul.

Is there anyone out there who hasn’t sat around telling or listening to ghost stories? There’s that delicious thrill when an especially talented storyteller scares the beejesus out of you This one is certainly an interesting take on ghost stories. And yes I’ve heard of the Maco Light. You don’t skimp on the gruesome details about what happens to Beaudry in the past or what poor John is going through after Beaudry battles him for the body. I thought the character of Beaudry was well done. His 19th century manners, his delight in finally being corporeal again after 130 years, his determination that his honor be avenged even at the cost of his life (again). But would a Civil War guy (who’s been raised right by his momma) dive into sex this quickly? Okay, it’s the plot and he’s a guy. I really enjoyed the bit when the incorporeal John and Beaudry are wandering around searching for a body. It’s a very descriptive and memorable scene.

Taylor borders on feisty quite a times and yet she’s also honorable and determined to not only help Beaudry but also keep her friends from being injured during the mass haunting. I did wonder that her psychometer gift seemed to come and go just when the plot needed it. Why has it taken her a whole year to clean out Troy’s knapsack if she’s been trying to contact him and touching a deceased person’s belongings is the best way for her to do that? I liked Troy but agree with Taylor that he took too long to allow her to see him and to come to terms with his death. Did you speak with any reenactors about how they feel during a “battle?” Does the “time bubble”
phenomenon really happen or is that your invention?

Oh, why did the NC man have to be the psycho? Couldn’t you have made him a transplant from SC [grin]? And honestly, the Outer Banks are so built up now that I can’t see live round firing and enactors all over the place and no one seeing them. The battle featured in the book was actually described in another book I read recently though no ghosts were mentioned. I hope that we will see the second and third installments of series since a few burning questions were left hanging at the end of this one. What happened to Ethan? And John? And what plans can you have for Troy? Do we get to see what happens to Beaudry? Questions, so many questions but that’s a good thing, right?, that a reader wants to know more about your characters? I think so. B-

~Jayne

“Beaudry’s Ghost” is not currently available for purchase except on the used market. The ISBN for the book is 1553164938. The good news is that if the review makes you interested in the book, Samhain has bought it and will be publishing it in e format in January 2008.

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I said that this was one of my favorites and I’m finally writing a letter why. This has all the ingredients that make me love The Changeling Bride. Great hero, great heroine, fun, humor, everything.

George is a pro wrestler whose new age sister somehow transports him back in time while she’s trying to hypnotize him. He winds up in a small English village that has been paying a yearly virgin tribute to a dragon for 30 years. Only one of the virgins, Alizon, fought back 12 years ago and has been saving each year’s new offering, keeping them safe and hidden on the island where the dragon lives. They may be safe but they’re also trapped as the superstitious villagers would stone them if they tried to return. Alizon’s old friend has called on magic for a hero to slay the dragon in order to protect her own daughter and George is who she got.

George is great. I love this man. He has a great sense of humor and a tender heart underneath all that shiny, silver stretch Lycra. He’s intelligent, kind, cleans up after himself and can cook. Plus he’s gorgeous. His belief that he’s in some kind of hypnotic trance and is exploring his inner thoughts, fears and fantasies leads to some great internal musing.

Alizon is more prickly but after a lifetime of her being rejected, I could under that. She’s finally found a home and people who need her and has some real struggles about whether or not she’s willing to risk her bruised heart for a life with George or stay in a safe, but lonely, secure place. I liked the role reversal that George was the one who had to chase after her and try to get her to open up. He jokes that if most men are like this, he can see why it drives women crazy.

It got hard at times to keep the other 11 virgins straight but they did provide some comic relief. I didn’t have the problem that some did with Belch being killed. I never really saw him as a pet and could see why he had to be eliminated. The epilogue was pure schmaltz and could have been toned down but overall this was a fun, very enjoyable read. A-

~Jayne

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