Customer Reviews

A Love Beyond Time (Time Passages)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Romance fans need to make room on their Top Ten Favorites List for Judie Aitken's debut novel. "A LOVE BEYOND TIME" is a compelling mix of history, mystery, and relationships.

The author presents a story that takes the reader beyond the realm of romantic fiction. She uses her extensive firsthand experience and knowledge of Native American culture to bring her audience into the heart of the characters and setting.

Ms. Aitken paints pictures with words the way an artist blends colors on their canvas: "Sunlight sparkled on the Little Big Horn River, warming its clear, rushing water. In the crook of the river, boys and girls played. They spent the early morning swimming and splashing, the water glistening on their sun-browned bodies. Further downriver, two old men using grasshoppers for bait took advantage of the fish driven downstream by the children's games. Overhead, clouds of swallows darted through the cottonwoods, swooping over the river to pluck insects out of the air and carry them back to their hungry nestlings. June 25, 1876 was a beautiful warm and sunny day" (from "A LOVE BEYOND TIME").

Readers will also enjoy solving the mystery. The plot is entwined with the characters and setting so that all components play an important role in the story.

"A LOVE BEYOND TIME" has a sensuous sizzle factor that goes off the chart. Yet the relationship between Wolf and Ryan also reflects the emotional balance and intensity that satisfies readers.

Make room on your keeper shelf for Ms. Aitken's books. I expect this storyteller to spin more tales of history, mystery, and love.

Not being a big fan of time travel, I was hesitant to read this book at first. But now, I'm so glad I did. Rich in culture and history, this story held me captured from the moment I started the first page. Not only is the dialogue and storyline strong and well written, but the characters described come to life in your imagination easily; her depictions of a lost way of life are vivid and real. A definite keeper on my shelves, and if you haven't read it yet - get it - I highly recommend it. Bravo! Ms. Aitken, you did good, and I can't wait to read what you publish next!

Judie Aitken has done a superb job with A Love Beyond Time. She takes all of us along with Ryan to the Battle of the Little Horn and we all fall in love with Wolf. There is a wonderfully evocative sense of time and place in her work and her secondary characters like Charley and Buddy are interesting and fun. Often when reading this book I found myself with tears in my eyes and a sense of sorrow for a way of life that was soon to be lost. I particulary liked the way that she effortlessly moved us from the present to the past without gimmicks. This is a great story by a very promising writer. It gets my vote for Favorite Book of the Year.

Dr. Ryan Burke, an anthropologist from the Smithsonian, has accepted an assignment at the Little Big Horn Valley, to document the memories of the children of the survivors of the big battle there in 1876. Ryan is instantly enamored with the culture and history of the Native people, who still call this stark area their home. However, the dig that she is involved with is suspected of selling the archifact finds and she is recruited by an old Indian to help catch the thief.

When coming back from doing laundry, the old truck she borrowed breaks down, causing her to walk back to the camp site. Once there, she spies supicious activity from the head of the dig's tent. However, her tent collapses from the storm and she takes up residence in a near by teepee. Every night, she is haunted by visions of a wolf man, who tempts her to come to him. One night, she gives in. When she wakes up, she is transported to 1876, days before the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Dillon Wolf is a hot shot attorney, who battles his tribes troubles in Washington, DC. He is determined to shut down the project which he knows is stealing from his people. After a meeting with official, Dillon is involved in an accident, where he is left in an unexplained coma.

Ryan and Wolf find each other in the past. From the first actual meeting of the two leads in the story, they are interested in each other. Ryan has difficulty, at time, understanding the reality of the way of life she has chosen to study. Wolf has difficulty understanding why he is drawn to a white woman. However, the author does a wonderful job in explaining both characters and progressing their story. Not once did I feel that love story was forced in any way. It seemed geniune, up until the end.

A LOVE BEYOND TIME was an excellent adventure. It is obvious that the author put in valuable research time, that definitely pays off in the story. This book is definitely one of the best I've read of this genre. Even the ending, which can be difficult in a time travel, is without fault and completes the novel well.

I can only say that as a fellow author of time travel I know the hours of research it must have taken you to write such a spellbinding story. I knew little about the Little Big Horn until your story. Once I started reading, I could not stop. You have a true talent and I look forward to reading your next book. For those of you who are thinking about buying this book, I would say add it to your cart now!

If you ever read and liked Gayle Rogers' book Nakoa's Woman, please read A Love Beyond Time. Even if you haven't read Nakoa's Woman, don't miss this book. The whole time I was reading A Love Beyond Time, I kept thinking of Nakoa's Woman which I read 20 years ago. In my opinion, Gayle Rogers' book was one of the best Indian love stories I had ever read. I think A Love Beyond Time comes very, very close to equalling it. The author did a wonderful job in creating the characters and making your feel so much a part of what was going on. She was able to keep you interested in the love story and equally interested in what was happening in history with the Lakota people. After I finished the book I did some research to find out more about the Battle of Little Big Horn, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull (which is something I have never done before after reading a romance novel). If this is Judie Aitkin's first book, I can't wait for her next. This is truly a keeper - a wonderful story.

Romance fans need to make room on their Top Ten Favorites List for Judie Aitken's debut novel. "A LOVE BEYOND TIME" is a compelling mix of history, mystery, and relationships.

The author presents a story that takes the reader beyond the realm of romantic fiction. She uses her extensive firsthand experience and knowledge of Native American culture to bring her audience into the heart of the characters and setting.

Ms. Aitken paints pictures with words the way an artist blends colors on their canvas: "Sunlight sparkled on the Little Big Horn River, warming its clear, rushing water. In the crook of the river, boys and girls played. They spent the early morning swimming and splashing, the water glistening on their sun-browned bodies. Further downriver, two old men using grasshoppers for bait took advantage of the fish driven downstream by the children's games. Overhead, clouds of swallows darted through the cottonwoods, swooping over the river to pluck insects out of the air and carry them back to their hungry nestlings. June 25, 1876 was a beautiful warm and sunny day" (from "A LOVE BEYOND TIME").

Readers will also enjoy solving the mystery. The plot is entwined with the characters and setting so that all components play an important role in the story.

"A LOVE BEYOND TIME" has a sensuous sizzle factor that goes off the chart. Yet the relationship between Wolf and Ryan also reflects the emotional balance and intensity that satisfies readers.

Make room on your keeper shelf for Ms. Aitken's books. I expect this storyteller to spin more tales of history, mystery, and love.

Judie Aitken has done a marvelous job of mixing history and suspense with romance. The passages are very descriptive and you feel as if you are walking through the Indian camp. The story tugs at your heart and at times brings tears to your eyes. I found A LOVE BEYOND TIME to be a very touching story. I can highly recommend this book for a great read.

I read all the favorable reviews for this title and was really looking forward to reading it. The premise of the book was good, but I never really got involved with the characters. The other reviews say that the relationship between Wolf and Ryan was wonderful. For some reason, I just didn't find it believable. I found the Native American element to be a little overdone as well. The only reason I gave this book three stars is that I think Ms. Aitken has potential. I just hope her next book showcases it.

As a fellow author of a Native American novel, I am very picky when reading such a work by another author. I absolutely loved this book. Besides being well written, the story itself is absolutely absorbing. Having visited the site of the Battle of Little Big Horn, I found myself drawn completely back there by Ms. Aitken's on-the-mark descriptions and prose.
Bonnie Napoli author of Shadows of the Eclipse