Once a Cavalier (Time Passages Romance Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Dr. Larryn Maeller travels from America to England to meet for the first time her mentor and Internet chat pal, elderly Chloe Seldrake. However, that night at Chloe's home, two ghosts, Dr. Thomas Northby and his dog, visit Larryn. The next day, Chloe shows Larryn a 350-year-old locket. Inside is Larryn's picture and engraved is her name. Chloe explains what she knows of the ghost and the mystery of how Larryn's likeness could be inside such an old piece of jewelry.

That evening, Larryn goes to sleep only to wake up during the seventeenth century English Restoration. She immediately helps Thomas and his sister Adele with caring for healthy children not yet touched by the plague, but whose family members are ill. Their actions are illegal because the law quarantines full households. Meanwhile, Larryn and Thomas fall in love. However, Thomas mistrusts her. He fears she will give him and his helpers away to the King for their illegal activity . He mistrusts his heart after his first marriage.

ONCE A CAVALIER is an entertaining time travel romance that will provide much pleasure to sub-genre fans. Larryn's adjustment seems too easy, but the audience will accept it because of Linda O. Johnson's ability to tell an exciting story that paints a vivid picture of a bygone era. The lead characters are a dynamic duo whose need to help the young during the health crisis adds to their appeal. Ms. Johnson is a natural who makes reading fun.

Harriet Klausner

Historical time-travel romances have many obstacles to overcome in order to make a good book. There must be some logic as to why the hero or heroine goes forward or backward in time. With that logic there needs to be some suspense. The chemistry must be good. The era in which he or she travels to must be convincing.

Reality leads one to believe that the time traveler won't be immediately accepted by others; their speech, clothes, mannerisms and the way they were brought up is different. The question at this point: is this story persuasive and satisfying? Lastly, the ending can't be rush and, in most cases, it would help for an epilogue to be written to let the reader know if everything went well.

ONCE A CAVALIER was fair to middlin'. Dr. Larryn Maeller travels to the mid-seventeenth century after witnessing a ghost in the present calling for her help. The apparition is none less than a duke and physician. Thomas Northby, the duke of Seldrake, is trying to save children.

The Great Plague has killed many and is still active among the people. Supposedly, if a child succumbs to the disease every child, healthy or not, in the household has to be locked inside until the family is deemed healthy. Many that would have lived perished because of this practice.

Included in this storyline are Cavalier King Charles spaniels. So make a note: dog lovers may enjoy this more than others. Plusses to the book were the romance was not rushed, it had a unique theme, and the heroine was not stupid. Believability could have been somewhat stronger. The lower amount of stars was due to my dislike of the hero. I had to remember on more than one occasion that his thoughts of Larryn were due to the time. Unfortunately, this was a distraction. The chemistry was mediocre; one minute he thought he loved her, the next he didn't want her near him. Trust was too much of an issue and the ending felt rushed and unimaginable.

This is a fairly well-written time travel romance with an intriguing plot. Awash in the social mores of the time and replete with historical detail, this is an entertaining time travel romance that is a cut above what one usually finds in this genre. Those who enjoy time travel romances will most certainly like this book.

Dr. Larryn Mueller is staying at the ancestral home of Chloe Seldrake, an elderly friend of hers, while in modern day London to attend a medical conference. It was once the home of Thomas Northby, the Duke of Seldrake, a handsome man whose portrait holds a place of prominence in the house in which he once lived.

During her first night there, a ghostly apparition makes its presence known. Realizing it to be none other than the Duke of Seldrake himself, gracing her with his ghostly presence, Larryn is intrigued by the phenomena. The next time he appears, she follows his apparition to the roof, only to be swallowed by a strange mist. When it clears, she finds herself in 1668, during the Restoration of the monarchy, when England was ruled by Charles II. She is still in the home of the Duke of Seldrake, only he is no longer an ephemeral apparition but, rather, a flesh and blood man.

The Duke is initially dumb-founded by Larryn's mysterious appearance out of nowhere and by her odd clothing, but he has weightier matters on his mind. It appears that he, also, is a medical doctor and is engaged in some dangerous activities. The Great Plague is consuming London, and he is determined to save the children of its victims, despite certain edicts of the King. In this venture, Larryn seeks to help him, but first she must gain his trust, just as she has secretly gained his heart.