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Step in Time
Transported back in time to Regency London and into the arms of handsome Lord Ashindon, Amanda McGovern finds herself trapped in the identity of the innocent heiress Amanda Bridge and is devastated when it appears that Ashindon wants her only for her wealth. Original.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1996
13 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Anne Barbour
25 books17 followersAnne Barbour developed an affection for the Regency period while living in England. She now lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband, a retired lieutenant colonel. She is the mother of six children, all grown, and she loves to boast of her five grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 28, 2025
A bit of fun. I enjoyed the time travel but the Regency aspect was a bit disappointing because Amanda & Ashindon are a bit repellent. The father is written as an unlikeable vulgarian to make us think it's ok for Amanda to steal from him, but it's very convenient, isn't it. An entertaining concept, though.
January 21, 2020
A pleasant little time travel story. The time travel element was pretty fun. Some of the regency elements might have been a little stronger and the hero took too long to give up on his old love but on the whole I enjoyed it.
August 16, 2022
What a pity – the beginning was so promising.
She is thrown into the past into someone else’s body. She is a cripple in the XX century, but behold (!) her new regency body is whole, young and ravishing. She claims amnesia and fits into the pats nicely, she even behaves rationally. And, wait, she happens to be betrothed to a Duke!
It was fun to read. Until it was no longer fun. Somewhere down the line both she and he just lost it.
He:
- I am betrothed to a beauty, whom I find most appealing. But here goes my first love, I am going to kiss her now to prove to myself that I don’t love her anymore. Oh, right, I don’t feel a thing. Sorry, my betrothed, have you seen it? Don’t worry it was nothing, just a friendship kiss. (WTF?)
She:
- I am going to take money from my (pretend) father and give it to the Duke just like that, because my (pretend) father is filthy rich and doesn’t need so much, so it’s Ok. (I mean, really?!)
No historical (or any) sence of honor whatsoever. Bha!
Still. The language is ok. The plot is ok. The book is clean. HEA of cause.
Suitable for a weekend read, if you don’t mind really awkward way of thinking.
She is thrown into the past into someone else’s body. She is a cripple in the XX century, but behold (!) her new regency body is whole, young and ravishing. She claims amnesia and fits into the pats nicely, she even behaves rationally. And, wait, she happens to be betrothed to a Duke!
It was fun to read. Until it was no longer fun. Somewhere down the line both she and he just lost it.
He:
- I am betrothed to a beauty, whom I find most appealing. But here goes my first love, I am going to kiss her now to prove to myself that I don’t love her anymore. Oh, right, I don’t feel a thing. Sorry, my betrothed, have you seen it? Don’t worry it was nothing, just a friendship kiss. (WTF?)
She:
- I am going to take money from my (pretend) father and give it to the Duke just like that, because my (pretend) father is filthy rich and doesn’t need so much, so it’s Ok. (I mean, really?!)
No historical (or any) sence of honor whatsoever. Bha!
Still. The language is ok. The plot is ok. The book is clean. HEA of cause.
Suitable for a weekend read, if you don’t mind really awkward way of thinking.
January 26, 2014
A time travel romance in which a vacationing professor of British Literature heroine is unexpectedly jerked from a sightseeing tour of 1996 London to 1815 Regency London. Suddenly, she is now the daughter of a vulgar wool merchant and betrothed to a handsome, fortune hunting nobleman. The time travel elements that contrast past and present are amusing in this fluffy romance.
August 20, 2014
I have always loved time travel stories. This one is no exception.
April 23, 2019
The H in this book is refreshingly different from the ditz who usually time travel. Unlike the usual, Amanda is familiar with the period and doesn't standout by trying to carry on as though she's still in the 20th century. She doesn't ignore the sexual mores of the time and engage in page after page of sexual congress with the hero. The h is slow to understand what's going on around him and is a bit of a jerk for most of the book but pulls the stick out in the end. To reiterate, this book is an historical romance and not like the books wherein the author writes a costume drama and has everyone behave out of the characteristics of the time. It's a good, clean (that's not a bad thing) story for those who really want to read a regency.
April 6, 2023
The writing is the sole thing that saved this book. The story and characters leave much to be desired. This is a time-travel romance, which means the heroine will give up her original life for the hero as per usual. And this didn't give justice to that at all. The hero is nothing but a dissapointment! Additionally, the one thing that would've make me believe it is worth staying in this time period is that the heroine has legs here. But alas, they didn't give it much emphasis. The heroine was just like 'wow, okay...' I mean, I expected exploration, descriptive miracle or some such. The gel just walk and that's it, nothing for it.
January 6, 2018
Brilliant
storyline. Thoroughly enjoyed this time travel book. It was very different from any time travel I have read before. Just a note to other would be readers. The heroine had travelled from America to England and so would think in dollars and cents and not pounds shillings and pence. There is no historical error on the part of the author.
storyline. Thoroughly enjoyed this time travel book. It was very different from any time travel I have read before. Just a note to other would be readers. The heroine had travelled from America to England and so would think in dollars and cents and not pounds shillings and pence. There is no historical error on the part of the author.
April 5, 2020
2.5 stars. Though I enjoyed it, everything got resolved way too fast towards the end. When there’s angst involving a third person, I really need more than just a chapter to get proper closure. Also I needed an epilogue.
October 7, 2021
Time Travel
Good time travel novel. A woman is transported back to Regency England to live in another woman’s place and body. She is to marry a man who she believes loves someone else. Very good love story.
Good time travel novel. A woman is transported back to Regency England to live in another woman’s place and body. She is to marry a man who she believes loves someone else. Very good love story.
November 28, 2019
Certainly got my attention. Interesting read.
May 24, 2021
1815 from 1996, speech patterns intact but upper London accent, Amanda hops time to dead younger rich blonde beauty, her scarred body repaired, nearly engaged to tall titled Ash. Typos: 5.9 um IS urn 22.1 butter IS butler
July 6, 2021
I read this book many years ago and I loved it. I still have it on my shelf and reread it. I love that it was a historical time travel story.
November 11, 2014
Amanda is sitting in a London Church resting. Things suddenly change for her. She faints and when she awakens, she is being held in the arms of a strange man.
She has been transported back to the Regency period during the Napoleonic War. She is still an Amanda, but a very different Amanda from the one who fainted in 1996.
Amanda finds herself the daughter in a very wealthy family. Her father’s wealth has made her the prospective betrothed of the poverty stricken Lord Ashindon.
Amanda and Ash are very different people. Amanda is living in the Regency period but she knows about the world as it was in 1996. Her speech, her attitude and her general demeanor are all from the 20th century.
Ash is a man in need of financial help in order to preserve his estate and take care of all the people who depend upon him. He knows what he must do, but he hates the entire idea. His sensibilities are those of a gentleman who has lived in a world where the rules are the rules. But, he admires the new Amanda and her very different personality.
Because of the uncomfortable situation, neither Amanda nor Ash consider their relationship anything more than a convenience.
There are family situations, misunderstandings and old memories which come between Amanda and Ash. Both of them are characters who are strong and interesting. Slowly they find things to admire in one another and slowly they also find an attraction for one another.
In a plot based on time travel, the realistic characters which fill the story add a depth and texture which helps make things feel almost believable.
This is a fun story written by a very talented author. Anyone who enjoys a romantic story, will enjoy this book.
She has been transported back to the Regency period during the Napoleonic War. She is still an Amanda, but a very different Amanda from the one who fainted in 1996.
Amanda finds herself the daughter in a very wealthy family. Her father’s wealth has made her the prospective betrothed of the poverty stricken Lord Ashindon.
Amanda and Ash are very different people. Amanda is living in the Regency period but she knows about the world as it was in 1996. Her speech, her attitude and her general demeanor are all from the 20th century.
Ash is a man in need of financial help in order to preserve his estate and take care of all the people who depend upon him. He knows what he must do, but he hates the entire idea. His sensibilities are those of a gentleman who has lived in a world where the rules are the rules. But, he admires the new Amanda and her very different personality.
Because of the uncomfortable situation, neither Amanda nor Ash consider their relationship anything more than a convenience.
There are family situations, misunderstandings and old memories which come between Amanda and Ash. Both of them are characters who are strong and interesting. Slowly they find things to admire in one another and slowly they also find an attraction for one another.
In a plot based on time travel, the realistic characters which fill the story add a depth and texture which helps make things feel almost believable.
This is a fun story written by a very talented author. Anyone who enjoys a romantic story, will enjoy this book.
January 15, 2016
Amanda is a woman who was injured in a car accident, leaving her with barely functional legs. She's very knowledgeable about English history and literature, which comes in quite handy when she suddenly finds herself back in 1815 London.
Not just that, but her psyche now inhabits the body of a woman named Amanda, and she has to deal with suddenly being elsewhen with no one she knows. She's in a world she knows the basic generalities of, but the small details of daily life have to be adjusted to.
Things are more complicated due to her overbearing father, a guy she wanted to elope with, people who are questioning her sanity, and a fortune hunter that wants her for her money, the fortune hunter having a love interest of his own. On top of all that, she wants to go back to her own time.
That's a lot to deal with. The story is a romance but, as in real life, romances don't always go smoothly, so there's yet another problem for her to handle.
The characters in the book are realistic, the events plausible, her way of handling things very intelligent, and the romantic parts quite good. An excellent time-travel romance book.
Not just that, but her psyche now inhabits the body of a woman named Amanda, and she has to deal with suddenly being elsewhen with no one she knows. She's in a world she knows the basic generalities of, but the small details of daily life have to be adjusted to.
Things are more complicated due to her overbearing father, a guy she wanted to elope with, people who are questioning her sanity, and a fortune hunter that wants her for her money, the fortune hunter having a love interest of his own. On top of all that, she wants to go back to her own time.
That's a lot to deal with. The story is a romance but, as in real life, romances don't always go smoothly, so there's yet another problem for her to handle.
The characters in the book are realistic, the events plausible, her way of handling things very intelligent, and the romantic parts quite good. An excellent time-travel romance book.
August 6, 2016
Surprisingly good. I still think it is 4 star worthy for those that enjoy time-travel.
August 15, 2022
Good old school read. Funny, entertaining time-travel romance. Although, the hero was a little frustrating at times, he came through in the end. Heroine was a likeable character who I wanted to get her happy ending.
September 25, 2009
Regency
April 18, 2016
Random regency time-travel fluffiness :)
October 20, 2007
Delightful regency author, and this is one of her best, as I recall
July 3, 2010
I loved this story! Well written!
August 27, 2011
Strange concept time travel regency but written well...a bit hokey now that I've read it again.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews