Casual antique dealer Jake Patch picks up an unusual object and can’t put it down. Literally. His find is a time travel device, and he hatches a bold plan to acquire objects from the past and sell them at modern day prices. But when the mysterious Infinity Glass leaves Patch stranded in a dangerous past, it falls to his teen daughter Cass to save him.
With hints of The Time Traveller’s Wife and Back to the Future and a smattering of Lovejoy, Patches through Time will send you spinning headlong into the past, then spit you back into the twenty-first century.
This book contains occasional profanities. Trigger warning: bereavement (parent, spouse).
Sian Turner was born in Wales, but lives in East Sussex. She has recently started learning Welsh (and can categorically testify that Welsh is difficult).
She works as a part-time volunteer in her local RSPCA cat re-homing centre, from where she keeps adopting new family members (only one or two at a time).
Sian enjoys reading and reviewing some of the many truly amazing novels by Independent Authors, and she is secretary of her local writers’ group, Shorelink Writers.
This is a combination of YA, Fantasy, and Time Travel. The official book blurb says it’s reminiscent of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Back to the Future, and it is in one way, which the reader will soon see. The rules of time travel are very firmly set by the author, which I liked quite a bit. The method of time travel is both an object and a magical creature, which I feel worked in this book.
The plot did not go the way I would have liked, but the premise of the story was good. It appears there are more books to come, as this one ended on a cliffhanger.
I received a free copy of this book via Rachel’s Random Resources. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
I’ve been out of pocket due to work and watching grandkids, but I’m back now and I wanted to share some mini reviews with you. They’re both four stars, or will be rounded to four stars on sites with no partial star option. I am going to occasionally do mini-reviews more in the future. My mini reviews will include overall impressions and do not have an author bio. Click on the covers to buy the books. My impressions are below.
AND JUSTICE FOR MALL
BOOK DESCRIPTION
When Riley Schoenberg strides into family lawyer Sandy Moss’s office without knocking and coolly sits down, Sandy’s more irritated than amused. She has a client meeting to prepare for, and being interrupted by an eleven-year-old girl is not on her to-do list.
But then Sandy hears Riley’s pitch, and it’s a killer one: Riley’s father’s been convicted of murdering her mother … and the oddly intimidating pre-teen will do anything to get him out of jail.
Sandy, in turn, will do anything to get Riley out of her office. Which includes agreeing to look into her dad’s case for free. A decision she regrets when it turns out Riley’s inheritance has made her a multi-millionaire.
Still, Sandy’s determined to get Riley the answers she needs. There’s just one tiny problem: Riley might be convinced her father’s innocent, but Jack Schoenberg is insisting he did it.
MINI REVIEW
This is the fourth Jersey Girl mystery series and the first I’ve read. The characters were engaging, and there was a bit of humor running through the book, even in dangerous situations. The book had a great tone that kept me intrigued. The plot was interesting and the mystery had some twists and turns that were fun to figure out.
My rating is 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 on sites with no partial star option.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions are my own.
TWICE IN A LIFETIME
AUDIOBOOK DESCRIPTION
Isla has fled the city for small-town Missouri in the wake of a painful and exhausting year. With her chronic anxiety at a fever pitch, the last thing she expects is to meet a genuine romantic prospect. And she doesn’t. But she does get a text from a man who seems to think he’s her husband. Obviously, a wrong number—except when she points this out, the mystery texter sends back a picture. Of them—on their wedding day.
Isla cautiously starts up a texting relationship with her maybe-hoax, maybe-husband Ewan, who claims to be reaching out from a few years into the future. Ewan knows Isla incredibly well, and seems to love her exactly as she is, which she can hardly fathom. But he’s also grieving because in the future, he and Isla are no longer together.
Ewan is texting back through time to save her from a fate he is unwilling to share—and all she can do to prevent that fate is to learn to be happy, now, in the body she has, with the mind she has. The only trouble is the steps she takes in that direction might be steps away from a future with Ewan.
Melissa Baron’s time-crossed romance features a quintessentially endearing and brave protagonist, and an engrossing plot that will keep you turning pages until its breathtaking finish.
AUDIOBOOK MINI REVIEW
This time slip story has a little bit of a vibe of the Sandra Bullock movie The Lake House, a bit of The Butterfly Effect, and situations that show that changing the future has consequences.
Twice in a Lifetime is not exactly a time travel story, but more of an exchange of messages from one time to the other, which is what reminds me of Sandra Bullock’s movie The Lake House. The rules set by the author give consequences for changing the future. I liked the whole premise. There are also serious themes of traumatic brain injury and depression that are well presented.
Megan Tusing does a good job with the narration, and I liked the conclusion. My rating is 4.2 stars, rounded down to 4 stars on sites with no partial star option.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from Dreamscape Media via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.
BUY LINKS: Remember to click the covers for the buy links.
This is another book that I reviewed for The Historical Novel Society, although I added the second to last paragraph for this blog after publication.
Grace Wentworth’s parents, James and Sarah, share a bond so close that nobody can truly fathom it, not even their daughter. Grace also senses they are keeping a secret that involves her in some way. And then there are her vivid dreams of the past. When Grace goes to visit her grandmother’s farm in Idaho, the mysteries begin to reveal themselves. This is the fifth book in The Loving Husband series. It can be read as a standalone.
This is a fascinating mashup of history, time travel, and the paranormal that will keep you guessing. It starts in present-day California and Idaho and then goes back in time to the Oregon Trail in 1850. There is a strong cast of characters that surrounds Grace in every time and place. The history of the Oregon Trail is well-researched, and the danger, monotony, and sadness of the trail are well portrayed. Magical friends in both timelines help Grace in her search to understand the truth. Secrets are revealed, and the veil between the real and magical worlds becomes thinner than ever. This is a unique and compelling mix of history and the supernatural that will captivate and sometimes surprise the reader.
As always the method of time travel is important, and this book uses an object fairly well. The rules of time travel in this book seem to be governed by love, the paranormal, and “souls connecting across time.” That’s not my favorite trope, but it’s common in time travel romance. My rating is 3.8 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Copperfield Press via The Historical Novel Society. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meredith Allard is the author of the beloved bestselling paranormal historical Loving Husband Trilogy. Her sweet Victorian romance, When It Rained at Hembry Castle, was named a best historical novel by IndieReader. Her other books include Christmas at Hembry Castle; Down Salem Way, the prequel to the Loving Husband Trilogy set around the Salem Witch Trials; Victory Garden, a novel of the American women’s suffrage movement; Woman of Stones, a novella of Biblical Jerusalem; That You Are Here, a contemporary sweet romance; The Window Dresser and Other Stories; and Painting the Past: A Guide for Writing Historical Fiction. When she isn’t writing she’s teaching writing, and she has taught writing to students ages five to 75. She loves books, cats, and coffee, though not always in that order. Her latest release is The Duchess of Idaho, a time-travel romance set on the Oregon Trail. She lives in the hills of Southern Nevada near Las Vegas. Visit Meredith’s website here.
Self-Published Saturday is my effort to help Self-Published/Indie authors with marketing. These authors have to do it all, from cover design to editing to marketing. If I can help even a little bit with promotion, I’m happy to do it. This week’s feature is Saving Schrodinger’s Cat, a completely clever time travel novel.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
In the 25th century, deep under the Earth’s shattered surface, the dying remnants of humankind live in a dwindling Colony devoid of Nature and only one can travel to the past to save humanity from its dark fate.
Clinging to life underground, after a cataclysmic all-out nuclear war, the remains of the human race are desperate for a way to change the past. Harnessing the power of an artificial wormhole, their only hope to avert global annihilation is to travel back in time and alter the discovery of nuclear fission.
Humanity’s future rests on the unlikely shoulders of Proteus. Born with a unique genetic mutation, scientists discover that he is the only one capable of surviving the ravages of time-travel. After decades of preparation, Proteus is sent backwards to early 20th century London… but Time doesn’t want the past to change and it pushes back.
To complete his mission, Proteus must manipulate the course of history, all the while battling enemy agents and avoiding the forces of Time, if he’s ever going to save the future from the past.
BOOK REVIEW
Proteus is born with a genetic mutation, one that makes him an outcast in 25th Century Society and will eventually kill him. That is, until scientists discover that people with this mutation can successfully travel in time. Proteus heads back to Cambridge University, 1921, in order to change the past and stop the devastation that has destroyed his world and forced everyone underground. He finds himself at Oxford, trying to delay the discovery of nuclear fission.
Whenever I start to review a time travel novel, I usually warn everyone that I am extra hard on time travel fiction, as it is my favorite genre. No need for warnings this time, as I loved this one! Time Travel novels must have a method of travel, and this one uses 25th Century wormhole technology. And of course there must be rules of time travel set by the author. One of the rules in this novel is that those attempting time travel into the past will experience cell death and will not survive–except for a select few. Only people with a certain genetic mutation can go back in time and survive. Another, and probably the most important, rule is that if you try to change the past, time will push back, so watch out!.
Our protagonist, Proteus, is trying desperately to change the past in order to avoid a nuclear holocaust, and time is resisting at every turn. Will Proteus be able to delay the nuclear bomb? And what effect will it all have on Proteus himself and the world he left behind? This is a time travel adventure that is both captivating and thought-provoking. It is also an action-packed scientific thriller, as Proteus battles with agents who are trying to steal the research that he is trying to sabotage! Proteus’s first impressions of early 20th Century London are entertaining and kept me reading on. His ability to weave himself into society is entertaining. His subterfuge and interactions with famous scientists take this book to the next level. It’s a wild ride, with Time as almost its own character in the book. If you like time travel, science, and thrillers, check this one out.
I received an electronic copy of this book via BookSirens. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own. Because I liked the book so much I also requested an audiobook version, and I will update this review once I’ve listened to it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Jenkins is a British-American author of speculative fiction — primarily sci-fi, thrillers, and historical fiction. He is a physician and life-long seeker of knowledge, who thrives on deep dives. Mark is as excited by the challenge of exploring a new subject in a book, as he is by learning to solo-climb glaciated stratovolcanoes — and centers these moments of discovery in his fictional works. He is the author of Klickitat – and other stories (speculative mountaineering fiction tales), and the novel, Saving Schrödinger’s Cat (Sci-fi/time travel/historical fiction).
Mark is an avid cyclist, open water swimmer, and admirer of seals. He currently lives in the Pacific Northwest where he and his wife, Joanna, enjoy hiking, climbing, stand-up paddle boarding (when Mark can stay upright), photography, and quiet walks in nature.
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Publication Date: May 27, 2022
Genre: Time Travel Romance/Regency
When you wake up in Bath, England two hundred years in the past, how far can a love of Jane Austen get you?
Janet Roberts dreams of an academic career in literature, so she can hardly believe her good fortune when she’s accepted into a Jane Austen graduate seminar in Bath, England. Settled in Georgian splendor among her seminar colleagues, Janet and her classmates live, eat and breathe Jane Austen.
An accident interrupts this idyll when Janet regains consciousness in her own room—back in Regency England. For a scholar of nineteenth-century literature, this should be a dream come true.
But Janet quickly learns there’s a world of difference between scholarly knowledge of the written page and maneuvering real life as a reluctant time traveler.
Her burgeoning friendship with Emma Huntington eases her entrée into nineteenth-century society. However, Emma’s brother, the handsome, proud and frustratingly magnetic Sir Edward, is far less welcoming.
While desperately attempting to make sense of her dilemma, Janet treads a thin line between trying to blend into her new world and not being unmasked as the imposter she is. Can she find the way to return to her twenty-first century life before her secret is discovered? After working so hard to create a rewarding nineteenth-century life for herself, does she even want to?
“Sullivan has crafted a detailed and immersive time-traveling romance populated with colorful characters and plot twists that would make Jane Austen proud.” -IndieReader Review
“A transporting drama of love, desire, and hope. Sullivan’s deft, assured narrative is interwoven with wry humor and shrewd observations as she delves into love, passion, courage, integrity, honor, duty, and sacrifice. The assured prose, visceral images, and sharp dialogue create a suitably period feel, and the swift plot advances unpredictably. Janet is an endearing heroine, and her inner turmoil at the core of the story is beautifully conveyed. Steeped in period feeling and written with intelligence and authenticity, this time-travel tale makes for a winner.” -The Prairies Book Review
“A captivating story about finding love and discovering where you belong. Sullivan’s novel is absolutely enchanting, and it’s a joy to see Janet reassess her contemporary prejudices, offering a compelling take on both the time period and on period literature. Dark Blue Waves is an effortlessly charming novel about following your heart, which is recommended for all fans of Austen and historical romance.” -Self-Publishing Review
About the Author
Kimberly grew up in the suburbs of Boston and in Saratoga Springs, New York, although she now calls the Harlem neighborhood of New York City home when she’s back in the US. She studied political science and history at Cornell University and earned her MBA, with a concentration in strategy and marketing, from Bocconi University in Milan.
Afflicted with a severe case of Wanderlust, she worked in journalism and government in the US, Czech Republic and Austria, before settling down in Rome, where she works in international development, and writes fiction any chance she gets.
She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) and The Historical Novel Society and has published several short stories and two novels: Three Coins and Dark Blue Waves.
After years spent living in Italy with her Italian husband and sons, she’s fluent in speaking with her hands, and she loves setting her stories in her beautiful, adoptive country.
Enter to win a copy of Dark Blue Waves by Kimberly Sullivan!
The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on July 6th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
Dark Blue Waveshttps://widget.gleamjs.io/e.js
BOOK REVIEW
This is a very interesting combination of a Jane Austen inspired romance combined with time travel! I will address the time travel first, as my expectations for time travel fiction are very high. The method of time travel in this book is extremely unique. It is a combination of an object and another event working together. I certainly haven’t seen it before. It may fall somewhere between unique and over the top, but it is intriguing. As far as rules of time travel, It is up to the author to set the rules of time travel and I don’t see too many here. I would say this book is definitely Jane Austen forward with just a bit of time travel.
The Jane Austen aspect of this book is superb and Austen fans will be delighted by all the references to her work. The location of both timelines was Bath, England, and I felt completely transported to the 19th century there. The romance is very well done. I loved the references to Austen’s books and the comparisons between the 19th and 21st centuries. Fans of Jane Austen will surely enjoy this romance with a bit of time travel and lots and lots of Jane.
I received a free copy of this book via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.
In A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong, Mallory Atkinson is a modern-day Canadian cop, a homicide detective, who is in Edinburg to visit her dying grandmother. She tries to stop a murder and ends up being attacked herself. She wakes up to find herself in the body of a woman, Catriona, who was attacked at the same time, 150 years before.
I’ll start this off by saying that time-travel fiction is my favorite genre, which means I’ve read a lot of it. Consequently, I’m harder on this genre than any other in my reviews. There are many types of time travel books. Some have a scientific, sci-fi bent. Some are more historical. Some are romances that only use time travel briefly. I would classify this one as a historical mystery/thriller with a bit of time travel.
Every time travel story has to have a means or method of time travel. Some use a machine, some use an enchanted or scientific object, and some use a place. This story uses a murder, which I find unique.
Each story also has to establish rules of time travel. Because time travel doesn’t actually exist, the rules are wide open for every author to set. For example, in Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St. Mary’s series, you cannot travel back to the same place where you’ve already been and you can’t change history without history slapping back. In this one, I find little to no rules of time travel at all. Time travel happens, and the only consequence seems to be that the main character, a cop, feels awkward as a maid in the Victorian era and sometimes uses language that is not appropriate for the time. She doesn’t seem worried about paradoxes or anything similar. She mentions she’s not concerned with a “butterfly effect.” She has little trouble–not enough trouble–as a Canadian blending into Victorian times in Edinburg. She’s not really concerned with changing history, other than catching a murderer. As a fan of time travel fiction, I feel at this point that the time travel was used basically as “wow” factor to draw the reader into a book that is actually a historical thriller.
The murder mystery is very strong on its own, with intricate twists and turns. The employer/employee relationship between Mallory and Gray is well done, as we progress slowly from Gray learning that Mallory, who he knows as Catriona, can read and write, to Gray and his sister realizing there is much more going on. The book does move too slowly at times.
I feel the Victorian era is well researched. The author’s note in the front outlines the liberties she took with history, as is her right in a fictional work.
Overall, this is a compelling and intriguing historical mystery/thriller that will quickly draw the reader in. The minimal use of time travel is off-putting for me, as is the fact that the book is written in present tense.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelley Armstrong believes experience is the best teacher, though she’s been told this shouldn’t apply to writing her murder scenes. To craft her books, she has studied aikido, archery, and fencing. She sucks at all of them. She has also crawled through very shallow cave systems and climbed half a mountain before chickening out. She is however an expert coffee drinker and a true connoisseur of chocolate-chip cookies.
BOOK 13 IN THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING CHRONICLES OF ST MARY’S SERIES
For fans of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, Jasper Fforde and Doctor Who.
Finally – finally! – Max has that nice office job she’s always wanted. The one with no heavy lifting and no one tries to kill her. Well, one out of two’s not bad…
Punching well above their weight, Max and Markham set out to bring down a sinister organisation founded in the future – with a suspicious focus on the past.
Max’s focus is staying alive long enough to reunite with Leon and Matthew, alternately helped and hindered by St Mary’s. Who aren’t always the blessing they like to think they are.
But non-stop leaping around the timeline – from witnessing Magna Carta to disturbing a certain young man with a penchant for gunpowder – is beginning to take its toll. Is Max going mad? Or are the ghosts of the past finally catching up with her?
What people are saying about Jodi Taylor:
‘Once in a while, I discover an author who changes everything… Jodi Taylor and her protagonista Madeleine “Max” Maxwell have seduced me’
‘This amazing series is anything but formulaic. Just when you think you’ve got to grips with everything, out comes the rug from under your feet’
‘Addictive. I wish St Mary’s was real and I was a part of it’
‘St Mary’s stories are the much-anticipated highlight of my year’
‘Jodi Taylor has an imagination that gets me completely hooked’
BOOK REVIEW
Another wonderful, action-packed trip through history with the crew of St. Mary’s, a group of historians who “investigate major historical events in contemporary time. DO NOT call it time travel.” This is Book 13, and Max, while still working as a “recovery agent” along with Markham, finds herself with a new office job. She is also fighting strange symptoms that have started to happen whenever she does a time jump. This is not a standalone and the reader will benefit from beginning with Book 1, Just One Damned Thing After Another, and reading the series in order.
Whenever another St. Mary’s book is available, I drop everything to read it. The cast of characters is fun-loving, witty, and smart, and they go through events that are sometimes hilarious, often dangerous, and occasionally tragic. And there are always fascinating history lessons. In this installment, we learn about the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The past comes to vivid life, and our historians throw themselves right in the middle of it. Filled with humor, heartache, and history, this is a series that will leave you craving more. Fans will rejoice at this newest installment that heavily features Markham, a fan favorite. New readers of this series are advised to take a time jump to book one and start an adventure they will never forget. I envy those who get to read it for the first time. Whether it’s a laugh, a learning moment, or a punch in the gut, this series has everything.
I happily received a free print copy of this book from Headline via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jodi Taylor
Jodi Taylor is the author of the bestselling Chronicles of St Mary’s series, the story of a bunch of disaster-prone historians who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. Do NOT call it time travel!
Born in Bristol and educated in Gloucester (facts both cities vigorously deny), Jodi spent many years with her head somewhere else, much to the dismay of family, teachers, and employers, before finally deciding to put all that daydreaming to good use and pick up a pen. She still has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up.
UPDATE: Because Jodi Taylor has a new book (Book 13) in the Chronicles of St. Mary’s series coming out next month, I’m republishing my review of Book 12. As I say below, I drop everything to read the next Jodi Taylor book, and I will drop out of sight in April as soon as Book 13, A Catalogue of Catastrophe, is released. I usually get it read in one day. The thing I love most about Jodi’s books in this series is that they each come with many well-researched history lessons.
Whenever Jodi Taylor, my favorite author, publishes a book, I drop everything and read it. I also listen to the audiobook version. I currently have the Kindle version and the audiobook version of this new book already. A signed paperback is also winging its way to me right now. I’m a bit of a Jodi Taylor fangirl. However, I love her books, and historical fiction with a time travel subgenre is my favorite thing to read. She also writes in other genres and I love those series too. Check out my review below.
BOOK REVIEW
St. Mary’s is back, but in turmoil, and even more than usual. Max finds herself sacked (again), and her new job may be just what she needs. Markham has gone into the wind, fleeing shadowy government figures, and his replacement is not the sharpest pencil in the box. Clive Ronan is gone, but newer, maybe even deadlier, foes are waiting in the wings. More tumultuous changes occur, and it is uncertain if St. Mary’s will survive.
As always, the characters are well developed and interesting. The story is engaging and kept me on the edge of my seat. Max is outraged in this one, and an outraged Max cannot be missed. The history of the time periods visited is well researched and I always learn something new. I always drop everything to read the latest Jodi Taylor book, and I am never disappointed.
This is book 12 in the Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. It is important to read them in order. It is not a standalone. The St. Mary’s crew is a madcap, crazy group of time-traveling historians (don’t call it time travel) who “investigate historical events in contemporary time.” Anyone who is just starting this series needs to begin with the first book, “Just One Damned Thing After Another.” I envy you the experience of reading this series for the first time.
In addition to reading the Kindle edition, I also listened to the Audiobook, narrated by Zara Ramm. Zara does an outstanding job, as usual.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jodi Taylor is the author of the bestselling Chronicles of St Mary’s series, the story of a bunch of disaster-prone historians who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. Do NOT call it time travel!
Born in Bristol and educated in Gloucester (facts both cities vigorously deny), she spent many years with her head somewhere else, much to the dismay of family, teachers and employers, before finally deciding to put all that daydreaming to good use and pick up a pen. She still has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up.
Self-Published Saturday is my effort to help self-published and indie authors market their books. Marketing is possibly the most daunting effort that self-published authors face, and if I can help with that in even a small way, I am happy to do it.
Below are three books that you can pick up free today and they are all the beginnings of wonderful series’.
The Demon of Yodok by Adria Carmichael is the first book in a thrilling YA dystopian series, Juche, set in a concentration camp in North Korea. It is free today and tomorrow on Amazon, and you can pick it up here. My previous review of The Demon of Yodok is here.
Just a reminder that Songbird by Gail Meath, the first book in the Jax Diamond Mysteries series, is free on ebook until March 14th. My review of Songbird is here.
Daughter of Time by Sarah Woodbury is the first book in the After Climeri series, about a woman who goes back in time to medieval Wales. There are 20 books in the series. Sarah Woodbury is an amazing success story among self-published authors, having sold over a million books. She has written 40 novels, all independently published.
Self-Published Saturday is my attempt to help self-published and independent authors with one of the many tasks they have to handle on their own–marketing. Today I’m looking at a review I did years ago, back in 2013, and it’s my actually my most popular review on Amazon. The Ruby Brooch is the first book in Katherine Lowry Logan’s extremely successful Celtic Brooch series. I must explain myself before I post my review. I love time travel books, but I prefer those that lean more towards the historical than romance/sex. This one is definitely heavier on romance, and the heroine is a little (a lot) over the top, so I poked some fun at it, still giving it 4 stars. Hopefully you all won’t mind my humor, because it’s a great series and has made Katherine Lowry Logan a very successful independent author. This post today is not necessary to help with marketing, because it’s made a lot of sales, but to show self-published/independent authors all the possibilities for success, plus hopefully give everyone a chuckle. There are what could be construed as spoilers, just as a warning. Again, although I poked a little fun at this book, it is very successful.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
As the sole survivor of the car crash that killed her parents, grief-stricken paramedic Kit MacKlenna is stunned to learn her life is built on lies. A legacy from her father includes a faded letter and a well-worn journal. The journal reveals she was abandoned as a baby 160 years ago. The only clues to her identity are a blood-splattered shawl, a locket with the portrait of a 19th-century man, and a Celtic brooch with magical powers. Kit decides to continue her father’s twenty-five-year search for her identity, and solve her birth parents’ murders.
Scotsman Cullen Montgomery, a San Francisco-bound lawyer who resembles the ghost who has haunted Kit since childhood, helps her join a wagon train heading West. More dangerous than the river crossings, bad water, and disease encountered on the trail, is Cullen’s determination to expose her lies and uncover the source of her unusual knowledge and life-saving powers.
Kit is convinced if she can survive the perilous journey and Cullen’s accusations, as well as thwart his attempts to seduce her, she might solve the mystery of her heritage and return home without leaving her heart on the other side of time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author Katherine Lowry Logan couples her psychology degree with lots of hands-on research when creating new settings and characters for her blockbuster Celtic Brooch series.
These cross-genre stories have elements of time travel, sci-fi, fantasy adventure, mystery, suspense, historical, and romance and focus on events in American history. Katherine is the mother of two daughters and grandmother of five—Charlotte, Lincoln, James Cullen, Henry, and Meredith. She is also a marathoner and lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her fluffy Goldendoodle, Maddie the Marauder.
BOOK REVIEW
See my four-star review below ****
SPOILERS: I love a good time travel novel. This one has a good premise and takes us to the Oregon Trail. The means of time travel is obviously a ruby brooch. Although the history of the brooch is not really explained in this first installment, there are other books in this series and we may learn more about it later. I enjoyed the overall story, although I am much more interested in the time travel and historical period than the sex. Now here’s to the criticism: I don’t mind a good romance but can do without the play-by-play description of the sex. You’ve seen one nipple, you’ve seen them all. Except for the heroine of course. I’m sure her nipples are the best! Because this heroine is not only a time traveler. She’s also an expert horsewoman and jockey, brown belt in karate, an expert in classical music and literature, a trained paramedic, AND she even performed vascular surgery even though she’s not a surgeon. Oh yeah and she’s a sketch artist too. And beautiful. And rich. So, in other words way over the top. She’s Super Woman. And thank goodness she brought a pregnancy test with her on the Oregon trail. Because of course she knew she would need that although her fiancé was dead and she had no romantic prospects to her knowledge.
Now with all that being said, I did enjoy the overall story and the look back at a fascinating time in American History. I will try the other books in the series and see where the brooch takes us next.
**Remember whenever you buy a book from a self-published author or any author, be sure to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. It is very important to the book’s success. It does not have to be a masterpiece. Just a couple of lines will do.
Dark Blue Waves
by Kimberly Sullivan
Bonnie Reads and Writes 
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