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Blue Bells Chronicles #4
Westering Home
Two years in medieval Scotland will change a man. A month in the modern world will tempt him back. Some people don’t want Shawn to change, while others can’t believe he has. Modern life is not the haven he imagined. The orchestra has a new star, and Amy has found new love—he may still lose her to the stalwart Angus. He is guilt-ridden over leaving Niall to an unknown fate while he escaped to safety in Amy’s 21st-century arms. But his life of music turns dark as he learns a medieval foes stalks Amy and his son. Living and fighting alongside Niall, the Laird, Hugh, Robert the Bruce, and Scotland’s greatest hero, James Douglas, he learned honor, virtue, and strength. Will they be enough to win back Amy and save his son? Because history and the whole world depend on it.
737 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 16, 2015
About the author
Laura Vosika
28 books149 followersLaura Vosika is the author of the Blue Bells Trilogy. In addition to the Trilogy, she is working on several other novels and a non-fiction book on raising a large family.
Laura grew up in the military, visiting castles in England, pig fests in Germany, and the historic sites of America's east coast, and living in climates ranging from Mississippi's heat to Duluth, Minnesota.
She earned a bachelor's degree in music, and worked for many years as a freelance musician, playing trombone for pit orchestras, ballets, and symphonies, and flute and harp for other venues. She spent three years as a member of the Buz Whiteley Big Band and Farragut Brass Band in Bremerton, WA.
After earning a masters degree in education, she took a job as a music teacher and band director. She has also taught private lessons on wind instruments, piano, and harp, for twenty years.
In her spare time, Laura likes to play piano, harp, and flute, do sudokus, and learn Gaelic.
She currently lives in Minnesota with her husband, nine children, and assorted menagerie.
Laura grew up in the military, visiting castles in England, pig fests in Germany, and the historic sites of America's east coast, and living in climates ranging from Mississippi's heat to Duluth, Minnesota.
She earned a bachelor's degree in music, and worked for many years as a freelance musician, playing trombone for pit orchestras, ballets, and symphonies, and flute and harp for other venues. She spent three years as a member of the Buz Whiteley Big Band and Farragut Brass Band in Bremerton, WA.
After earning a masters degree in education, she took a job as a music teacher and band director. She has also taught private lessons on wind instruments, piano, and harp, for twenty years.
In her spare time, Laura likes to play piano, harp, and flute, do sudokus, and learn Gaelic.
She currently lives in Minnesota with her husband, nine children, and assorted menagerie.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 15, 2018
WOW! Scotland, Time Travel, History, Romance (not graphic) - what more could I want? A trilogy that became a five book series (thankfully)! This is book#4 and luckily I did not know when it came out because when I heard the 5th book was out I bought both of them! I then re-read book#3 before I started this one (also glad I did that). This is a 500 page book and I hated to have it end although I immediately picked up #5.
Right off I am going to say although I gave the first book, Blue Bells of Scotland, five stars I was not totally crazy about it. Even into the second book which I also liked, I had a little trouble getting past the fact that Shawn was most of a time a jerk and Amy just was not and still is not my favorite heroine of all time. But I get ahead of myself.
Briefly Shawn is a famous musician (trombone) in present time. He is arrogant, charming, self serving, selfish....Amy is his girlfriend and plays the violin in the orchestra. He pretty much walks all over her. One night in Scotland where the orchestra is playing Shawn falls asleep (can't remember if he passed out) in the tower of an old ruin and wakes up to find himself in the 13th century in the tower of the castle, now intact. He also finds everyone there thinks he is someone called Naill Campbell. He realizes he can not tell anyone the truth - they probably would burn him for witchcraft. Simultaneously his look alike from 700 years earlier wakes up in present time and has to figure out how to "be" Shawn. Both are musicians although Neill plays the harp and in his own time is a knight. All of that is in the first book, and a lot of it is getting to know both of these men and the women they love and have lost in their own times.
