Amelia 1868 - Janet Kay (Review & Giveaway!)

4 Stars!

ABOUT THE BOOK -

Rose, a free-spirited young woman, leaves her fiancee at the altar of their country church in Walnut, Iowa. Driven by forces beyond her control, she flees to the old western ghost town of Virginia City, Montana, where she feels oddly at home ... Drawn to an old cemetery in the mountains, she discovers a weathered tombstone and begins to sob uncontrollably. Only two words are etched upon the stone - AMELIA 1868. 

Obsessed with uncovering the identity of this long-forgotten woman, Rose finds herself transported back and forth in time between the life of a hurdy-gurdy dance hall girl struggling to survive in the 1860s and her own sheltered life in the year 2011. Her strange and intriguing journey becomes more complicated when a love interest materializes and throws her off balance. Her life becomes a bizarre dance twisting and turning between the past and the present. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -

Janet Kay lives and writes on a lake in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin. Drawn to nature since she was a child, she sees its wonders as a source of renewal, reflection, and connection with something greater than oneself. She is also strongly drawn to the Victorian era and its fascinating history. Her lifelong passions include creative writing, travel, photography, and spending time with family and friends. Kay's first novel, "Waters of the Dancing Sky," continues to earn excellent reviews and has a five-star rating on Amazon.com. Her new paranormal historical novel, "AMELIA 1868," is already creating a buzz. Future plans include a sequel to "Waters" and a paranormal novel to be set on Galveston Island in Texas. 

She encourages her readers to check out her website at http://www.novelsbyjanetkay.com.

MY REVIEW -

Great historical fiction! This was like "The Runaway Bride" meets "The time Travelers Wife". I loved the switching back and forth between today and the 1800's (but then, I love any book about the 1800's). It was already a great book with all the historical facts but add in the time traveling - it makes for a much more exciting and fun book.

The character development was pretty good. It did take me a while to warm up to Rose. She just seemed very cold to me, but then again I do think was suppose to be part of her personality. I also think it took longer to get to know Amelia (from the past). Generally, I do think the author did a good job with the characters. There were some fun, quirky ones too.

The author does a GREAT job with the descriptions! I love this description of a one-room schoolhouse -

"There were eight grades in one room, all taught by one teacher. In addition to teaching, the teachers shoveled snow, carried in cobs and coal for the pot-bellied stove, disposed of ashes, and cleaned the schoolhouse, Students helped pump water from the outdoor well and carry pails of water into the schoolhouse. They all drank from the same metal dipper." ~gasp! Can you even imagine that happening today?

THE ALL-IN-ALL -

All in all this was a real nice, very interesting, love story, historical fiction with a touch of paranormal (the time-traveling). I would say that if you are at all into time travel or historical fiction - you would love this book!

Thank you Janet Kay and  "Book Reviewer Platform" for sending me this book to read and review!

Get it from B&N - HERE

and from Amazon - HERE and HERE

THE GIVEAWAY -

I am giving away my beautiful paperback copy of this book!

To enter to win -
*Please use the form below
*Please be from either the US or Canada
*Please only enter your info once (I will add the bonus entry)
*Please comment on this post if you would like an extra entry.
*Winner will be chosen on 3/21/13