Review: When I Fall In Love
When I Fall In Love
Author: Lynn Kurland
Retail: $7.99
From Booklist
"After a particularly bad date, Jennifer McKinnon returns home to her Manhattan apartment wondering if she will ever find her true love. It turns out that she has been looking in the wrong place, and time. While visiting her sister in England, Jennifer stumbles across a "time gate" and is whisked back 800 years into the past. Just as she is about to be barbecued for being a witch, Jennifer is rescued by Nicholas de Piaget. After enduring months of matchmaking by his termagant of a grandmother, Nicholas has finally found the one woman with whom he can imagine spending the rest of his life. The only problem is that now Nicholas must find a way to convince Jennifer to stay with him in the past rather than return to her life in the future. Kurland infuses her polished writing with a deliciously dry wit, and her latest time-travel love story is sweetly romantic and thoroughly satisfying. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights "
I am not a historical romance fan by rule, however I do really enjoy Kurland's series. I have read several of her books and they remain on my keeper shelf.
This is the story of Nicholas dePaget and Jennifer Mckinnon. Nicholas is uncle to Kendrick who story is told in Stardust of Yesterday. Jennifer who we meet briefly in Much Ado In The Moonlight is sent back through time by accident or design thanks to three meddling ghosts we aren't sure. In typical Kurland style, Jennifer and Nicholas end up falling in love but not with out a few pitfalls along the way, least of all those who for their own purposes would see either or both burned as witches.
This however is just a minor plot point, most of the book is spent by the two main characters dancing around the issue of Jennifer being from the future, Nicholas, his parents and possibly a few others know of at least one other, Jake who married Nicholas' sister came from the future as well in Dreams Of Stardust. Jennifer, convinced that she is stuck, worries over her fate she is sure that Nicholas will spurn her when he finds out the truth, Nicholas in turn knows of at least one working time gate as he calls them, but is avoiding revealing what he knows in hopes that Jennifer will fall in love and choose to stay with him.
All the usual elements of Kurland's novels are there, and a few familiar faces make their appearances before and after Jennifer travels to the past, seems those gates work overtime for these families. Bordering on over used plot devices on Kurland's part, all this time traveling by family member in the second half of the book threatens to take away from the story. However as usual the characters are very endearing, and of course you will find yourself reluctant to put the book down until the end even knowing it will end happily ever after. Even the over used time travel gates, which in the first few books I read would only allow those who either had unfinished business on the other side or were considered "dead" on the side they were on to travel through. Now family members seemingly travel through time at the drop of a hat, but you know... it still works, but just barely. I fear that Kurland is begining to rely to heavily on this plot device and the next book won't fair as well, especially the idea that those in the past regularly receive help & care packages from the future. It was one thing to go back to rescue someone who isn't supposed to be there, but to attend weddings, births and just visit... I fear for the future of this series. I for one am willing to suspend disbelief for the sake of a good story, but maybe it's time for the series to end, or take a different tact.
All in all, Kurland writes a very lovely romantic tale, filled with humor and action. While this book probably isn't among my absolute favorites it definitely ranks up there and will take it's place on my keeper shelf. If you are a fan of Lynn Kurland's McLeod & DePiaget series then I definitely recommend this book. If you aren't but are interested I suggest you pick up a couple of her earlier books first, although it is not imperative that you read her in any order. As most good authors who write series she definitely brings you up to date enough to let you enjoy the story with out bogging it down. Three books I recommend you read first though to get an idea of the basic universe an such are: A Dance Through Time (my all time favorite lol), The More I See You and my second all time favorite A Garden In The Rain.
I give this book
1/2