A Twist in Time

      A Twist in Time by Candice KohlA Twist in Time by Candice Kohl is the story of a modern woman who finds herself living in the medieval land of 1215.

      Judy Lambini is an agent who has come to England with one of her writers who is doing research on a book about King John.  Carla has been in touch with the Viscount Laycock who has indicated that he has some documentation that will help her and so she and Judy head to England.

       

       

      The Viscount certainly does have the papers. However he is lacking in manners somewhat and Judy finds herself abruptly dismissed and left to amuse herself whilst Carla views the papers.

       

      The Samhaim celebrations draw her attention and she follows Duke and Duchess, two dogs on the estate, to the bonfires.  Unfortunately whilst trailing after the dogs, Judy finds herself apart from the other guests and alone on the hillside next to the ruins of Laycock Castle.

       

      Caught up by an unknown force Judy finds herself waking up in the year 1215 when the castle is still standing and the village she had been staying in has vanished.  Thinking herself caught up in some kind of re-enactment she at first tries to question the villagers and find her way back to the Wixcomb that she recalls.

       

      However all Judy manages to find is an arrogant young knight who proceeds to nearly mow her down with his horse.

       

      Waking from a faint Judy finds herself being taken in by the youngest Lord Laycock who is in charge of the castle whilst his father and elder brothers are away. 

       

      Partly through shock and partly through precautions Judy finds herself living as Lady Judith Lamb who is without her memory as Andrew, Lord Laycock, and his friend Philip of North Cross try to find her family.

       

      Andrew is suspicious of Judy and does not believe that she is a lady. However this does not stop him from making his intentions clear and he is determined to bed her.  Philip also makes it known that he is attracted to her, but whilst Andrew is arrogant and pushy Philip is more subtle and Judy finds herself drawn to Philip who expresses a wish to wed her once he had reunited her with her family.

       

      Convinced by the wonderful objects Judy has brought through time with her (pens, paper, lighter etc) and her mention of New York, Philip asks Andrew to contact Peter Lamb, an inventor in York who he believes is her father. 

       

      Eventually though Judy realises that she cannot keep the truth from Andrew and the closer they become the more difficult it is to keep her secret.

       

      Confiding in Andrew where it is that she has come from she then must make the choice between returning to the modern world and the man of her dreams.

       

      Ms Kohl has brought the medieval world to life in this novel but there are two things that I really did not like about it.  One is not the fault of Ms Kohl and is the fact that the back of the book clearly tells that Andrew is the one who Judy will fall for.  This is one book where there were two clear rivals, neither of them "the bad guy", and what could have been a greatly suspenseful plot as Judy chooses between Philip and Andrew was in effect ruined by the cover which gave you the outcome right from the start.

       

      The second thing that I did not like was Judy's choice at the end of the novel.  For a time travel romance novel the ending was one that is often used (admittedly I have read enough time travels to spot the signs right from the start as to how this one was going to end).

       

      However what I did not like was the reasoning behind Judy's choice. I am one of those who is of the mind that you can give up anything for true love.  Judy Lambini did not appear so sure.  As wonderful as the modern world inventions are I don't believe anyone who has found true love would even consider giving it up for the 20th century. 

       

      I also felt that she should have confided her fears in Andrew and given him far more credit than she actually did.  To my mind she did not really give herself the chance to settle in Andrew's world before deciding she wanted to go home.  To feel she has no purpose there is one thing, but to do nothing about it other than decide to leave Andrew was just laziness, at least in my opinion.

       

      Somehow I felt that whilst they were, of course, reunited at the end of the book they really do not have much of a chance of a future together due to the lack of trust shown by Judy.

       

      All in all this is a wonderful book that really does bring the past to life, just a pity that for me it was ruined by the reasoning behind the heroine's choices at the end.

       

      RATING : Animated HeartAnimated Heart
      (if you need an explanation of the hearts ratings see my homepage)

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