Come Back to Me

This time-traveling story combines Hedlund’s skillfully researched historical fiction with a new breath of fantasy and science fiction in a very captivating way. I enjoy a good time travel book, occasionally. It’s not my favorite form of speculative fiction, but this one grabbed my attention (that cover…omg) and upon finishing it, I’m so glad that I took a chance on it!

The time-travel concept of this book is certainly new, I’ve never seen a continuum theory or method of traveling through time like this. The concept is explained very well and had a pretty believable explanation for the story, so if you’re a big science fiction fan concerned about the science aspect of the story, I certainly think that the time travel was done very well!

Now, the historical setting? Are we even surprised that it’s flawless? Just like Hedlund’s other books, the historical setting of the 1380s is well researched, described, and the story is very, very intriguing! I loved that it’s a realistic adaption of medieval times–not the fanciful, romantic adaption that many authors like to portray. Hedlund describes the brutality of the Rebel Uprising against the king and church, the brutality and corruptness of the early church, and many other raw aspects of the time period. I loved how Hedlund’s writing style changed–noticeably–depending on the character’s POV as well. When we are reading about Marian, the descriptions and writing style feels very current, whereas when we’re in Sir William’s head, the entire story catapults you into medieval English phrases and descriptions. This way of telling the story was phenomenal and I think it is a good majority of the reason it is so good because the reader gets a taste of actually being transported in time through the writing style and not just the story!

I could spend a lot of time discussing Marian and Sir William, so I think it’s just safe to say that their romance is beautiful, sweet, passionate, and just overall well done. The complexities of the expectations of marriage from their two vastly different time periods created electricity that is hard to ignore. I loved that Marian learned through his time period that being dependent upon a man doesn’t mean being helpless or incapable, as her –our–time period likes to push on women. And Sir William learned through her very independent nature, that marriage can be more than a convenient contract–a friendship even. The end result was a really beautiful marriage that I believe would have survived regardless of what century they were in.

Overall, Come Back to Me was stunning and I’m so here for book 2 in the Waters of Time series! Easily 5 out of 5 stars!

Trigger Warnings: Romance/Sexual Content: No sex scenes. However, does include several passionate kissing scenes, semi-detailed mentions of sexual desire/admiring bodies, mentions of rape, some crude jokes about the “marriage bed”. Action/Gore: Accurate depictions of this time period including, dismemberment/beheadings (not detailed), beatings (semi-detailed), sword fighting (semi-detailed), looting, pillaging, raping (mentioned in conversation only), and kidnapping. Cursing: None, however, some slang is used.

I received this book from the publisher (Revell) for free however this is a voluntary review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.