A Dance Through Time by Lynn Kurland

Series: MacLeod Family - Book One

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 368

Copyright: 1996

Rating:

Scotland, 1311. James MacLeod was the most respected — and feared — laird in all of Scotland. He loved his men like brothers and his land with a passion. And he allowed no women to cross the threshold of his keep.

New York City, 1996. With an indifferent fiancé and a stalled writing career, Elizabeth Smith found passion and adventure only in the unpublished novels she wrote. Until a Scottish hero began calling to her...
Elizabeth longed for the man of her dreams. She knew she was overworked when she began hearing his voice when she was awake! To clear her mind, she took a walk in the park, dozed off on a bench and woke up in fourteenth-century Scotland on the land of James MacLeod, an arrogant and handsome lord with a very familiar voice. Elizabeth would turn his ordered world upside-down and go where no woman had ever gone before: straight into his heart...


Elizabeth Smith is an unpublished author who just finished her book and has only to write a recommendation letter before she sends the manuscript out. Her life isn't that interesting, her apartment has seen better and cleaner days, her fiancé seems to be using her as an excuse for his mother to leave him alone, and the only interesting and attractive man in her life comes to her through a dream. An awfully vivid dream though, even after she wakes up she seems to hear him call to her, beckoning her to come to him. Taking that as a sign that she should write about him, Elizabeth starts riffling through her Scottish history books to find a suitable name for her new hero, and she finds it when the book magically opens to show the Macleod clan.

Deciding to take a stroll before she loses her mind, after all she's still hearing voices, Elizabeth goes to the park and sits on a bench enjoying the sights, until she feels like she's falling backwards. It's no surprise to us when she opens her eyes and the park is gone, replaced by a beautiful forest, close to a big castle where she's taken after being captured by a group of men. And of course, the owner of such an imposing castle, is none other than Jamie Macleod, the same man she saw in her dream. Funny thing is, he seems to recognize her too!

I can't help but compare this story to my previous review of The Reluctant Viking by Sandra Hill, the premise is somewhat similar, both have modern American women travel back in time, although here we're taken to 1311 Scotland. It looks like the 90s had a surge of time travelling romances, probably due to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, and although this book can't quite measure up to the popular series, it's still a fun read, perfect for someone wanting to fill the void while waiting for the next Outlander book to be published. I certainly want to read more of Lynn Kurland's work to see if the rest of the books are worth it!