A Perfect Love (Time Passages Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

Some of the summer's best romances are coming from the fantasy/paranormal genre and the roll does not stop with A Perfect Love. Sandra Landry's debut novel has it all...time traveling, reincarnation, nasty villains, action-packed plot, hunky hero, lovable heroine, warm and snugly romantic love (with neither too much nor too little reticence from the protagonists before admitting to it), and one of the most unique story lines this jaded aficionado of fantasy romance has come across in a while. Indeed, the story line contains so many different elements that it's difficult to decide what should and shouldn't go into a plot description. Bearing that in mind, here are the bare facts:

England, Late 1100s: A witch foretells to Lord Faulk Brookstone that there is only one woman in existence capable of giving him heirs. She is golden of hair, golden of eyes, and sports the marking of the rose. The witch gives him a final warning: "As she comes through the water, so can the water take her away." Faulk shrugs the old woman off and continues on his way, putting her declaration from his mind.

Flash forward six years: Recently back from battle, Faulk is riding along the beach when he happens upon the unconscious body of a golden haired woman that is barely clinging to life. He picks up the mystery lady and carries her inside of his keep where his nursemaid Mildred attends to her. Mildred is the only other person Faulk ever confided in about the witch's prophesy, so when she finds an intricate drawing of a rose on the shoulder of the unconscious woman while undressing her, she immediately rushes to Faulk with the news. Faulk is momentarily stunned, but quickly recovers with a new and fierce determination. This mystery woman will heal and she will marry him, whether she wants to or not...

England, Present Day: After returning from a visit with her family in France, Nadine du Monte arrives at her flat in England only to be given some horrific news: her parents have been killed in a car crash. She makes immediate plans to head back to France, but since it is late in the evening the only available mode of transportation is the ferry. Grief-stricken, Nadine books passage and sets sail across the English Channel. At some point during the trip, she is overcome with a dizzy spell that knocks her off balance and sends her plunging into the cold waters of the channel.

Nadine awakens three days later, only to find herself in a strange room, on a strange bed, surrounded by a bunch of strange people that dress weird. Needless to say, she has a lot of questions running through her mind, but the most prominent ones revolve around the handsome man named Faulk and his bizarre (not to mention frightening) announcement that she is not permitted to leave his home. And even stranger yet, she is suddenly having flash memories of another woman's life, as if that life had once been her own...

-full review originally published in The Romance Reader

I love reading both romances and time travels, and this book was everything I wanted rolled into one. The tasteful cover caught my attention (thanks for avoiding the bodice-ripper syndrome, as I don't feel right reading those in public) and the promise of a good story continued right into the first chapter. A tight plot populated by deep, emotional characters is always a joy to read, but Ms. Landry's magic with words and her ability to tell a story put me right in the middle of 1100's England. Her depiction of castle life and the mannerisms of the people made the plight of the modern-day heroin, Nadine--with all of her modern-day attitudes--even more intense when she finds herself swept into the past. A combination of fate and prophecy brings these two together, but their differences cause them to clash, despite their attraction to one another. The romance between Nadine and Faulk--the hero hunk that is to die for!--blooms as they are plunged from one obstacle into another, giving the book a fast and intriguing pace. There is excellent sexual tension between Nadine and Faulk, and the scenes of intimacy between them are warm, powerful, tasteful, and very romantic. The best part of the book is the ending. Jut as the reader believes all has ended well, a surprise twist pops onto the pages and sets the reader to biting her nails as everything falls apart for the two lovers. I won't ruin it by telling the ending, but watching them grow into the people that they were meant to be in this time and place, and watching them tear down the emotional barriers that are keeping them apart is sentimental and heartwarming. Get it and read this wonderful debut novel for yourself. It's a real keeper. I'm looking forward to seeing Ms. Landry's next book.

Modern day Nadine du Monte reluctantly leaves her family in Rouen, France to study in London. Prior to leaving, Nadine and a friend decide to visit a gypsy--who prophesizes that 'death is only a transitional time' which initiates a vision in which Nadine sees herself--or at least a woman who LOOKS like her and shares the same name 800 years in the past. Unnerved by the experience, Nadine seeks comfort from her beloved mother before she leaves for London. Upon her arrival, however, Nadine learns that both parents perished in an auto accident that day. Unable to get a late flight, Nadine faces her crippling fear of water and boards a ferry across the English Channel. Once again, Nadine is overcome with a vision of the medieval Nadine and falls overboard. Lord Faulk of Whitecastle, loyal knight of Richard II, had long delayed acting on his promise to his father to return from the battlefield, take a wife and sire an heir. Upon his father's death, Faulk guiltily returned to Whitecastle intending to immediately carry out his duty. Only when he found the waterlogged body of Nadine du Monte lying upon the beach near his home did he recall the witch's prophesy: a golden vision with the mark of the rose would come from the water and would be the only woman who could bear his children. Cared for by Faulk's beloved retainer, Nadine recovers and finds herself, unbelievably, in the 13th century. Reluctant to accept her circumstances, plagued with the grief from her parents' deaths and trying to understand the flashes of "memories" she experiences of her apparent previous life in medieval England, Nadine must temporarily rely on Faulk's largesse. She refuses, however, his offers of marriage, but does find herself powerfully attracted to the honorable man who believes she is the woman of a prophesy. To complicate Nadine's identity crisis even further, a man claiming to be her betrothed arrives at Whitecastle and demands she return to Rouen with him immediately. Nadine's memories of her medieval life return in bits and pieces and she cannot recall her bethrothed. She decides to return to Rouen to learn more about herself, but the man she has come to love and the man who claims to be her betrothed constantly posture and fight. Upon her arrival in Rouen, Nadine learns of her medieval life and is inundated with the memories of her former life and, conversely, her memories from her modern life become vague and distant. Faulk knows Nadine is the woman of the prophesy and must find a way to make her his. He cannot, however, offer her his love because of the betrayal he suffered from his first wife. Nadine loves Faulk and realizes that she could live happily in medieval England with him--if she could believe that he wanted her for more than just her ability to bear his children and fulfill his promise to his dead father. But the prophesy must be satisfied or Nadine will be returned to the future--and only Faulk's love will hold her in his time.

An original combination of time travel, reincarnation and prophesy. A great debut from Sandra Landry.