It is great to be featuring Living in the Past today. Jane Lovering's novel was published on February 14th and it is set on the site of an archeological dig in Yorkshire with a time-travel theme.
Do you ever wish you could turn back time?
Grace Nicholls has a few reasons for wanting to turn back
the clock … although an archaeological dig at a Bronze Age settlement on the
Yorkshire moors is not what she had in mind. But encouraged by her best friend
Tabitha, that’s exactly where she finds herself.
Professor Duncan McDonald is the site director and his
earnest pursuit of digging up the past makes him appear distant and
unreachable. But when a woman on the site goes missing, it seems that his own
past might be coming back to haunt him once again.
As they dig deeper, Duncan and Grace get more than they
bargained for – and come to realise that the past is much closer than either of
them ever imagined …
My Thoughts
This is a slightly quirky, at times humorous, romance which like all Choc Lit novels, gives you both the man and woman's point of view. I was going to say 'hero' and 'heroine' but that didn't quite fit with the two central characters, Grace and Duncan, for me. Given that Grace indulges in quite a bit of time travel between the 21st and the Bronze Age, I'm not too sure why I think that. She certainly has courage. I suppose it may be because they fight their demons in their minds and have to come to terms with tragedies in their past whilst the rest of the world carries on regardless. They are quite down to earth (in Duncan's case, literally) with definite spikey edges. Having said this, I liked them both. They are certainly not stereotypical but individuals.
I enjoyed the fact that this was set in an archeological dig- it was really very interesting, if not a trifle muddy and I learnt quite a lot!. Taken away from normal lives to a tented encampment, barriers were broken down. There are some warm and sympathetic characters who are also there, observing and encouraging. Grace has relied on her friend, Tabitha since the death of her husband but realises that she has to find a way to move on. You find yourself rooting for both Grace and Duncan. It's a great read.
In short: a touch of romance haunted by ghosts from the past.
About the Author
Jane was born in Devon and now lives in Yorkshire. She has
five children, four cats and two dogs of variable sanity. She works in a local
supermarket and also teaches creative writing. Jane is a member of the Romantic
Novelists’ Association and has a first-class honours degree in creative
writing.
Jane writes comedies which are often described as ‘quirky’.
Her debut, Please don’t stop the music, won the 2012 Romantic Novel of the Year
and the Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year Awards from the Romantic Novelists’
Association.
Jane’s novels include: Please don’t stop the music, Star
Struck, Hubble Bubble, Vampire State of Mind, Falling Apart, How I Wonder What
You Are, I Don’t Want to Talk About It, Can’t Buy Me Love and Little Teashop of
Horrors and Living in the Past.
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Thank you so much for the review - I'm delighted you enjoyed the book,
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