Stolen Time (Magic Stone #3)

TIME TRAVEL:  Ding, dong, the wicked witch is dead! Unfortunately, Sage, the woman who came from the future to settle down with Sir Cade, is still very much alive and showing no signs of leaving. As if being forced to sell her body wasn’t enough, Margery had to lose the one man she cared about. However, it’s not over yet, especially if she manages to send Sage back to where she came from, using the magic stone. The stone, on the other hand, might have other ideas that include her, the future and a certain security guard called George.

Time travel in books is a win-win equal to the chocolate or ice cream dilemma – you REALLY can’t go wrong. You get lords, lairds and castles (oh, my!), the hilarity of medieval people figuring out cars or both! Margery’s reactions to the present are everything a reader might wish for – just the right ingredient for laughter. 

This novella is way, way, waaaaaay too short for anything else to truly crystallize, however. A reader can make out the vague outline of a story and Margery’s personality, but both the misery of her life in the past and the Let’s-Get-Married-At-First-Sight romance with George lack any emotional resonance because of the amount of page time. Not to mention the sudden shift between the two. What is particularly admirable is how unlikable and petty Margery comes across at the very beginning – it makes her different to most heroines and so very human and, paradoxically, more likable.  Because, really, who isn’t bitter when an ex hooks up with someone else?

Mimi Smith