Title: The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance
Edited by: Tricia Telep
Publisher: Running Press 2009
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 468
Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; April Read-a-Thon; Fantasy
Twenty stories of time travel romance. What's not to love? Overall this collection was a lot of fun. Some stories were traveling back in time. A few from the future back to our time. And a few into the future. I think I liked the into the past ones the best. Instead of rating each story for the review (I did as I read them, just for me), I thought I would highlight my five favorite stories. In order of best to a little less than best:
1. "The Walled Garden" Michele Lang - A tales of safety, mystery, self-exploration. I couldn't tell if the story was a metaphor or meant to be taken literally. Doesn't matter really. The story is amazing. And Lang's writing is so lyrical. She doesn't give you all the answers, but that's the beauty of the story. Definitely need to look up her other works.
2. "Stepping Back" Sara McKenzie - A mysterious house hidden under the water in remote Australia. A woman escaping her old life (or is she?). A mysterious photograph. A receding reservoir. And a rip in time itself. A great story of self-discovery and romance.
3. "Iron and Hemlock" Autumn Dawn -- I have always loved gargoyles, shapeshifters, and faeries. This story put them all together with a time traveling woman. I loved the surreal quality of the story. I want to learn more about this mysterious world.
4. "MacDuff's Secret" Sandy Blair -- I connected to the main female character within the first paragraph. A passionate history teacher trying to manage five teenage boys? Sounds a lot like me. But then the story turned on its ear with a travel in time, a hunky Highlander, and a mysterious glen. I especially loved the ending to this story. Usually happy endings slightly annoy me, but this one was done well.
5. "The Key to Happiness" Gwyn Cready -- A bridesmaid meets a strangely familiar man at the reception. He tells her secrets, but she will only remember them as long as they keep their hands clasped. What happens when she releases his hand? A plot twist I saw coming a mile away, but the writing still made it enjoyable.