The books have gone way on from there, and there is a great deal of history to live through. I have read half a dozen books of Robert the Bruce's time so all of this was familiar and yet new to me. Life in medieval times will change or kill a man fast. And Shawn does change but not entirely. It is a time of great dependence on religion and faith which Shawn does not have. His counterpart, Naill did. In the second book, after two weeks in present time Naill finds his way back. The third book is very much about these two men, how they interact and become like brothers, often changing roles as twins will do. But at the end of the third book in a terrible battle, Shawn finds his way back to his own time with the help of the few who know his real story. So begins this book.
I do not want to tell the stories in these reviews. But a bit of it is what has been happening with Amy. The book does go back and forth between present and the 13th century and between Amy, Shawn, and Naill and at times some of the other characters. Amy and a wonderful man, Angus, have spent a year searching through history for Shawn. I loved that part of the story as they found clue after clue that Shawn was alive and that at times history told them he was Naill. There was a time when they thought one of them had died but they did not know which one. There is a mysterious very old monk who weaves through the story (I wondered a few times if he is Merlin). When Shawn returns, where does that leave Amy and Angus. He is in love with her and she loves him and yet can not get past the love she had for Shawn in spite of how he treated her. It's all so well written. The author did make me sympathize with all of the characters and see what made them be who they are and do what they did, both good and not so good.
I know in a few days I will have finished the last book because I am already having trouble putting it down as I did with this one. I highly recommend these if you love Scotland, are an Outlander fan (no it is not Outlander and does not attempt to be), Lady of the glen, or any of the other really good Scotland novels and/or time travel novels like the All Souls Trilogy which although not Scotland is time travel. It's not "like" any of them but is right up there in my FAVORITE category. I did read the book although I have it here as the kindle edition because Goodreads does not have the cover picture on the paperback edition.
Right off I am going to say although I gave the first book, Blue Bells of Scotland, five stars I was not totally crazy about it. Even into the second book which I also liked, I had a little trouble getting past the fact that Shawn was most of a time a jerk and Amy just was not and still is not my favorite heroine of all time. But I get ahead of myself.
Briefly Shawn is a famous musician (trombone) in present time. He is arrogant, charming, self serving, selfish....Amy is his girlfriend and plays the violin in the orchestra. He pretty much walks all over her. One night in Scotland where the orchestra is playing Shawn falls asleep (can't remember if he passed out) in the tower of an old ruin and wakes up to find himself in the 13th century in the tower of the castle, now intact. He also finds everyone there thinks he is someone called Naill Campbell. He realizes he can not tell anyone the truth - they probably would burn him for witchcraft. Simultaneously his look alike from 700 years earlier wakes up in present time and has to figure out how to "be" Shawn. Both are musicians although Neill plays the harp and in his own time is a knight. All of that is in the first book, and a lot of it is getting to know both of these men and the women they love and have lost in their own times.
The books have gone way on from there, and there is a great deal of history to live through. I have read half a dozen books of Robert the Bruce's time so all of this was familiar and yet new to me. Life in medieval times will change or kill a man fast. And Shawn does change but not entirely. It is a time of great dependence on religion and faith which Shawn does not have. His counterpart, Naill did. In the second book, after two weeks in present time Naill finds his way back. The third book is very much about these two men, how they interact and become like brothers, often changing roles as twins will do. But at the end of the third book in a terrible battle, Shawn finds his way back to his own time with the help of the few who know his real story. So begins this book.
I do not want to tell the stories in these reviews. But a bit of it is what has been happening with Amy. The book does go back and forth between present and the 13th century and between Amy, Shawn, and Naill and at times some of the other characters. Amy and a wonderful man, Angus, have spent a year searching through history for Shawn. I loved that part of the story as they found clue after clue that Shawn was alive and that at times history told them he was Naill. There was a time when they thought one of them had died but they did not know which one. There is a mysterious very old monk who weaves through the story (I wondered a few times if he is Merlin). When Shawn returns, where does that leave Amy and Angus. He is in love with her and she loves him and yet can not get past the love she had for Shawn in spite of how he treated her. It's all so well written. The author did make me sympathize with all of the characters and see what made them be who they are and do what they did, both good and not so good.
