Constance O'Day-Flannery - This Time, Forever

Insurrectionist Meggie Billbride had a premonition something would go wrong when she planted the bomb at the mining company offices. Still, the hot-tempered revolutionary refused to back out of her mission . . . and when the dynamite exploded she was certain she was sailing toward the pearly gates. Instead, she discovered she was in a flying machine of the future and seated next to the most handsome mortal she'd ever seen! And as Meggie met his kind emerald gaze and sought his confidence and comfort, the disoriented beauty's terror of her predicament was soon replaced by flaming hot passion!
Fantastically rich Thomas Carter was about to complain about his first-class privacy being disturbed, but when he saw the oddly-dressed goddess beside him, his outrage turned into curiosity. Her slight Irish accent, her quaint hairstyle, and her fresh bright attitude intrigued him much more than all the modern worldly women who had been his usual female fare. The worldy tycoon wasn't satisfied with imagining what lay beneath the high-necked dress. He swore to pursue her relentlessly until he had won her, for now and for always!

Comment: This was the remaining book I had to read by this author. I liked it. I mean...comparing it to all the others, I can't say it's my favorite (that would be the 1st or the 2nd I've read) but it did bring an interesting story to me.

Just a little note...interesting how some things change...when I started reading these books I loved them and my liking them diminished the more I read...I wonder if it was all me or if the books themselves got worse? One year we love something, the other we might not? Why do you think our taste changes like this? I like to think it's because the characters and their adventures stop having the same meaning, but then, some books have the same flavor even after so long and I like them as much, so...even if I change, doesn't the story's tone? In the end I guess it's the matter of some books just not being good for me as a reader, unfortunally.

Ok, back to the book...
The protagonists are in different times and both travel back and forth to solve the plot's issues.
Meggie comes from the 19th century and Thomas lives in 1990. She's poor and fighting for better conditions to her family while being the target of scorn because of her past, very harsh on women at the time. Thomas is rich and divorced and doesn't want complications in his life.
Meggie travels in time first and lands in an airplane next to Thomas. he helps her when she can't help herself in a different time and they start a relationship although not without the expected trials in the middle. In the end of the book, something unexpected happens but of course, here's a happy end.

This book wasn't so bad, even with all the usual clichés in these type of books. The characters grew and learned their lessons while falling in love. This part was good to read and I actually had several moments during the book where I just had to keep reading. What annoyed me a bit was the descriptions of certain things, nothing in particular, but the overall feeling of the book, it's very obvious it was written, any years ago. This wouldn't bother me that much if the action took place in the past but it didn't. Like I said, it went back and forth and when I guess I'd have preferred if it would stick to one instead. Which one doesn't really matter but I suppose in terms of plot in the present would suit better.
The end wasn't what I imagined so I guess it wasn't as predictable as I thought it might be. I can't say it was a bad end, just...unfair in a certain kind of way. Everything ended with an obvious HEA but I don't think it was the best think to be done because one of the characters seemed to have a very hard path and although it isn't that unavoidable I still thought it was a bit over the top considering the tone of the book. Still, it didn't ruin the book, it just made me not want to read the end again.

This ended up not being such a bad book but it didn't come close to the ones I liked the best. Perhaps one day I'll try one or two of the ones I didn't read and let's see what I'd say then.

Constance O'Day-Flannery - A Time for Love

Elizabeth Mackenzie had decided long ago that happily-ever-after was just an illusion. Her career was what mattered, and the ambition that had carried her through many a lonely Saturday night brought her out west to land a new account for her firm. Then a force greater than anything she'd ever imagined took her even further... back in time to 1876... and into the life of Jordan McCabe. Mistaken for the proxy bride of the handsome Texas rancher, Elizabeth found a passion powerful enough to make her believe in love. But could she sacrifice all she had known for a fragile dream? As she struggled to understand the choices that lay ahead, Elizabeth came face to face with her own destiny... and the desires that tempted her to surrender her very soul!

