Till There Was You (Superior Collection) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Lynn Kurland (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1410419428 | ISBN-13: 978-1410419422 | Publication Date: October 2009 | Edition: Lrg

Zachary Smith is finished with high-maintenance women, impossible clients, and paranormal adventures. But when he walks through a doorway into a different century- and meets Mary de Piaget-he knows his life isn't going to turn out quite the way he planned.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 655 pages
• Publisher: Large Print Press; Lrg edition (October 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410419428
• ISBN-13: 978-1410419422
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,794,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Till There Was You by Lynn Kurland, May 2, 2009

By 

jjmachshev "jj" (Grovetown, GA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Till There Was You (Paperback)

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?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely story but a bit disappointing, May 12, 2009

By 

C. Widman (CT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Till There Was You (Paperback)

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!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Similar, but different, May 8, 2009

By 

Elizabeth Williams (Lawrence, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Till There Was You (Paperback)

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.