Review: Somewhere my lass – Beth Trissel

Published: 2010

Pages: 235, ebook

Publisher: Wild Rose Press

Review by Anachronist

I got this book free of charge from the publisher via Blodeuedd in exchange for a fair review. That fact didn’t influence my opinion in any way.

Summary (from Amazon.com)

This book is the second in Beth Trissel’s Somewhere series, although it can be easily read as a stand-alone.

Neil MacKenzie’s well ordered life turns to chaos when Mora Campbell shows up claiming he’s her fiance from 1602 Scotland. Her avowal that she was chased to the future by clan chieftain, Red MacDonald, is utter nonsense, and Neil must convince her that she is just addled from a blow to her head–or so he believes until the MacDonald himself shows up wanting blood.

Mora knows the Neil of the future is truly her beloved Niall who disappeared from the past. Although her kinsmen believe he’s dead, and she is now destined to marry Niall’s brother, she’s convinced that if she and Neil return to the past, all will be right. The only problem is how to get back to 1602 before it’s too late. 

The balance of the present and future are in peril if she marries another, and the Neil of the present will cease to exist. An ancient relic and a few good friends in the future help pave the way back to the past, but will Mora and Neil be too late to save a love that began centuries before?

What I liked:

I enjoyed the most all these modern references to Star Wars, Matrix, Star Trek, Indiana Jones and other films and serials. It was a very nice addition to a time travel romance this book really is. Especially that the main heroine here is Mora, a girl from the 17^th century transported magically into the present. I know next to nothing about Highland dialects, but I loved Mora’s ranting and raving and she sounded pretty authentic to me. When Neil had her taken to the hospital and she misunderstood just about everything, it was pretty funny, as it was when she asked how the lights were kept on and Neil said gas and she thought he meant the kind you got in your stomach.

What I didn’t like:

The plot to stop the super-evil MacDonald guy (which I instantly connected to the famous fast food restaurants’ network, truly nefarious company) was a bit outlandish and predictable. The MacDonald loomed over the story but hardly in a shape of a three-dimensional, fully fledged baddie – in other words I wish there had been more of him or at least a lot more explanation about him.

What’s more there weren’t a lot of good secondary characters to make the story really engaging apart from Fergus, Neil’s best friend and a nerdy oddball, carrying always a lot of strange gadgets (even those weird sporks!). I think the narration occasionally relied on him too much to move it along or to get Mora and Neil out of a difficult situation. Also I must admit the explanation of the origin of all gadgetry became tedious after some time. Honestly, plenty of people know in what movies light sabers were used and by whom, no need to explain obvious all the time.

Finally I must admit I don’t like time travel books because usually such a premise creates more problems than fun – you are left with a sense of futility because sooner or later the story takes a loop returning you to the starting point. Accordingly I wasn’t wild about the ending of this novel – not really. It left too many questions unanswered.

Oh and I noticed the editor tended to have a trouble with spelling the word `ambulance’ now and then.

Final verdict:

If you like paranormal romances with hunky Scots and high-tech gadgets this is a book for you – not very long, entertaining and even fluffy from time to time. If you are, like me, an enemy of fluffiness and romance – give it a pass.

 /anachronist