I know in a few days I will have finished the last book because I am already having trouble putting it down as I did with this one. I highly recommend these if you love Scotland, are an Outlander fan (no it is not Outlander and does not attempt to be), Lady of the glen, or any of the other really good Scotland novels and/or time travel novels like the All Souls Trilogy which although not Scotland is time travel. It's not "like" any of them but is right up there in my FAVORITE category. I did read the book although I have it here as the kindle edition because Goodreads does not have the cover picture on the paperback edition.
January 21, 2016
I'm sorry, but no. Too long, repetitive and uneventful. This novel could have been 400 pages long instead of 736. I stuck with it just because, well, I had read the first three books of the TRILOGY... but I did skim quite a bit. Now I find out there will be a fifth--and last--book. Sigh. I'll probably read it, to find out how it ends.
The modern plot in this fourth installment seemed pretty silly most of the time--I no longer care about Shawn and Amy's story. However, Niall and Allene's story is endearing and the historical background is engaging. Let's hope the last book focuses on their story.
The modern plot in this fourth installment seemed pretty silly most of the time--I no longer care about Shawn and Amy's story. However, Niall and Allene's story is endearing and the historical background is engaging. Let's hope the last book focuses on their story.
June 26, 2017
I've now read the entire series so far and am eagerly awaiting the last book. I find it easy to sympathise with Amy, torn between her cheating ex who has returned from the thirteenth century a changed man and the man who helped her get him back, Angus, who has supported her during her darkest days. And I can appreciate the feelings Shawn has, torn between the mother of his child in the present time and the woman who stole his heart back in time and the family he found there.
June 9, 2017
What a cliffhanger! I hope I can still remember the storyline when the fifth and final book comes out December 2017! This has been a great time travel series. This has been an interesting Scotland historical series, too. I had to break out the bagpipe music today! 🙃🎼
One thing that I didn't enjoy this go round was that, as the reader, I knew Shawn's heart. Amy did not. She responded as a woman wronged realistically would do--as a woman who had lost trust. However, she came across as a heartless shrew--an indecisive heartless shrew--in this book, given Shawn's change that she did not "know, believe or trust" as I the reader did. Having this shrewish version of her made me feel sorry for both Shawn AND Angus! It began to feel like Shawn was so locked into "doing right" by Amy that he was masochistic--letting himself be tortured out of a sense of duty and penance.
There was a lot going on in this part of the series. Meine gute! The bad guys were bbaadd! Creepy!
One thing that I didn't enjoy this go round was that, as the reader, I knew Shawn's heart. Amy did not. She responded as a woman wronged realistically would do--as a woman who had lost trust. However, she came across as a heartless shrew--an indecisive heartless shrew--in this book, given Shawn's change that she did not "know, believe or trust" as I the reader did. Having this shrewish version of her made me feel sorry for both Shawn AND Angus! It began to feel like Shawn was so locked into "doing right" by Amy that he was masochistic--letting himself be tortured out of a sense of duty and penance.
There was a lot going on in this part of the series. Meine gute! The bad guys were bbaadd! Creepy!
April 20, 2022
This is the 4th book in this series. Each book is a bit repetitive but because of the time between publications, it is okay. It repeats just enough so you can get to where the plot is coming from and where it is going. Shawn Kleiner is a musician from America who finds himself transported to 14th century Scotland when he participates in a battle reenactment. It is a fascinating history of the battles between Scotland and England. The book is anxiety causing but you know it will all be okay. Lots of back and forth going on between 1314 and 2021. Book 5 is available and we will find out the end result of Shawn's quest.
June 2, 2022
So repetitive, book 3 abd 4 could have been one book if all the crap was taken out. How many times can someone read the same stuff over and over. We get it, Amy loves Shawn, Shawn loves Amy but Amy can't trust him and blah blah blah, you get the picture. Now there is Angus. I do not think that this author understands character development in a book, Simon had more developement than most. So Shawn is back in modern times, he feels really quilty about leaving the castle fam. He is difunctional for a whole host of other issues than the Blue Bells story (which I thought was better), Amy now also has James (baby) who, for a baby has quite the future. On to #5!!
