time travel

i was quite disappointed with this book when i read the synopsis i thought the story was interesting but as i start reading the book i found it boring and uninteresting. the hero and the heroine don't have any spark between them and the time travelling is not intruging at all. [..]. for time travelling book i recomend jude deveraux "the knight in shining armour" which is so well written by the author. but don't get me wrong i 'm a very ardent fan of johana but this book is a disappoinment. i think her scope is more to futurestic and historical

This is the 15th Johanna Lindsey book I have read, and it has become my favorite. That is a difficult statement to make given the Malory series, and so many other utterly delightful novels. However, in this one, she lets her knowledge of history create a background for the characters. It is not just a love story, but a love story in context. The storyline is exceptional and riveting. A 20th Century woman is paired with a Viking through a cursed sword, and they are transported together between centuries, where each have different comfort levels. It makes for fascinating reading how he, her Viking, deals with modern conveniences (bathrooms, kitchen appliances, cars etc.), and how she must cope with attitudes and clothing and everything else devoid of any modernity. This book is filled with humor. It is different from her other books, because it makes one think about the consequences of going back and inadvertently altering history. It is probably best appreciated by those who enjoy thinking about the storyline or imagining that time travel were possible. Or even better, that her Viking could materialize!

"Until Forever" isn't your typical Johanna Lindsey historical romance. Yes, it does have a medieval cast and crew, but only because the modern-day heroine, a history teacher named Roseleen, travels through time to the Norman Invasion with the help of a cursed Viking sword.

That same sword also comes with a hunky Viking named Thorn, brother to the Norse God Thor, and cursed to serve the woman who possesses the sword. Of course, Roseleen and Thorn's visits to the past screw up history, with some very interesting results. It's definitely a new twist on the time-travel genre.

This was a fun story. I rather enjoyed the details about the Norman Invasion. I also thought that Roseleen and Thorn had strong personalities and enjoyed their interactions - especially those times when Roseleen had to explain the modern world to Thorn. It was hysterical to see his fear over riding in the car and how fast he destroyed the (moving) kitchen appliances. The shower scene was pretty hot, too.

I had a couple minor objections to the story, which is why is has a 4 rating rather than a 5. For whatever reason, Lindsey stops the story every so often to explain women's liberation or some other inane topic during, say, a love scene. It was so jarring! For another, Thorn has a mortal enemy who appears in the last few pages of the book, and his and Thorn's battle to the death comes across as fluff. Then Lindsey resorts to a silly tactic to make Roseleen appear unattractive, which is to give her glasses she doesn't need (she also does this to Marion in "A Man to Call My Own," which was published later). Either drop the glasses ploy completely or really make the heroine blind (which could be interesting); faking a need for glasses is simply insulting to those who actually have to wear them.

Altogether, "Until Forever" is a charming read. If you like this story, you may also like the "Warrior's Woman" trilogy, also by Lindsey, which involves sci-fi interplanetary romances between modern-type heroines and barbarian-like warriors from a "primitive" planet.