Author: Jodi Bowersox
Genre: Time-Travel Romance
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release Date: April 5, 2016
From the Back Cover:
When the summit of Pikes Peak is beset with a summer storm, Lalita Torres thinks the embarrassment of trading her shorts and tank top for a touristy union suit to keep warm is the worst that could happen.
She was wrong.
A lightning strike sends her back a hundred and twenty-three years and into the care of Dr. Tate Cavanaugh.
Lalita thinks she's in a reality TV show. Tate thinks she's lost her mind.
My Review:
TINGLES! Yes... this book gave me TINGLES! That's what I love in a romance novel and so many books fall short. I'm not looking for explicit sex. I'm looking for TINGLES! And this book definitely gave me TINGLES! The looks Lalita and Tate exchanged, the closeness, the eyes gradually lowering to the lips, the hand on the shoulder, the brushing of the finger as they rode on the buggy... all of it gave me tingles!
I read this in one day. Couldn't put it down. If you can imagine being transported from today's world into a small town in 1892 with no cars, no cell phones or computers and no refrigerators and any mention of these things has people looking at you like you were looney-toons or something... well that's what happened to Lalita. And she meets up with the handsome Dr. Tate Cavenaugh! Wow! I had to chuckle when she would slip and use a modern day phrase and got curious looks from people. Lalita has no idea what is going on and her first thought is that this was a trick her friend Nonnie was playing on her. Then she thought she was on a reality TV show and all the people were actors staying in character. It took quite a while for her to realize that she had actually been transported back in time.
I was enjoying this book so much... until I hit Chapter 33. That's when I thought our strong heroine was going to turn into a stupid, stupid girl and give herself up to save the man she loves (boring scenario found in so many romance novels). I was about to throw up when I realized THAT IS NOT WHAT SHE IS DOING! Oh my! The story took on a whole new twist! I loved it!! No spoilers... you will have to read it to find out what I'm talking about.
Jodi Bowersox did an amazing job bringing these characters to life and keeping this novel totally unpredictable! Yup! I'm going to look into more of her books. I highly recommend this book, especially to those who like fantasy, romance and time-travel.
*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy provided by the author with the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy provided by the author with the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
My Rating:
Sneak Peek:
With Mrs. Kettler taking the morning off, Tate was left with a little fair-haired shadow that followed him everywhere he went. He had finally put his ledgers aside and let her crawl up on his lap for a story. He didn't have the incredible imagination of Miss Torres, however, and had to rely on the written word.
After several books, he and Nellie looked through the rest of Augusta's dresses to see what else might fit Lalita, all the while acknowledging she might not be with them much longer if the marshal had some knowledge of her or her family. Still, she needed something to wear for the trip to the marshal's office.
Opening a trunk of dresses that Augusta had packed away, he found her smaller sizes. He was flooded with remembrance of the earlier years of their marriage, but there was no real longing for days past. Their life together had never been all that he had hoped.
He hung a couple dresses out on the balcony to air out and had just come back into his bedroom, when Lalita sailed by on her way to the bathroom.
He and Nellie went down to the kitchen and had a hearty breakfast of ham and eggs ready for her in the dining room when she returned. His brows rose at the sight of her in his dressing gown.
She slid into a chair at the table across from him. “I hope you don't mind my wearing your robe, Doc. After yesterday's sweaty business, that dress reeked. I don't suppose you have any lady's deodorant around the house, or would that be historically inaccurate?” She scooped up a too-big bite of eggs and washed them down with a swallow of tea. She lowered her voice. “I really need some clean undies, as well.” She grinned. “Does Manitou Springs have a Victoria's Secret?”
Tate's surprise had turned into embarrassment, then utter shock, and finally confusion. He counted himself among the enlightened, intelligent men of his time, but one conversation with Lalita had him wondering if he had spent his life thus far with his head in a hole.
With a glance at Nellie, who was offering her doll a cracker, he wondered how best to rein Lalita into the rules of respectable society. The thought that she needed reined in, however, took him back to another time—another woman he'd tried to make fit in to no good end. And yet, there were basic manners that even Nellie understood.
