PERFECT TIMING by authors Julie Kenner, Nancy Warren, and Jo Leigh

You know.  Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a mushy, make you feel good book, but it still has to be a little more risqué than one written by Nicolas Sparks. (Nothing against Sparks.  His books make great movies, but the majority of the time his books are a little too tame for me.) When I hit that mushy mood, I sometimes pick up a romance book that consists of three or four short stories.  They’re always predictable, and never fail to give me what I need.  This one was no exception.

 

PERFECT TIMING

        by authors Julie Kenner, Nancy Warren, and Jo Leigh

 

 BOOK DESCRIPTION

For three women, the right time to find passion is BEFORE their time.

 

This time-travel romance anthology contains stories by three bestselling authors which introduce three women who discover the right time to find passion is before their time.

200 Years Ago?  PISTOLS AT DAWN by Nancy Warren

After breaking off her engagement, Natalie Bowman, finds herself in the 1800s being auctioned off as a sex slave! She’s even more shocked when the highest bidder is Andrew Greenwood – the fiancé she dumped.

80 Years Ago?  THOSE WERE THE DAYS by Julie Kenner

Uptight Sylvia Preston is terrified when she time travels to a twenties party.  But when Tucker Green gets her dirty dancing, Sylvia wants to see just how uninhibited she can be – in bed with Tucker.

60 Years Ago?  TIME AFTER TIME by Jo Leigh

When history student Betty Kroger is transported to WWII, it feels right – and even more right to show sailor John Stevens what sex is like twenty-first century style!

 

MY REVIEW

4 out of 5 *Stars*

 

Three stories, all based on finding love in a different time period. The idea drew me in.  It was like a historical romance, but not. The details were so precise in all three stories, that I had no problem getting drawn into any of them.

The first story was Those Were the Days where Sylvia went to the twenties.  It was great.  It was fun. There was an immediate chemistry between the two main characters.  Well, obviously there had to be since it was a short story, but I think this is the only story I’ve read where the connection was formed while one was unconscious.  It didn’t matter.  The dialog was sweet, the storyline had an intriguing plot… It was just an overall cute short story.    

“If you could be one of the actresses.  A new life on film, I mean.  What would you be?”

Her brow furrowed as she pondered the question.  “A fairy-tale princess, I think.  After all, she always gets the happy ending.”

 

“You deserve a happy ending,” he said, taking her hand again.

“How about you?” she asked.  “What would you be?”

“Ah, that’s easy,” he said without taking his eyes off her. “I’d be the frog.”

 

The second story in the book, Pistols at Dawn, was just okay.  Yes, it had a duel and a romance, and a good sex scene, but I couldn’t get drawn into it the same way I did the first and third story.  I did enjoy the fact that both the man and the woman got sent back in time, but both characters were a little too dry for my taste.

Which leads me to the last, and my favorite story of the three, Time After Time.  This story was utterly remarkable, and I didn’t want it to end.  I would have loved it, if this story was a full length novel.  I actually felt myself tearing up towards the end.  The amount of emotion it brought forth was incredible. Maybe it was because throughout the history stories, similar romance tales have been told.

“This is what we fought for. Right here, right now. This is victory.”

It was as if I had stepped through the pages and entered New York in the 40’s. You could practically feel the devastation and fear coming from John, and the elation and sorrow coming from Betty.  It had a great story line, and I LOVED how everything tied together throughout the story.  This is a story that I’m not soon going to forget. 

“I know.” she said.  “I’ll never forget you. Not in a million lifetimes.”

For the book in a whole, I really enjoyed how they were all tied together.  It wasn’t just a common storyline, but, believe it or not, the same traveling sex exhibit came to each female’s city.  

“She jumped as someone coughed behind her.  Her cheeks heated as if she’d been caught looking at dirty pictures, which, of course, she had.” 

A little bit of Bippitie, and a little bit more Boppitie Boo, and they were each sent to different time periods, but each by the same person.  It made it to one cohesive book and not just three short stories. 

So here I am, typing this review, and remembering the excellent last story, and thinking “5 Star! Give it a 5 Star!”  That could also be the Celine Dion that just started playing as well.  However, I am sticking to my guns on this one.  If it were just the last story, it would be a 5, hands down, but it wasn’t.  Taking everything into consideration, I’m keeping the original rating, but I would definitely recommend the book for light and heartfelt reading.  Till next time…

Happy Reading!