Review: Brilliant - 4.5 stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 6, 2014
I was unbelievably lucky and picked this set up on a special for just over $1 but I have to say that I would happily have paid full price. I'm not a great lover of time travel romances but there are exceptions like Karen Marie Moning. I'll also be making a exception of this author now too.There are 3 full length stories, combining modern day and 15th century Scotland. Initially it took me awhile to get used to the author's style of writing because it is different. The first story, Going back for Romeo, sets the scene for the trilogy and it's about the Laird of the Ross clan and how his clan has been affected by a curse made by his sister. The H has 2 sisters the older one, Morna was caught making love to a neighbour, the love of her life, and the H marries her off to another awful guy, to make allegiances with his clan. The younger sister, Isobelle, then goes to a pair of identical twin 'witches' to help her cast a spell in order to bring the star-crossed lovers back together. The h is from Wyoming the 21st century and is coerced by elderly identical twin women to visit a castle in Scotland (quite an involved plot). The h ends up in the H's castle where the H and his cousin try to keep the h a secret by banishing everyone from the castle for 2 weeks. The background is that he was about to get married when everyone in the great hall heard a woman calling for help. He has supposedly 'buried' his sister Isabelle alive, as a witch in the great hall. Everyone believes the yelling comes from her ghost. The H and h are immediately attracted but are fated to be 'Romeo and Juliet' because of coming from different times. The h is very insistent that the course of history not be changed but she is determined to get Morna and Ivar (her lover) together in the 21st century.A very entertaining tale that sets the series up nicely. I'd recommend persevering with the choppy writing style, I did and it was a really good read.The second story, Not Without Juliet, is really enjoyable and had some laugh out loud moments. Here our H was the modern day Ross, who switched places with his ancestor so that he could be with his wife in the 21st century (the H and h from book 1). This time the identical twin of the h from the first book goes back in time accidentally, whilst trying to avoid a hitman. She'd witnessed a crime in the 21st century and was due to testify in court. She also wants to confront her identical twin because she (h from book 1) has never come to find the family she left behind when she was 3 years old. The h then meets the H in medieval Scotland and they have quite an entertaining time of it. Yes, it was quite far-fetched but it was a fun read. I like the way we didn't quite like the brash h at the beginning but eventually we came around.The last, Collecting Isobelle, was my absolute favourite and I couldn't put it down. Here the h is the person that started all the drama with her curse, is now being pursued by the agent, James, from book 2. The h is beautiful with very catching red hair and a fiery temperament to match and is always in trouble. The H is the 'enforcer' for the church in Venice and he hears her saying she'd been tried as a witch. He decides to 'arrest' her and lock her in a tower on his private island in Venice, where he plans to rehabilitate her. I absolutely loved the conversations these 2 had. My goodness, I was in love with the H by the end of it all. This was beautifully written and very emotional at times. The writing in this last book was so much better. I will be reading this book again.I really recommend this box set.