Master of Mistmere
Fiona NealTime-travel romance
Available from New Concepts Publishing
October 2004
| Joanna's friend Tessa drags her along to a tour of a real English castle. The owner of the estate is giving the tour, and Joanna gets the strangest feeling she knows him, and intimately. While on tour, Garret, the owner, speaks of a legend concerning two lovers, cursed by a witch when the man, Garret's ancestor, refuses her advances and a gift of the Osric's Eye, a large emerald that can supposedly show the future. The witch throws the emerald into the whirlpool in the middle of a lake on the estate. Over the years, many tried to find the emerald, each attempt ending in tragedy. Should the two reincarnated lovers fail to retrieve the emerald at the right time, they will remain apart in each life.
Master of Mistmere was an enjoyable, short time-travel story. I was hoping for something with a bit more emotional depth, as I enjoy this author's work, but found that, while I could get into the story and enjoy it on some levels, I never felt the romance and love between Garret and Joanna. They were supposed to feel love from their previous life, but because there was almost nothing shown of that life, I had no idea how they fell in love or why. Nor could I see a reason during their current lifetime why they would fall in love. This could've been a good story had the author been able to make it longer, and delved deeper into their history, or delved deeper into their personalities and interaction beyond certain things. Should Ms. Neal ever rewrite the story, I'd pick it up in hopes it could fulfill its potential. However, if you begin reading the story with the expectations of a very light, sweet romance, it should be a nice way to pass the time.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Tara Black |
