Author: Gwyn Cready
Publication: Astor + Blue Editions (July 18, 2012)
Description: Two years after losing her husband, overworked librarian Panna Kennedy battles to distract herself from crushing Grief, even as she battles to deal with yet another library budget cut. During a routine search within the library’s lower levels, Panna opens an obscure, pad-locked door and finds herself transported to the magnificent, book-filled quarters of a handsome, eighteenth-century Englishman. She soon recognizes the man as Colonel John Bridgewater, the historic English war hero whose larger-than-life statue loomed over her desk.However, the life of the dashing Bridgewater is not at all what she imagined. He’s under house arrest for betraying England, and now looks upon her—a beautiful and unexpected half-dressed visitor—as a possible spy. Despite bad first impressions (on both sides), Bridgewater nonetheless warms to Panna, and pulls her into his escape—while both their hearts pull the other headlong into their soul-stirring secrets.Very quickly Panna is thrown into a whirlwind of high-stakes intrigue that sweeps her from Hadrian’s Wall to a forbidding stone castle in Scotland. And somewhere in the outland, Panna must decide if her loyalties lie with her dead husband, or with the man whose life now depends on her.Written in her signature style—described as delightfully original, fun and sexy—RITA Award-winning author Gwyn Cready produces yet another lightning-paced, delectable winner of a Time Travel Romance; a genre she has quickly come to master.
My Thoughts: This was a fast paced and entertaining time travel romance that took us from Carnegie, Pennsylvania in the present to the English-Scottish border in 1706. Widowed and still grieving, librarian Panna Kennedy is looking around her library when she finds a door that takes her across miles and across time. She meets James Bridgewater who is in the English army and who is the unacknowledged, bastard son of the Earl of Bridgewater. He is also the grandson of the Scottish clan chief Hector MacIver. James is a self-made man who has become wealthy from investing but he still yearns to be acknowledged by his father and grandfather.
His main purpose right now is to keep the peace between the English and the Scots at the border but neither side trusts the other and his brother, the acknowledged son Viscount Adderly, is trying to tip the balance toward battle.
At first James is convinced the Panna is a spy but she saves his life a couple of times and he comes around. They fall in love but don't think they have any sort of future because they are from two different times. And Jamie's actions are likely to get him killed before they can come to any sort of resolution. Also, the way time travel works is that a person can only come and go three times before the portal closes. Panna is on her third visit to Jamie's time. Her next time through the portal will be her last.
Adderly had traveled through time earlier and, in fact, seduced the founder of the library where Panna now works. His trips gave him the plans to be a war hero which he took advantage of. He also had a reputation in Panna's time of being the sort of hero who rescued his fallen soldiers from great danger in the heat of battle. Unfortunately, history was wrong. Adderly is definitely the villain of this story. He is brutal, self-serving, and definitely wants to do Jamie harm.
This was an exciting romance and filled with adventure as Jamie and Panna have to escape from two different castles and evade both British troops and Scottish warriors on their way to falling in love. I recommend this one for lovers of good historical romance.
Favorite Quote:
"It's not little. Your life has been torn apart as much as mine, if not more. We have a great saying in my time for what we've gone through: 'It sucks.'"I received an ebook for review from Serena at Blue Dot Literary. You can buy a copy here.
He laughed. "Now that is a saying we do not have. Though I must admit, tis very descriptive."
"And there's another one: 'Life is what's ahead.' And I didn't know your mother, but I knew Charlie too well to think he wants anything for me but complete and utter happiness. That, I think, is the only gift worthy of those we've lost."
Sounds like fun!
ReplyDelete