Love's Labyrinth by Anne Kelleher

Love's Labyrinth by Anne Kelleher

My Rating: 8 *'s

Description: When two best friends enter the labyrinth at Talcott Forest, they think it will be fun to pretend to be Elizabethan ladies. But when they finally leave the maze, they have traveled farther than they could ever have imagined -- 400 years into the past.

ENGLAND 1999: When best friends Olivia Lindsley and Alison O'Neill put on sixteenth-century dresses and entered the labyrinth at Talcott Forest, they thought it would be fun to make believe they were Elizabethan ladies. But when they finally left the maze, they had traveled farther than they could ever imagine.

ENGLAND 1586: Before them stood Geoffrey Talcott, amateur scientist and younger brother of Lord Nicholas Talcott. Though he played the part to perfection, both women knew time travel was impossible -- until they met Queen Elizabeth herself! Lord Nicholas managed to pass them off as cousins from the north, but their weird ways soon raised suspicions of witchcraft. Now, with Geoffrey's help, Olivia and Alison will search for a way back to their own century, lest they lose themselves to the past, and lose their hearts ot the dashing brothers Talcott.

My Thoughts: To be quite honest, I had deep reservations about whether I would enjoy this book. My reading tastes have undergone some drastic changes over the years and I wasn't sure I would enjoy this time period. Fortunately, I've been proven wrong. This isn't the typical time travel I've been used to reading. Some of the surprises that await Olivia and Allison in 1586, including meeting Will Shakespeare and meeting people who aren't that different from them are just a few events that made this story quite interesting. Adding to the story some of the scientific theory of time travel and court intrigue and international espionage reinforced to me how dangerous and precarious life really can be living in that time period.

I really liked the characters and enjoyed watching how differently Olivia and Allison react to the change in their time period. I also enjoyed watching how Nicholas and Geoffrey react to their arrival and the ease of their acceptance of their visitors, though Nicholas wasn't thrilled at all. It reminded me how superstitious people of this time period were and the smallest action or perceived behavior could result in a charge of treason or witchcraft, which almost always resulted in death.

I especially enjoyed the ending as it brought a different twist to the time travel genre for me. I will definitely be on the lookout for more titles by this author.