Sitting straight, he gave her a slight smile. “Miss Torres...”
She waved a hand as she skewered a bit of ham with her fork. “Please, Doc, I can't take another minute of this 'Miss Torres' business. Please call me Lalita.”
“Lalita,” he continued, “while I would never try to suggest that you need to please someone else with your... manners, there are a few society rules that preserve the boundaries of good decorum.” He took a deep breath, hearing his own voice raised in anger at a young woman who had been unable to negotiate the often murky waters of social interaction. “If you wish to fit in... what I mean to say... you must try to... to...”
She stared at him fumbling for words and set down her fork. “Okay, I get it. If I'm going to be a part of the show, I need to get into character, but that's why I'm asking about deodorant and underwear and such. So I can do it like you all do it here in 1892—that's what the calendar says in your kitchen, right?”
Tate nodded slowly, more frightened than ever for her mental state. “Yes, the year is 1892. Did you forget that along with your visit to Pikes Peak?”
She grinned. “Yes. Yes, I did.”
“You have made quite a change in attitude over the last several days. From wanting to flee to believing me to be a quack doctor—”
“Oh, I'm sorry about that, Doc. You are obviously a real doctor, and that was obviously a real pregnant lady with a real baby coming out of her.” She laughed. “A billionaire must be financing this reality show! It doesn't seem like Warren Buffet's style or even Bill Gates, but maybe Donald Trump. And you! You're amazing! You never break character even for a second. Makes me wish I'd taken some theatre classes in college.”
“Theatre. So you now believe that you are part of some grand production.” Tate leaned forward, his forearms on the table. “Tell me, Miss Torres, what does real life look like where you're from?”
She smiled, looking from corner to corner in the room.
Tate turned in his chair, following her gaze but could see nothing out of the ordinary. “What are you looking at?”
She leaned toward him. “Just wondering where the cameras are,” she whispered.
Then she sat back, stiffly taking her cup of tea in hand and taking a sip. “Well, Dr. Cavanaugh,” she began with a wooden gesture, “the time I come from is very different than yours. For instance, we have—”
“Excuse me, did you say the 'time' you come from?”
She nodded.
“The time. Not the place.”
“Well, the place is different, too, since I'm not from around here.”
“Where are you from?”
“Missouri. Close to Kansas City.”
He leaned in again. “When are you from?”
She spread her hands dramatically. “The early 21st century.”
Tate just stared.
Lalita nodded. “That's right, man from the 19th century,” —she gave an exaggerated wink— “you're looking at a 21st century woman.”
Suddenly she pushed back from the table, rose, and struck a pose with one hand in the air and one on her hip. Then she started to sing. “I can bring home the bacon” —she moved her hips a quick left and right— “fry it up in a pan” —she slinked toward him, spinning the cord tie at her waist— “and never ever let you forget you're a man,” —she sat right on his lap, throwing her arms around his neck— “ 'cause I'm a woman.”
Tate was speechless, but Nellie clapped, and Lalita was biting her lip, trying to keep from laughing. She put a hand to the side of her mouth as she whispered, “I don't know how much competition there is for airtime, but that should keep us off the editing room floor.”
About the Author:
Jodi grew up on a farm in Nebraska, then spent most of her life in the sweltering summer humidity of NE Kansas. Her experience working for an interior design shop became fodder for her first romance, Interiors By Design.
Her farm and small town background helped with the writing of her second novel, Horses, Adrenaline, and Love.
Living close to Kansas City for 27 years gave her the setting for her third novel, a romantic suspense entitled Cinnamon Girl Explains It All.
A recent move to the Colorado Rockies has removed the humidity from her life (now she's bathing in vats of lotion), and the mountains have already provide new inspiration for writing. Her Rocky Mountain Series is set in Colorado as well as her time-travel romance, JOLT, book 1 in her Lightning Riders series.
She has also written a couple of childrens' picture books under the name J.B. Stockings and a short Bible commentary on the book of Ephesians.
She reads an eclectic mix of Christian non-fiction, Sci Fi, and Romance, and loves playing Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and any number of other games with her husband, sons, and daughters-in-law.
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