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Blurb
In a dangerous time before her own…a dangerous attraction.
Amelie Besson is on the cusp of attaining the life she’s dreamed of—until she finds herself stuck in pre-war France, fifty years before her time. The country is about to be under German rule, but her most immediate problem is Henri Durand, the arrogant and infuriatingly handsome vineyard owner upon whom her survival depends.
The fiercely protective Henri challenges everything Amelie holds true—particularly her hatred of the gift that brought her there in the first place. As the bond between them grows, Amelie will begin to wonder if the life she’s returning to is actually the one she wants, and if her connection to Henri might be strong enough to surmount any obstacle…even time itself.
Review
4 stars
I really enjoyed this book, a historical-ish, time-travelling romance with mystery, intrigue and a chemistry-filled slow burning love story. It’s beautifully written with fantastic characters, and I loved it.
This is a spin-off from the Parallel Duet – a prequel (of sorts) that tells the story of Sarah, who was briefly referenced in the Parallel Duet . It can be read as a standalone, but there’s not a lot of background given to the time travelling element of the story. I’m not sure whether this would be an issue for somebody reading this book on its own, because I was already aware of the rules and the way their world worked, but just something to be aware of.
Sarah is a time-traveller, but a very reluctant one. Her ability to jump through time has caused devastation in her life, she hates it and is planning to give it up for good and settle into a ‘normal’ life. But she is having recurring dreams where her deceased sister tells her she needs to travel back to 1930s France to help a woman named Marie. Desperate to stop the dreams, she travels from 1987 to a small French village in 1938 where she renames herself Amelie and meets Marie Durand, and her older brother, Henri.
Marie is a fellow time-traveller who instantly takes Amelie in, and Amelie’s goal is to get to know her and to figure out just how she is supposed to help her. The situation becomes more complicated as she learns of the disappearance of Marie and Henri’s time-travelling mother. And then there’s the fact that she’s in France in 1938, with knowledge of what is coming in the next few years, and the dilemma of how much to reveal to Marie and Henri without altering the future.
It’s all very intriguing, and I was really curious to see where the mystery plotline was going to go, and how Amelie would be able to help Marie and Henri. I also really enjoyed the historical aspects of the story. We get to see Amelie struggling to adjust to life 50 years before her time, and the descriptions of their home, their lifestyle, and life in their small village was really interesting.
But for me, this book (as with all others) was all about the romance, and oh, it’s good! While Marie is thrilled to have another traveller in the house, Henri is far from impressed, so we get this fantastic, bickering and back-and-forth that is, of course, sizzling with sexual tension.
It’s entertaining and full of chemistry, and there is a wonderful slow burn as Amelie and Henri dance around their feelings, never coming out and saying anything, but obviously and unexpectedly falling for each other.
I’m in love … in a way you never find twice.
It’s sweet and emotional with their powerful attraction underpinning every encounter and I loved it! Their situation is difficult, but the more time Amelie spends with her Henri, her feelings continue to deepen. He accepts her and challenges her in ways she has never experienced before, and she begins to question which version of her life is the one she actually wants.
It’s a bit of a rollercoaster ride as Amelie tries to figure out her place, never forgetting the mission that brought her back in time in the first place. With a life and big plans back in 1987, new love in 1938, WWII looming, and a mystery still to be uncovered, there are big decisions to be made, and this book ends on a pretty big cliffhanger. I’m really excited to see where the story goes from here, and can’t wait to get my hands on Across Eternity, coming in April.
4 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Parallel Series
Parallel (#1)
Review
Buy: Amazon
Intersect (#2)
Review
Buy: Amazon
Parallel Duet
Parallel (#1)
Review
Buy: Amazon
Intersect (#2)
Review
Buy: Amazon
About the Author
Elizabeth O’Roark lives in Washington DC with her three children—Jack, Lily and Patrick—and attempts to write when not driving a child to sports or answering questions about the next meal and the whereabouts of batteries/phone chargers/Halloween candy. A former medical writer, she has bachelor’s degrees in journalism and psychology from the University of Texas, and a master’s in counseling psychology from the University of Notre Dame. She really hasn’t used any of her degrees, and wishes she’d invested all that tuition in Apple stock instead.