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We last saw the Van
Buren siblings at the end of SCANDALOUS SPIRITS, when Jonas had finally
owned up to his own scandalous past and was freed from the Van Buren
mansion where the three ghosts were in limbo. Unable to leave the
house, and unable to move ‘up’ or ‘down’, they had spent more than
seventy years together, scaring potential owners in the gradually
deteriorating house.
Jonas had the
freedom to leave, but chose to stay until his siblings were able to as
well. This meant they all had to realize their sins and deal with them,
something sister Isadora ‘Izzy’ isn’t prepared to do. Unable to
consider admitting her sins to anyone, she becomes furious when current
home owner Marcus’ assistant Rufus Sinclair demands she let him into the
room she’s blocked him from – the one with the mysterious trunk that she
doesn’t want anyone looking into.
In her anger she
blasts Rufus off the roof – and into 1920's Atlantic City, where he
befriends the ‘alive’ Van Buren’s and their friend pilot Grace La Rue,
who he’d seen a photo of prior to flying off the roof. A photo of Grace
and a man who looks remarkably like himself, although that couldn’t be
because he’s never been to the past…has he?
Rufus has never been
in love before and he doesn’t want a commitment now, but once he meets
Grace he realizes that his feelings on the subject have changed. Grace
is someone he wants to spend his life with despite her arguments that
they can never be together – but which life would they spend it in?
He’s in her past – is he also in his present? Will he get back to his
present? If he does, he’ll have to leave Grace, won’t he? And what
does this have to do with Izzy? More questions than answers torment him
as he tries to figure out the time travel mystery.
Rufus is like a gift
to the reader – a sexy, alpha, always-in-control kind of man who is such
fun to throw into a situation he can’t control. He manages fine of
course – he’s an alpha man – but it isn’t without plenty of fun. And
Grace is her own woman. Does what she wants, how she wants and hides
those insecurities from everyone – she thinks. But Rufus breaks through
her walls, finding some insecurities of his own along the way.
It’s a joy to
revisit the Van Buren’s, as C.B. Scott once again shows the skill in
building a story that made SCANDALOUS SPIRITS such a wonderful read.
Partners Cindy and Beth’s writing style grabs and entices, and while we
all know we can’t really time travel – we can’t can we? – we will wonder
if perhaps there is a chance after reading the fantasy KINDRED SPIRITS.
Reviewed by Sue
Waldeck for The Road to Romance
April 22, 2004 |
