chez_jae

Love's Labyrinth by Anne Kelleher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I almost finished my work book today. I brought it home just to read the brief epilogue. The book was Love's Labyrinth by Anne Kelleher. It's a time-travel romance in the "Time Passages" line. The main characters were Olivia Lindsley and Lord Nicholas Talcott.

Olivia has made a trip to England to finish some historical research that her late father had been working on. Her best friend, Allison, accompanies her. While dressed in period costumes for an elaborate event, Olivia and Allison get lost in the maze at Talcott Forest and emerge in the 1580's, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. There, they meet the Talcott brothers, Lord Nicholas and his younger brother Geoffrey. It was Geoffrey whose tinkering with the arcane led him to build the maze in hopes of time travel. Stuck in this era for the time being, Olivia and Allison play the part of distant Talcott cousins from the north. In spite of the circumstances, Olivia is enchanted with the situation, as she has studied this era extensively. While she accompanies Nicholas on a journey, posing as his wife, to intercept some treasonous documents, Allison stays behind and assists Geoffrey with his mathematical calculations as they attempt to send the ladies back to their own time. Unbeknownst to Nicholas and Olivia, however, an enemy has set Nicholas up to take a fall. It will take the combined wits of the others, along with an assist from William Shakespeare himself, to set things back to rights.

This was certainly an intriguing story. Very well-written and researched. The characters were portrayed marvelously, even the Queen when she put in an appearance or two. I appreciated that the author didn't paint the time period as all sunshine and romance and ball gowns. There was mention of the dangers involved, as well as streets teeming with vermin and refuse.

Favorite line: If ever there was an Excedrin moment, this had to be it.

A wonderful example of time-travel romance. Four stars.

Then and Now by Willa Hix

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Finally, I finished reading my work book today, at work, even! It was Then and Now by Willa Hix, and it's part of Jove's "Time Passages" line. This was a bit of a different time travel romance, in that the heroine, Ginny Thornton, came forward in time, rather than traveling back.

Just as Ginny is beginning to realize that her husband, Thomas, is keeping secrets, he kills himself while they have a house full of guests, who are waiting to celebrate the turn of the century. Even worse, Ginny learns that Thomas has left her destitute, and she may lose Malmaison, the house that her parents bequeathed her. Morose, Ginny ventures into the conservatory, where she falls asleep, only to awaken 100 years in the future.

Dr Samuel Sutter loves his work with botanicals. He's trying to find a cure for age-related dementia, and he would just as soon skip the lavish party his mother wants him to host at Malmaison, the house that's been in his family for a century. Fortunately for Sam, his mother hired a curator to get the house in shape before the big event. When he comes across a woman slumbering in the conservatory, he assumes it's the curator.

Ginny is confused and adrift, but she is reluctant to confide her true circumstances to anyone, lest they think her mad. She plays along with the role of curator, gradually becoming used to the odd gadgets, mannerisms, and fashions of this new time. Eventually, however, Sam puts two and two together. He finds Ginny's tale remarkable, yet credible at the same time. Together, the two of them begin working together to restore Malmaison to its former glory. Ginny, however, wants to return to her own time to set things right. By now, Sam has fallen in love with her, and he insists on accompanying her to the past. They accomplish the feat, but will Ginny want to return to Sam's time to be with him, or remain in the past, where she belongs?

The story was lovely, although I no longer consume time travel romances the way I used to. My only complaints are that Sam and Ginny fell in love far too quickly, especially considering that, in her reality at least, she'd only lost her husband weeks earlier. I also wasn't overly fond of the traveling forward, as it seems that would be much more difficult to adjust to, as compared to someone going back in time.

Favorite line: She was either the best scam artist in the world or she was nuttier than his aunt Mildred's banana bread.

Eh, I'll give it four stars. The story was well-written, and my "complaints" are purely subjective.

Last night, I brought home my book from work to finish it. The book was Yesterday's Flames by Elizabeth Hallam, and it's from the "Time Passages" line-up.

Annabel Lowell is a modern-day firefighter and smoke jumper living in San Francisco. When she's trapped by flames in the wilderness, she takes shelter in a cave. When Annabel emerges, there is no sign of a fire anywhere, because she has traveled back in time to the San Francisco of 1906. There, Annabel meets fireman Cole Brady.

Cole has difficulty believing that the beautiful Annabel is a "lady fireman", but he finds himself attracted to her nonetheless. To prove herself, Annabel stealthily participates in the annual contest between San Francisco's firemen and those of Oakland.

History buffs will recall that the Big Earthquake that hit San Francisco happened in April of 1906, and it seemed that the earthquake would be integral to the story...only, it really wasn't. The event didn't occur until quite late in the book. While Annabel participated in fighting the resulting fires, the author mentioned it in passing. Far more detail and narration were devoted to Annabel's participation in the competition than to her fighting an actual fire alongside the menfolk.

The story was certainly interesting, and I did enjoy the history that the author imparted. I confess to being somewhat disappointed, however, in how little the earthquake was mentioned.

Eh, I'll give it four stars. Would have been three for annoyance factor, but it truly was a good story.

★★★★