November 6, 2017
This book was way too long. So much repetition; about 200 pages could have been cut without losing much. The beginning and ending were interesting and fast-paced, but the middle was a slog-fest. Amy's constant back and forth indecision drove me nuts. I grew tired of how "perfect" and one-dimensional her character has become, and found I really no longer care about her story with Shawn. But I've invested so much time reading this "trilogy" that I suppose I will read the final book, just to find out how it all wraps up.
April 24, 2020
A wonderful continuation
I was confused when a trilogy had 5 installments but the author explained books 2 & 3 had 2 installments each. Westering Home continues the stories of Shawn & Niall (& everyone else) going back and forth between 1300s and now. The author weaves a wonderful tale between the two time periods and I got really invested in all of the characters. Now on to the final installment and see how the story ends!
I was confused when a trilogy had 5 installments but the author explained books 2 & 3 had 2 installments each. Westering Home continues the stories of Shawn & Niall (& everyone else) going back and forth between 1300s and now. The author weaves a wonderful tale between the two time periods and I got really invested in all of the characters. Now on to the final installment and see how the story ends!
March 26, 2022
Unfortunately, I'm very disappointed with this one. It should have ended as a trilogy. I don't like Shawn enough to wallow in his redemption. And, it was just repeating the same ideas over and over again. While a variation on a theme might work in a piece of music, this is a 500-page book that's part four of a series. I get it already.
October 28, 2017
Great Sequeal
This story has me excited and I can't wait for the final book to finish the story. The books keep you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. Laura Vosika is a master story teller.
This story has me excited and I can't wait for the final book to finish the story. The books keep you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. Laura Vosika is a master story teller.
October 6, 2026
drags
This is the continuation of the story. Doesn’t mean a thing unless you have read the prior three books, but drags along, with Shawn continuing to be a jerk and angus continuing to be noble and Amy being spineless
This is the continuation of the story. Doesn’t mean a thing unless you have read the prior three books, but drags along, with Shawn continuing to be a jerk and angus continuing to be noble and Amy being spineless
September 26, 2017
The tale continues
The twists of time and tale. Will honor and respect win over faith to trust. How will it all end?
The twists of time and tale. Will honor and respect win over faith to trust. How will it all end?
January 6, 2021
The story continues and it is pretty interesting even if it's not historically correct. I'm enjoying it and would recommend it if you like time travel books.
January 6, 2016
Loved this continuing saga of the time traveling of Shawn, a modern day famous musician, who inadvertently traveled to the 1300 changing place with Niall a Scottish warrior. The two men could be twins in appearance but not character. This is book four of a five book series (it started out as a trilogy)
In this book, The two men are back in the own time frame.
The author wonderfully interfaces the historical Scotland with modern day Scotland/America. She draws an interesting picture of the development of Shawn as he struggles to change from a selfish person whose credo was something along the line of...everything is about me and I am not responsible for my actions as my dad was murdered when I was a teen. Shawn tries to change his behavior to become a decent person and peoples perception of him that he has changed. meanwhile, Niall, back in 1300 Scotland, struggles with the temptation of how safe modern life appears to be as opposed to the life and death daily struggles of 1300 Scotland.
In this book, The two men are back in the own time frame.
The author wonderfully interfaces the historical Scotland with modern day Scotland/America. She draws an interesting picture of the development of Shawn as he struggles to change from a selfish person whose credo was something along the line of...everything is about me and I am not responsible for my actions as my dad was murdered when I was a teen. Shawn tries to change his behavior to become a decent person and peoples perception of him that he has changed. meanwhile, Niall, back in 1300 Scotland, struggles with the temptation of how safe modern life appears to be as opposed to the life and death daily struggles of 1300 Scotland.
January 23, 2016
A bit disappointing
The story begins when Shawn is back to current day and Amy . Amy is torn between 2 men . Should she forgive Shawn and make a life with him had their son James or should she be with wonderful Angus that got her thru this and saved Shawn ? Past and present day regarding Niall and th r crazy Simon are also part of the story . However it's choppy in its style . Constantly going back and forth . She should have written stayed with the present for longer periods before going back to the past . Plus she repeats herself . The ending is strong but the middle is weak.
The story begins when Shawn is back to current day and Amy . Amy is torn between 2 men . Should she forgive Shawn and make a life with him had their son James or should she be with wonderful Angus that got her thru this and saved Shawn ? Past and present day regarding Niall and th r crazy Simon are also part of the story . However it's choppy in its style . Constantly going back and forth . She should have written stayed with the present for longer periods before going back to the past . Plus she repeats herself . The ending is strong but the middle is weak.
April 11, 2016
Not sure how to change the rating as I only wanted to rate this book one star. I was shocked at how poorly written this book was. I wanted to love it. It had so much potential. I enjoyed the previous novels in the series. I always believed the writing could have been better in the previous three but the storyline was good and I believed in the story and its potential. This last book was so disappointing.
February 21, 2016
Not much new too much of the same problems
So glad o be 're-United with these characters but same indecision of Angus vs shawn. Amy being indecisive, niall leaving his family over and over ....Angus the obvious choice but he gets the heartache... didn't love this installment..too much time between books you lose interest
So glad o be 're-United with these characters but same indecision of Angus vs shawn. Amy being indecisive, niall leaving his family over and over ....Angus the obvious choice but he gets the heartache... didn't love this installment..too much time between books you lose interest
December 17, 2015
I am clapping! Best book ever! Along with the author's excellent research into medieval Scotland, her character development and relationships are outstanding.
All in all a very enjoyable break from the tedium of winter in Minnesota. A gifted and talented author. Good job!
All in all a very enjoyable break from the tedium of winter in Minnesota. A gifted and talented author. Good job!
January 15, 2016
Another great edition in what started as a trilogy but is now a quintet. This girl can write. This one had a racing pace but damn - cliffhanger ending and I have to say I'm a little ticked off that I have to wait for the next book. Will someone send me an email when it comes out? LOL.
February 1, 2016
This last installment of the Blue Bell Chronicles is fantastic! Some stories just draw you in and you can't wait to see what happens next. Start from the beginning with Blue Bells of Scotland and read them all.
February 3, 2016
Oh my gosh!
It ended to soon. I love each and every one of the characters in this series. The action and the heart felt of love and finding of forgiveness. The present and the past. Such a fantastic series.
It ended to soon. I love each and every one of the characters in this series. The action and the heart felt of love and finding of forgiveness. The present and the past. Such a fantastic series.
July 27, 2016
I felt this book was too slow. I enjoyed the other three books, but I had to force myself to continue reading this one. I can only hope that the final book will be better written. The story dragged on and I wanted to scream at Amy to make up her mind what she wanted!
February 11, 2016
Enchanting
If I could Id walk through a door that would take me there .
Id be a part of the blue bells story . .
If I could Id walk through a door that would take me there .
Id be a part of the blue bells story . .
June 7, 2016
Keeps you seeking more
Exciting and continual surprises. I hate for the chronicles to end. The books are long and I enjoy every word.
Exciting and continual surprises. I hate for the chronicles to end. The books are long and I enjoy every word.
June 12, 2018
I am torn with this book. I LOVED the series, even though the editing needed some work. I just felt that this book was so rushed. After 3 books building up to this one moment, it seemed to be over in the blink of an eye. The ending was neat, almost too neat, for all that had happened between different characters.
Overall, I still recommend this book, I am just hoping the author is planning on continuing some of the characters storylines in another book or series to fill in some detail.
Overall, I still recommend this book, I am just hoping the author is planning on continuing some of the characters storylines in another book or series to fill in some detail.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews