Customer Reviews

Until Forever (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"Until Forever" isn't your typical Johanna Lindsey historical romance. Yes, it does have a medieval cast and crew, but only because the modern-day heroine, a history teacher named Roseleen, travels through time to the Norman Invasion with the help of a cursed Viking sword.

That same sword also comes with a hunky Viking named Thorn, brother to the Norse God Thor, and cursed to serve the woman who possesses the sword. Of course, Roseleen and Thorn's visits to the past screw up history, with some very interesting results. It's definitely a new twist on a JL romance!

This was a fun story. I rather enjoyed the details about the Norman Invasion. I also thought that Roseleen and Thorn had strong personalities and enjoyed their interactions - especially those times when Roseleen had to explain the modern world to Thorn. It was hysterical to see his fear over riding in the car and how fast he destroyed the (moving) kitchen appliances. The shower scene was pretty hot, too.

I had a couple minor objections to the story, which is why is has a 4 rating rather than a 5. For whatever reason, Lindsey stops the story every so often to explain women's liberation or some other inane topic during, say, a love scene. It was so jarring! For another, Thorn has a mortal enemy who appears in the last few pages of the book, and his and Thorn's battle to the death comes across as fluff. Then Lindsey resorts to a silly tactic to make Roseleen appear unattractive, which is to give her glasses she doesn't need (she also does this to Marion in "A Man to Call My Own," which was published later). Either drop the glasses ploy completely or really make the heroine blind (which could be interesting); faking a need for glasses is simply insulting to those who actually have to wear them.

Altogether, "Until Forever" is a charming read. If you like this story, you may also like the "Warrior's Woman" trilogy, also by Lindsey, which involves sci-fi interplanetary romances between modern-type heroines and barbarian-like warriors from a "primitive" planet.

Update as of November 29, 2004: I just read "A Knight in Shining Armor" by Jude Deveraux, which is the second time-travel book I've ever read, and I have to say it is absolutely amazing! "Until Forever" sucks in comparison. In fact, if I compared the two books to desserts, "Until Forever" would be a gingerbread cookie while "A Knight" would be a steaming chocolate soufflé drizzled in hot chocolate and topped with powdered sugar and whipped cream. It was that yummy! If you had to read one time-traveling romance, I would recommend "A Knight in Shining Armor" any day.

I am a history major and my field of study is medeival history, just like Roseleen's. This was a wonderful book and appealed to me because I have often wondered what it would be like to go back in time to meet William the Conqueror. The book has everything, a handsome hero, a beautiful heroine, and a wonderful story. I definetly recommend this one if you are a fan of Johanna Lindsey!

I feel guilty for giving this book two stars because everyone seemed to have loved it. The problem I had with this book is that the romance is secondary to the story. Thorn had absolutely no personality, he reminded me of "me Thorn, you Roseleen". A barbarian who just wanted to f***. No romance whatsoever. Roseleen was an interesting character but she spent most of her time trying to right the wrongs of the time travel mistakes they encountered. I would to have like to have read more scenes of Thorn and Roseleen getting to know each other, spending time and discovering each other. Too much time spent on a history lesson. (William the Conqueror)

Now what I did love about this book was the ending which made the laborious read worthwhile. I did get goosebumps and was very satisfied. Closed the book with a smile on my face. I do love Johanna Lindsey's work so I always find something I like about it.

When prim and proper history professor Roseleen White acquires an ancient Viking sword known as "Blooddrinker's Curse", she has no idea the power that she now holds over a proud and mighty Viking warrior for unbeknownst to her, Thorn Blooddrinker, the sword's owner, is cursed to obey the command of any woman who holds the sword. Soon, she learns that by holding the sword, she can make the Viking appear.

Now Thorn is not too pleased with Roseleen's summoning, as it seems to occur each time he is occupied with other things, such as in the midst of fighting with his brother or partaking in Odin's banquet in Valhalla. Yet Roseleen perplexes him, as unlike the other women who have previously owned his sword, she isn't interested in using his power for any greedy purpose nor is she interested in being his lover. All she seems interested in is getting first hand information about the battle between the Normans and Saxons to assist with her research. So he agrees to travel back in time with her and soon find themselves falling passionately in love.

Until Forever is a cleverly written novel, combining a passionate love story with time travel. It is fun to read and sure to delight romance readers looking for something different. Thorn's fascination with all things modern is fun to read. His curiosity with modern plumbing, electricity and even a lipstick had me laughing. I also liked Roseleen's transformation from a seemingly mousy professor who has been burned in the only relationship she's ever had, to a passionate woman who has hopelessly fallen in love with Thorn. The adventures they share are well described that you get a vivid picture of the scenes and places they're supposed to be at.

Of course, as with all romance novels, they are faced with the ultimate challenge - Thorn needs to convince Roseleen that he is happy to remain with her, while she knows that the only way to release him from his curse is by giving him back his sword and letting him return to Valhalla for good, thus sacrificing her own happiness.

