When Lightning Strikes

Cynthia
Lucas
ISBN Number: 
B008TI12FW
Genre: 
Other

It's the night before Sarah Douglas' wedding. Worrying that her fiancé, David, might not be the right one, Sarah’s mother gives her a Romany coin medallion which she tells Sarah will bring her good luck if she keeps it with her. Later that night Sarah walks to the top of the hill behind her family's house to an old tree. Suddenly a beam of light from the medallion and accompanying lightning thrusts Sarah hundreds of years into the past.  She wakes in 1363 to a vastly different world.
Half Romany, Dominic du Barbaroone is the bastard son of a noble. Living with the gypsies as their leader and healer, Dominic sees Sarah at the base of the tree after the lightning strike. Taking her back to his camp and believing her to be an English noblewoman, he hopes to collect a reward for her safe return.
There's a lot to love about this debut novel for author Cynthia Lucas.  The plot is tight and the story well-paced, with liberal helpings of action and adventure!  Dominic, as a convincing hero, and Sarah, as the fish-out-of-water, are written believably.  To offset Dominic, there's an evil half-brother intent on claiming Sarah as his own. The only real reservations about giving this novel a higher rating is that this type of story has been done many times before. As well, Dominic and Sarah do fall in love very quickly. The epilogue was very satisfying, providing further explanations of the time travel elements.
Overall, this is an engaging time-travel romance that will keep readers wondering how the protagonists - a wandering Romany from the 14th century and a woman determined to return to her own time in the 21st century - will ever achieve their happily-ever-after!
Jill MacKenzie