Comment: This is another book by the author with the time travel plot line.
In this story, Elizabeth is a young woman who's had a bad experience with a dentist as a child. Now, she has a bad tooth and the only option is to remove it but considering her fear, her dentist uses a bigger dose of anesthesia to ease her. When she wakes up, groggy and without a tooth, she thinks it's strange that nobody is there and when she opens up the door, she's in 1867.
In that year, Jordan is a man waiting for his mail order bride but as he couldn't be there to receive her, two of his men are and after the expected misunderstand, they meet and Elizabeth, still thinking she's in a dream, goes with them to Jordan's house. However, the journey takes weeks and during that time they start falling in love and perhaps it was fate all along that got them together.

I liked this story. I think it had an interesting plot and although some things are predictable, it was entertaining enough to seduce me. I can't help but compare it to the previous books I've read by the author, and this one is much better. The story is more interesting and the characters are also more easy to sympathize with. the story feels more objective, it's like all the characters and the way things happen has more purpose, more closure than in the other novels.

Elizabeth is a strong protagonist. She's afraid of dentists but she looks foe one because she need to and when in 1867 she tries her best in such different circumstances. She keeps being the nice person, defending those who can't because she was a weak person once and she still suffers because of her father's alcohol abuse and neglect and so she takes care of two children along the way to Jordan's ranch. Actually, she does a lot during the trip, she gets herself into many situations that could be a problem if it were for real, but considering the fictional part of it, it was also funny. One thing I liked, she didn't become afraid or submissive just because she found herself in a different place and era. She always had an answer for everything, she didn't give up on her personality and she treated others like she was still on the 20th century. I know, a bit illogical if we think about that whole "when in Rome..." thing, but I loved it, she was funny and intelligent while using her knowledge and position and it provided great scenes.
Elizabeth also gives us her mother's POV and the abuse she suffered from Elizabeth's father. This subject also has a positive conclusion.

Jordan is a man with dreams and hopes and he thought having a sweet lady as a bride would help him after the disaster of his first wedding, but instead there came Elizabeth. He felt attracted to her right away and from then on he couldn't help it. I liked how easy it was for him to like her, to start loving her too. Their scenes together were good to read and it was believable. Somewhere along the way they have to marry and Jordan ends up realizing Elizabeth is so much more than what he thought.

I think this is a great romance. The situations fit the time and the place and the feel of the story. Now that I think more about it, I believe this is one of the best by her that I've read.
I still have one to read, and I hope it's as addictive and special as this one.

Constance O'Day-Flannery - Time-Kissed Destiny

With dreams of scuba diving in the relaxing warm waters of Bermuda, Kate Walker left New Jersey for sand, sun and surf. On her very first dive, however, Kate got much more than she bargained for --- she discovered sunken treasure. But when she went to claim her bounty, suddenly all the divers around her disappeared, and Kate found herself staring into a pair of hypnotizing blue-gray eyes! This diver wasn't familiar at all --- he wasn't wearing scuba gear and didn't have an oxygen tank strapped to his back! Frightened, Kate swam off in the direction of the ship she had dove in from, realizing too late that she hadn't even offered to share her life-supporting oxygen with the stranger . . .
Shipping entrepreneur Michael Sheridan couldn't believe his own eyes --- he found a mermaid at the bottom of the ocean! All of those ancient sea tales were true . . . even if this was the modern age and the year 1868, he now had reason to believe those old stories. She had fins for feet, a sleek body and the most exquisite flowing hair he'd ever seen. But as quickly as she appeared, she was gone, and Michael vowed to find her again. The underwater beauty became the object of his ultimate fantasy. He would seek the depths of the ocean to touch her skin, to kiss her lips, to caress her curves --- for once loved by a mermaid he would forever burn with Time-Kissed Destiny.

Comment: This is the fourth book I've read by the author. All the books have the time travel theme and, I found now, a connection.
In the first two books (Timeless Passion and Timeswept Lovers) the couples meet rapidly once, and the reader gets the feeling is random. Then in the third book, Time-Kept Promises, we hear nothing about them. I thought the books didn't share anything besides the theme Then there's this one. The male protagonist meets the protagonists of books #1 and #2 when they're...still single. Most confusing to me. Then, in the end of the book, one character, common in all books but in a way I completely overlooked him, clearly says the characters where chosen, and now I'm left not knowing why and how. I have two more books by the author to read, when I finally do, I'll see if there's any connection, but if not, I think I might have to look for it in other books, because my curiosity is at maximum levels right now.

And to be honest I didn't think I'd be because, mystery apart, this 4th book is my least favourite. I just didn't like the main couple, I mean, alone each character was ok, I guess, but together I didn't see much chemestry, it didn't feel they were meant for each other.
The plot is interesting yes, the descriptions of the scenes, the way things were happening were fine, but I had to make an efort to keep reading and, well, it's not the same thing when we just have to read more.
As I said, I'll read more, not right away, but one day I'll read more. I think that, considering it's books from the 80s, they're quite fine.

2 more comments

Dirt-poor, sensitive as poets, and proud as kings, the Powell family has lived on a Georgia mountaintop for generations. Then, during the 1960s, young Ursula Powell's father convinces the Tiber family, owners of everything in nearby Tiberville, to commission a huge iron sculpture of a bear for the town. Decades later the strange sculpture--rejected by the townspeople and left to rust on the Powell farm--symbolizes a family's failure and thwarted dreams. But, unknown to Ursula, it is now worth such a huge fortune that the artist's embittered son, Quentin Ricconni, is coming to reclaim it ... and to change everything Ursula believes about the past, the choices that break
a heart, and the redeeming powers of art and love.

Comment: Once again, I'm delighted to have read another book by mrs Smith. She is indeed a great storyteller and every book is a fantastic path throughout discoveries towards love and sometimes redemption. This On Bear Mountain is another example of her way with words, and although I didn't like it as much as other books, I still consider it close to perfection. The thing that separates it from other favourites is the fact there's so much negative things happening, the good things didn't feel like over balancing the scale to make it a happier book. I still think on what went wrong and the romance, still perfect and meant to be as always, also was a bit weaker then some of the other I previously read. Still, this author is one of my favourites this year.

* * * *

A DISTANT PAST; Kristine Gavin was depressed about turning thirty until she received a most unusual gift from her brother. It was a portrait he'd found in the attic of their family home in Virginia, a portrait of a woman who must have been their ancestor; judging from Kris' resemblance to the beauty. But it wasn't the painting that intrigued Kris....And old newspaper clipping about the woman's strange disappearance caught within the frame drew her in. Just as Kris was uncovering a fascinating secret from the past she sensed a change in the air-and found herself thrown back in time into a strange room, staring into the eyes of the sexiest man she had ever seen!
AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE; Sean O'Mara froze when he saw his wife Christia standing before him. She had vanished and the news had written about in all of the papers-he had been charged with her murder.

Comment: I enjoyed immensely the two previous books I had read by this author, Timeless Passion and Timesweapt Lovers, books I've read a long time ago. In this books, the author introduces time travel and one of characters (usually the woman) must live in a different century and falls in love. The books were written mostly in the 80's so it's interesting to see the atittudes and behaviour and even cultural references to those days and then the change to a faraway century. It's always a captivating story, I think.

However, I preferred the two other books more because in them the couple ends up living in the past, and there's like a whole different set of rules of those times, things I enjoyed seeing. In this book they end up in the present and I was happy to see them have a HEA, yes, but it's a bit of my own wishes to like more the other way around so...

I liked Kristine and Sean and the evil wife plot and of course the scenes where the change of century affected the character's attitude, but the fct they travelled to the present really disappointed me a bit, I was expecting the opposite based on the previous novels.

Anyway, I have three more books by the author..I'll eventually read them as well.