Book Review: When Destiny Calls

                                                          When Destiny Calls

by Tricia McGill

 

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GENRE: Time-Travel Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

From one crazy period in history to another.

 

Whisked by some unseen force from the Covid-19 ridden world of 2020 in Australia, to an equally horrific time in the past, carer Chloe Simpson finds herself in North London during the Blitz of 1940. Could be that Chloe became too immersed in the stories related to her by Minnie, a woman in the Australian nursing home where she cares for elderly people? Stories about the dreadful days and nights endured during the Blitz.

 

Engrossed in the stories surrounding photographs in 98-year-old Minnie Clacton’s cherished album, back in time Chloe meets up with the young Minnie plus her own Great Great Grandmother Aggie.

In the midst of an air raid, Chloe is discovered, wet and confused, by a man and his dog. A man and his canine companion who coincidentally appeared prominently in the photo album alongside the young Minnie and Aggie. Did Chloe simply answer the call of Destiny?

 

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EXCERPT

 

She settled back and began to turn pages with extreme care. When she found what she was obviously looking for, she pointed to one photograph and said with a grin, “There’s me and Aggie your dear old Gran, Chloe. Oh the fun we had, Aggie and I. So sad she couldn’t remember our good old days in the years before she went up there.” A finger pointed to the ceiling. 

 

I sat on the bed and looked down at the faded sepia photo. “You were a good looking pair, Minnie, no wonder all the boys in Highbury were chasing you.” I pointed to a man who stood just behind my Gran, and asked, “Who’s the good-looking hunk there? Is he one of the boys who was after you?” 

 

The hunk in question must have been about six feet tall and as far as I could tell, had a good body on him and a thick mop of dark hair brushed back from a very handsome face.

 

Minnie rearranged her spectacles on her nose and peered closer. “Oh, that’s good old Bill—William McGrace—all the girls hoped he would choose them…”

My Review: 

This is one of the hardest books I’ve ever tried to review. Every single thing I’d like to talk about would be a spoiler, and I don’t like spoiler reviews. So, I’ll do the best I can.

 

In summary, Chloe, a 21^st century Australian woman is transported back in time to World War II London during the Blitz. She is taken in by people whom she feels as if she already knows, and in a way she does. Chloe worked in an Australian nursing home and cared for an elderly woman who shared her photo album and stories of World War II. After seeing all these people in the album Chloe now has the chance to meet them in real life. She likes the people very much, and that includes Bill the man who found her when she first was transported to London. 

 

Things I Liked:

 

Chloe eventually tells Bill the truth about where she came from. To me, his reaction is very realistic. In a nutshell, he doesn’t want to hear it. It makes him too uncomfortable, which I can understand.

 

I liked how Bill’s family takes Chloe in and treats her as one of their own. I did think they were a little naïve, though. Even in 1940s London people would have had questions about Chloe that they wanted answers to.

 

It was interesting to see Chloe interact with people whom she previously only knew as people in a photograph, especially her own great-grandmother.

 

The plot was interesting, the setting well done.

 

The last line of the book was brilliant. It will make the reader think hard. I’ve never read a time travel novel that posed such a scenario. 

 

After making a life in the past, Chloe worries that she will unexpectedly be transported back to Australia. This gives a nice element of suspense to the story. 

 

 

Things I Didn’t Like So Much:

 

The book is billed as a romance, and there is some romance, but not like you are probably imagining. 

 

This was a short book that spanned many years so it was a fast-paced work that didn’t go into much detail about Chloe’s later years, and in several places I wished that it would.   

 

 

All in all, I found it to be an entertaining read. If you enjoy time travel, I think you will too.

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Award winning author Tricia McGill spent her early days in Highbury, London, England, and moved to Australia many years ago, settling near Melbourne. The youngest in a large, loving family she was never lonely or alone. Surrounded by avid readers, who encouraged her to read from an early age, is it any wonder she became a writer. Although her published works cross sub-genres, romance is always at their heart.

 

Tricia’s love of animals has always shown up in her books. Tricia devotes as much time and money as she can spare to supporting worldwide conservation groups and is passionate about supporting those who do all they can to preserve our wildlife for future generations. She also volunteers for a local community group that helps disabled adults and children to connect to the internet with provided computer equipment. When people ask what she does in her spare time, she is heard to ask, “Spare time, what is that?” 

 

www.triciamcgill.com

http://triciamg.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/authorTriciaMcGill

 

Buy links for When Destiny Calls:

https://bookswelove.net/mcgill-tricia/

http://www.triciamcgill.com

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 

Tricia McGill will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway