On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club – The Whirlpools of Time by Anna Belfrage #BookReview #HistoricalFiction #TimeTravel @abelfrageauthor @maryanneyarde

  I am so excited to share my review of The Whirlpools of Time by Anna Belfrage. Thank you to The Coffee Pot Book Club for your invite to take part in the tour. 

The Whirlpools of Time

By Anna Belfrage

He hoped for a wife. He found a companion through time and beyond.

It is 1715 and for Duncan Melville something fundamental is missing from his life. Despite a flourishing legal practice and several close friends, he is lonely, even more so after the recent death of his father. He needs a wife—a companion through life, someone to hold and be held by. What he wasn’t expecting was to be torn away from everything he knew and find said woman in 2016…

Erin Barnes has a lot of stuff going on in her life. She doesn’t need the additional twist of a stranger in weird outdated clothes, but when he risks his life to save hers, she feels obligated to return the favour. Besides, whoever Duncan may be, she can’t exactly deny the immediate attraction.

The complications in Erin’s life explode. Events are set in motion and to Erin’s horror she and Duncan are thrown back to 1715. Not only does Erin have to cope with a different and intimidating world, soon enough she and Duncan are embroiled in a dangerous quest for Duncan’s uncle, a quest that may very well cost them their lives as they travel through a Scotland poised on the brink of rebellion.  

Will they find Duncan’s uncle in time? And is the door to the future permanently closed, or will Erin find a way back?

I am a very big fan of time travel books, mainly because I know I could never ever go back in time and deal with the lack of chocolate, tea, Netflix, and my washing machine, not forgetting  my washing machine. But I absolutely love reading novels that make the impossibility of time travel, possible.  It is even better knowing that I can just pop a piece of chocolate in my mouth whenever I want and let the washing machine do its thing!

This is a busy book, so much happens. Duncan Melville is whisked forward in time to 2016, where he is immediately hit by Erin Barnes’ car (he wasn't having a good day). Erin looks after Duncan and romance and steamy scenes ensue. Then, since Erin is the kind of person to poke her nose into dangerous situations, they end up being transported back to 1715, the only alternative to getting roasted to death. Duncan may be comfortable in the time he is back in, but for Erin, everything is new. When Duncan’s aunt Flora asks him to find his uncle David, Duncan and Erin set off for Scotland, collecting somewhat of a motley crew along the way.

There is a lot of story in this story. The whole background setting of this novel deals with the rise of the Jacobite Revolution, and as Duncan, back in 2016, had become something of a dab hand at scrolling through Wikipedia, he knows that the uprising is doomed to fail. However, even with the knowledge that he has, he can’t directly interfere by telling people ‘don’t join them, you’ll die, I know it for sure,' because how on earth can he explain how he had come by this knowledge?!

The thing with time travel books is that the person who ends up in the time they do not belong in always gets in more trouble than they probably should. Erin still retains the view that she should be able to walk around wherever, and whenever, she likes, and she doesn’t quite understand that there is no easy way to find a missing person. Duncan may treat her with the respect that she deserves, but sometimes it would’ve just been easier to listen to him and stay in their rooms rather than put herself in danger without even telling anyone what she was doing or where she was going.

As I said before, there are quite a few steamy scenes in this book. Erin and Duncan, being the main characters, are destined to end up together. They are soulmates, clearly, and even time could not part them - think Jamie and Clare from Outlander and you will get the idea. They really are quite a lovely couple, and I loved reading about them.

I absolutely loved reading this book, and after finding out that there is a massive series about the Graham family (David is a Graham, as is Duncan’s mother) I think I might just have to get some more books! (The problem is, there are nine books, as far as I can see, and my to-read list is massive and my book buying savings are empty!)

I received my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club but you can grab your from Amazon This book is also available on #KindleUnlimited.

Anna Belfrage

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England.  

Anna has also published The Wanderer, a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense trilogy with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. Her September 2020 release, His Castilian Hawk, has her returning to medieval times. Set against the complications of Edward I’s invasion of Wales, His Castilian Hawk is a story of loyalty, integrity—and love. Her most recent release, The Whirlpools of Time, is a time travel romance set against the backdrop of brewing rebellion in the Scottish highlands.

All of Anna’s books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in 2015. She is also the proud recipient of various Reader’s Favorite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.

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