Friday, May 23, 2008
Sundial
***** Sundial by Carrie Lofty. Time travel romance.
When Amber Schulman arrives in 1958 Sorrento, Italy from 2007 England, one of the first people she meets is Mark Lacey... from 1987.
He's been stuck in 1958 for 4 years, since he was 16. He's seen other time travelers come and go, yet he's remained. So he's frustrated, angry, and cynical, having grown up very fast when he was plunged into a different time and place at such a young age. Yet he still tries to help Amber out. He's irritable about it, but he does it.
They fall in love, but hold back because neither of them knows if or when they'll be whisked back to their own time. Eventually, working together, they try to solve the enigma of their time travel and engineer a return so they can be together.
This is one of the very best time travel romances I've read, despite its short length. In fact, I was surprised at how short it was, since the story was very complete. The characters are real and understandable and likable, and I could almost believe I was in 1958 Sorrento, it was described so vividly.
I'm not normally a fan of big age differences in romances (Mark's 20, Amber's 30), but it works well here: Mark's had to grow up a lot in his 4 years in 1958, and his greater familiarity with the place and the language makes up for the 10 years she has on him. Plus, it ****semi-spoiler****helps with the ending.****
I think my favorite thing about this story, other than the characters, is how the two of them worked together to get "back to the future." (sorry--I couldn't resist) I won't tell you how it turns out, but the ending is just perfect.
I bought this because I've enjoyed Carrie's blog, and I like supporting new authors. I have her next book, What a Scoundrel Wants, on my to-buy list for December because she's a damn good author.
Categories: Books, 5stars, TimeTravelRomance
Labels: 5 stars, books, TimeTravelRomance
