Sophia Rose Reviews - A Twist of Fate by Kelley Armstrong

Today on the Blog Sophia Rose is back this time with a time travel romantic suspense.
Enjoy!

A Twist of Fate by Kelley Armstrong

#2 Stitch in Time

Time Travel Romantic Suspense

Publisher:  Tantor Audio

Published: 10.5.21

ASIN:  B09BG6TKLY

Time:  8 hours 30 minutes

Rating: 4.5 stars

Narrator Rating: 5 stars

Format: MP3

Source:  Tantor Audio

Sellers:  Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

ADD TO: GoodReads

 

GoodReads Blurb:

Four years ago, Rosalind Courtenay stumbled from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first, where she has been trapped ever since, leaving her husband and infant son behind. Now she’s found her way back.

The problem, of course, is how to explain her absence to her husband. Does he think she abandoned him? Has he remarried? Is he happy in a new life? Rosalind decides to don a disguise in hopes of answering her questions before showing up on his doorstep. Instead, a twist of fate has her mistaken for her young son’s new governess.

Rosalind has every intention of revealing herself as soon as August returns home from business. Until then, she’ll get to know her son, a quiet child who has inexplicably been abandoned by an endless stream of governesses. That’s when the hauntings begin. Rosalind has finally come home and something—or someone—doesn’t just want her gone. They want her dead.

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

A Twist of Fate combined a gothic mystery, a second chance romance, and time travel elements to provide an easily engaging and often riveting tale that I listened to in two sittings.  Kelley Armstrong’s books often hit me this way. 

 

After reading a few high-praise reviews, for the first book, I was gung-ho to try the series.  I took the chance and dove into this second book in the Stitch in Time series and the gamble worked out because I had no trouble missing the first book.  A new couple and situation were presented and there was good background details so I was up to speed on what came before even if some of the worldbuilding details were probably introduced in the first book- like how the time stitch came about- and I missed that.

 

The story is that of a woman who has a wonderful life with a few difficulties including her husband’s trouble with jealousy, but it is a life she wouldn’t voluntarily give up.  So, when faced with purgatory in the future for three to four years, Rosalind makes the most of it, but then doesn’t hesitate when she can finally return to the past.  However, the Rosalind who left was a fairly conventional Victorian lady who used to run a bakeshop and now married into aristocracy while the Rosalind who returned has ingested modern thinking and culture.  She has survived and thrived and came back a stronger woman who will settle the issues with her husband and embrace her old life.

 

Only, she wasn’t the only one who struggled and changed.  There is a brooding mystery in this household and a resident ghost who has made it clear that the new governess is not welcome even while her husband, August, has made it clear that there will be no reminders of his runaway wife.  How is she to fix all this?

 

Time travel can be a tricky story element, but I thought it was done superbly well in A Twist of Fate.  It was both a major source of conflict, but also a great aid.  I loved how there were situations presented where Rosalind was able to use what she learned to make a huge difference, but it wasn’t so blatant that it didn’t fit.  I liked how she showed obvious maturity from her travels, but also had moments of vulnerability.  I loved the inclusion of her baking career and her shared learning disability with her son to add bits of extra.  August’s struggles with not being a ‘man’s man’ in the eyes of his father and older brother and his issue with abandonment by deceased mother and sister were also coloring in the background.

 

I confess the mysterious goings on and the gothic atmosphere were as big a hook as the precarious romance between Rosalind and August.  For the longest time, I had no idea if the ghost was real or if someone alive was trying to scare Rosalind and her son.  It all built to some exciting moments including the big money climax near the end with a few twists.

 

Gemma Dawson is a familiar narrator and I thought she was a fab match for Rosalind who does all the narration and for the tone of the story.  She voiced all the cast well including young Edmund.

 

A Twist of Fate was all-around awesome and I didn’t want to stop listening.  I might go back for the earlier story because I loved this one, but I never felt like I was missing out by jumping in here.  Those who love time travel romance, romantic suspense, and gothic mystery are the target listening audience.

 

Author Bio:

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Website:  http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/kelleyarmstrong

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/KelleyArmstrongAuthor

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

Sophia’s Social Media Links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose