Customer Reviews

Till There Was You

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yummy time traveling Scots! Do you really need any other reason to buy Lynn Kurland's books? I don't. Finding her latest, "Till There Was You" in the bookstore early was my favorite kind of serendipity.

Zachary needs to change his life. He's going to quit time-traveling with Jamie, find a nice woman and settle down...hopefully in a castle he can lovingly refurbish. So when the family ghosts turn their match-making eyes' towards him, he runs--and winds up in 13th century Scotland. Good thing he already knows the time-traveler's mantra "Leave no mar in the fabric of time". He can't change fate. No matter how much he comes to love the daughter of Robin of Artane. If he stays in her time, he has no riches and no title. If she disappears it will change the fabric of time. But when he remembers her fate, he can't NOT do anything.

Mary is the 13th version of a tomboy. She lives for training her father's horses and has no intention of marrying, and certainly not Sir Geoffrey. He's too slick, too pretty, and there's just something 'evil' about him. So when he returns to her father's keep and succeeds in gaining a betrothal, she's pretty sure she won't live long after the wedding. Then from out of nowhere a strangely-dressed man appears in her father's keep. He puts himself in danger to protect her, offers her all the courtesies she though she didn't want, and makes her feel beautiful...but he's not a lord and he says he must go home, wherever that is. But his eyes, oh his eyes say something else entirely.

Sappy smile accompanied by a happy sigh. Lynn Kurland has outdone herself this time with a Gamma hero who steps up even when he knows it's useless. Zachary is funny, sweet, protective, helpful, and pretty darn good with a sword too. He talks to himself and is a bit of a nerd in a manly kind of way. He's a man you want to take home, take care of, and do wicked things with! And Mary...what a lucky girl, for someone whose betrothed wants a dead bride anyway. They both know nothing can come of their friendship, but they can't seem to stay away from each other. Shades of the 'star crossed lovers' theme with the Lynn Kurland twist.

"Till There Was You" is a timeless story that confirms the power of love. Lynn Kurland keeps her plot tight and the story rolls out smoothly, even with the time jumps. Zachary and Mary are people I would want as friends. I loved reading their story and this book is already sitting on my keeper shelf with the rest of Kurland's time-traveler series. Care to take any bets on how long I can resist before reading it again?

I love Lynn Kurland's writing style- the humor, the local color, drama, and of course, the romance. I have not found an author even near her in terms of being a quality, entertaining closed door romance author. She writes with such color and flavor that the scenery and characters easily come alive. I love how she is able to keep things straight in her mind- that she can reintroduce old characters into new stories (because they'd be around in that time). And she definitely creates swoon-worthy heroes... *sigh* For a single gal, these are great stories to live vicariously through- though it does set pretty high standards for any prospects...

But Til There Was You didn't have all the magic and spark that I've come to expect from her books. The story was formulaic. Zachary is an architect who is tired of getting beaten down (or pushed down stairs) for things that aren't his fault or are out of his control. He's decided to work for Gideon and Cameron restoring castles for their historical trust. He goes to visit Gideon at modern-day Artane, goes through the solar door and into medieval England. There he meets many prior LK characters. But his eye is on Mary de Piaget. Mary is trying to avoid betrothal to a knight who appears to be a perfect speciman but really isn't. Zachary knows the rules of time-travel, not to meddle with the fabric of past events and effect the future. But he falls helplessly for Mary, can he really leave her behind? For those who have read Stardust of Yesterday (for the brief mention of Mary), you should have a pretty good idea of what's to come.

The beginning of the story and even the characters of Mary and Zachary are too reminiscent of Jake and Amanda and their story. So the plot feels too predictable. There was no real climax. The villains were too easily dismissed. I never felt the surge or frantic anticipation for a happy conclusion. I just knew from the beginning how things were going to go and nothing was really a surprise. And I'm feeling bored with the whole time-travel bit. It just feels too routine now. I have the formula down pat, about how things work and I know ahead of time who's going to have to live where. It takes away too much of the enjoyment of reading when I know what's going to happen. I want to be thrown for a loop!! With Every Breath was almost too formulaic but then there was a twist so I got my surprise. But here there wasn't anything that upped the suspense. It was too much of an even-keeled ride. (I'm hoping LK's next book is strictly a historical or more modern-day romance than involving any time-travel...)

Now don't get me wrong. It's still a lovely story. I enjoyed the characters, especially the supporting cast. I loved having old friends re-enter the story (Kendrick, Robin, Patrick and Jamie). And I liked seeing the next generation, in their children. (It shows that LK has plenty of more characters to write about...) But even that is a bit much. There's a lot of people roaming about in this story and this is definitely not the book to jump into if you've never read LK before. (Plus it's not one of her best stories so I would definitely recommend beginning with Robin's or Kendrick's books before tackling this one.)

I guess I've just come to expect such great things from this wonderful author that this offering is a bit below par for her. But even with the disappointment, Ms. Kurland has achieved a worthy goal. I want to go back and re-read some of the other stories. And even with re-readings, the stories are still delightful. This one will be too... eventually. It's hard especially since we only get a book a year. There's too much waiting and time to imagine the possibilities.

For more on:
Robin- If I Had You
Kendrick- Stardust of Yesterday
Jake and Amanda- Dreams of Stardust
Sunny and Cam- With Every Breath
Madelyn and Patrick- Garden in the Rain
Isabelle's story is to come!

While I love all Lynn Kurland's books, this one was somewhat of a let-down. I enjoyed the story, but if you've read Stardust of Yesterday (Amanda and Jake's story, I think that's the title), you will get a similar feel. I liked Mary's character, and I've always loved Zach, but he seemed different in this book than in the others. Maybe that was because he was older? At anyrate, if you've enjoyed all of Ms. Kurland's books,you'll probably enjoy this one too. I just don't think it's the best.

I am a big fan of Lynn Kurland's book but this one fell alittle short; mostly due to too many characters. Even with the key at the beginning it was difficult to keep up with all the characters, who they were related to and what century they were from. Overall it was still a good book just not one of my favorites.

I fully agree with Athens Anne. Too many cooks in the kitchen and too many time-traveling Brits to track, even though I know the MacLeod/de Piaget family tree better than my own. The characters and dialogue dragged, didn't shimmer like usual. It was a nice look into Robin's character as a father but I was disappointed in the attitude and role of all my old heroes, ie, Kendrick. Too long awaited for this disappointment--it was released in 2009 but set in 2006. Why the delay?

I got it yesterday and read it in 4 hrs. It was everything I was hoping for. I havn't read a Kurland book I didn't like.

I am a big fan of Lynn Kurland's and it pains me to give this book a 3. The story was choppy and jumped around, the dialogue lacked Ms. Kurland's usual humor and characters were boring. I kept putting the book down thinking that the story would be easier to follow at a later time but it wasn't. I also haven't been all that enthused to finish it and set it down again with only 7 pages left which I still haven't finished reading. Why bother? The ending is shaping up to be as boring as the rest of the book.

I have been reading Lynn Kurland's books (and been a avid member of her website) for several years now and have never been disappointed in any of her novels or novellas. Having read all of her books and followed the characters I believe, and most of the ladies from the forum can agree with me, that the nearly interminable wait for this particular book was well worth it.

I read quite a bit and every once in a while, a scene stands out in my mind that really keeps me coming back to a book. The sweetness and tenderness of a scene between the main characters in (trying to be vague on purpose here) really made me fall in love with "Til There Was You". I found this book at the library, but Lynn's series is now on my Christmas wishlist. This is one worth coming back to.

I also enjoy Lynn Kurland's books, but this one left me a bit puzzled. What happened to Anne? She is very briefly mentioned at the beginning but then nothing. Daughter is running away, dislikes and distrusts her suitor, where is Mom? After her story, I would think she would be fighting for her daughter more. It was good to see some of the other characters again, but this one just didn't flow as smooth as the others. Not one of her best.