I decided to finish the book after initially dropping off at 59%. I am a lover of time-travel romance, but I couldn't get past some of the issues with this one. My opinion of the story did improve somewhat.
My main issues start out right at the very beginning. Why make the heroine married? How was this going to work out? The way the heroine and her husband reacted to events was not logical to me at all.
The "heroine" and her husband are a modern day happily married couple. Yes, very happily married. They are at a party when the heroine takes a dive in the swimming pool and comes up in a lake 110 years in the past. She realized something was wrong and eventually dives back in for awhile to try to get back, but then gives up. She finds a nice couple at a farmhouse near there, who help her and give her a place to sleep. The very next day, the heroine decides to go with their niece, who is going back home to a big city, a full days travel away. She actually leaves the area where she came through time, figuring she is lost forever to her family. From there, she gets a job that will take her out west, farther yet away from the area and they leave within days. She is not really mourning her "beloved" husband and two daughters and is resigned to the fact that she will never see them again. At this point, I cannot believe she would not stay near the lake and continue to dive, maybe for weeks or months before she would give up. She came through once, right? So the heroine is attracted to her employer(H) and they end up having smex, after knowing each other a few days and her only being gone(to the past) a little over ONE week!
Meanwhile, the happily married husband is going crazy over the wife's disappearance and is being watched by the police because they think he murdered his wife. His friends (a couple which includes the wife's sister) are giving him a little bit of a hard time because he is still moping over his wife, five weeks after her disappearance. Then he meets a woman who he is attracted to and they make out a little bit and he asks her out on a date. FIVE WEEKS after his beloved wife is missing! What is with these people? He knows she just disappeared and is not dead. (It turns out he does not sleep with his girlfriend-so at least he (partially) honored his marriage vows!)
The heroine is now with the hero on a wagon train with his daughters and cook bound for Oregon. Our hero cannot understand why the heroine is so reluctant to 'get busy' with him again, even though she had told him that she had just lost her husband and daughters in a bad fire. It just gets crazier from there with her attempted rape, a murder attempt and crazy jealous (of her) females all over the place. Initially, I stopped here but something compelled me to go back and finish. It did get better and I did like the ending, but the way the heroine acted about her marriage(s) and the relationship with her doctor friend was a little odd. 2.5/5 stars ( )

Long before Claire Randall walked into a circle of stones and disappeared into the past.....

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Jamaica Inn
by Daphne Du Maurier
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Price: $7.99

Availability: In Stock
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
(4.5) A spooky, gothic tale perfect for a stormy October night, October 23, 2008


"Roads? Who spoke of roads? We go by the moor and the hills, and tread granite and heather as the Druids did before us." Why I have waited so many years to read more of Du Maurier's books I'll never know, but there are definitely more of hers in my immediate reading future!

It's early 19C in Southern Cornwall and Mary Yellen's dying mother asks her to sell the family farm and join her Aunt Patience and her husband at Jamaica Inn in Northern Cornwall. Mary arrives and finds that no respectable person will venture near the inn, nor will the carriages stop there for respite. Her once lively and personable aunt is now a terrified shell of a woman married to drunkard inn owner Joss Merlyn. When Joss prepares to entertain "guests" Mary and her aunt are instructed to stay in their rooms and keep their eyes and ears covered -- although our spunky heroine does peek out the window and sees mysterious comings and goings and Mary suspects smuggling.

Mary also becomes friends with her uncle's younger brother Jem, a ne'er do well horse thief (among other things) and the mysterious albino minister Francis Davey. A mischance on the road on the way home from the village on Christmas Eve puts Mary in the middle of her Uncle and his nefarious companions in the midst of a more gruesome crime than smuggling, thus setting in motion a terrifying set of circumstances building up to a nail biting finish on the Bodmin moors.

While this one got off to a bit of a slow start for me, by the last 50 or so pages I was on the edge of my seat as Du Maurier gradually built up the tension and mystery for a rocking good finish, and a big surprise twist at the end. I really enjoyed the way the author used the spookiness of the moors and the surrounding terrain of Cornwall to set her scenes and it greatly enhanced the feel of the book in general. 4.5/5 stars. Comments (34) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Nov 2, 2008 5:23 PM PST


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Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes! (Food Network)
by Guy Fieri
Edition: Paperback
Price: $13.57

Availability: In Stock
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
What fun!, October 22, 2008


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And one book I will take on my next road trip - although why CaveMan Chicken is not in here......

Guy Fieri from the Food Channel takes the reader on a tour of his favorite Diners Drive-Ins and Dives around the country. The book is broken up into regional sections - Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest and West & Southwest. Each place gets a two page bit with pictures describing the restaurant, its history, owners and their specialty to fame. There's also a box on a sidebar called "Track it Down" with full business name, address, phone numbers and website (if available). Also included are recipes from many of the featured restaurants, and most look quite simple with minimal fuss and ingredients. Whilst I'm not much for spending time in the kitchen a few of these are putting me in the mood -- Cap'n Crunch French Toast, BBB Mac and Cheese, Chorizo Garbage Plate, a potato chip "In"crusted Dolphin (mahi mahi) sandwich and more.

The book is paperback 7" x 9" (should slip easily into your luggage), and the photos are all black and white and not on glossy paper. At the back of the book is a recipe index by type (breakfast, starters, dinner, etc.) along with a List of restaurants. I've not perused others roadside dining books to draw a comparison to, but I've found it quite entertaining perusing the recipes, as have my coworkers -- definitely a good conversation piece. Four stars. Comment (1) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Dec 6, 2008 7:16 PM PST


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The King's Touch
by Jude Morgan
Edition: Paperback
Price: $12.60

Availability: In Stock
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Beautiful prose and characterizations, but the slower pace will not appeal to all readers, October 18, 2008


The King's Touch is the story of Charles II's illegitimate son Jemmy, James Duke of Monmouth. Written in the first person POV, Jemmy recounts his life story from being removed by Charles from his mother's care, through his relationship with his father and his aunt Minnette, Charles' restoration to the English Crown and finally ending at the start of the Monmouth Rebellion at Charles' death. The life and reign of Charles II and the main characters (and Charles' many mistresses) are fairly well known, and not worth rehashing further.

Those looking for an action packed, bawdy romp through the Courts of Charles II should look elsewhere, this is not the book for you - I'd recommend Forever Amber. Yes, we see his mistresses and the intrigues and scandals of the Restoration period, but in lesser degree - even the plague and the great fire of London are almost afterthoughts in the story. As other reviewers have noted, what this book is about is Jemmy and his relationship with his very enigmatic father as Jemmy struggles to come to grips with his illegitimacy as others intrigue to have him declared legitimate and the true heir to the crown.

As stated previously, this is not a fast paced book and one that should be read in small doses so you can sit back and savor them slowly like you would a very decadent truffle or a fine glass of red wine (or both!!). Unfortunately for me, I had this as an interlibrary loan and not renewable and found myself under the gun at the last minute to blow through 500 + pages and I feel it impacted my enjoyment of this a bit. 4/5 stars. Comments (13) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Oct 28, 2008 6:30 AM PDT


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Devil's Brood
by Sharon Kay Penman
Edition: Hardcover
Price: $19.11

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Outstanding! Well worth the wait!, October 12, 2008


Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine thought they had it all - the greatest empire since Charlemagne, healthy children including the heir and several to spare - so how did it all go so wrong? The Devil's Brood takes up the story where Time and Chance left off with the murder of Thomas Becket, as Henry returns from his self imposed exile to Ireland. Henry's three eldest sons are chafing at the bit to have lands and power of their own and egged on by Louis of France they join with their mother Eleanor in rebellion against their father. In time Henry quells the rebellion and forgives his sons, but he cannot forgive his wife and queen and he imprisons her. Even though Henry forgave his sons, they are still not happy with his generosity and it eventually leads to more power struggles and back-biting amongst the brothers, particularly young Hal, who suffers the ultimate punishment for his reckless deeds.

This was a fascinating story of a brilliant, powerful king whose blind love and trust in his sons lead him to make mistakes in judgment that eventually lead to his downfall. I also loved seeing a different side of the haughty, queenly Eleanor we saw in Time and Chance, as unlike her sons she does come to recognize the wrongness (well sometimes) of her actions and the cataclysmic effects those actions had on her family. Some readers may find the first part of this book a bit slow paced as Penman does spend time setting up the back history of Henry, Eleanor and the Becket murder, but hang in there as about half way through when the boys start turning on each other the pages literally started flying. Penman's dialogue was exceptional, although I couldn't decide who got the best lines, Henry or Richard - they just smoked off the page!

One of Penman's great strengths is to take the most complex political situations and put them into a story that not only entertains the reader but educates at the same time. Five stars and it appears from the author's notes and a recent blog interview that this will not be a trilogy, she will continue the story of Eleanor, Richard and John in one more book. Hurray!

For those of you coming away from this book wanting to know about William Marshal, I highly recommend Elizabeth Chadwick's The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion. They are hard to find in the US, but readily available in the UK and Canada. Comments (48) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Dec 6, 2008 2:58 AM PST


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Paint the Wind
by Cathy Cash Spellman
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Availability: Out of Print--Limited Availability
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
(4.5) The story of one woman and the two brothers who loved her in Colorado's Cloud City, October 3, 2008


What fun and darn near unputdownable! Paint the Wind begins as ten year old Fancy Deverell's parents are murdered and their Louisiana plantation burned by marauding Yankee soldiers. Loyal slave Atticus saves Fancy from the destruction and with no other family left he takes Fancy along as they head west for a better life. After being on the road for a couple of years they meet up with a motley group of misfits in a circus run by Wes Jarvis and the spooky gypsy Magda. After several years on the road the circus disbands and Fancy and Atticus once again head west, but Atticus's health fails them in the Mosquito Mountains of Colorado and Fancy is left on her own as a deadly snow storm hits and she takes a tumble down a mountain side.....

