Author: Terri Brisbin
Publisher: Jove Time Passages
Publication Date: September 2000
Genre: Time-Travel Romance
Buy The Book: Amazon
Description: A man born an heir, but raised a bastard. . .
A woman with the proof to put him on the throne. . .
A love endangered by the intrigue of Elizabeth’s court. . .
Richard Granville, an illegitimate son of Henry VIII, has always wanted to be king of England, but a bastard cannot inherit that position. So, he contents himself by serving his half-sister Queen Elizabeth. When her enemies approach with claims of his rights to the throne and with a plot to put him there, he is tempted. . . oh so tempted. Sharon Reynolds, a museum curator on holiday in present-day England, discovers proof of a legitimate male heir to Henry VIII and is shocked to be thrown back through time with that proof. Believing she was sent back to right the wrongs done to Henry VIII’s rightful heir, she searches for the man who should be king. Unfortunately, by the time she uncovers his identity she has fallen in love with him. Giving Richard the evidence may bring his death if he fails. Giving him the proof will mean losing his love if he becomes king for a commoner is no fit wife for him then. Danger, intrigue, and deception surround them as they struggle to find the path that fate means for them. . . and their love.
Can their love help them survive in Elizabethan England or will Richard forever remain the queen’s man?
My Thoughts: If you are a fan of time travel romance like I am, you accept the certainty that you will have to suspend disbelief that the concept of traveling through time is real as well as the care the traveler must take to ensure their presence in the past doesn’t alter the future to the point of wiping out their own existence. Pretty big responsibility that I doubt I would be able to manage, but the idea in itself is thrilling…once you get over the complete shock and terror you feel at discovering your surroundings.
Sharon Reynolds is a typical twenty-first century woman, lives in Chicago and picking up the pieces of her life after a professional catastrophe calls not just her reputation but her entire career into question. She accompanies her friend, Mo, to England to an archaeological site where she can be of assistance with different fabrics and textiles. Upon entering a previously undiscovered room, she finds a trunk filled with fabrics and dresses from the Elizabethan period and upon closer inspection of one dress, a stack of parchment disclosing that the previously thought dead son of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn lived, making him the rightful heir to the throne of England and not Elizabeth I. After her initial shock and amazement dissipates, Sharon leaves the room, only to discover that everyone around her is dressed in Elizabethan era costume and she is assumed to be a lady of the court assigned to the Queen’s wardrobe. Like Sharon, I also would think that I had somehow wandered into a Renaissance Fair cosplay and marvel at how authentic and real everyone’s performances are. Luckily for Sharon, she realizes quickly that the impossible has happened and she has to figure out why she came over four hundred years into the past and how she will get back home.
Richard Granville is the master of the Queen’s stables and has quite a reputation for being a seducer of women. Growing up knowing he is the illegitimate son of Henry VIII, he has had to prove himself worthy, though he has always dreamed that he would sit on the throne and rule England. He is drawn into a plot to take the throne and he is the rightful heir in the eyes of the Church in Rome. He loves his half-sister, Elizabeth, and would not want to see her come to harm. When he meets Sharon, he begins to dream of a future away from court where he can live out his life breeding prized stallions on his own stable farm.
Can you just imagine the type of deceptions and intrigues that occur at the royal court? One whisper of a rumor about a plot to overthrow the current monarch could find you imprisoned in the Tower of London waiting to have your head removed. One whisper of a rumor that you are from the future could have you labeled as a witch and burned at the stake. Honestly, how anyone made it to a ripe old age in this time period is beyond amazing.
I thought this story was well researched and described with the perfect amount of detail, which gave me a better view of Sharon’s new surroundings. I also enjoyed the small details regarding the furnishings, clothing and the meals. It certainly made me appreciate the luxuries of indoor plumbing, central heat and air, motorized vehicles and electricity.
I liked Sharon and Richard quite a lot individually and as a couple. I felt enormous empathy for the situation they find themselves in and grave concern for their safety. I was on pins and needles at what would happen as well as when Richard learns the truth about his birthright and that the woman he has come to love is from the future. I felt that actual historical characters like Queen Elizabeth I and William Cecil were depicted as I expected, but with a few unexpected surprises that were wonderful.
My Final Verdict: I highly recommend this story to fans of time travel romance as well as readers who enjoy historical settings and time periods and aren’t bothered if there are a few liberties taken. My biggest regret about this book is that it took me so long to finally read it, but I’m not interested in going back in time to remedy that.
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