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Touched By Time

by Leanne Shawler

Jane Leighton has left London for a holiday in Bath. She has had unfortunate luck in her relationships, having just discovered that her latest, Terrance, has a wife. He doesn't want to accept that Jane would end their affair.

Jane checks into a B&B and encounters the ghost of a previous owner of the B&B. Ramsay Chadwicke and his betrothed disappeared in the early nineteenth century and he has haunted the home ever since. Jane doesn't believe in ghosts but she learns that they are real.

The first time that Ramsay and Jane touch, she is transported to back to his time: the Regency. Jane will need to learn all that she can to change the past and save the man of her dreams.

Ms. Shawler doesn't attempt to minimize the difficulty of someone from current times ending up in the past. What I most enjoyed was the fact that Jane doesn't stay in the nineteenth century, she returns to her time each day. This allows her to research Ramsay's life and do what she can to change history. And we see the confusion of Ramsay's friends and servants as they puzzle over this "cousin from the country" (Jane) who appears and disappears with regularity.

Jane sees the difficulties of someone from the future living in the past; the different ways of society which trip her up on a regular basis. Ramsay has to deal with the questions of this unexpected cousin's appearance and teach Jane what she needs to go on society. And each time Jane returns to the present, she needs to adjust more and more.

Overall, I only had two complaints about the book. The appearance of Terrance in Bath proved a distraction from the main story for me, and the villain in the book was so evil as to be a caricature.

While this book won't make my keeper shelves, it was an enjoyable read and showcased a talented author who, with a little more work, could become a really good writer.