Meanwhile the story switches to that of brothers Chance and Hart McAllister who leave their Kansas home behind at the death of their parents and head west to Colorado where they meet gunman Ford Jameson and miner Bandana McBain. Bandana takes the boys in as partners digging for silver in the mountains surrounding Oro City (soon to be Leadville when the silver boom hits), and on the way home to their mountain cabin Chance spots a bit of red cloth and a banjo sticking out of the snow and a near-frozen Fancy is rescued in the nick of time. Fancy spends the winter snowbound with the boys and stays the summer working the mine with them, as both brothers fall in love with the beauteous Fancy -- but she can only chose one -- will it be the reckless, gambling, womanizing live on the seat of your pants Chance or the steadfast and faithful Hart?

Desperate not to come between the brothers and longing to establish herself as an actress Fancy leaves the boys and after a wild auction to raise money for her grub stake she heads for New York City. Once there, she struggles to support herself and her daughter, and eventually accepts an offer she can't refuse from ruthless businessman Jason Madigan. Fancy's travels finally bring her back to Leadville and the McAllister brothers, now rich from their silver mine, but she can only marry one of the two brothers and a heart broken Jason begins his plot to bankrupt the man who took Fancy from him.

Well that's about all of the story I'm going to tell, there's a whole lot more to Fancy's tale in this 800 page paperback that kept me reading well into the wee hours. The story of Fancy and the McAllister brothers takes the reader through heartache, treachery, great wealth, financial disaster, and more until it finally culminates in a daring escape from a remote insane asylum in the Rocky Mountains along with a delightful sting to catch the baddies who done Fancy wrong worthy of Newman and Redford.

All in all a near perfect read and a jolly good yarn, my only quibbles are that I did find some of the secondary characters to be a bit stereotyped -- the Madam with the heart of Gold, Ford the gunslinger, Wu the Chinaman, the circus folks -- along with a few bits of language that didn't quite seem to fit the period. If you're willing to set those minor issues aside and want to sit back and lose yourself in the past with a big sprawling epic of soap opera proportions set in the old west, this is one book well worth looking in to. 4.5/5 stars. Comments (17) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Oct 13, 2008 5:07 AM PDT


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Journey to Yesterday
by June Lund Shiplett
Edition: Paperback
Availability: Out of Print--Limited Availability
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Long before Claire Randall walked into a circle of stones and disappeared into the past....., September 27, 2008


Stacey Gordon jumped into a swimming pool in 1975 and disappeared and found herself coming out of a lake in Ohio in 1865. Got your attention now? Good. Stacey Gordon is a woman who has it all, a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, a lively social life and a career as a nurse and finding herself alone in another century is a bit of a shock to say the least. Dazed from her trip back in time she is nursed by a family and they eventually take her to Cleveland where she obtains work as caretaker of Ben Clayton's two young daughters. Widowed Ben is disgusted with his power hungry in-laws and is preparing to join a wagon train and start a new life in Oregon territory, and with no hopes for returning to her own family Stacey joins them on the journey as the attraction between the two continues to sizzle (it _is_ a romance novel).

Meanwhile, no one believes the tale of Stacey disappearing in the pool and her husband is #1 suspect by an over ambitious police detective and the press. Anyways, lots of ups and downs in the story as the wagon train rolls westward, Stacey tries to fit in (she does keep putting her foot in her mouth, LOL the Little Big Horn where Custer died comment), a couple of truly evil baddies lusting after her, and more as Stacey's memories of her husband in the future fade and she finds herself ready to make a lifetime commitment to Ben and the past until another twist of fate sends her back again to.....

Well I'm not going to tell you, read it for yourself. While I know this is all a bunch of silly fluff, I have to say I found it jolly entertaining fluff and had a hard time putting it down and I'm very much looking forward to the sequel Return to Yesterday (Signet). Even though this is a romance the author did a nice job of putting in some details of day to day life in 1865, along with how someone from the 1975 would react to missing some of those modern luxuries we take for granted. As I've found with other time slip books I enjoyed the sections in the past more than in the present and since this book was written in the late 70's it will be a bit dated at times -- smoking in a hospital room!!! From the prices listed by the Amazon sellers it appears this and its sequel to be a bit hard to find but you can find better prices elsewhere as I did. Four stars.

**Edited** I did get a hold of a copy of the sequel via interlibrary loan. It's a bit of a melodromatic over-sexed mess and I don't recommend it, especially at the going rate from these used sellers on Amazon. Thumbs down to the publishers as well, way too many typos. What is a feverant kiss anyway? ( )