Review & Giveaway: Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Avon A; 1 edition (June 23, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0061547786
• Source: Publisher

Anna O’Shea has just returned from a trip to London, a getaway after going through a divorce five months before. The divorce was a painful one; after years of miscarriages, her husband told Anna that he was leaving her for someone else.  His mistress was able to give him something Anna was unable–a child.

Immediately upon her return, she learns her brother, Patrick, has been in a severe automobile accident.

Before she is able to unpack from her Ireland trip, Anna makes her way to the hospital to see her brother.  Her mother, Alice, was already there.  Patrick sustained severe head injuries and his fate is undetermined. Anna’s brother then drops another bomb: Patrick was on the way to pick up his teenage son, Joseph, from jail when he got into the accident.  Joseph was arrested after stealing a car with a friend.

Anna is asked to pick up her nephew, who is in a jail approximately five hours away.  She does so, grudgingly.  She’d rather stay by her brother’s side until he regains consciousness.

Anna picks up Joseph and returns to her home to get some rest. She’s exhausted, so she quickly succumbs to sleep.  She’s awoken to the sound of the zipper on her suitcase. She finds Joseph holding an object in his hand.  She grabs on to the item, and the both of them are sucked into what Anna believes is a tornado or some other catastrophic event.

Anna awakes on a beach, her body riddled with injures from the sea, including a long gash that extends from her knee to her ankle.  She hovers in and out of consciousness.  She is soon rescued and is taken to a small village to recover. Anna soon realizes that something is amiss.  Her rescuers use primitive methods (leeches!) for healing her leg injury.  When she asks the date her suspicions are confirmed: It is September 1844.  Joseph is no where in sight.

Joseph awakes on a bed made of corn husks.  His rescuers have brought him to a local manor.  He heals relatively quickly and soon begins exploring the manor in which he currently resides. His memories of his father’s accident are faint and fading quickly.

And so begins Anna’s desperate search for Joseph.  While on her search, she soon realizes that her leap through time is her destiny.  Her family’s fate is dependent upon her…

Sheehan has done an outstanding job of combining rich,multifaceted characters and a compelling storyline.  Fans of historical fiction, particularly Irish history, will be fascinated by this book.  Sheehan’s writing is incredibly descriptive; you can’t help but be pulled in.  The underlying issues of infertility and family issues add depth to the storyline. My only complaint would be the references to the dog.  The paperback has an image of a dog clearly displayed on the cover, and the line “A magical tale of hope, second chances…and a not-so-little dog.”  At first glance, it appears the book is about this dog. While the dog does play a fairly key role in the novel, I think it’s a little  misleading to readers to give that much attention to a seemingly minor character.  But this is really the only complaint I have with this book!  If you can see past this, as I could ultimately, then I highly recommend that you read this book!

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Check out the other stops on this tour:

Tuesday, December 1st: The Tome Traveller

Wednesday, December 2nd: Bloggin’ ’bout Books

Want to hear more about Jacqueline Sheehan? Be sure to listen to her interview with Book Club Girl!

Now on to the giveaway!  The publisher has provided me with five copies of the book to give away.  To enter, please follow this link and submit the form. Winners will be announced on Monday, December 7th. US and Canadian residents only.  Books will be sent directly from the publisher.