What do you think?
Rate this book
Embers of Time
A Romance of Old Charleston
Children lost in time ...
In the aftermath of the second great war, two lonely people were destined to meet in the splendor of Charleston, South Carolina. He was a handsome RAF pilot whose soul had been tortured by battle; she was a beautiful young Army nurse whose spirit had glimpsed great suffering. Each had known devastating loss: the death of a beloved child in a recent, tragic fire.
A love forged by earthquake and fire ...
But were the children really lost? Even as Adrian and Vickie met and began to forge a deep bond, both were haunted by poignant glimpses of the children's ghosts in the Charleston streets, visions that soon led the couple back to search for the children in an earlier time. There, as a bittersweet love blossomed between the couple, they discovered a city as grand and mysterious as time itself, and a miracle that would heal their wounded hearts.
Children lost in time ...
In the aftermath of the second great war, two lonely people were destined to meet in the splendor of Charleston, South Carolina. He was a handsome RAF pilot whose soul had been tortured by battle; she was a beautiful young Army nurse whose spirit had glimpsed great suffering. Each had known devastating loss: the death of a beloved child in a recent, tragic fire.
A love forged by earthquake and fire ...
But were the children really lost? Even as Adrian and Vickie met and began to forge a deep bond, both were haunted by poignant glimpses of the children's ghosts in the Charleston streets, visions that soon led the couple back to search for the children in an earlier time. There, as a bittersweet love blossomed between the couple, they discovered a city as grand and mysterious as time itself, and a miracle that would heal their wounded hearts.
393 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
14 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Eugenia Riley
78 books100 followersEugenia Riley is the award-winning, bestselling author of dozens of historical, contemporary and time-travel romances, including A TRYST IN TIME, TEMPEST IN TIME, and TIMESWEPT BRIDE. She is a #1 Bestselling Author of Time Travel Romance at Amazon and Kindle. She has written for publishers including Avon, Bantam, Warner, Harlequin and Dorchester.
Eugenia is delighted to announce the launching of Eugenia Riley Classics, a new imprint featuring all of your favorite Eugenia Riley historical, contemporary, and time-travel romances, finally available again in Kindle, NOOK, Kobo and at iBooks! Eugenia's currently available e-book list includes: WANTED ACROSS TIME; BUSHWHACKED BRIDE; BUSHWHACKED GROOM; PHANTOM IN TIME; EMBERS OF TIME; A CHRISTMAS IN TIME; LOVERS AND OTHER LUNATICS; TIMESWEPT BRIDE; TIMESWEPT BABY; THE PHANTOM OF THE BATHTUB ; TEMPEST IN TIME; and TWO HEARTS IN TIME.
Eugenia's latest release, WANTED ACROSS TIME, is an April 2013 release in Kindle, NOOK, Kobo, and at iBooks. WANTED ACROSS TIME is a wild and sexy romp back in time to the Wild West, in the tradition of BUSHWHACKED BRIDE and BUSHWHACKED GROOM.
Eugenia is especially acclaimed for her nine time travel romance novels. Her first two, A TRYST IN TIME and TEMPEST IN TIME, were Waldenbooks romance bestsellers in mass-market paperback; both titles sold out of print three times. Three of her time-travels placed on the Ingram's romance list; and EMBERS OF TIME was a top ten bestseller in time-travel at Borders. Eight of Eugenia's time-travels have earned 5 star ratings or better at Heartland Critiques, and all have won numerous high ratings and rave reviews in publications such as Romantic Times, Rendezvous, and The Literary Times. Reviewer Harriet Klausner calls Eugenia "the empress of time-travel romance." She has received thousands of fan letters on her novels, from locations all over the world.
Eugenia is the winner of the HOLT Medallion for WALTZ IN TIME. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, a former English teacher and editor of TOUCHSTONE Literary Quarterly. She lives in Texas with her husband; they have two grown daughters and two grandchildren.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 26, 2013
I have read this both in book form some years ago plus just finished it on the Kindle
You have 3 time periods 1945, 1886 & 1818 it starts in 1945 with two friends Nate & Cathy & Brown Bessie the children
who are believed to have died in a fire after seeing a murder but have they as Joe Morgan a drunkard swears he saw them jump but disappear
You have Nate's Father & Cathy's sister going to the memorial service for them & some others who have passed away in the fire, both of them are recovering from the war & then they land in 1886 with the police Lt. who did the murder there also & there is going to be a major Earthquake in Charleston in a few days
Will they find the children can they get back all is made clear by the end
A really good read & would recommend this one along with Eugenia Riley's other Time Travel books
You have 3 time periods 1945, 1886 & 1818 it starts in 1945 with two friends Nate & Cathy & Brown Bessie the children
who are believed to have died in a fire after seeing a murder but have they as Joe Morgan a drunkard swears he saw them jump but disappear
You have Nate's Father & Cathy's sister going to the memorial service for them & some others who have passed away in the fire, both of them are recovering from the war & then they land in 1886 with the police Lt. who did the murder there also & there is going to be a major Earthquake in Charleston in a few days
Will they find the children can they get back all is made clear by the end
A really good read & would recommend this one along with Eugenia Riley's other Time Travel books
January 27, 2023
A Romance of Old Charleston
Children lost in time ...
