Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback  |  Audio

---

---

Review

4 stars!

I love Dianne Duvall’s Immortal Guardians series, and this prequel series, The Gifted Ones is an exciting, intriguing and entirely different story arc which can be read as a standalone, but still ties into the original world and its characters. It’s very cleverly done, and this book in particular has brought the two series together beautifully.

Bethany is a bounty hunter who is helping her brother track down two fugitives before everything goes wrong, and in the middle of a forest outside of Houston, Texas, Bethany finds herself in a violent and deadly gunfight. She passes out only to wake in a forest that is green and leafy, and considerably colder than the one she left, and is discovered by a group of men on horseback wearing chainmail and brandishing swords and speaking a medieval dialect taught to her by her deceased mother, who was a history professor. Confused, alone, seemingly healed from her deadly wounds and desperately worried about her brother, she accepts help from the men, led by a man declaring himself to be Lord Robert, Earl of Fosterly. Bethany initially believes herself to be in the middle of some sort of re-enactment until she is taken to Robert’s castle where she starts to think that she’s mad, until she finally comes to the realisation that she has travelled back in time to 12th Century England

Brave, strong and honourable yet with a wicked sense of humour, Robert is the brother of Dylan, from A Sorceress of His Own, and wow I loved seeing him as the hero of his own book. He was out searching for a mysterious enemy who has been attacking his lands and his people when he came across a woman wearing ‘breeches’ with all sorts of strange objects strapped to her body, and he is immediately entranced by the woman who speaks and acts so oddly. She is loud, confident and fiery and unlike any woman he has ever met, and as he takes her under his protection and welcomes her into his home, he has no idea just how much she is going to turn his world upside down.

I really love the whole ‘back in time’ concept. It merges historical with contemporary romance, but with a twist, and in a way that adds a fantastic dynamic to a relationship. Robert and Bethany are two people with very different histories, ideas and expectations who find a common thread that binds them together and just roll with it. The attraction between them is evident from the start, and they push the boundaries of what would be considered ‘proper’ back then with their bantering and their physical reactions to each other. It creates fantastic sexual tension and I loved watching each and every interplay between them.

I also loved watching the reaction that Beth evoked in Robert and his people. None of them quite know what to make of Bethany, most of the time struck dumb by her words and actions (and her need to clean everything) but she quickly wins them over with her friendly openness and enthusiasm, and as Robert watches his people fall in love with her, he finds that he is doing the same.

Theirs is a beautifully developing love story. It’s a slow burn as they both come to realise what they are feeling and then act on it, but it feels incredibly natural as they fall into a relationship that is fun, all-consuming and incredibly passionate. Even being a medieval knight, Robert has very progressive ideas about women – he respects Bethany and their relationship is a true partnership, and when she opens up to him about the truth, he believes her.

But the life they so desperately want together is fraught with uncertainty – how did Bethany get back to the past? Will she be returned to her own time, or will she be allowed to remain with Robert? And if given the choice, which would she choose? And who was the mysterious robed man that Bethany saw shortly before she passed out in that forest back in Texas?

The mystery of not knowing how the story was going to end up adds a wonderful sense of angst and desperation to the romance as Robert and Beth take all that they can get from each day with each other, not knowing if it will all be taken away from them. And as the book approached its climax, I was desperate trying to figure out how it was all going to work out. But leave it to Duvall to deliver an ending that was absolutely perfect. It was funny, sweet, heartfelt and so, so beautiful, and I loved how it all played out.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a wonderful story and a great addition to The Gifted Ones series. Dylan and Alyssa both make an appearance, as does Seth, and I LOVED the added tie in to the Immortal Guardians series as we got to meet a young Marcus – that particular storyline was a real treat.

I listened to this as an audiobook, which was wonderfully narrated by Kristen Potter. She does a great job at capturing all of the emotion that goes along with a story like this one, and I thoroughly recommend giving this one a listen if you have the opportunity.

I loved it – 4 stars.

 

The Gifted Ones

A prequel to the Immortal Guardians series.  Can be read independently.

  

A Sorceress of His Own (#1) (Dillon & Alyssa)
Review
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback  |  Audio

Rendezvous with Yesterday (#2) (Robert & Bethany)
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback  |  Audio

 

Check out our Immortal Guardians / Gifted Ones series page for more information on this exciting series – including reading order, reviews and buy links.