What do you think?
Rate this book
Hold Fast to Love
They were destined to love. Somewhere. Sometime. With a passion meant forever.
A PASSION ACROSS CENTURIES
New York career woman Monica Wagner was flying into London when suddenly, unbelievably, she found herself in a horsedrawn carriage, riding through the cobbled streets to an unknown fate....
Suddenly she was living the life of a beautiful heiress, the Baroness Marlena von Mantz, amid the dazzling gaiety of Regency London -- and the passionate attentions of her handsome guardian, Lord Justin Warringwood. But another man also pursued Marlena -- the dashing Marquis of Radford, whose burning kisses left her confused and shaken.
Marlena had found a love meant for eternity. She was still Monica Wagner, a woman from another century who might soon be returned to her own world. Yet she was destined to love the one man who promised her every happiness.
A PASSION ACROSS CENTURIES
New York career woman Monica Wagner was flying into London when suddenly, unbelievably, she found herself in a horsedrawn carriage, riding through the cobbled streets to an unknown fate....
Suddenly she was living the life of a beautiful heiress, the Baroness Marlena von Mantz, amid the dazzling gaiety of Regency London -- and the passionate attentions of her handsome guardian, Lord Justin Warringwood. But another man also pursued Marlena -- the dashing Marquis of Radford, whose burning kisses left her confused and shaken.
Marlena had found a love meant for eternity. She was still Monica Wagner, a woman from another century who might soon be returned to her own world. Yet she was destined to love the one man who promised her every happiness.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1982
26 people want to read
About the author
Jo Ann Simon
7 books13 followersJo Ann Simon (a/k/a Joanna Campbell) is the author of over thirty published novels for both adults and young adults. Over a million copies of her books have been sold nationally and internationally. She loves horses, gardening, history, antiques, reading and travelling.
Her published works include:
Twice Young (which combines a fast paced mystery with romance and ghostly overtones), Beloved Captain (available in Kindle), Love Once In Passing (available in Kindle), Love Once Again (available in Kindle), as well as The Thoroughbred Series (Harper Collins) written as Joanna Campbell, and many other titles.
She welcomes hearing from readers who can reach her at joannsimon@gwi.com. or at her Facebook page, Jo Ann Simon.
* Source: Amazon author page
Her published works include:
Twice Young (which combines a fast paced mystery with romance and ghostly overtones), Beloved Captain (available in Kindle), Love Once In Passing (available in Kindle), Love Once Again (available in Kindle), as well as The Thoroughbred Series (Harper Collins) written as Joanna Campbell, and many other titles.
She welcomes hearing from readers who can reach her at joannsimon@gwi.com. or at her Facebook page, Jo Ann Simon.
* Source: Amazon author page
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 2, 2014
"Gone was that harassed feeling of having more to do than I could accomplish in one day; of rushing through each hour with no time to consider just where it was getting me."
1980s independent heroine Monica Wagner is just landing at the London airport for a vacation and finds herself mysteriously zapped back in time (Regency era I think). She's slipped into the life of the Baroness Marlena von Mantz, under the guardianship of Lord Justin Warringwood. It should have been Justin's father who was her guardian after her father's death, but he died to so the courts figure one Lord Warringwood is as good as the other in the guardian department.
Justin's married (unhappily) and he finds himself in love with the beauteous countess and she thinks she's loves him back since the sex is so great, but she's also attracted to notorious rake the Marquis of Radford. After the Marquis , she's even more confused then ever about which man she loves.
Confused? Don't worry, things move very slowly and you'll have plenty of time to get a handle on this. Things move very slowly and never pick up until the extremely abrupt ending. There is very little chemistry between the heroine and her two suitors, nor did I find any of the characters particularly likeable.
Give it a miss.
1980s independent heroine Monica Wagner is just landing at the London airport for a vacation and finds herself mysteriously zapped back in time (Regency era I think). She's slipped into the life of the Baroness Marlena von Mantz, under the guardianship of Lord Justin Warringwood. It should have been Justin's father who was her guardian after her father's death, but he died to so the courts figure one Lord Warringwood is as good as the other in the guardian department.
Justin's married (unhappily) and he finds himself in love with the beauteous countess and she thinks she's loves him back since the sex is so great, but she's also attracted to notorious rake the Marquis of Radford. After the Marquis , she's even more confused then ever about which man she loves.
