Review: The Whirlpools of Time by Anna Belfrage

Today, I'm delighted to share my review of The Whirlpools of Time by award-winning historical and time-travel fiction author, Anna Belfrage, as part of a blog tour.

My thanks to the author and The Coffee Pot Book Club for a copy.

The Whirlpools of Time

Anna Belfrage

Time-Travel Romance

A whirlpool of adventure and romance!

It's 1715. Having just lost the man who raised him like the father he never had, Duncan Melville travels to his Graham relatives to convey the news for them, and arrives to yet another funeral. This is a highly emotional beginning to the story. During his visit, we learn about how his mother rejected him, and how he has always felt separate. Alone. Distanced from his extended family because of her. Because she could not get over the past.

So poor Duncan is lonely, craving a companion, someone who loves him. But he has to be at a particular crossroads, during a very nasty thunderstorm, when he is sent through time to future to meet the very woman who would turn into his life partner: Erin!

But Erin is in trouble. She dared stand up against a local crime clan she accuses of killing her beloved grandmother over a pendant. A pendant that's still in her possession. 

When Duncan, freshly arrived from the past, saves her life near the crossroads, she takes pity on him and takes him in. Soon, their attraction to each other becomes evident. 

But with the criminals on her heels, Erin and Duncan are forced into hiding. To their surrpise, the pendant takes them back to 1715, but to London where Duncan's Uncle David lives. Quickly making up an excuse for their unexpected arrival, they are drawn into a search for David, who is rumoured to have gone to Scotland to join a rebellion in support of James Stuart. 

That's when The Whirlpools of Time really takes off. It turns from a modern thriller into a rollicking historical adventure as Duncan, Erin, and others they encounter along the way, follow David's trail. When a murderer strikes, they find their lives in danger again. 

Full of twists and turns, The Whirlpools of Time is a fast-paced romantic adventure that takes you halfway around the world and back. The plot is full of hints of rebellion, of murder, and you get a real sense of time and attitudes when Duncan and Erin arrive back at his home. I found her experiences harrowing, and as a typical 21st century independent woman, Erin automatically reacted in ways I'd have reacted too. A truly realistic touch. 

Ms Belfrage combined the different worlds very well in this adventure that leaves you breathlessly turning the pages. She doesn't shy away from describing early 18th century attitudes and doesn't gloss over them. Erin learns the hard way. I liked that. She's a great character, loyal and not afraid to take risks, even when that gets her into big trouble.

And just when you think they're safe, you'll find they're not. Oh, how Ms Belfrage tortured poor Duncan! I did feel sorry for him at times. As for the bad guy, well, he's a really dangerous man, a plotter. Ruthless. I thought he added a truly heightened sense of danger. 

The relationship between Duncan and Erin takes off fast. He soon realised he found his soulmate, and they do grow into their relationship over time. The novel contains many love scenes, some of them explicit. They didn't bother me, although I was more into their adventure and the murders rather than their bedroom antics. But each to their own. 

The Whirlpools of Time is a gripping read. However, early on, I found myself confused by the description of the rather large Graham clan, and whilst I know it's important we know Duncan's background, I thought there was a bit too much about it so early on. But it's not long until we're on his adventurous path, so it's no major issue.

If you're looking for a gripping time-travel adventure, meticulously researched and written, with three-dimensional characters, The Whirlpools of Time is for you. Add to it the passionate romance and the underlying threat to the characters’ lives, and you have an unmissable read.

I would highly recommend it.

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Blurb:

He hoped for a wife. He found a companion through time and beyond.

It is 1715 and for Duncan Melville something fundamental is missing from his life. Despite a flourishing legal practice and several close friends, he is lonely, even more so after the recent death of his father. He needs a wife—a companion through life, someone to hold and be held by. What he wasn’t expecting was to be torn away from everything he knew and find said woman in 2016…

Erin Barnes has a lot of stuff going on in her life. She doesn’t need the additional twist of a stranger in weird outdated clothes, but when he risks his life to save hers, she feels obligated to return the favour. Besides, whoever Duncan may be, she can’t exactly deny the immediate attraction.

The complications in Erin’s life explode. Events are set in motion and to Erin’s horror she and Duncan are thrown back to 1715. Not only does Erin have to cope with a different and intimidating world, soon enough she and Duncan are embroiled in a dangerous quest for Duncan’s uncle, a quest that may very well cost them their lives as they travel through a Scotland poised on the brink of rebellion.  

Will they find Duncan’s uncle in time? And is the door to the future permanently closed, or will Erin find a way back?

Trigger Warnings: Sexual Content. Violence.

Buy Links: 

Universal Link: http://myBook.to/WoT

Available on #KindleUnlimited.

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About the Author:

Anna Belfrage

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England.  

Anna has also published The Wanderer, a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense trilogy with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. Her September 2020 release, His Castilian Hawk, has her returning to medieval times. Set against the complications of Edward I’s invasion of Wales, His Castilian Hawk is a story of loyalty, integrity—and love. Her most recent release, The Whirlpools of Time, is a time travel romance set against the backdrop of brewing rebellion in the Scottish highlands.

All of Anna’s books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in 2015. She is also the proud recipient of various Reader’s Favorite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.

Find out more about Anna, her books and her eclectic historical blog on her website, www.annabelfrage.com.

Connect with Anna:

Website: www.annabelfrage.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/abelfrageauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annabelfrageauthor

Instagram: https://instagram.com/annabelfrageauthor

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-belfrage

Amazon Author Page: http://Author.to/ABG

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6449528.Anna_Belfrage