Two Lives in Waltz Time

by Vivien Dean

Art restorer Maddy Cardinale loves her job. In fact, the only downside to working the night shift at her prestigious New York museum is fellow restorer Cash Vinci. As charismatic as they come, Cash is the most confident man she has ever known. He's also handsome, sexy as hell, and determined to get under her skin, no matter what the cost.

When an unusual painting arrives at the museum, neither of them anticipates the magic unleashed by a fleeting touch of the canvas. Suddenly, Cash and Maddy aren't in their workshop any more. They are both dressed to kill, plunged into the alternate reality of the posh 1940's nightclub portrayed in the painting. Even worse, the couple learns all too quickly that the club sells more than drinks, and the only reason Maddy doesn't have to offer more than a dance to the male clientele is because everyone believes she is engaged to Cash.

Dependent on one another as never before, the pair must work together in order to unravel the spell that has them trapped. Vengeful ex-girlfriends, jealous mobsters, and surprise enemies drive the couple into each other's beds and hearts, sharing secrets as well as passions. The only question is, will they survive long enough to admit their true feelings to each other? Or will their dance be cut short?

Paperback

First published April 30, 2006

About the author

Vivien Dean has had a lifetime love affair with stories. A multi-published author, her books have been EPPIE finalists, Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Nominees, and readers favorites. After spending her twenties and early thirties traveling, she has finally settled down and currently resides in northern California with her British husband and two children.

Reviews

[Lynette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maddy and Cash are art restoration specialists at a museum, but they are not friends. In fact, they can’t spend more than five minutes in each other’s company without snapping at the other. That all changes when a mysterious painting arrives at the museum addressed to Cash. When they touch it they are mysteriously transported back into 1940′s New York and instead of art restorers, Maddie is a former call girl now dancer at an upscale night club and Cash is the bouncer at the club. They’re engaged, and people keep trying to kill them. The only way to survive and escape to their future is to work together. But Cash has a secret. He’s not a normal man, he’s a wizard and he has powerful enemies after him.

I’m a big fan of time-travel romances and the premise and time period of TWO LIVES IN WALTZ TIME intrigued me greatly. As I opened the story, it sucked me in and I was looking forward to a great reading experience. Cash and Maddy were witty and engaging and I loved to see how they managed to fumble through the situation that they found themselves in. Even some of the issues that I saw inside TWO LIVES IN WALTZ TIME didn’t distract from my enjoyment of the story.

Then I reached the middle to end of TWO LIVES IN WALTZ TIME and entered into an entirely new reading experience. What had been interesting and fun became forced and didn’t match the originality and style of the first half of the novel. Maddie’s character who had seemed witty and funny in the beginning of TWO LIVES IN WALTZ TIME turned into a stranger to me. Maddie’s life is in danger, she is saved, she gets mad at her savior because he hurt someone before they could kill them, then she’s whining the day after she’s hurt because she’s not at full strength and can’t help everyone with trying to get home. She goes into a snit because she’s severely hurt so she decides to run away on her own, going against everyone else’s well thought out plans to save themselves and get back to their own time. It was hard for me to keep reading after that.

Another major issue that I had with TWO LIVES IN WALTZ TIME is the historical accuracy. I am so not one to jump into the debate about historical accuracy in romances, but I just couldn’t buy into the time period. TWO LIVES IN WALTZ TIME takes place in 1940s New York. However, nothing is said about the War? Even if it’s set in the latter half of the 1940s (it’s never stated what year it is), it was still a big part of the cultural mind set. Yet there was no reference to it in TWO LIVES IN WALTZ TIME at all. To be honest, it felt like the story took place in 1920s New York instead of the 1940s. I know that TWO LIVES IN WALTZ TIME was supposed to be like an alternate reality but that reality was so bound in fact that I couldn’t suspend disbelief, because something so prevalent in our culture even today was not even thought about.

TWO LIVES IN WALTZ TIME is a promising story with an original premise, but I just needed something more to further engage me into the characters and their dilemma.