Review: Beautiful fun story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 7, 2014
The author of this book messaged me through Goodreads inquiring if I would review her book.  I took a look and thought about it for the better part of a day.  I was on the fence.  Sure, I am passionate about paranormal romance books, but not always a fan of ones with historical elements to them.  Also the lead female is dying,  how is that going to be anything but sad and depressing.  In the end I went ahead a took a shot, most of the review were positive, so I agreed to try the first one.  I am SO glad I did, my assumptions were way off (taught me a lesson didn’t it).  If I had gone the other way, declined, I would have missed out on the beginning of a beautiful story.  The book does have a different feel to it and has a fresh approach to the paranormal genre.  I think this is one of those paranormal stories that could appeal to a broader audience than just vampire fans.The story started off a little slow for me, hence the four star instead of five star rating, and the first few chapters we jump back and forth between modern times and Grace’s episodes or visits to the past.  The writing is beautifully done, descriptive (but not too much) and paints a vivid image of the setting, characters and the world they inhabit.  Much of this beginning deals with Grace’s prognosis and that she came home to die.  It is a little heavy/sad, and I tried to keep Grace at arm’s length and not get too attached to her.  The flash backs were very intriguing and I would get frustrated when they ended, I wanted to explore this world that Grace was being pulled into.  I wanted to know more about this mystery man she kept being drawn towards.After a few chapters the author rewards us and much of the book is spent with Grace stuck in the past.  The story becomes much brighter here as Grace stops focusing so much on the fact that she is dying and wants to learn more about this ‘dream’ world she has created for herself.  The story is quite humorous at time and I loved the fish out of water feel to it.  There are elements of danger, after all Grace has entered a much different world filled with unknown elements and a much harsher people inhabit it.  Roman becomes her protector and is intrigued by this  unusual woman that keeps popping up in his life.  The chemistry between them is really well done along with the feel this ‘dream’ world Grace has fallen into.  The author took the time to research the time period and the story feels authentic to me.This is not a terribly long story, only 208 pages, so before I knew it I had reached the end.  Right in the middle of action we are ripped back to modern times and like Grace we feel a sense of loss.  The last pages continue to captivate me and I find myself to have completely fallen for Grace. I could not keep from becoming attached to her and a bawl along with her of the injustice of her death sentence.  I have added the next two books to my to-read shelf because I simply must see how this story plays out.  I am so rooting for a happy ending for Grace and Roman.Like I stated in the beginning this is a beautiful story that should have broad appeal to many different readers.  There is a paranormal element, but it isn’t too heavy and kinda takes the back burner to the time traveling parts of the story.  Fans of historical books should also give this one a try too.  And finally lovers of a good romance might also want to add this to their to-read list as well.