The Very Thought of You

I just finished The Very Thought of You, the last of the Lynn Kurland romance novels Ivy sent me. As usual it was excellent. I've enjoyed all these stories, even if one or two dragged slightly.

This one didn't drag. It was the story of a modern man, a lawyer who had been a corporate raider and not an altogether nice man, and his accidental trip into medieval England where he meets Margaret of Falconberg, the woman of his dreams. As is so often the case in Lynn Kurland's books, Margaret prefers to wear chain mail, tunics and hose rather than the gowns a woman is supposed to wear, and she is an excellent sword fighter.

Alex has been trained in swordplay by his brother in law Jamie, who originally hailed from the 13th century. But he's vowed not to fight again, feeling he is atoning for his past sins. However, when the chips are down and Margaret needs defending (which doesn't happen often) he picks up a sword again.

These two are crazy in love with each other, despite the usual glitches and misunderstandings. The travel in time is also quite an interesting complication. It's of course a pleasure to see them end up happily ever after while the bad guy, Ralf, ends up with Margaret's dagger in his heart.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoy Lynn Kurland's writing. I appreciate her frequent use of time travel in her stories, since I've always liked time travel stories, ever since I read The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov. The problem of disrupting the time continuum and possible catastrophic results has always fascinated me, and the culture clash here between a 12th century woman and a 20th century man is quite entertaining.

And yet, Margaret is way ahead of her time. She fights like a man, reads and writes, and considers herself subservient to no one. Even at her wedding where she must promise to obey Alex, she mutters under her breath that she will obey him when she chooses to. It's hard to imagine a woman so strong willed in that time and place but maybe there were a few like Margaret. Unfortunately, no 20th century men enamored of strong-willed and sassy women were likely to be calling on them.

Lynn Kurland is a fun author who knows how to draw her readers in and give them what they are looking for. I certainly recommend The Very Thought of You.