In the aftermath of the second great war, two lonely people were destined to meet in the splendor of Charleston, South Carolina. He was a handsome RAF pilot whose soul had been tortured by battle; she was a beautiful young Army nurse whose spirit had glimpsed great suffering. Each had known devastating loss: the death of a beloved child in a recent, tragic fire.
A love forged by earthquake and fire ...
But were the children really lost? Even as Adrian and Vickie met and began to forge a deep bond, both were haunted by poignant glimpses of the children's ghosts in the Charleston streets, visions that soon led the couple back to search for the children in an earlier time. There, as a bittersweet love blossomed between the couple, they discovered a city as grand and mysterious as time itself, and a miracle that would heal their wounded hearts.
Children lost in time ...
In the aftermath of the second great war, two lonely people were destined to meet in the splendor of Charleston, South Carolina. He was a handsome RAF pilot whose soul had been tortured by battle; she was a beautiful young Army nurse whose spirit had glimpsed great suffering. Each had known devastating loss: the death of a beloved child in a recent, tragic fire.
A love forged by earthquake and fire ...
But were the children really lost? Even as Adrian and Vickie met and began to forge a deep bond, both were haunted by poignant glimpses of the children's ghosts in the Charleston streets, visions that soon led the couple back to search for the children in an earlier time. There, as a bittersweet love blossomed between the couple, they discovered a city as grand and mysterious as time itself, and a miracle that would heal their wounded hearts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2017
This a very convoluted time travel story. The beginning of the story is longer that most time travel books’ setup. I did wonder when the time travel would start. So hang in there. The beginning makes the rest of the story make sense. Vickie is a very strong woman and it shows throughout the book. She never really gives up. You might need a few tissues. Enjoyed the romance and the suspense.
January 24, 2019
Fabulous read
This story is amazing. What a unique storyline sprinkled with historical events in Charleston. Finding true love is hard and I've failed but reading this novel made me realize it's all about being in the right time.
This story is amazing. What a unique storyline sprinkled with historical events in Charleston. Finding true love is hard and I've failed but reading this novel made me realize it's all about being in the right time.
June 7, 2017
Really enjoyed the twists and turns. Did have difficulty trying to get mind mind around the various years thst they were in
April 13, 2020
I’d give it a 4 1/2 if I could
A very different time travel and a little choppy but still good
A very different time travel and a little choppy but still good
March 6, 2017
It was too cheesy for me. Much of the dialogue was corny. Adrian's affectionate names for Vickie was repetitive and sounded too historical for the time. Some of the dialogue was lengthy and drawn out. The ending, I didn't like it. I get what the author intended but it just didn't make sense for me. I had theorized that the twist was they'd end up in the future present day (at the time of the book release that is) as the right time for them. I just don't see how they could be happy in a time completely foreign from what they're used to and why they couldn't go back to their own time in the first place since Keegan was gone. I don't see why they would have all died if they tried to get back to 1945 in the first place considering they still had a confrontation with Keegan regardless of what they chose.
I liked the idea of the story but the way it panned out, not so much. It felt very...fairytale storybookish where the characters are cardboard cutout and don't change at all. There was no growth, no realism to them, very formulaic and boring. It wasn't a bad story, I know a lot of effort went into this. But it was just not very interesting seeing them running around asking questions every chapter and making no progress in a real relationship. It felt like we were told that they were falling for each other but I didn't actually see it. Adrian and Vickie were just two people thrown together by circumstance otherwise they never would have gotten together. There wasn't any chemistry between them. I was more interested in the cute romance between Nate and Cathy as kids than I did for the adults because they at least were shown they weren't perfect and showed some sort of personality to them.
I don't know if I explained myself right but to put it in simple terms, this is one of those overly cheesy romances with no big drama. If you need something that's disgustingly lovey dovey with no heavy conflict for the characters, this is it. I thought this might be written by the author much earlier in her career but if the book page on Amazon is correct, this was published in the same month and year as "Waltz In Time" which was by far superior to this book and much, much, better overall in characters, storyline, quality...I love that book and recommend it highly. Which is why I was confused with how much I hated "Rogue's Mistress" and the indifference I felt reading this book with how amateur this book felt compared to "Waltz In Time." They're all written by the same author and left me with completely different impressions of each one. Sad to say, I'll pass on reading this again, it wasn't for me.
I liked the idea of the story but the way it panned out, not so much. It felt very...fairytale storybookish where the characters are cardboard cutout and don't change at all. There was no growth, no realism to them, very formulaic and boring. It wasn't a bad story, I know a lot of effort went into this. But it was just not very interesting seeing them running around asking questions every chapter and making no progress in a real relationship. It felt like we were told that they were falling for each other but I didn't actually see it. Adrian and Vickie were just two people thrown together by circumstance otherwise they never would have gotten together. There wasn't any chemistry between them. I was more interested in the cute romance between Nate and Cathy as kids than I did for the adults because they at least were shown they weren't perfect and showed some sort of personality to them.
I don't know if I explained myself right but to put it in simple terms, this is one of those overly cheesy romances with no big drama. If you need something that's disgustingly lovey dovey with no heavy conflict for the characters, this is it. I thought this might be written by the author much earlier in her career but if the book page on Amazon is correct, this was published in the same month and year as "Waltz In Time" which was by far superior to this book and much, much, better overall in characters, storyline, quality...I love that book and recommend it highly. Which is why I was confused with how much I hated "Rogue's Mistress" and the indifference I felt reading this book with how amateur this book felt compared to "Waltz In Time." They're all written by the same author and left me with completely different impressions of each one. Sad to say, I'll pass on reading this again, it wasn't for me.
August 5, 2025
Two tortured souls, both lost in their pain of losing a child, both struggling to find themselves after the horrors of war – find themselves in Charleston South Carolina though their first meeting goes less then stellar. Vickie is mourning the death of her kid sister who perished in the fire at the Church some few months ago. She is the quiet sort though is feisty when confronted with rude behavior and rude behavior is Adrian’s MO. Adrian is a veteran pilot, mourning the loss of both his wife a few years back and now his only son in the same fire that took Vickie’s sister, though he doesn’t know it yet. Adrian is described as a darkly tormented man whose pain is obvious to everyone he meets. It makes him come off rude and abrasive. When he shouts at Vickie for knocking into him, Adrian is sorry for his behavior and seeks her out to apologize. The problem is, Adrian’s temper gets the better of him again and it soon becomes apparent that he and the nice young woman may never come to terms.
Until they meet in the church and realize just how close their lives are intertwined. It’s that bond of loss and grief that finally brings them together and from that moment, it’s like they were meant to be.
However, when both Vickie and Adrian begin spotting what they think is their dead children playing around town, they never imagine the paranormal world they will find themselves in, nearly 65 years in the past.
This book lost steam FAST. What connection to these characters and their pain I had at the start was lost very quickly after they found themselves in the past. It’s like the author too lost interest in the whole thing because it became mush. I was so emotionally invested at the start and the scene at the church when they realized how close their children were before their death could have moved me to tears. Then, it just became a repetitive mess that made me completely lose interest.
Also, Adrian was oddly sexually aggressive toward Vickie. When she didn’t want to sleep with him because she didn’t love him (keep in mind it’s 1945), he basically started begging her for sex. It’s was completely out of character for him, or so I thought at the time, as he held himself as an English gentleman otherwise.
Sad to see a book with such a great start turn out to be a not so great ending.
Until they meet in the church and realize just how close their lives are intertwined. It’s that bond of loss and grief that finally brings them together and from that moment, it’s like they were meant to be.
However, when both Vickie and Adrian begin spotting what they think is their dead children playing around town, they never imagine the paranormal world they will find themselves in, nearly 65 years in the past.
This book lost steam FAST. What connection to these characters and their pain I had at the start was lost very quickly after they found themselves in the past. It’s like the author too lost interest in the whole thing because it became mush. I was so emotionally invested at the start and the scene at the church when they realized how close their children were before their death could have moved me to tears. Then, it just became a repetitive mess that made me completely lose interest.
Also, Adrian was oddly sexually aggressive toward Vickie. When she didn’t want to sleep with him because she didn’t love him (keep in mind it’s 1945), he basically started begging her for sex. It’s was completely out of character for him, or so I thought at the time, as he held himself as an English gentleman otherwise.
Sad to see a book with such a great start turn out to be a not so great ending.
November 12, 2010
only about 1/4 of the way through, both main characters are pretty annoying, seems more like early 1900s, than 1940s. I will keep on trucking...probably won't read anything else by this author!
August 23, 2011
After reading 'Sarah's Key' I needed to read some fiction I knew would have happy ending. Time-travel / romance novels are good for that. I like Riley's stories.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews