#NetGalley Book Review: The Time Collector by Gwendolyn Womack

This has a great blend of history and mystery.

The Time Collector
by Gwendolyn Womack

File Size: 4010 KB
Print Length: 332 pages
Publisher: Picador (April 16, 2019)
ASIN: B07H25HM63
Genre: Metaphysical Fiction, Romantic Suspense
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0

A thrilling page-turner from Gwendolyn Womack, the USA Today bestselling author of The Fortune Teller
Travel through time with the touch of a hand.
Roan West was born with an extraordinary gift: he can perceive the past of any object he touches. A highly skilled psychometrist, he uses his talents to find and sell valuable antiques, but his quiet life in New Orleans is about to change. Stuart, a fellow pyschometrist and Roan’s close friend, has used his own abilities to unearth several out-of-place-artifacts or “ooparts”—like a ring that once belonged to the seventeenth-century mathematician and philosopher René Descartes, but was found buried in prehistoric bedrock.
The relics challenge recorded history, but soon after the discovery, Stuart disappears, making him one of several psychometrists who have recently died or vanished without a trace. When Roan comes across a viral video of a young woman who has discovered a priceless pocket watch just by “sensing” it, he knows he has to warn her—but will Melicent Tilpin listen? And can Roan find Stuart before it’s too late?
The quest for answers will lead Roan and Melicent around the world—before it brings them closer to each other and a startling truth—in the latest romantic thriller from Gwendolyn Womack, the bestselling, PRISM Award-winning author of The Memory Painter and The Fortune Teller.

Review:
Roan West has an unusual, if difficult, gift. When he touches an object, he sees the history of its origins in vivid detail. Sometimes this is an experience of joy but other times it is a horror. Those with the abilities of Psychometry are rare and the skill levels vary. One man, Stuart, has become close friends with Roan and he has repeatedly invited Roan to join their small group of psychometrist archeologists. Stuart is excited about finding objects that are out of place and time. Stuart called Roan for an important meeting but failed to show up. Roan becomes concerned when he learns that two of the psychometrist group have recently died and Stuart has gone missing.

Melicent is a young woman who for years suppressed the strange sensations she feels when she touches objects. When her mother dies from illness, Melicent is desperate to find funds to secure the future for herself and her teen-aged brother. She picks up a Tiffany lamp and a priceless watch at antique shops. She takes them to an Auction Roadshow and finds out they have surprising value. Inadvertently, in an interview that goes viral, she mentions that she ‘senses with her hands’.

Roan’s assistant sends him Melicent’s interview. Worried that she may be a target due to her newly revealed psychometrist skills, Roan flies in to meet her. Events end up pulling Melicent into Roan’s world and investigations. Their search takes them to London, France and other locations. They combine their skills to find a pattern in the material that Stuart was gathering on his computer. Roan then sets off to Mexico but Melicent realizes he may be walking into a trap. Can she get to him in time?

I really enjoyed the uniqueness of the psychometry issues. There are wonderful, historical stories shared including a meeting between Mozart and violinist Regina Strinasacchi. The stories may be fictionalized but they added lovely depth. I enjoyed Melicent and Roan’s reserved characters and the romance that blossoms between them. The suspense kept me reading till the end. I recommend this to readers who enjoy historical detail and mystery suspense.

Source: NetGalley 2019. This qualifies for my 2019NetGalley goal.

Book Review: Much Ado About Highlanders (The Scottish Relic Trilogy) by May McGoldrick

This story provides a fine blend of romance and action with strong characters!

Much Ado About Highlanders (The Scottish Relic Trilogy)
by May McGoldrick

File Size: 1104 KB
Print Length: 308 pages
Publisher: Swerve (May 3, 2016)
Sold by: Macmillan
ASIN: B01C2T1XIY
Genre: Historical Romance, Scottish
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

In the heart of Scotland, this Highlander is about to meet his match in a brand new romance from bestseller May McGoldrick.

Highland warrior Alexander Macpherson has lost his wife. When he agreed to take Kenna Mackay as his bride to advance his clan’s power in the north, he expected a bit of an adjustment. He didn't expect the sharp-tongued beauty to run away on their wedding night. Still, Alexander wants his runaway bride…and he has the sneaking suspicion that she wants him, too.

Kenna Mackay thought she was safe in a priory full of nuns learning the craft of healing, but when she is kidnapped by her own husband, the battle of wits begins anew. But even as passions ignite, a deadly secret from Kenna's past rises to the surface and put their new love in jeopardy. As a heartless villain closes in, two headstrong lovers find themselves locked in a struggle between evil and the power of undying love. And this time, Alexander is determined he will not lose his wife again.

Review:
This story picks up six months after Kenna fled her marriage. Kenna lost her mother as a young girl, after which her father gave her little affection. Once she reached marriageable age he arranged a favorable marriage with Alexander Macpherson. Kenna was not happy being treated as chattel and made plans to flee to a priory.

Alexander is the eldest of three young men who are known for their comradery, pursuit of women and adventure… as well as pranks. Alex was quickly struck with Kenna’s beauty and strength but wasn’t prepared for his bride to take off the night of their wedding.

Six months later Kenna and her cousin, Emily, are kidnapped by Alex’s younger brother, James. Alex and Kenna are shocked to come face to face and immediately start sniping at each other. A small band sets off to exchange Emily for other stolen property.

