One Good Deed by David Baldacci

March 13, 2023 By Leave a Comment


One Good Deed by David Baldacci
Publisher: Pan Books
Genre: Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

It’s 1949. When war veteran Aloysius Archer is released from Carderock Prison, he is sent to Poca City on parole with a short list of do’s and a much longer list of don’ts: do report regularly to his parole officer, don’t go to bars, certainly don’t drink alcohol, do get a job — and don’t ever associate with loose women.

The small town quickly proves more complicated and dangerous than Archer’s years serving in the war or his time in jail. Within a single night, his search for gainful employment — and a stiff drink — leads him to a local bar, where he is hired for what seems like a simple job: to collect a debt owed to a powerful local businessman, Hank Pittleman.

Soon Archer discovers that recovering the debt won’t be so easy. The indebted man has a furious grudge against Hank and refuses to pay; Hank’s clever mistress has her own designs on Archer; and both Hank and Archer’s stern parole officer, Miss Crabtree, are keeping a sharp eye on him.

When a murder takes place right under Archer’s nose, police suspicions rise against the ex-convict, and Archer realizes that the crime could send him right back to prison . . . if he doesn’t use every skill in his arsenal to track down the real killer.

It’s 1949 and Aloysius Archer has just been released from jail. The war is still fresh in everyone’s mind and day-to-day life and Archer arrives in a small southern town looking for a fresh start and some honest work. When a local businessman is brutally murdered the newly arrived Archer is the number one suspect. Can Archer work out what’s really going on before he’s sent back to jail, again?

I’m usually not a fan of “recent” historical novels – but I am a big fan of Baldacci’s and so was curious enough to give this book a try. I’m very glad I did, as I found it to be an excellently written murder mystery book. Despite being set about 70 years ago the characters and motives and even much of the social landscape is still incredibly relatable and intriguing. There were a few times when I paused to really think about whether some of the plot points were a bit too modern- like when Jackie admitted she’d discussed her affair with Hank’s wife and the general understanding they’d both come to from that conversation. While I found myself dubious about just how realistic that was – particularly 70 years ago – I equally realise women have been making compromises like this and facing the reality of how life really works for centuries. While it felt a little bit of a stretch to me, I could also see how it wasn’t as outrageous as I initially thought.

So, while much of the story is definitely set and has a strong feel of the past – particularly in the small-town society and how the war had affected things like rations and clothing and the like – it didn’t feel so steeped in history that I couldn’t relate to a number of aspects to the plot. Indeed, much of the small-town motives and jealousies and revenge – that all struck me as modern and true today as it would have back in 1949. I enjoyed exploring those sorts of thoughts and links and this book did an exceptional job for that. I also have to strongly recommend Baldacci having done what I assume was a fair bit of homework. A number of things, from the fashions and finances to how parole and the law functioned back in those days all seemed to be very well researched and presented to me.

Readers looking for a different style of murder mystery should find this book appealing. While a lot of the groundwork is laid in the first third or so of the story – and the pace of that might be a bit slow for readers expecting something a bit more action orientated – I really feel this book is worth sticking with. This is also the first in a series so readers should definitely feel it’s a good place to start. I enjoyed how the characters begin to weave together very convincingly and I came to really think Archer’s character has a certain something that I really enjoyed. He was an interesting mixture of strong and vulnerable that wasn’t simple or easy to unpack and I found myself as curious about him as a character as I was with the whole murder plotline itself.

A different and very interesting book, I will absolutely be picking up the next in the series. Recommended.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Oblivion’s Child by Tommy B. Smith

March 6, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Oblivion’s Child by Tommy B. Smith
Publisher: Raven Tale Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The storm came down, incredible in its fury. When the clouds parted, even the sun’s brilliance could not dispel the darkest spaces to persist.

Nine-year-old Zander sees the outlines of the monsters in the darkness. Against his mounting fears, he cannot elude them, nor escape the madness of the day when his mother tried to drown him in the bath.

She never gave him a true name, only a Z with X’s behind it, and promised him to the void.

For Zander, his grandmother, and his catatonic Aunt Helen in their beachfront house on the Florida shoreline, the tide has shifted—the tide of a turbulent cosmic sea, its dark currents murmuring chaos.

Rural doesn’t always mean safe.

What a deliciously scary read this was! I loved the ominous descriptions of the places Zander visited during the course of the plot. Some of them seemed fairly ordinary at first glance, but that only made it more exciting to discover their eerie secrets as the characters took a closer look at the home or the forest they were currently in and realized that things might not be what they seem. I wish I could be more specific than that, but the less other readers know in advance about what awaits the characters the better.

I would have liked to see a bit more time spent on the character development as the amount of it that was included tickled my imagination. Yes, this seems to be a world that is more plot driven, but with a little more attention paid to fleshing out the characters I would have happily bumped this up to a full five-star rating. It was otherwise exactly the sort of horror I love to read.

Secrets can have a funny way of wiggling their way out into the open. Zander’s limited knowledge about his birth parents intrigued me, and I wondered where the author might go with the few tidbits of information about them Zander did have as the plot progressed. I’m still a fairly new fan of Mr. Smith’s work, but I have to say that I’ve become even more impressed with his ability to weave plot lines together in memorable ways as I dig deeper into his body of work. He handled Zander’s origins nicely.

This is the second instalment in the Black Carmenia series, and it should be read in publication order for plot development reasons.

Oblivion’s Child made me yearn for more.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths

March 3, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The chilling discovery of a downed World War II plane with a body inside leads Ruth and DCI Nelson to uncover a wealthy family’s secrets in this Ruth Galloway mystery.

It’s a blazing hot summer in Norfolk when a construction crew unearths a downed American fighter plane from World War II with a body inside. Forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway determines that the skeleton couldn’t possibly be the pilot, and DNA tests identify the man as Fred Blackstock, a local aristocrat long presumed dead—news that seems to frighten his descendants. Events are further complicated by a TV company that wants to make a film about Norfolk’s deserted air force bases, the so-called ghost fields, which the Blackstocks have converted into a pig farm. As production begins, Ruth notices a mysterious man loitering at Fred Blackstock’s memorial service. Then human bones are found on the family’s pig farm and the weather quickly turns. Can the team outrace a looming flood to find the killer?

When a large field – previously used by planes in World War 2 – is dug up in preparation for a bunch of new apartments to be built an American WW2 aircraft is found, with a dead pilot inside. Nelson calls in Ruth to examine the site and the body and to see if this is a purely historical site or if something more sinister is going on. What secrets is the ghost field harboring?

I have been enjoying this series and really feel the author and characters are beginning to come into a strong place. Ruth and Nelson still have a lot of stuff to work out, but they’re finding a balance between Nelson’s wife and other children and where Ruth and Kate fit in amongst all that, and Ruth in particular to my mind seems to be hitting her stride when it comes to being both a mother and her career in archaeology. There are still ups and downs and plenty going on – but I really enjoyed this book and the feel that things were starting to get a rhythm and hit their stride.

I also really enjoyed how the author did a commendable job in my opinion on balancing the past and the present. There were no flashbacks (which I tend to find jarring and annoying more often than not) but the story clearly wove between what happened in the second world war and how it was relevant and still guiding the families and characters in the present day. Throw in a tv show, plenty of housing development money and ordinary greed/secrets into the various motives and this was a really strongly plotted and interesting murder mystery.

The plot is very well contained to just this story. Many of the secondary characters have quite a bit of history and while I don’t feel this weighs the book down or would be too annoying for readers who come to this story fresh, I really do feel that at least some of the previous books should have been read for the full enjoyment to be experienced. This is a great series so I feel it would be worthwhile to go and start at the beginning but admit this book totally can be picked up and enjoyed by itself.

Strongly plotted with interesting characters this book is an excellent blend of archaeology and present-day murder mystery and I really enjoyed it.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Viscount and The Orphan by Rosemary Morris

February 23, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Viscount and The Orphan by Rosemary Morris
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Historical, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

This classic historical romance erupts in 1703 England.

Gabriel, Viscount Cavanagh is bankrupt, his fortune wasted on mistresses, extravagance, and gambling. Orphaned, emotionally neglected, deprived of his inheritance and his own person by his grandfather, Adam Maynard, his only option to avoid disaster is acceptance of an arranged marriage proposed by Adam, a ruthless merchant prince.

