Begun by Time by Morgan O'Neill is a 2015 Entangled Publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an Begun by Time by Morgan O'Neill is a 2015 Entangled Publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is the prequel to “The Thornless Rose”, which was originally released in 2014. I loved that book so much, I was thrilled to discover we were invited to learn the back story which will be Catherine and Jonnie, and to some extent, Arthur's story.
In 1945, as the war is coming to an end, Catherine falls in love with Jonathan Brandon, and they embark on a whirlwind courtship, become engaged and are planning a wedding, when suddenly Jonnie disappears, simply vanishes into thin air, leaving Catherine confused and deeply saddened, but ironically, she is not angry because she knows Jonnie didn't back out on her. Something terrible happened to him, but the worst part is not knowing the circumstances of why he vanished or what happened to him, leaving Catherine in an odd state of limbo.
When a few years pass, Catherine meets a wonderful man named Arthur Howard and for the first time in a long while she feels like living again. But, she is still haunted by Jonnie, so Arthur, wishing to give Catherine some kind of peace of mind begins a discreet investigation into Jonnie's disappearance. But, what he uncovers is shocking and only leaves them with more questions than answers.
Time travel romance is one of those hit and miss things with me. It has to be done just so or I end up rolling my eyes at the absurdity of it. But, this storyline is smart and well written with realistic situations and characters.
The historical setting in post war England was obviously researched , creating a very authentic atmosphere, giving the reader an idea of what it was like to live in this era of time.
Catherine is a sensible girl who is nice, caring, responsible, and head over heels in love with Jonnie. His disappearance changes her noticeably, even though she remains a sweet girl, her character takes on a new dimension and her innocence seems to disappear right along with Jonnie, and her character seems to become more cautious or wary, and she gives off a palpable vibe of sadness and grief.
Jonnie is obviously in love with Catherine, and the reader will certainly wonder about his sudden disappearance. There is never a doubt in Catherine's mind or in the reader's mind that Jonnie is an honorable man, one who would not have simply walked away from Catherine without an explanation. His story is central, but in this prequel we are only introduced to him and given a hint about what is to come later.
Arthur arrives at a pivotal time in Catherine's life and the chemistry between them jumps off the page. It's a different sort of feeling this second time around though, and a slower, more mature relationship develops between the couple as Catherine grapples with moving on after Jonnie's disappearance since she still has no idea what happened to him, and I guess the obvious question would be, what if he suddenly reappeared?
I think Arthur senses this in Catherine and while he knows she is in love with him, he also understands her conflicted feelings, which is why he seeks answers. He is a wonderful and patient man who must love Catherine very much because not every man would want to seek out answers concerning his future wife's former fiance.
Now, if you have read “The Thornless Rose”, then you already know what direction this story is going to take. You also know what happens in the future, so for me at least, there were no real twist or surprises. In fact, if I'm remembering correctly, Catherine tells some of this story in the next book, but it was a great idea to write out a prequel so we can better understand the events of the past, because there is an assurance now, that while things didn't work out quite like they were supposed to, Catherine was happy in her life with Arthur. I must also confess, that while I really like Jonnie, in this book , I was very drawn to Arthur, maybe even developing one of those 'book boyfriend' situations.
The real enjoyment I gained from the book came in getting to know Jonnie a little better, but mostly from meeting Arthur whose role is more critical than is stated. I enjoyed the in depth portrayal of the events leading up to “The Thornless Rose” and the insight into Catherine's mind set, her personality and feelings in 'real time' as opposed to her looking back on these events in “The Thornless Rose”. It was interesting to see how her relationship with Jonnie compares to her relationship with Arthur and why the couple felt to strongly about learning the truth behind Jonnie's disappearance.
Jonnie's experiences and episodes with the paranormal are not chronicled in any minute detail, but we are there when he has his first encounter, so to speak, and are privy to his thoughts, and fears when he starts having these odd episodes.
Does it matter which book you start with? Well, truthfully, you would be just as well off either way, but in this case I recommend starting with “The Thornless Rose”. If you have not read that book, and want to start with this one, then you will want to keep in mind this book is simply a gateway to the next one. “The Thornless Rose” is one of the best time travel books I had read, and this one, for me, made my understanding richer and deepened my love for this story. I recommend reading both books, because they certainly compliment one another and make great companions to each other. Either way you will love this story!
I do hope their will be future installments in this plotline. It is certainly a unique twist on the time travel trope and is really very absorbing. I recommend this book to those who like historical, paranormal, and time travel romance novels.
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