Alex and Kenna awaken the next morning to find they have been abandoned by the others. They soon discover they must work together and protect each other as they dodge English raiders being helped by brutal Scottish lowlanders. Kenna discovers that she has extraordinary skills beyond the healing techniques she has been taught. She possesses a stone passed on by her mother but someone evil wants to steal her gift.

A simple plan for romance goes awry and James and Emily find themselves at odds as well as Kenna and Alex. The reader gets to enjoy two growing and warming romances woven amid danger and intrigue.The story moves at a good pace with lots of action as well as the nice romances.

Kenna is a strong, feisty female willing to stand up for herself in a time when that is not expected. Alex is a handsome alpha male who is able to appreciate Kenna’s strength if only he can make her see that she can find love with him and acceptance in his clan. Their bantering is a fun part of the story adding to the romantic tension. I also liked the element of the stone pieces and the gifts they bring. I am hoping that the use for evil will be the downfall of the villain… maybe in the next story.

This is a very nice blend of sensual romance and action. Maybe not enough heat for some romance readers but nearly perfect for my tastes. Reading this reminded me why I have collected a handful of books by this husband and wife team. I recommend this to readers who like Scottish romances with spice and danger but not graphic sex. I would like to read the rest of the trilogy to find out what happens to the other women who have the gifted stone pieces.

I received this new release through NetGalley. It qualifies for my NetGalley Challenge and “M” in Alphabet Soup.

Book Review: Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey

This is a wonderfully evocative dual romance: a touching love story in 1942 London woven with the lives of a 2011 London couple.

Letters to the Lost

by Iona Grey

• File Size: 791 KB
• Print Length: 384 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (May 26, 2015)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• ASIN: B00P5RA580
• Genre: Romance
• My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0
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Book Description
Publication Date: May 26, 2015
An accomplished novel from a talented writer, Letters to the Lost is a stunning, emotional love story. Iona Grey's prose is warm, evocative, and immediately engaging; her characters become so real you can't bear to let them go.
I promised to love you forever, in a time when I didn't know if I'd live to see the start of another week. Now it looks like forever is finally running out. I never stopped loving you. I tried, for the sake of my own sanity, but I never even got close, and I never stopped hoping either.
Late on a frozen February evening, a young woman is running through the streets of London. Having fled from her abusive boyfriend and with nowhere to go, Jess stumbles onto a forgotten lane where a small, clearly unlived in old house offers her best chance of shelter for the night. The next morning, a mysterious letter arrives and when she can't help but open it, she finds herself drawn inexorably into the story of two lovers from another time.
In London 1942, Stella meets Dan, a US airman, quite by accident, but there is no denying the impossible, unstoppable attraction that draws them together. Dan is a B-17 pilot flying his bomber into Europe from a British airbase; his odds of survival are one in five. In the midst of such uncertainty, the one thing they hold onto is the letters they write to each other. Fate is unkind and they are separated by decades and continents. In the present, Jess becomes determined to find out what happened to them. Her hope--inspired by a love so powerful it spans a lifetime--will lead her to find a startling redemption in her own life in this powerfully moving novel.

Review:
Jess escapes from her abusive boyfriend by running into the night. She eventually stumbles down a dark street and finds a deserted house where she hides until she hears his feet fade away. Having no where to go she sneaks into the house for shelter. The next morning she is pondering what to do when a letter is passed through the mail slot. It is clear that no one has lived in the house for quite a while and she is curious about the mail. Amidst all of the junk mail to 'Nancy' or Occupant comes the new letter addressed to 'Stella' and marked personal and confidential. Jess decides to check it out since it looks so important. She is surprised to find that the letter seeks a long lost loved one. As Jess continues to hide she finds a box of letters hidden in the bedroom. Reading them she finds herself mesmerized by the one sided tale of a love story between British Stella and American pilot, Dan.

Will works for an ancestry trace office and is looking for Nancy. He spots Stella one day but she claims no knowledge. Will perseveres and becomes friends with an elderly neighbor who tells him about Nancy and produces a key to the vacant house. When Will goes to inspect the place he discovers Jess almost dead. He gets her to the hospital and stays to see that she is alright. He is drawn to the frail girl and disappointed when she calls him “Dan” in a moment of delirium. When she awakens she explains about the letters. Together they begin a search for Stella in hoes that they can put her in touch with Dan before illness ends their chance to see each other one more time.

The story shifts scenes from 1942 to 2011 with glimpses of both sets of characters and their growing feelings. I like this technique of weaving two separate relationships. It is like a mystery unfolding or putting pieces of a puzzle together until the full picture is revealed.

Although there are some haunting similarities between Jess and Stella there are also major changes in the societies they have to cope in. Dan and Will are different in temperaments, one eager to enjoy life and the other moody. But when it comes to protecting a woman they have chosen they are quite similar. There is joy with anticipation and hope and shattering heartbreak with fear and despair. The characters are beautifully developed and the settings for the most part accurately portrayed. The writing is beautifully evocative and gave me a sense of being there.

I don’t always like ‘drama’ in my reading but in this book I was completely engaged by both the historic love story and the modern one. This is a debut novel and I certainly would be interested in more by Ms. Grey. I recommend this to readers who love a tender romance because here you get two, one with lovely history!

I am glad I selected this through NetGalley because it sounded interesting and it is beautiful. This will add to my NetGalley Challenge.

About the author:
IONA GREY has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the lives of women in the twentieth century. She lives in rural Cheshire with her husband and three daughters.