Adam summons his sixteen-year-old ward, wealthy Dorinda Davenport, from boarding school to be Gabriel’s bride. An orphan, she yearns for love. Well-educated, but naïve, she clings to her fantasy of a happy-ever-after marriage to a gentleman as handsome, and charming as her favourite fictional hero. Gabriel is the romantic hero of her dreams, but bitter disillusionment follows the wedding.

A connoisseur of beautiful women, Gabriel conceals his distaste when he meets dumpy, sallow-skinned, socially inept Dorinda. Nevertheless, he soon appreciates her innocence, intelligence, and kind heart.

This is a novel about a hasty marriage in which everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and the path back to happiness.

The hero, Gabriel, is a man controlled by his domineering grandfather who is a control freak on steroids. He’s the one who tells Gabriel who he is going to marry. He’s the one who controlled who the hero could socialize with and who he should have no contact with – it’s pretty much an entire family branch. I did not like the merchant prince. He was mean to the hero, and the old guy’s sister wasn’t a peach either. It’s not a wonder the hero took some wrong turns and messed up his life.

When I met Dorinda, the heroine, she was a 16-year-old orphan stuck in a home for girls to teach them proper deportment. Dorinda was way too young to marry, and without a loving home life, was sorely unprepared to be thrust into a life dictated by the machinations of her guardian who just happens to be Gabriel’s grandfather, the meanie. Talk about a recipe for disaster.

One thing is for sure, the old guy’s plans didn’t go the way he wanted. Here’s the one thing that both Gabriel and Dorinda did during the course of the novel – they grew up.

The story goes through their growing pains using the people they meet along the way, their friends and other family members previously thought lost to them both. Each secondary character helps in one fashion or another to get both the hero and heroine where they need to be in order to become the people they were always meant to be. It’s not easy and it took some time. It’s a long book. If readers like these kinds of epic journeys of personal discovery and positive success against characters’ original negative paths, coming into their own and becoming stronger and more certain of who they are in life, then this novel should strongly appeal.

It does eventually happen. The hero and heroine come together as full-fledged adults and are on a more even playing field. After all that growth and change, will the people they’ve become be as appealing in a marriage as when they first met? That’s the big question that gets resolved in the end.

I did experience a few hiccups as I read. Gabriel has a good friend, Avery. Avery’s method of speech hurt my brain. I couldn’t get the hang of how the dialogue might have sounded based on the spelling. After a while, I gave up. There were a few times where the wrong person’s name was used in a scene, but it didn’t throw me out of the story, not like Avery’s dialogue. I also found that the ending was too abrupt. After investing so much time in watching both Gabriel and Dorinda each become better people than when the book first started, I expected at least an epilogue to give a more well-rounded experience of closure. Especially with the bombshell Dorinda revealed to Gabriel at the end. But no, there was nothing to firm up that last sentence of Gabriel’s internal dialogue. I needed there to be an epilogue just to balance out what had come before. I’m let down by the lack.

On the whole though, The Viscount and The Orphan was a convincing historical romance with quite a bit to recommend it. I understood the references to Cromwell and his legacy and effect on England and religion during that period. I experienced echoes of that time through Dorinda’s actions even though Cromwell was long gone at the time this story takes place. Dorinda is a pious little thing in the beginning, full of dreams, romance and fanciful notions. Her faith gives her strength and that’s the one thing I did admire about the heroine – when everyone else around her gave it up because it was ‘inconvenient’, she didn’t. It was a part of her she refused to give up on even when someone complained about it. There were hints early on that the heroine had some spine in her. The story proved it to be a correct assessment.

I was happy that Dorinda and Gabriel got their happily ever after, after all, and I’m glad Avery’s character turned out to be a solid asset for the hero. He really was a nice guy and I’m glad for his role in it. Everyone should have a friend who sticks by them in the worst of times, and in the best of times.

This was a solid historical romance and I enjoyed reading it.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

Catlumbus by Franny Plaia

February 7, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Catlumbus by Franny Plaia
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Meet Catlumbus, a cat who loves to sail on his ship and go on adventures. When Catlumbus discovers a treasure map, he sets sail on a journey to find buried treasure on a tropical island. What will Catlumbus find on this island? Who will he meet along the way? Join Catlumbus on his adventure!

Anything can happen out on the ocean.

This was an exciting and fast-paced adventure. Catlumbus was prepared for all sorts of possible trouble, and I smiled as he tackled every challenge that came his way. One of my favorite scenes happened later on when he had a problem, he didn’t know how to fix that involved his boat. After how prepared he was earlier, it was nice to see him finally meet a problem that was a little trickier for him to figure out. That scene only made everything I already loved about this story even better.

A lack of detail was what held me back from giving this a full five-star rating. I found myself wishing that the narrator had spent more time explaining what the characters looked like and how being in these settings would affect what the characters heard, saw, touched, and smelled. This is something I’m saying as a reader who enjoyed everything else about it.

The riddles were well written and interesting. I haven’t noticed many riddles in the many picture books I’ve read these past few years, so it was refreshing to find them here. It’s such a fun way to introduce the mystery genre to little ones.

Catlumbus was a thrilling adventure.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Stolen Bride by Samantha Cayto

February 3, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Stolen Bride by Samantha Cayto
Treaty Brides, Book 3
Publisher: Pride Publishing, Totally Entwined
Genre: Historical, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, LGBTQ, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Being a bride is a state of mind, not of body.

Prince Ronan of Moorcondia knows he is one of the luckiest boys alive. As the king’s second son, he has status and wealth without the heavy weight of the crown. Every man admires his hedonistic ways, but his behavior masks a shame that he feels. What he really desires is a quiet life with a man whom he can love.

Jarl Tarben is on a mission to save his people from starvation. Efforts to forge a treaty with Moorcondia have come to naught. In a desperate bid, Tarben has been tasked with abducting Ronan and forcing him into marriage. As distasteful and dishonorable as the scheme is, duty demands that he obey. He refuses to bed the prince by force, however, leaving it Ronan’s choice.

Ronan vows not to succumb to the temptation that Tarben presents. Pride alone dictates that he remain chaste, even as he grows closer to the barbarian. Tarben is everything Ronan ever dreamed of, and the lure of him grows stronger with each day that politics keeps them together.

When unseen forces threaten to consume them both, they must put aside pride and join forces to protect both their peoples.

Two men, one problem and a sexy solution.

I haven’t read a book like this in a while and I’m glad. This one was a breath of fresh air. The fantasy was well done and kept my interest throughout. I liked the setting and felt like I was there. This isn’t the first book by Samantha Cayto that I’ve read, and it won’t be the last.

Ronan and Jarl are great together. The beginning and the circumstances where they’re supposed to get together are a bit sketchy, in a good way. I liked how the author wrote them and the way they handled the various situations. Jarl and Ronan are great together and I wanted more of them. I liked the push-pull and couldn’t get enough of them.

If you’re looking for a book that’s hot and fun while being fantastical, then this is the one for you. Check it out!

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Reservoir Man by L.J. Ambrosio

February 3, 2023 By 4 Comments


A Reservoir Man by L.J. Ambrosio
Publisher: Film Valor
Genre: Coming of Age, Literary Fiction
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

A Reservoir Man, critics have hailed this explosive and timely work as “a must-read coming-of-age story of 2022.” Twists and turns further pull the reader in to Michael’s action-packed tale, with powerful themes, from betrayal and family to secrets and identity. “Be sure not to blink because you just might miss a pivotal moment in Michael’s rousing, larger-than-life story.” –R.C. Gibson, Indiestoday.com. “This book is a dream, a gamble, a utopia, even.” — Kalyan Panja, Bookmarkks.

This story spans the years from 1947 – the current time. Part coming-of-age, part an insightful look at one man’s journey through life in a very intense time of history, especially for a gay man.

It makes me think of an autobiographical memoir instead of fiction. The character of Micahel truly expresses the confusion he goes through trying to figure his life out and the pain he feels as he begins losing friends to AIDS.

Michael’s desire is to not be a reservoir man – not to be the kind of person who only does what’s expected of him instead of who he truly is. Michael’s sole aim in life is to find his own truth…and to help others find theirs. He does this throughout his life, and he finds he does some of his best thinking on a bench, watching the sunset. I really admired this character – in all his decisions, his main goal was to do the right thing.

The book was easy to read, and the dates at the beginning of each chapter helps ground the reader. There are some heartbreaking parts, especially the last chapter. But, even with that, the book ends on a hopeful note with the author stating “Non, je ne regrette rien.” (No, I do not regret anything)

Thank you, Mr. Ambrosio, for giving me the opportunity to find out a part of life I did not previously know much about.

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Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands by Linda Ronstadt and Lawrence Downs, Bill Steen

January 25, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands by Linda Ronstadt and Lawrence Downs, Bill Steen (photographer)
Publisher: Heyday
Genre: Non-Fiction, Travel, Memoir, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Linda Ronstadt takes readers on a journey to the place her soul calls home, the Sonoran Desert, in this candid new memoir.

In Feels Like Home, Grammy award-winning singer Linda Ronstadt effortlessly evokes the magical panorama of the high desert, a landscape etched by sunlight and carved by wind, offering a personal tour built around meals and memories of the place where she came of age. Growing up the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and a descendant of Spanish settlers near northern Sonora, Ronstadt’s intimate new memoir celebrates the marvelous flavors and indomitable people on both sides of what was once a porous border whose denizens were happy to exchange recipes and gather around campfires to sing the ballads that shaped Ronstadt’s musical heritage. Following her bestselling musical memoir, Simple Dreams, this book seamlessly braids together Ronstadt’s recollections of people and their passions in a region little understood in the rest of the United States. This road trip through the desert, written in collaboration with former New York Times writer Lawrence Downes and illustrated throughout with beautiful photographs by Bill Steen, features recipes for traditional Sonoran dishes and a bevy of revelations for Ronstadt’s admirers. If this book were a radio signal, you might first pick it up on an Arizona highway, well south of Phoenix, coming into the glow of Ronstadt’s hometown of Tucson. It would be playing something old and Mexican, from a time when the border was a place not of peril but of possibility.

A picture painted in photos, words and song.

I picked this book up because when I flipped through the pages, the vistas are simply breathtaking. I’ve never been to Arizona and haven’t seen the Sonora, but I want to. If it’s anything as pretty as the photos, then I want to be there.

This is the place Linda Ronstadt grew up. She was surrounded by her American and Mexican roots. To say she’s steeped in both cultures is an understatement. She writes eloquently and it felt like I was really there. The recipes included are fascinating and while I’ll have to order some of the ingredients online (we don’t have some of the specialties around my neck of the woods), I can’t wait to try to make them. I loved every page.

I will say there is a small bit that gets a tad political. Keep in mind, Ronstadt is writing from her own perspective and how she’s been affected by what she’s writing about. I won’t give away spoilers, but the politics are there. They didn’t take anything away from the story for me because it’s part of who she is and part of the culture down there. She’s writing from experience. It might not be for some and that’s okay, but don’t not read this book because of that. You’ll be missing out.

If you’ve ever wondered what this part of the country looks like, tastes like and feels like, then pick this book up and give it a try. You’ll be glad you did.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman

January 23, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Genre: Non-Fiction, Recent Historical, Memoir
Rating 5 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Madly, Deeplyis a rare invitation into the mind of Alan Rickman―one of the most magnetic, beloved performers of our time.

From his breakout role in Die Hard to his outstanding, multifaceted performances in the Harry Potter films, Galaxy Quest, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and more, Alan Rickman cemented his legacy as a world-class actor. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice, and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate audiences today.

But Rickman’s ability to breathe life into projects wasn’t confined to just his performances. As you’ll find, Rickman’s diaries detail the extraordinary and the ordinary, flitting between worldly and witty and gossipy, while remaining utterly candid throughout. He takes us inside his home, on trips with friends across the globe, and on the sets of films and plays ranging from Sense and Sensibility, to Noël Coward’s Private Lives, to the final film he directed, A Little Chaos.

Running from 1993 to his death in 2016, the diaries provide singular insight into Rickman’s public and private life. Reading them is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close companion. Meet Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveler, the fan, the director, the enthusiast; in short, the man beyond the icon.

Madly, Deeply features a photo insert, a foreword by Emma Thompson, and an afterword by Rima Horton.

A fascinating man in an everyday setting.

I love reading the diaries of famous people. Not because I want to learn something salacious. No, it’s because I want to see the person as a person–not the image on a screen. This book does that. Granted, its Rickman’s diaries and I have no doubt he ever expected them to be made public. That’s kind of what made them fantastic and magical to me. It’s just him. Just his thoughts, his boringness, his sometimes snarly comments…it’s just him. It’s what he does day-to-day. To some, this will not be an explosive read, but a boring one. He goes to fittings, struggles with depression and not feeling well. He talks about friendships and some might think name drops, but how can one name drop when they’re talking about being with the people they work with?

The most touching part of the book wasn’t even his writing, to be honest. This was a full four star read throughout, but what really tipped it over the edge for me was the afterward by his partner, Rima Horton. She writes about his last days, the decline when the cancer was too great, how he planned his own funeral and insisted on having “Uptown Funk” played that day. It made me love this actor even more. I’d already been a fan, but seeing the human side, really helped.

If you want to learn great new stories about Alan Rickman from his own hand, then this might be the book you’re looking for. I recommend it heartily.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Jane Austen Time Traveler by Rachel Dacus – Spotlight and Giveaway

January 20, 2023 By 5 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Rachel Dacus will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Lonely Regency romance writer travels to the future, meets her fans, dips into a pearly swimming pool, and falls for its owner. Can she ever go home again…

If Jane Austen’s novels had never ever existed, would we have rom-com movies and women’s fiction? But the young writer is discouraged by a publisher’s rejection and ready to give up writing. And an unwelcome marriage proposal she has rashly accepted spells her doom.

Someone must save history and Jane Austen! When a stranger calls and claims to be an interested publisher, a desperate Jane agrees to go with him to his office. That office turns out to be in the future. And it’s not an office, but a bookstore in southern California in 2024 where fans of Jane Austen gather every month to discuss her works.

Jane greets the Jane Austen Superfan Club, only to find that superfans can be super picky. Discouraged by their critiques, Jane wants different adventures. Even deadly, dangerous ones. And oh, yes! Romantic ones.

Her “publisher” had hoped to inspire Jane’s writing by showing her a book club devoted to her writing. But when she meets a tall, handsome superfan, Jane decides to chart her own course. She disappears with her new friend, and history may have to save itself …

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from the book:

Jane sat up and looked out of the wall of glass. It overlooked the pool they had walked beside last night. Will was swimming with a most peculiar stroke, like a butterfly spreading its wings. He leapt from up the water and then disappeared under again, doing a stroke she had never seen, even at the seaside when the boys played in the ocean.

Jane lay still, contemplating the day and the swimmer.

She should get dressed and join him at the pool, to watch from nearer. Having only her new, silky outfit from last night, Jane wondered if she could wear it for another day. The idea of returning to the hotel and lacing up the layers of her old life returning made her shiver with dread.

Will had left George a message, Ubering their whereabouts, he had said. George would have to rest content with her absence for at least another morning.

Will’s rhythmic swimming mesmerized her as she listened to the sound of his hands and feet slapping the water. He changed to a smoother stroke, swimming quickly back and forth the length of the pool.

Jane dressed and joined him. The day’s warmth was beginning, so she was glad she had left off her jacket.

Will swam over to the side of the pool, dripping like the statues of Attic gods in fountains in Hyde Park.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked. When she nodded, he said, “I made breakfast for us, if you’re ready.”

“Breakfast would be wonderful.”

He swam to the far end of the pool, walked up the steps. Drying off with a blue towel, he wrapped it around his hips, which made Jane look up and around at the sky and gardens, anywhere but at the living statuary that was Will Fleming, a man who had kissed her last night.

RACHEL DACUS writes about history, love, family, and art — with a touch of magic. Rachel is the author of both prose and poetry. When she’s not writing or reading, she listens to music and walks through the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with her architect husband and a lively Silky Terrier. She blogs about books and the writing life.

Website: https://racheldacus.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rachel_Dacus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racheldacusauthor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelDacusAuthor

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austen-Time-Traveler-Timegathering-ebook/dp/B0BDVXLXC1

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