Wings of the Storm by Susan Sizemore has been recommended to me by many visitors to this website.  In fact it is the most recommended book from the visitors and as such I just had to get a copy and read and review it for this site.

Dr Jane Florian was in the year 2002 working on the Time Search project when she suddenly caught a glimpse of the future of her world.  When David Wolfe discovers this he uses it as an excuse to test his time machine.  He tells Jane he is sending her to a safe place in the past until the events she has seen are over so that she cannot alter the course of future events.

But instead of arriving at a convent in France in the year 1168, Jane finds herself in a time in the early years of the 13th century and in England.  Taking on the persona of Jehane Fitzrose, a widow newly returned from the Holy Land she finds a place of sorts in the castle of Sir Stephan DuVrai.

Using all her knowledge from the Medievalist Society she can communicate in Norman-French with the local nobles and soon makes herself at home in the castle whilst she plots revenge on David Wolfe.

Sir Stephan is a young man and makes no secret of his attraction to Jehane, not even when he knows he is to wed Lady Sibelle.

Soon the new mistress of the castle is in residence and Sir Stephan makes himself absent in the service of the king.  In the meantime Jehane uses this time to win over the young bride (who believes Jehane to be Stephan's leman) and to give the girl a makeover that will open the eyes of her young husband.

Jehane's attention however is on Sir Daffyd, a neighbour who she is drawn to like she has been to no other man.

In Sir Stephan's absence Jehane takes over the running of the castle and finds that Lady Sibelle is not the meek young girl she appears to be and in fact will make the castle a wonderful mistress.

Vowing to enter a convent as soon as the church returns to England Jehane is torn between her desire for Sir Daffyd and the need to either return to the future or avoid meddling in the past.  What she does not realise is that the mysterious Daffyd has secrets of his own and only together can they find a love that will free them both from their pasts.

After having this book recommended by so many people I found myself about half way through it and feeling very disappointed in it.

For the first half of the book there is very little interaction between Jehane and Daffyd.  I found this very strange considering it is a romance novel and they are the hero and heroine.  However I stuck with it and have to say that the latter part of the book more than makes up for, and also explains this.  In fact it will be clear to anyone who reads this book that it just could not work any other way.  I won't ruin the plot by writing it here but I will say that it is well worth waiting for.

I nearly put this book down part way through and only on recommendations did I stick to it.  For anyone who is intending to read this I suggest you do the same.

A well thought out and novel idea which does not immediately grip the reader but by the end of the novel you won't want it to end.

RATING : 
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Also by Susan Sizemore:  After the Storm

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