Annie R McEwenCritiques

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. In "Bound Across Time," an American history expert moves to Wales to lead historic tours of a Welsh castle. The castle’s director pressures her to make the tours more "theatrical" with the addition of ghost stories, etc., which the female main character (FMC) resists – that is, until she meets an actual ghost! The ghost is a long-dead warrior who is cursed to spend eternity in a sort of purgatory attached to the castle for various misdeeds committed while he was alive.
The rest of the story involves the ghost (who is our male main character, or MMC) convincing our FMC that he is, in fact, real; the lengths the FMC goes to to first, resist the ghost, and then later, to research his history, and finally, the two of them eventually falling in love. Will they be able to overcome the purgatory sentence in order to have their happily-ever-after, or will our FMC forever be forced to visit her ghost by sneaking into the castle grounds after visiting hours?
Overall, I thought this story was well-plotted. The beginning was a little bit slow, but after the first chapter or two it picked right up. I felt the pacing was uneven: the slow beginning, then a lot of action in terms of the two main characters meeting, then another slow section while they manage to have sex in every room of the castle, and then it picked up again towards the end. Count this as your warning if you don’t like explicit sex: this book is not for you!
There were also some “coicidences” that seemed a little…unreal. Of course, we’re dealing with ghosts and purgatory so what are a few more unbelievable moments? Meeting the expert in the library at exactly the right moment, waiting months for a snail mail reply from the FMC’s aunts to a very important family question in the day and age of cellphones and e-mail, finding helpful witches at exactly the right moment, the FMC being able to work as a volunteer docent and live in Wales on her savings, alone (where did that money come from?), etc., etc. I just felt like some of these elements could’ve been tightened up and woven into the story with a little more subtlety, without their plot purpose bonking you over the head from the moment they’re introduced.
I rate each of the book’s elements on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows:
FMC – 4/5 stars
MMC – 4/5 stars
Chemistry between FMC & MMC – 5/5 stars
Supporting characters – 3/5 stars
Plot – 4/5 stars
Pacing – 2/5 stars
World-building – 4/5 stars
Dialogue – 5/5 stars
Grammar & syntax – 4/5 stars
Sex scenes – 4/5 stars (if anything, there were TOO many of them – they started to get boring after a while!)
Average across the board = 3.9 stars, rounded up to a solid 4 stars out of 5.

I don’t know that I would recommend this book to a friend, but I would definitely read more by this author. I feel like the story and plot were well-done, and just the execution was a little lacking, which can easily be remedied in future books.

I was intrigued by this book as I love all things historical fiction and time slip and romance. I found the book stuffed with facts, language, history and knowledge about witchcraft, herbs and traditions. I love the thought of Leaflings and soulers and love spanning worlds.
This book was a little slow in the beginning but the real action happened in the second half. It left an opening for a sequel and I hope to read that one too.
I thank the author, publisher and Librarything for an opportunity to read this book.

Bound Across Time: Historian CeCe moves to Wales, hoping to use her degree by getting a job at a historic castle but soon finds herself relegated to costumed ghost tours. Late one night she encounters a man who looks suspiciously like a portrait in the entry hall. Only that man has been dead over 200 years.
When I was a kid, I watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir with my grandma A LOT, so this book is directly up my alley. I really love a ghost romance, and BAT did not disappoint. CeCe and Patrick have amazing chemistry, and it is totally believable that they would take the risks they do to have a life together. I loved their scenes together!
And not only is there a hot ghost, there are also witches! And family secrets! What a pleasant surprise. I loved finding out about CeCe’s family, none of which I will reveal because it is honestly too good and juicy to be spoiled! Hence, me being extra vague about the plot. Anyway, I read with my eyes so wide during certain scenes, like that would help me read faster. The Welsh witches are also very cool and I would love to spend more time with them.
When I finished BAT I shouted “No! What?! Wait!” And then I remembered it is book one in a series. Thank goodness, because I am not ready to be done with this world and these characters! There are so many things I can’t wait to learn more about!
Thank you Harbor Lane Books and LibraryThing for the ARC!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This one moved a little too slowly for me and I came close to DNF a little less than halfway in. However, just when I thought “I will give this 47 chapter book 23 chapters of my time”, it did in fact begin to pick up toward a more interesting pace soon after the first 20 chapters. I realize that sounds daunting, but the chapters are pretty short.
🤷🏻‍♀️
I’m glad I finished this book because the second half was far more interesting to me than the first half. The ending was quite satisfying and by the time I finished the episode, I was convinced to read the next book in this series.
👍🏻
Personally, I’m a sucker for the time travel trope. So, that’s what initially drew me to this story. Then when you add the castle in Wales… me reading this book was destined to happen. I love the setting and I love the premise! The one thing I wasn’t so keen on was the insta love vibe. Although, this element was kind of explained on Patrick’s behalf as the story unfolds, I never was able to reconcile this for CeCe.
🥴
Guess what else I’m always a sucker for - paranormal/witchy vibes! This book definitely delivered on this front in the second half, but I’d have been much more engaged in the first 20 chapters if it had been more present in the top half of the story.
🙃
All in all, the “voice” of this author was full of sharp wit and humor all throughout - I loved that! I’m landing on 3 stars because I genuinely came too close to tapping out of this read entirely, but I will still recommend it to friends who like paranormal romance and have the patience for a slow start.
🙌🏻
Many thanks to the author, Harbor Lane Books, and LibraryThing for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this would be more historical fiction, but it turned out to be a (steamy) romance. I don’t read Romances, so I am not sure I can fairly rate this book. The historical fiction part was non-existent and the writing style was not one that I enjoyed.

Magic and a love that transcends death without regard to time, this story had me rooting for the FMC early on. Her journey felt believable, making it easy for me to want to follow along this journey with her. The MMC, drawn from death by the FMC, was my favorite of the book, and their connection together was sweet and well played out. The story was, at times, slow to progress, and sometimes, the terminology could have been more straightforward, but I liked the book and kept up with what the author alluded to. This may have to do with my lack of knowledge of witchcraft, and it did not make the story less enjoyable. I also wish we had learned more about some of the secondary characters. Each was described well, and especially the witches made me wish they had a bigger role in the book or that there was more backstory on them. There was some open-door spice in the book, which I enjoyed. The moments between the characters were well written and added to their relationship and overall story progress. This book was fun, and I recommend it to anyone who likes paranormal romance with a bit of magic. The ending was sweet and well-won, even if I wish we had more of an extended epilogue. This book ends with an open-ended HEA for the reader's interpretation. I would happily read more by this author.

3.75 stars The story started slowly and built to an interesting love relationship between Patrick and Celeste – for a while. It seems it was in Celeste’s bloodline or somehow ordained that the relationship went forward as it did. From about the middle of the book until fairly close to the ending, the tale didn’t really move forward, just languished. Guidance was given by trying-to-be-helpful witches and aunts but without much conviction. Finally, when Celeste made a decision, the storyline picked up but it was unclear how she got where she wanted to be, where exactly Patrick was (reality or unreality) and how the family proceeded with their lives.