For the record I've read 8 of the authors listed above previously. In the introduction by Telep she mentions how time travel romance flourished in the 90's and early new millennium, but how paranormal romance has sort of shoved it away. I tried to remember the last *new* time travel romance I had read and I believe it would be Gwyn Cready's Tumbling Through Time, which I only liked so-so. I know that Brenda Joyce had several with her Time Guardians series--which was also a so-so series in my opinion. If you count e-books, then Emma Lai's 'Mates of the Guardians' stories are also time travel (the Guardians protect time and such), both of which I enjoyed quite a bit.

So if you're like me you're wondering why I would buy a book about Time Travel Romance (when I should have bought the Vampire Romance anthology, or the second Paranormal Romance anthology) and the truth is that I want to like Time Travel Romances. I was unfortunately tainted by all the ones in the 90's however and grew very cautious of the concept.

Did I enjoy this anthology? At times. I was disappointed more often then not, and felt that some of the endings to the stories were too 'And you can guess what happens next' for my tastes. I'm shallow, I like my romances to end with something along the lines of 'happily ever after' if they're not going to end with 'and they all died'. Give me syrupy sweet or give me bitterly dark.

That said I did enjoy some of them--Gwyn Cready's "The Key to Happiness" was refreshing. In it a man comes back to stop the woman he loves from making a choice that will ultimately kill her spirit. She'll have everything she wants for years, but then one moment in time happens and her world crumbles around her feet. He offers her a choice--take the road you know will lead to success or take the road that may lead to lasting happiness. This was the perfect short story; it tied up loose ends, had development and tension, and didn't end as if it should have had three chapters more to it.

Conversely Sandy Blair's "MacDuff's Secret" is also an interesting read, but I think I would have preferred if it had been longer. Novel length perhaps. A young teacher in Scotland travels back with five of her charges to a Glen that is almost too good to be true. But for a woman who has always done what is expected of her, will she take the chance to have something for herself finally?

Sara MacKenzie's "Stepping Back" was a fun read, though the ending left me unsatisfied. A young woman with no past begins to dig up the history of young woman who had disappeared a century earlier.

Hands down the story I enjoyed the most was A.J. Menden's "Future Date" about a a dating site that measures who you're compatible with across time itself. It was quirky, it was a cute and it was witty--much like her Elite Hands of Justice books are.

For the vast majority of the other stories however they didn't hold my interest very long. Some started out interestingly enough, but soon got tiresome or annoying (Michelle Maddox's "The Eleventh Hour") and some just were boring period (Maureen McGowan's "Lost and Found").

Am I glad I read it? Yes, because these aren't the same sort of tawdry bits of fluff from the days of yore in Time Travel Romance Writing so they did give me hope. I just wish that more of the stories had held my interest. ( )

The Key to Happiness - Gwyn Cready - 4
Love travels back in time to prevent her making a mistake. Touching, tender

Time Trails by Colby Hodge - 4
Interesting time split concept

Saint James WAy - Jean Johnson - 4
scientist goes to observe the past and finds her man.

Steam - Jean Johnson - 4

The Eleventh Hour by Michelle Maddox - 3
Fate, enforcing Fate or allowing choice? Ok story

The Wild Card by Sandra Newgent - 4
Stranger gives Cami a chip, sending her back in time. Intimate details skipped for the most part.
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Overall, I enjoy the book. There were a few stories that either appeared to end too quickly or seemed to drag on though this is my first time reading a Mammoth Book. I highly recommend it for those who may not have a lot of time to read long novels or those who enjoy short story time travel romances. ( )

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Surprisingly (at least to me) I only ended up skipping about 3 of the stories. There were a few that I would have really enjoyed to read as longer works--there was a lot more to those worlds/stories that could have been developed. Only about 4 stories in here really fit the short story format; most felt like longer works condensed to fit the limited page count. Overall, not a bad way to spend a few hours stuck at an airport. ( )