Have you ever imagined going back in time and rewriting your own history? That’s exactly what Richard III has the opportunity to do after he accidentally travels through time, lands in 2012 and gets a peek at the unfortunate modern interpretation of reign. Bonus? He’s rescued by a charming twenty-first century woman who loves Star Trek, pizza and English royal history. Maybe he’ll just leave that troublesome Anne Neville behind in a cloud of five-hundred-year old dust.

If you can’t tell, I really enjoyed this book. It’s full of fun, frivolity and plenty of naughty, royal dalliances. And it’s one of the few books that I’ve read lately that has managed to keep me in suspense until the very end. What a pleasure not to be able to guess the ending by page 50.

Not long before I discovered this book, I’d read a more serious historical novel detailing the histories of Edward IV, George Plantagenet and Richard III—and of course that story doesn’t end well. Then along comes For Love and Loyalty, which breaks the often stodgy mold of historical fiction and presents a farcical comedy like no other. What fun it is to be reminded how one author’s slice of history can be presented as so remarkably different from another. And this author's passion for the subject is absolutely contagious.

The story puts one in the mind of those classical tales of fanciful romance like A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Wizardry, Love spells, and love-struck souls pursuing their heart’s desire, sometimes getting it, but more often finding love where they didn’t expect it.

And while I emphasize that this book is a joy, I caution the reader that it should be read without a scrutinizing eye on either minute historical details or the complexities of time travel. Rather, read this book with a fun, devil-may-care seat up front, so you can enjoy all of the madness as it unfolds.

Preliminary disclaimers: I am by no means a historical expert. There are spoilers (let me say that again, SPOILERS) for this book, and also one for Braveheart if that's a problem.

Richard III being launched into the future is not as unique a fictional premise as it may initially seem. "For Love and Loyalty" does this subgenre one better -- not only does a young pre-coronation Richard end up wandering into a seance summoning himself, but his then-surviving brothers -- King Edward IV and George the Duke of Clarence -- follow in hot pursuit. Appalled at the current state of Richard's reputation, they end up in the production of an indie film written by one of Richard's present-day fans. The historical drama quickly transforms into a wish-fulfillment vehicle that takes more liberties than Braveheart (in Braveheart, at least, William Wallace still dies at the end). The interaction between the brothers and their modern-day hosts (and a bitter poltergeist) is a delight; George in particular is portrayed as an endearing failboat with unexpected depths.

"For Love and Loyalty" is a revised version of "One Too Many Times" (2000), updated from present-day circa 2000 to present-day circa 2012 and thereby accounting for the recent discovery of Richard's bones, changing some names, and making other tweaks to the plot, including a lovely extended ending. Unfortunately, the process of revision has left continuity errors -- on one page Edward has abdicated and left the throne to his young relative John de la Pole in preparation for his trip to the future, and on another he's named John to run things while he goes on a "diplomatic trip." Some of these issues, however, are from the original text. The author freely admits taking considerable artistic license with historical details, so I won't harp on those.

A couple more examples:
-The "past" part of the story is set in 1476, and Richard gives his admirers the inside story on Barnet and Tewkesbury. However, other details indicate that these battles shouldn't have happened "yet," and near the end Richard talks about preventing Tewkesbury when he returns to his own time.
-At one point, thanks to a love spell gone awry, Edward falls madly in love with the wrong Elizabeth. This seems to be mainly used for jokes about how Edward is gaga for a fat, ugly spinster. Then, when the time comes for Edward and George to follow Richard to the future, on a seemingly one-way trip, this unfortunate Elizabeth never comes up again -- one would think Edward would at least consider that he's leaving behind the woman he supposedly loves, even if his love for his brother trumps that.

In conclusion, this is a fun ride as long as you're not inclined to scrutinize the scenery.

I am a fan of anything I can get my hands on about King Richard. In my opinion he has been misunderstood for 500 years and I feel very protective about his memory. I really love historical fiction novels about him because it gives the reader a chance to see this man have a happier ending. I was curious about this book when I saw the story plot. I read this book in one day and loved every minute I spent doing it. Some people may complain that the story isn't historically accurate. To me that is the whole point of fiction stories. It was wonderful to see the love between the Plantagenet brothers and not just the bad things like George's treachery and the missing princes that people still want to blame King Richard for killing. Even if you are a history buff like myself you can still enjoy this book. It is very lighthearted and in parts downright funny. One of my favorites of all time.