This Time For Keeps [Mass Market Paperback]

Kathleen Kane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1998

Love was the death of her.

Tracy Hill has lived eight lives-- all of them disastrous-- beginning in 1320 when her own knight in shining armor charged over her with his horse in the dark. Since then, it has been one freak accident after another. Now after the indignity of dying in a bowling ball accident while on a date with a cute new lawyer in her firm, Tracy Hill has had enough.

However, Heaven's "Resettlement Committee" has other plans. For her ninth life, she is promised health, wealth, and absolutely no chance at love, this time around. But they leave out one tiny, little detail: she's being sent to live in Montana, on a cattle ranch in 1875. At least they got the No More Love part right. Seth Murdoch is dangerously attractive-- if you like the rugged cowboy type. Thankfully, Tracy doesn't.

It's soon clear, though, that this thoroughly modern woman and this nineteenth-century cowboy share more than growing desire, spitfire backtalk, and nights of sleepless longing. They share a star-crossed eternity. And maybe-- just maybe-- this time around, love... and Tracy, are here to stay.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tracy Hill, the heroine of Kathleen Kane's This Time for Keeps, has the worst luck. In 1998, she is prematurely killed by a bowling-ball accident while on a date. Through the centuries, she has been killed eight times; each was a freak accident involving the man she loved. Tired of this endless pattern, she makes a deal with the Resettlement Committee in an attempt to ensure a better outcome in her next life. Tracy bargains for wealth and health, but there's no chance for love. She also asks to keep the memories of her past lives: "If you can't guarantee that I won't fall in love, the least you can do is to let me remember why I shouldn't," she implores.

The Committee sends Tracy into the body of a woman living on a Montana ranch in 1875. When she meets the blue-eyed foreman, Seth Murdoch, she is happy to find that she isn't attracted to the rugged cowboy type--at least at first. Sparks develop between them, causing Tracy to have some very unsettling dreams regarding the man she has loved throughout time. Try as they might, Tracy and Seth are unable to deny the desire they have for each other. The two must decide if they dare take a chance on love. For both it is a big gamble, but the outcome is worth the ride. It is fun to watch Tracy, a modern Los Angeles woman, struggle with 1800s Montana, and Seth's reaction to the modern Tracy is just as entertaining. Kane has delivered a novel with enough twists to keep the angels enthralled, if they're watching.

From Publishers Weekly

For Tracy Hill, it happens every time: every previous life has been cut short?usually in some ignominious way (most recently by a freak bowling accident) and usually "because she was traipsing around after some man." Fed up, Tracy bargains with the heavenly Resettlement Committee for a long life spared from love's complications. The committee has other plans. In a quantum leap, Tracy awakens as ranch owner Nora Wilding in 1875 Montana, and author Kane's (A Pocketful of Paradise) inventive romantic conflict spirals through vividly captured and revealing centuries-old (previous life) memories. Begrudging the backward time warp, Nora/Tracy flippantly addresses her foreman Seth Murdoch as Clint, Roy or Kemosabe until she realizes she must entice this honorable hunk or die a virgin?again. From there on it's a lively plot of all-out seduction with Kane's witty dialogue and fine portrayal of the head-strong, hot-to-trot heroine and the equally stubborn cowboy.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 313 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312965095
• ISBN-13: 978-0312965099
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,877,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner!, February 15, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Rochester, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Time For Keeps (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book! This is the second Kathleen Kane book that I have read. The humor and 1998 slang she throws into the 1800's is a riot! Nora is such a spitfire! I had to call my book store and order two more of her books. If you like time-travel romance with a lot of humor, you would love this book. I would have to say it's a MUST READ!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ, April 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: This Time For Keeps (Mass Market Paperback)

This book made me laugh out loud. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in quite some time. I'm not even a romance or time travel reader for the most part but I absolutely loved this book. I recommend it to all of my customers no matter what type of reader they are. It's a light and fun read. I own a small used bookstore and when I am out of stock on this title, I have a copy of my own that I loan out to customers. I don't want them to miss out on it. It's a great read!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly Original!, August 1, 2000

By 

GV - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Time For Keeps (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoy time-travel romances, but after a while, the plots start to become alike. Not this one!

Tracy Hill dies while on a date at a bowling alley, and demands from "The Three Stooges" that she be given another chance....her way! Little does she know that while granting her conditions, they send her back to the 1800's. She becomes the new Nora, far more bold and outspoken that anyone can imagine. (Perhaps a trifle too bold?)

This book has a lot of western adventure and even a smidge of mystery. It is interesting that all the players in Nora's new life were also players in her previous lives. Before I had read this book, the only one who had successfully pulled off the reincarnation story line was Jude Deveraux.

A good read for anyone who enjoys humor and originality!