Tilly Jacobs thinks spending a month in London helping her history buff cousin catalog antiques in a possibly haunted mansion that’s slated to be torn down will be the perfect thing to help her get over being fired from her job. Possibly proving the existence of ghosts will just be icing on the cake.
When her ghost turns out to be a living, breathing, Regency era earl who mistakenly drags her into his century, she thinks she’s in for the best vacation of her life. All she has to do is enjoy the scenery, which includes the hunky Lord Ashford, until he can get her back to her own time.
She doesn’t count on getting caught up in finding his missing sister, or on a murderer being after them, or the fact that if the house gets destroyed, so do her chances of ever getting home.
Least of all, she doesn’t count on the undeniable attraction she feels to the mysterious and brooding Lord Ashford, or the fact that his life involves things far more difficult to believe than she ever thought imaginable.
I liked the concept of this book and appreciated some of the details and observations, like pointing out that even a Regency-style dress from our time is not period-accurate if you actually find yourself back in the Regency period.
But from the start, I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style -- nothing I can name in particular, it just didn't work for me. I also wasn't a fan of the heroine and started to think that the whole thing just felt like one of those books where it's one thing piled on after another, with little reflection or thought. For instance, the time travel aspect is a huge thing in this book, and yet, it was never clearly explained exactly how it happened, and what these time travel portals(?) in one room of the house(?) looked like.
Add to this weird and improbable physical gestures and behaviors from some characters, like the fmc's cousin grabbing the ankle of a woman telling him bad news. This is a weirdly intimate gesture in just about any situation, but we've also been told that this is a woman he supposedly feels awkward around. It was very, very odd, and not the only example I came upon in the short amount I read.
I kept on reading, though, because I thought it might get better as we focused on the main story a bit more. But the author then described a Regency-era hallway being lit by "sconces" and...I was out. My history nerd self couldn't bear it. Not to mention that I can't imagine any fellow fan of Regency-set and -inspired books and films has ever seen or read about fricking sconces in someone's hallway, not even on Bridgerton. This, frivolous as it might be, was the straw that broke the camel's back.
I'm glad this series has its fans. It's just not for me.
This book was a pleasant surprise. I started to read this, because of a challenge from my bookclub (read a book with a house in the title). I got this book for free a while back, so this was a good opportunity to finally read it. And it is a really nice book. The plot is good, the characters are relatable and the villain (one of the villains at least) is not only bad. The ending is an open one, so I will probably buy the rest of the series (that's what free books are for right?) because this is a timetravelling love story I really like.
I really enjoyed this time travel romance, but I hate it when it ends on a cliffhanger. I loved the heroine's feeling more at ease in 1800s Scotland, and how the hero fell for her even though he shouldn't really be falling for anyone given his time travel duties. An enjoyable read for sci-fi, historical and romance fans - which is saying something!
Where is the ending? I have read many stories with sequels and none of them ended so bluntly. This book has thrown me into turmoil. The story was promising, the characters likable, but there was no conclusion!
This book didn't do it for me. The time-portal premise is cool and the characters had potential but their personalities just wouldn't gel. The hero kept flipping from proper to lascivious to brooding to sweet to whatever, and the heroine was either irritated at his high-handedness or drooling over his manliness. He kept forgetting that he was a time-traveler and knew the differences between the time periods, and she kept trying to seduce him and then acting all demure and outraged that her reputation was tarnished. I think the author meant to work the super-hot attraction while enemies angle, along with the juxtaposition of centuries-apart moral codes, but it just felt sloshy. There were also so many historical issues. But I gave it three stars for the writing and good world-building.
I never get caught up in a cliffhanger type of book..but i must say , this is absolutely astounding !!! I was so engrossed with all the characters in this first instalment, that im chomping at the bit to read the next one..( how many are there , ...nevermind ,I'll find out soon enough 😁) Superb! Its all i can say ! I seriously dont have enough words to relate my thoughts on this story!! Witches, covens , time travel, romance , love emerging ,unrequited, joy, sorrow and so much more , and this is only the first book!! Holy cow! And the cliffhanger with Camilla, yeesh ....ok..enough blathering ...on to the next book ..woohoo!!😁😁😁
I had this on my kindle for awhile, and finally got to it. I wish I had read the reviews again before reading it. This is not a stand alone book. There are 5 books in the series. I liked how the book started, have enjoyed the characters, and the different story lines that all connect. I have not liked how characters are going from kissing to sex right away. I don't think that was necessary, or accurate. I understand why one went that way, but still bothers me. I enjoyed the book, but not sure I enjoyed it enough to read all of them.
Tilly Jacob's world is turned upside down when a Regency era ghost mistakenly pulls her through a portal to his time. But with the house, and the portal inside it, slated to be torn down, and villainous rivals battling for control of the portals, will Tilly make it back on time with her heart intact?
This was such a wonderful book! I enjoyed how each chapter was told from a different character's perspective, particularly as there were so many underlying plots going on. The slow burn romance between Tilly and the grumpy "sworn to single life" earl was worth the wait!
I like time travel stories, so I jumped too quickly to buy it. I got a few chapters in and thought it was awful. Was it just me? So, I went back to look at previous reviews of others who have read it. That's when I saw it had no ending. I hate cliffhangers. I never went back to it. Why would I read a book I don't like and then have it leave me with no ending? I can't recommend a book I couldn't even finish.
This series has started on a darker path of magic and hexes. Some new characters which are really good too. Very well written and I can't wait to see what happens next so I'm straight in to it. Get my fix of the handsome Lord Ashford and his family of witches. It is definitely gripping so far. Love it.
This was a good start. The characters are likeable for the most part. Too little information about Belmary House, but with the "ending" it became more understandable. This is not a stand alone story. Several have been introduced but not a one came near completion. Very disappointing.
This book was easy and fun to read. I would call it brain candy. Time travel, witches and... It does end on a cliffhanger, so I am going to read the next one. I suspect that this is a long novel cut into bite-size chunks.
This is well written, and well edited. And it is just the kind of distraction I need right now.
3.5 Stars. I liked Tilly and Ashford story. Some quotes were funny and time travel was explained easily. Unexpectedly, I didn't like much the paranormal aspect and the other characters stories were just okay.
Cassidy Cayman's done it again!! This one will keep you on the edge of your seat with mistaken identity , love and an ending I certainly didn't see coming! This is a cliffhanger leading to books two and three. Which I'm off to buy right now!!
Wonderful love story. He is trying to find his sister who everyone believes to be dead. She is from the 21st century and standared in 19th century. Read on for more
A very well written time travel romance. The adventures Julian and Matilda seem to get themselves into will keep you interested throughout the story. Creatively constructive tale. It keeps you wondering about the outcome of the other characters.
Tilly was taken by mistake to the past because Julian thought she was someone else. This book is about time travel with witches, spells and an evil man who is up to something but will have to buy the next book.
The main story was good and well-written, but I think there was too much going on around the main plot. Besides time traveling you have the missing sister story, the house destruction story, the other time traveling story, witches, zombies... It was too much...
There are several intertwined time travel stories, thanks to the main character's family and brother-in-law's family. It's an exciting read with numerous twists and turns!
The idea of the book was great and I would have loved to read more about the physics of time travel. However, the female lead Tilly is so annoying that I couldn't relate how the male lead could fall for her. She gets more stupid by the chapter and at 35% she annoyed me so much that I stopped reading.
An enjoyable start to a time travel series, where we see parallel events happening in different time realities, involving portals, witches and zombies! Plenty of romance too.