Author: Dee Davis
Publisher: Jove
Publication Date: July, 2000
Genre: Time Travel Romance
Description: While on vacation, Katherine St. Claire shared a night of passion with a stranger she's never been able to forget. Now, she'll meet her mysterious lover once again -- in 15th century Scotland.
AN EARRING, A MURDER, A LEGEND...
Katherine St. Claire has never forgotten the passionate night she shared with a stranger while staying at a castle hotel called Duncreag. He even haunts her dreams. Tired of loving "Fantasy Man," as her brother Jeff refers to him, she decides to go back to Duncreag in search, literally, of the man of her dreams.
Iain Mackintosh wears the cairngorm earring of the only woman he will ever love. Eight long years ago she came to him in the night like a vision. News of his father's death brings Iain home to Duncreag where he finds himself questioning the circumstances surrounding his father's demise and wishing for the woman his cousin Ranald is convinced is a fairy.
Iain and Katherine arrive at Duncreag each longing to find the other. There is however a seemingly insurmountable problem. A five hundred and thirty-year barrier separates them. What follows is the story of a love so powerful it crosses the boundaries of time. Complicated by murder and abduction in the fifteenth century their love will be tested even after they finally reunite. Only Jeff's twentieth century discovery of events from the past can save them.
My Thoughts: Publishers like Jove made it possible for readers like me to gorge themselves on various romance sub-genres like time travel. After reading my first time travel romance, I was completely smitten with the idea of true love crossing the barriers of time and space. I was so smitten, in fact, it bordered on obsession as I trolled every bookstore in my path looking for every time travel romance I could find. When Jove began publishing their Time Passages line, I was determined to acquire a copy of every single title they published. Though I was not able to achieve that goal, I did manage to find quite a few, but many of them, this one included, got buried in my “to be read” mountain over the years. When I switched to reading on an e-reader, I was excited to discover this copy available for my Nook so it prompted me to finally read it. My biggest regret is that I waited so long to read such a wonderful story.
Katherine and Iain were absolutely wonderful characters. The passion and love they feel for one another is written with such clarity and emotion, I felt for them and the despair they felt at not being together. A 500+ year gap does not diminish their certainty that they would find their way back to one another eventually. It made me realize that it’s that kind of devotion and commitment that is missing in so many relationships here in the real world. Over the years, Katherine has never forgotten about her night of passion with Iain and refuses to let go of her belief that it was real and not a vivid fantasy or dream. It’s this kind of determination and persistence that makes Katherine such a strong and amazing character.
The same is true for Iain. He has never forgotten Katherine and has even spent the years since searching for her, hoping to find her, knowing absolutely nothing about her, not even her name. She has haunted his dreams and he doesn’t feel whole without her. He is convinced they are meant to be together and would move Heaven and Earth to make it happen. I really enjoyed getting points of view from both Iain and Katherine. As the story unfolds, getting glimpses into both past and present gave me a wonderful sense of each character’s reality and helped me to see how the past and present are connected. Even after Katherine’s return to 15th century Scotland, the reader is still connected to present day Scotland and the role Katherine’s brother is placed into.
I can’t recall reading a time travel story where the past and present are so tightly connected and interact with one another. I really enjoyed it, especially when Katherine’s brother, Jeff, discovers what has happened to his sister and becomes involved in setting the past right. I don’t know why I am so drawn to time travel romance, especially if it involves kilt wearing Scottish highlanders, but I just can’t get enough of them. I don’t think I want to experience the 15th century personally myself, but if I were going to cross the barriers of time and space, Scotland would be at the top of my travel destination. Dee Davis has done a wonderful job of bringing 15th century Scotland to life, so well in fact, that it is very easy to see in my mind’s eye the beauty of the place as well as the hardships people endured back then. But it doesn’t stop there. In addition to the excitement of being in the presence of kilt wearing Scottish men and a romance that made my heart swell from its sheer intensity, Dee Davis takes it even further and throws in mystery, intrigue and murder. This story definitely has something for everyone. In case you didn’t already know, Dee Davis is no stranger to writing mystery, intrigue and murder and she does it quite well.
My Final Verdict: Overall, I highly recommend this book for everyone because it will speak to all readers. Fans of most any genre will find something enjoyable in this story. You will root for Katherine and Iain to find their way back to each other and cheer them on despite the adversity they face. You will enjoy the secondary characters like Katherine’s brother and Iain’s cousin because they add to the story and make you care about them and what happens to them as much as you care about Katherine and Iain. You will want to raise a Claymore and fight the despicable villains side by side with these characters. My only problem with this book is that the story ended and I still want more.
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