"Aching for Always"
by Gwyn Cready
Publisher: Pocket
Release Date: Sep 28, 2010
Source: sent by publisher
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary from goodreads.com:
RITA Award–winning author Gwyn Cready continues the “sexy fun” (BookPage) of her charming time-travel adventures with a high-spirited tale of a modern-day mapmaker and the eighteenth-century English navy captain she can’t resist.Ambitious and feisty Josephine “Joss” O’Malley has spent years fighting to keep her mother’s map-making company alive. Just when she finds herself considering taking a risky next step with bad-boy entrepreneur Rogan Reynolds— whose generosity has helped keep the business afloat—Joss meets dark and mysterious Hugh Hawksmoor. Hugh’s deft touch and old-world seduction stir Joss’s desires like a storm at sea, and she has no clue that he has sailed three hundred years into the future to avenge the death of his brother at the hands of her father. Or that she holds the key to a map that will help him undo the destructive changes her father wrought in the past. When Hugh lures Joss into a treacherous journey through time, there’s not a twenty-first-century trick that can save her. But when she applies her own instincts to a course she thought was set, she discovers that the high seas hold some scandalous surprises.
My Review:
This story was more of an adventure story than romance in my opinion, with a lot of swashbuckling escapades going back and forth in time to solve the mystery. The romance kind of fell flat for me, so I'd say it's more for readers who want to read a great adventure story.
I really liked "The Beautiful Mapmaker" story that was the intro to most of the chapters. The little snippets of the romance that we got to see of Hugh's brother and Joss's mother were more of what I like to see in a romance-dreamy and more love than the physical aspect.
I liked how Hugh's story came together with Joss's and their pasts were interwoven, with Joss's mother and fairy tale tying the hero and heroine together.
The love story between Joss and Hugh didn't feel nearly as real or romantic as the love story from the past. Their relationship seemed all physical. Plus, there was the added obstacle of Joss's fiance. It didn't bother me that she had a fiance, because this was all part of the story, plus they had only been together a very short time. However, I didn't like to see their romantic scenes, I thought it took away from Joss and Hugh.
I liked how Hugh seemed almost innocent in his manner of speaking, but of course he wasn't at all. However, it seemed like he was more of a fantasy stereotype instead of a real person.
Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Bottom Line: I'd recommend this book to readers who like a big adventure in their romance stories.