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Linked Across Time: Volume 1*
Unbalanced Set of Novellas
This is a collection of the first three novellas of the Linked Through Time series by Dawn Brower. There are also excerpts from the next book in the series as well as the first book of another series.
Book 1: Saved by My Blackguard: In 1987, Paul was told that he needed to take a vacation because he was killing himself with overwork. In 1722, Lady Evelyn with sent on a ship from St. Kitts to England so she may finally be wed to her betrothed, a duke. Soon, pirates overtake her ship, and she is eventually thrown into the sea by one of them because they believe having a woman on a ship is bad luck. In a time slip, Paul and Evelyn end up on the same beach in 1722. They have an almost instant attraction to each other. How will this work out with the time difference? Will Paul make it back to 1987? This is a relatively quick novella, so unfortunately, characters couldn’t really be developed fully, and the romance plot was on hyperspeed. It’s a fascinating enough premise for a book that I think it could have been expanded into a novel quite easily. I thought, too, that Lady Evelyn had way too much of a modern sensibility about men and sex; she did not come across as a young woman who was born at the turn of the 18th century in 1700. As a nurse, I can say that Paul’s visit to the doctor is like nothing that ever happens between patient and physician, first the detailed advice and then also the prognoses. Unfortunately, this book was riddled with grammar, punctuation, and usage errors. It has awkward phrasing as well and unnatural sounding dialogue. The text felt a little choppy, especially in narrative sections that were meant to show the passage of time. Rating 3/5
Book 2: Searching for My Rogue: Oh, my gosh! What a fun read this is! Alys is a smart-mouthed American from Baltimore in 2015. Her spoiled sister, Regency, is having a Regency themed wedding the estate of Bradford, the Duke of Weston. While there, Alys takes a tumble off a cliff and into Regency England. The Regency duke, James, has recently returned from the Napoleonic Wars, suffering in both mind and body. He finds her on a beach, nearly unconscious, near his estate. He takes her back there and calls a doctor. The banter between these two is so amusing. Alys is so funny and sarcastic as she’s trying to figure out what’s going on, where precisely she is, and who this man who looks so much like Bradford is (the duke in modern portion). The Regency duke at first doesn’t understand things like her strange shoes and some of the odd words and phrases she uses. Their heated discussion even becomes physical! He thinks she’s mad until she shows him her driver’s license that shows her birthdate. This book didn’t seem to have as many problems with grammar and punctuation as the other one. It was just a deliciously fun read. My only wish is that were a novel and not a novella, as I would have loved to have seen more about both of these characters. Rating 5/5.
Book 3: Seduction of My Rake: This is Regina and Bradford’s story. The prologue sets up that Regina’s marriage to Trenton is already on the rocks after just a few months; they will be divorcing. Regina can’t quite let go of the disappearance of her sister Alys, so she goes back to the Duke of Weston’s estate to look into it. She and the duke have an attraction to each other (almost love-hate), which they pursue, along with answers about Alys. I didn’t particularly like this book because of a few factors. First, I just didn’t like the characters of Regina and Bradford. They’re not very nice people, and for people who are supposed to be starting to care about each other, they treat each other abominably. This book, too, takes place wholly in the present, unlike the previous two. The principals’ banter, but it isn’t nearly as amusing as book two because it seems more hateful. There were some errors in grammar and punctuation, but they were not as marked as the first book and not quite as good as the second. Rating 3.5/5
So, how are these stories “linked through time”? Paul and Evelyn of the first book are the parents of Alys and Regina of the second two stories. Alice is adopted, and Regina is their natural child, avoiding the pesky problem of Regina and Bradford’s future children have a multiple-times great-grandmother who is also their aunt.