The ending is basically a draw-your-own-conclusion type of thing. Now don't get me wrong, there isn't anything wrong about it. It is actually quite clever and unexpected and had me grinning after I finished the book.

Other time-travel romance books I have really enjoyed are Jude Deveraux's "A Knight in Shining Armor" and Flora Speer's "A Time to Love Again". Both are so much better than this.

Almost all of Mrs. Lindsey books are great, and I won't begin to write a review about each one of them. What made me feel I HAD to say something about this one is the fact that it is very, very different from the others.

Aside from romance books I'm partial to SF books (you may think this a strange combination, I assure you it is not :) ) and it certainly was great to see a love-story combined with a time-travel adventure sooo beautifully. What surprised me most, as I had not expected it, is that Mrs. Lindsay payed very much attention to the time-travel paradoxes and everything fell into place nicely, solved in good old SF style. I had not expected this from a romance-writer, there are certainly many SF writers out there who do not tie up all loose ends and who make mistakes when trying to deal with alternate history lines and the like.

OK, enough about this. Besides, it's not the only good thing about the book. The story is also very funny (the situation of a man from the past thrown into present is always hilarious). I have to confess also that I never knew so many details about the Norman conquest before :).

The ending... well, it lets you understand whatever you want. Mrs. Lindsey wraps it up nicely both for those of us who believe in fantastic adventures and for those who do not. Well, I know for sure which category I fall in...

This was my first Johanna Lindsey novel and I'm hooked. As both a history buff/major and amateur writer, I feel the book was filled with an intricate plot that played out wonderfully, beautiful characters you get to love, creative use of history, and an ending for all the romantic dreamers in the world that's to die for. I admit the thought of time travel and the paradox that occurs in the novel are interesting, but the dreamer and historian in me fell in love with the cursed Viking I wanted for myself and the professor I wished I was. I recommend this book for anyone who loves action, myth, history, and of course good old fashion romance.

i was quite disappointed with this book when i read the synopsis i thought the story was interesting but as i start reading the book i found it boring and uninteresting. the hero and the heroine don't have any spark between them and the time travelling is not intruging at all. [..]. for time travelling book i recomend jude deveraux "the knight in shining armour" which is so well written by the author. but don't get me wrong i 'm a very ardent fan of johana but this book is a disappoinment. i think her scope is more to futurestic and historical

Wow, this is one of the best books I have read by Johanna Lindsey. She has many great books, but this is by far, one of my favorites. I love how Rosaleen, the kind of nerdy, Professer happens to find herself involved with a hunk of Medievil past named Thorn. I am not a fan of time travel (except with A Knight in Shining Armor) but this novel does it excellently. Going back and forth through time, with Rosaleen and Thorn falling for each other is precious. The way the outcome of the future is affected by the role they play in the past is hilarious. The ending is to die for, I recommend this book to all the romantics out there!

I absolutely loved everything about this book. It was interesting, it was action-filled, and it was romantic. After reading the summary on the back of the book, I thought that it was going to be corny and ridiculous, but I was pleasantly surprised! I loved the time traveling, and I adored Thor. I thought that he had lots of personality, and for once the male romantic hero of a JL book had no qualms about expressing his feelings. We only get one chapter from his point of view, and it's very near the beginning, but that's all we need. Just by his actions and the things he says to Roseleen, we get a clear picture of how he feels. A scene of notable mention is the shower scene! It was definitely a favorite of mine! Very sexy.

Overall, this was one of JL's best. I wouldn't say that it's as good as Angel or her best Malory books, but it certainly comes close. Excellent book.

Professor Roseleen White loves her subject of medieval history. She buys an ancient cursed Scandinavian sword, and in doing so conjures it's owner, a magnificent Viking warrior, Thor's brother Thorn. Thorn is understandably somewhat bitter about the owners of the sword, when they are female he is forced to do their bidding. Roseleen is different, as Thorn quickly discovers, and the issue of personal power between them quickly becomes something of a more sensual nature. Roseleen shows great courage and trust by loaning the sword to Thorn, which enables him to take her back in time with him, to allow her to experience the time of William the Conqueror, and even meet the man himself. For a historian, it is a great temptation. Until, on returning to her own time, Roseleen discovers she has altered reality. The present she has returned to is not hers at all. Now they must go back, to fix what they have changed...

Johanna Lindsey is an author not afraid to try something new, and I enjoy that each of her books can bring something fresh to a sometimes tired tale - after all, Vikings, time travel and medieval tales all abound, but few can successfully pull off a mixing of the three. Lindsey can and does. The book is very thoroughly researched, and brings out some interesting theories on changing the events of the past, and even gives thought to possible ways that Roseleen and Thor might be able to stay together, without one of them being under a curse! The culmination is an interesting choice to resolve the issue.

Roseleen and Thor are the only characters with any depth to them, but they engage with each other well and I generally did not notice the lack of significant interaction with other characters, Roseleen's brother David and friend Gail being very much secondary characters.

A well thought out, well planned and well researched read.