Confused? Don't worry, things move very slowly and you'll have plenty of time to get a handle on this. Things move very slowly and never pick up until the extremely abrupt ending. There is very little chemistry between the heroine and her two suitors, nor did I find any of the characters particularly likeable.
Give it a miss.
March 26, 2023
How did a book that started out so good and promised to be a winner, end up being so DUMB???
Perhaps that's a question only Ms. Simon can answer, but after reading her first time travel novel ("Love Once in Passing"), and its sequel ("Love Once Again") that, while flawed, were still good, this one was a real disappointment.
It starts with Monica, a young woman from 1980, on a plane to London to visit a former boyfriend (and perhaps rekindle their romance), suddenly finding herself in a coach on a London street in 1815, having taken the place of a baroness named Marlena. She's on her way to the home of Justin Waringwood, who - under the terms of her father's will - is to be her guardian for a year, despite her being in her mid 20's, to protect her from fortune hunters. Justin is (of course) young and handsome. He's also married, which complicates matters, as he and Marlena, despite a clash of personalities, are strongly attracted to each other. Also, Justin and his wife, Caroline are far from a marriage made in Heaven; in truth, it's now one in name only. it seems Caroline has never gotten over her childhood sweetheart, Captain Langley.
You may think you know where the story's going, and you'd be wrong. Instead, Ms. Simon seems to delight in screwing things up. First off, she never explains what happened to the real Marlena, who, by quite a coincidence, bears a striking resemblance to Monica. Was she an ancestor? Did she take Monica's place in 1980? Was she the one who was supposed to fall in love with Justin? it's never explained. Marlena has an aunt and uncle in New York, whom Monica dutifully writes to, but then they're never mentioned again.
Aside from the time travel factor, the story seems no different than the usual HR, with the H and h being kept apart for some reason, in this case, his being married. Caroline is, of course, the OW, and naturally, there's the OM; in this case, his name's Radford, darkly handsome and with a rakish reputation. Sounds like the villain in the story, the one who'll cause trouble for the lovebirds and try to seduce the h.
Except that, about halfway through, Ms. Simon decides to switch direction and make Radford the H and Justin the OM! I kid you not!! Suddenly, Monica, who had been saying to herself that the reason for her trip through time must have been to meet Justin, the man of her dreams, despite Caroline and also her friendship with/attraction for Radford, suddenly decides that it's Radford she loves, despite her attraction to (and affair with) Justin! A true WTF!!! situation.
What's really ridiculous, is Monica deciding that she and Justin aren't right for each other because of his archaic (by her time standards) ideas about women, and he does tend to go overboard, saying she needs to be watched and protected at all times, has a fit when she walks by herself to a local library, then takes a taxi home, and berates her for an "unladylike" interest in politics and finance. yes, he can be domineering, but at least he never drugged her, kidnapped her, told her she had no choice but to agree to marry him since she was now "compromised", then trapped her in a bedroom and told he there's no way she's leaving without having sex with him, so she might as well accept it.
No, Justin didn't do those things, but Radford did! And the supposedly independent, modern thinking, semi-feminist Monica, decides this is the man of her dreams!!! Altogether now: "WTF!!!!!!!")
She even tells him something she never told Justin, the truth (the whole and nothing but) about her identity! And he believes her almost immediately! Come on, Ms. Simon, don't insult your readers' intelligence!!
Even more ridiculous, after trying more than once to make Justin understand they have no future together (despite his attempts to obtain a divorce and clinging to the hope she'll change her mind) she finds she still has feelings for him and one night, while she's asleep and dreaming of Radford, he sneaks into her bed and makes love to her, and later, she doesn't get all that upset about it! Is she so sure she's a modern-day female, championing women's rights???
Even more stupid, after making it clear that Monica and Justin won't end up together, Ms. Simon unnecessarily makes Caroline die! Her supposedly psychosomatic symptoms turn out to be real, and she succumbs to a real illness, leaving Captain Langley heartbroken. What was the necessity for that? True, Caroline was far from perfect, coming across as self-centered and mercenary, but she really did love the captain and when his uncle died and left him a large estate, she'd gladly have gone along with a divorce, despite society's censure. So, it just didn't seem right.
Neither did the moronic ending, when Justin and Radford are fighting over Monica and suddenly, she starts to disappear! She just knows she's being pulled back to her own time, and reaches out, while the two men grab for her hand, and she returns to her time with....
Does it matter?
NO!!!
Perhaps that's a question only Ms. Simon can answer, but after reading her first time travel novel ("Love Once in Passing"), and its sequel ("Love Once Again") that, while flawed, were still good, this one was a real disappointment.
It starts with Monica, a young woman from 1980, on a plane to London to visit a former boyfriend (and perhaps rekindle their romance), suddenly finding herself in a coach on a London street in 1815, having taken the place of a baroness named Marlena. She's on her way to the home of Justin Waringwood, who - under the terms of her father's will - is to be her guardian for a year, despite her being in her mid 20's, to protect her from fortune hunters. Justin is (of course) young and handsome. He's also married, which complicates matters, as he and Marlena, despite a clash of personalities, are strongly attracted to each other. Also, Justin and his wife, Caroline are far from a marriage made in Heaven; in truth, it's now one in name only. it seems Caroline has never gotten over her childhood sweetheart, Captain Langley.
You may think you know where the story's going, and you'd be wrong. Instead, Ms. Simon seems to delight in screwing things up. First off, she never explains what happened to the real Marlena, who, by quite a coincidence, bears a striking resemblance to Monica. Was she an ancestor? Did she take Monica's place in 1980? Was she the one who was supposed to fall in love with Justin? it's never explained. Marlena has an aunt and uncle in New York, whom Monica dutifully writes to, but then they're never mentioned again.
Aside from the time travel factor, the story seems no different than the usual HR, with the H and h being kept apart for some reason, in this case, his being married. Caroline is, of course, the OW, and naturally, there's the OM; in this case, his name's Radford, darkly handsome and with a rakish reputation. Sounds like the villain in the story, the one who'll cause trouble for the lovebirds and try to seduce the h.
Except that, about halfway through, Ms. Simon decides to switch direction and make Radford the H and Justin the OM! I kid you not!! Suddenly, Monica, who had been saying to herself that the reason for her trip through time must have been to meet Justin, the man of her dreams, despite Caroline and also her friendship with/attraction for Radford, suddenly decides that it's Radford she loves, despite her attraction to (and affair with) Justin! A true WTF!!! situation.
What's really ridiculous, is Monica deciding that she and Justin aren't right for each other because of his archaic (by her time standards) ideas about women, and he does tend to go overboard, saying she needs to be watched and protected at all times, has a fit when she walks by herself to a local library, then takes a taxi home, and berates her for an "unladylike" interest in politics and finance. yes, he can be domineering, but at least he never drugged her, kidnapped her, told her she had no choice but to agree to marry him since she was now "compromised", then trapped her in a bedroom and told he there's no way she's leaving without having sex with him, so she might as well accept it.
No, Justin didn't do those things, but Radford did! And the supposedly independent, modern thinking, semi-feminist Monica, decides this is the man of her dreams!!! Altogether now: "WTF!!!!!!!")
She even tells him something she never told Justin, the truth (the whole and nothing but) about her identity! And he believes her almost immediately! Come on, Ms. Simon, don't insult your readers' intelligence!!
Even more ridiculous, after trying more than once to make Justin understand they have no future together (despite his attempts to obtain a divorce and clinging to the hope she'll change her mind) she finds she still has feelings for him and one night, while she's asleep and dreaming of Radford, he sneaks into her bed and makes love to her, and later, she doesn't get all that upset about it! Is she so sure she's a modern-day female, championing women's rights???
Even more stupid, after making it clear that Monica and Justin won't end up together, Ms. Simon unnecessarily makes Caroline die! Her supposedly psychosomatic symptoms turn out to be real, and she succumbs to a real illness, leaving Captain Langley heartbroken. What was the necessity for that? True, Caroline was far from perfect, coming across as self-centered and mercenary, but she really did love the captain and when his uncle died and left him a large estate, she'd gladly have gone along with a divorce, despite society's censure. So, it just didn't seem right.
Neither did the moronic ending, when Justin and Radford are fighting over Monica and suddenly, she starts to disappear! She just knows she's being pulled back to her own time, and reaches out, while the two men grab for her hand, and she returns to her time with....
Does it matter?
NO!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews