“An antiques shop
haunted by a ghost. A silver treasure
with an injustice in its story. An
adventure to the past she’ll never forget.
“Xanthe and her mother, Flora, leave London behind for a
fresh start, taking over an antiques shop in the historic town of
Marlborough. Xanthe finds she has an
affinity with some of the antiques she finds:
While she touches them she can sense something of their past and the
stories they hold. When she has an
intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.
“It is while she’s examining the chatelaine that she’s
transported back to the seventeenth century, the time of its origin. She discovers there is an injustice in its
history. The spirit that inhabits her
new home confronts her and charges her with saving her daughter’s life,
threatening to take Flora’s if she fails.
While Xanthe fights to save the girl amid the turbulent days of 1605,
she meets architect Samuel Appleby. He
may be the person who can help her succeed.
He may also be the reason she can’t bring herself to return to the
present.
“In this first book in a new series, New York Times bestselling author of The Witch’s Daughter Paula Brackston returns to her trademark blend
of magic and romance, which is guaranteed to enchant.”
I came across Paula Brackston’s books while scrolling
through my Pinterest feed (this seems to be the way I’m discovering most of my
new reading material). I was intrigued
by the cover and the synopsis seemed interesting, so I gave it a shot and put it
on hold at my local library.
Xanthe and Flora uproot their London life to move to the
country. There, in an entirely new setting,
they begin their new lives as owners of a small antique shop. This is Flora’s passion and Xanthe’s joy –
especially because she gets to do it alongside her mother. However, Xanthe has a secret of her own. Some of the antiques she touches retain
echoes of their former owners. She can
sense their lives and their love, their histories and their stories. This comes in handy when choosing special
pieces for purchase or sale in their shop.
Nothing, however, prepares her for the visceral reaction she has to a
silver chatelaine she encounters at a local auction. Xanthe takes a great risk and spends most of
their meager funds on purchasing the silver chatelaine. Shortly thereafter, Xanthe realizes something
very important and powerful drew her to this piece with a tragic history. The ghost of a woman makes herself known to
Xanthe and their encounter sends Xanthe back to the Seventeenth Century on a
mission to save the ghost’s ill-fated daughter from a horrible end. Along the way, Xanthe must figure out how to
hide her modern-day mannerisms and speech, as well as her ignorance of the
customs and activities in order to blend in and help prevent the girl’s death,
for the ghost has threatened Flora’s life should Xanthe fail in her mission. Xanthe is drawn to the dark, intelligent
Samuel Appleby, who, despite the norms of the day, seems to appreciate her for
her knowledge and finds her enchanting despite her quirks and unfamiliar
behavior. Xanthe’s mission is dangerous
and, should she make one misstep, it could mean her own end in the tumultuous
times of the early 1600s. Will she be
able to save Alice and, by extension, Flora?
Will she be able to return to her own time or will she be forced to
remain in 1605 forever?
I love a good bit of modern British literature and this one
fit the bill; not to mention it has romance and magic, which make for a fun and
entertaining read (even if books with magical and time traveling themes are not
usually my cup of tea).
Xanthe and Flor make for a good mother-daughter pair. I found their dynamic to be very warm and
realistic. Their backstory seemed
realistic as a catalyst to move them from London all the way to Marlborough to
open a little antique shop of their own.
The details that go into their shop and the items within demonstrate the
obvious love and care put into this book.
The variety of items and descriptions drew me in and, to me, showed just
how much Brackston injected into this work; I don’t think the book would have
been as successful without it.
There were some minor descriptions of Flora, Xanthe, and
some of the more important supporting characters (like Liam and Samuel), but I
don’t feel like I got an excellent sense of facial features or even age. This is something I’ve noted in other book
reviews and it’s something I look for in every book I read. I don’t expect an author to give me extensive
descriptions and an exact age, but I find I do need something like, “mid-twenties”
and at least an eye color or some distinguishing feature other than hair and
clothing to really make a character come to life in my mind’s eye. I don’t think we’re given even a general idea
of Xanthe’s age. I first pictured her in
her early thirties, but, having finished the book, I think she may have been
much younger, maybe even her early twenties.
This nebulous sense of age (personally) makes it a bit difficult to form
a good idea of the main character and I find it detracts a bit from my
enjoyment. I may be alone here, but I
wanted to be sure to mention it because it was definitely something with which
I came away having formed a strong impression.
What I found most successful was Brackston’s descriptions of
1605. The details and settings were
spectacular and well-researched. The
Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Centuries happen to be some of my favorite in
British history, so it was a joy to discover that Brackston had done so much
background work and integrated so many intricate details and crafted the story
and its history in so loving a fashion.
Everything from the houses to the clothing, the political and religious
strife to the art and architecture, it was all so well-crafted and pleasantly
written that it felt natural rather than as if only a cursory review of the
time period had been performed. This is
an aspect of Brackston’s writing that I greatly admire and for which I applaud
her.
Xanthe was a very good female lead. She was determined, tenacious, and remained
shaped by her history in a believable fashion.
I enjoyed her ingenuity and imperfections. She is sent on a mission and nothing short of
success is acceptable – she simply will not allow harm to befall her beloved
mother. As a driving force behind her
mission, I thought it was handled very well.
To have made this into a selfless rescue mission wouldn’t have been as
believable (or as believable as magical time travel can be!).
Xanthe’s chemistry with Samuel (and Liam) was very realistic
and felt organic. I enjoyed watching their
connection grow and develop into something much deeper – a companionship that
would span the centuries. The romance,
while present, isn’t overt and does take a backseat to the main plot; however,
I found this better than making this story all about the romance. Though she may not realize it fully yet, I
can tell that her chemistry with present-day Liam will create some difficulties
for her down the road. She and the
almost Darcy-esque Samuel bond over a passion for architecture and the beauty
of what she knows to be antiques and artifacts, but Samuel sees as modern-day
creations and developments. On the other
hand, she doesn’t quite realize just how supportive and caring Liam is – how he
cares for her and is willing to overlook her half-truths and quirks. He suits her, but in a different way. I think we may have a “Gail and Peeta”
dilemma, a-la Hunger Games going on,
and I am curious to see how this is going to play out. Which man is more suitable? Will she venture to the past or choose the
man in her present? I suppose we’ll have
to see how the series plays out.
A minor plot hole I wanted to mention – you may want to skip
if you want to be totally surprised by the plot: The first time Xanthe is sent back to the
past, she sees Alice already captured and in the carriage on the way to
imprisonment. The second time she goes,
she watches Alice run away before they can put her into the carriage to be
carted away. Every other time she goes
back, the periods are perfectly chronological.
She doesn’t bounce around in time.
I think this was done so she would be aware of her mission, but it doesn’t
make all that much sense, especially given the exact passage of time between
the past and the present. They seem to
occur almost parallel, with the past traveling at a slightly quicker pace than
Xanthe’s present, but it never backtracks other than this very first instance.
Overall, I enjoyed the book.
I found it fanciful and realistic, even for a book with magical time
travel. I can tell there was a lot of
love in the story and I think this is part of what made it so successful. The plethora of details and research made this
a unique and special book. The writing
was fun (though those who are less familiar with British slang may need a bit
of assistance) and well-paced while the plot was lively and entertaining. I definitely look forward to seeing where
this series will go.
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