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Highlands of Scotland - 1295
Alexander MacKillican arrives home after a year in Edinburgh, to finds his father dying, his castle under threat of siege by a rival clan, and his twin sister claiming Faeries roam their lands. As the eldest son, it falls to Alex to take on the onerous task of setting things to rights and ensuring the welfare of Clan MacKillican. The last thing he needs is a strange woman arriving unannounced to add to the bedlam that his life has become. Especially when that woman claims to be from seven hundred years in the future! Honor demands that he offer her protection. But is he keeping her safe or has he allowed a most enticing spy into his home?
Denver, Colorado - Present Day
Analise Shaw is the perfect daughter. She's even agreed to marry the "perfect" man. But as the wedding nears, a quick trip to Scotland lands her in another time--A time in which she finds a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, and a quiet, brooding Highlander who makes her question all her old arguments against ever wanting to marry.
Alex and Annie face the challenge of their lives when they take paths completely different from the ones they anticipated. Just as they begin to suspect that, together, they can face any obstacle, they are presented with the biggest obstacle of all: the Magic that would return Annie to her own time and the man who awaits her there.
Alexander MacKillican arrives home after a year in Edinburgh, to finds his father dying, his castle under threat of siege by a rival clan, and his twin sister claiming Faeries roam their lands. As the eldest son, it falls to Alex to take on the onerous task of setting things to rights and ensuring the welfare of Clan MacKillican. The last thing he needs is a strange woman arriving unannounced to add to the bedlam that his life has become. Especially when that woman claims to be from seven hundred years in the future! Honor demands that he offer her protection. But is he keeping her safe or has he allowed a most enticing spy into his home?
Denver, Colorado - Present Day
Analise Shaw is the perfect daughter. She's even agreed to marry the "perfect" man. But as the wedding nears, a quick trip to Scotland lands her in another time--A time in which she finds a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, and a quiet, brooding Highlander who makes her question all her old arguments against ever wanting to marry.
Alex and Annie face the challenge of their lives when they take paths completely different from the ones they anticipated. Just as they begin to suspect that, together, they can face any obstacle, they are presented with the biggest obstacle of all: the Magic that would return Annie to her own time and the man who awaits her there.
Genre: time travel romance
Publishing date: November 2014
Offensive content: nothing to report but a couple of very subdued sex scenes, not graphic at all
Review:
All The Time You Need is book one in the Magic of Time series and I have to say it was a very nice surprise. I picked it up randomly and I wasn't expecting to become so engrossed in the story. It's a time travel romance and though the general course of the story is fairly predictable, there are a few unexpected twists that will keep you glued to the book until right the very end.
Annie Shaw is about to get married to a man she doesn't love, just because her family expects her to. A few weeks before the wedding she decides to travel to Scotland to see the cottage (and surrounding grounds) she inherited from her grandmother. Once there she realises that there was a lot she didn't know about her grandmother's past. On the grounds near the cottage lies the abandoned castle of Dunellen and a smaller structure which, we later discover, has magical properties. Bottom line, Annie finds herself hurled back in time to 1295, where she meets, falls in love and marries Alex MacKillican.
There is a happily ever after, though both Annie and Alex have to sweat to get there (and we too, reading the story) and in general the book is well written, coherent and all the details seem to fit. With a few exceptions:
Though I'm not an expert, I would say that language spoken in Scotland in 1295 must have been very different from present day American English. Even today I sometimes have difficulty in understanding English spoken with a thick Scottish accent, so I can imagine that going back 700 years would imply a huge language barrier. While there is some reference in the story to Annie's strange way to construct sentences, they all seem to understand each other perfectly.
Then there's the fact that she mentions she's an American and no one questions her about it. Taking into account that America was most certainly not present in 13th century maps, I would expect someone to question her about it. Actually, other than realizing she comes from another time, no one seems to be the least bit curious about the future, the places she comes from or how she lived before.
And finally, I could have done without the whole faeries thing. I understand that there's background on this in Melissa Mayhue's previous book series (which I didn't read) and that the faeries' magic is used to explain how Annie goes back and forth in time and how messages can be passed from past to present and vice-versa, but in my opinion it kind of messes up the story unnecessarily.
Still, it's an enjoyable read, with virtually no offensive content and while I don't feel like I can give it 5 stars for the inconsistencies mentioned above, it's a solid 4 stars and I still recommend it. I read it in two days in between a lot of other things, so it's a perfect book for the weekend.
Book two in the series, Anywhere in Time, was published earlier this month and I can't wait to read it too.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Annie Shaw is about to get married to a man she doesn't love, just because her family expects her to. A few weeks before the wedding she decides to travel to Scotland to see the cottage (and surrounding grounds) she inherited from her grandmother. Once there she realises that there was a lot she didn't know about her grandmother's past. On the grounds near the cottage lies the abandoned castle of Dunellen and a smaller structure which, we later discover, has magical properties. Bottom line, Annie finds herself hurled back in time to 1295, where she meets, falls in love and marries Alex MacKillican.
There is a happily ever after, though both Annie and Alex have to sweat to get there (and we too, reading the story) and in general the book is well written, coherent and all the details seem to fit. With a few exceptions:
Though I'm not an expert, I would say that language spoken in Scotland in 1295 must have been very different from present day American English. Even today I sometimes have difficulty in understanding English spoken with a thick Scottish accent, so I can imagine that going back 700 years would imply a huge language barrier. While there is some reference in the story to Annie's strange way to construct sentences, they all seem to understand each other perfectly.
Then there's the fact that she mentions she's an American and no one questions her about it. Taking into account that America was most certainly not present in 13th century maps, I would expect someone to question her about it. Actually, other than realizing she comes from another time, no one seems to be the least bit curious about the future, the places she comes from or how she lived before.
And finally, I could have done without the whole faeries thing. I understand that there's background on this in Melissa Mayhue's previous book series (which I didn't read) and that the faeries' magic is used to explain how Annie goes back and forth in time and how messages can be passed from past to present and vice-versa, but in my opinion it kind of messes up the story unnecessarily.
Still, it's an enjoyable read, with virtually no offensive content and while I don't feel like I can give it 5 stars for the inconsistencies mentioned above, it's a solid 4 stars and I still recommend it. I read it in two days in between a lot of other things, so it's a perfect book for the weekend.
Book two in the series, Anywhere in Time, was published earlier this month and I can't wait to read it too.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Appreciated reading your pros and cons on this one. I always love a good honest review! Thanks so much for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday this week!
ReplyDeleteTina
Thank you Tina! Have a wonderful weekend!
DeleteIt's always great to stumble across a great book, and for it to be a series, all the better! I hear you about the issue with historical inconsistencies... Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteMarissa
#TheCozyReadingSpot
Thank you Marissa!
Delete