Setting: Medieval England, 1260
Sensuality: 7

Jessica Blakely appears to have it all as composer-in-residence at a prestigious university. But what she really wants is a husband and family. On a trip to England, Jessica walks in an estate garden and wishes on a star for a "fair and gallant knight... a man to love me at least as much as he loves himself." Within moments fog rolls in, and when it lifts the garden is gone and she's swept up by an armored knight, narrowly escaping being trampled by a mounted hunting party. Richard of Burwyck-on-the-Sea hates having to be chivalrous, but as leaving the lovely woman isn't an option, he carries her home with him.

The fact that Jessica is far, far from Manhattan takes only a little while to sink in, as does the realization that this bold, brash knight is the man for her. But for Richard, whose own dreams of happiness were beaten out of him as a child, it takes a little longer to accept that Jessica is the mate that fate and time have sent him. But even if Jessica wants to stay in 1260 England with her battle-hardened knight, will the forces that drew her to him across time allow her to remain? And if Richard gives his wary heart into Jessica's keeping, can he be sure she won't carry it away with her into the future and leave him alone?

Kurland has a talent for mixing the pageantry of medieval England and the romance of knightly chivalry with the gritty reality of everyday life. Add a brooding hero and a feisty heroine, a plot that avoids cliches, and a unique voice from Kurland that's downright charming, and you have The More I See You. --Lois Faye Dyer


From Booklist
In Kurland's latest delightful and humorous time travel romance, Jessica Blakely is looking for love with all the wrong blind dates. One lands her in England at a retreat with an obnoxious professor and his colleagues. While at a medieval-dress tea, she escapes outside to the garden, wishing for a man who wasn't just dressed like a knight, but who is truly chivalrous. A little while later her wish comes true as a snarling pack of dogs appears and a knight of old comes to her rescue. Her savior, Richard De Galtres, is the lord of the castle in every sense of the word. Not only is he moody and fierce, but Jessica discovers that living in his world is very difficult for a modern woman. They do eventually learn to appreciate each other, but the king has other marriage plans in mind for Richard, and Jessica has inadvertently aroused suspicions of an occult kind. Patty Engelmann

FROM OUR EDITORS

Timeless Love

RITA award-winning author Lynn Kurland, who has penned several time-travel romances including A Dance Through Time and The Very Thought of You, has a flair for juxtaposing past and present and bringing history to life in vibrant detail. The fish-out-of-water time travel theme lends itself well to humor, and Kurland clearly knows how to take advantage of it. She does so with aplomb in her latest release, The More I See You, which pitches a plucky young heroine into the 13th century, where she finds the love that continually eluded her in her own time.

It's 1999 and Jessica Blakely is on yet another dead-end blind date, though this one at least got her a trip to England. Dressed in period costume for a party, Jessica wanders the ruins of a nearby castle to escape from her dreadful date. After wishing on a star for a handsome and chivalrous knight who will love her more than life itself, Jessica is suddenly tossed back in time seven centuries. There she ends up in the hands of a virile, attractive, but coldly bitter man: Richard De Galtres, lord and master of Burwyck-on-the-Sea.

Though it takes her awhile to figure out what has happened, Jessica quickly adapts to her new environment, though not without lamenting the loss of such luxuries as indoor plumbing, her favorite music, and chocolate. While Richard is hospitable, he is obviously a troubled and aloof man who considers Jessica something of a bother, but feels obliged to offer her shelter and protection because he believes her to be kin to the king. But his job is made difficult by Jessica's attempts to return to her own time, which she feels can only happen if she returns to the field where she first appeared. Jessica steals Richard's horse several times in her attempts to escape, and even tries to make the lengthy journey on foot a time or two. But Richard keeps foiling her plans and bringing her back to his castle.

Jessica's persistence does little to soften Richard's temper. But eventually Jessica discovers that beneath that gruff emotional armor is a soft-hearted, kind man who bears a dark and horrible secret. Gradually Jessica breaks through Richard's icy exterior and thaws his frozen heart with the heat of her passion. But just as things are becoming settled between them, and Jessica has resigned herself to remaining in the past, certain events force her into making a terrible decision that may keep the two of them apart forever.

Kurland does a wonderful job of placing a woman with modern-day sensibilities into a society where women are often considered second-class citizens. The story is lively and often humorous, though there is an undercurrent of darkness to both Richard's past and the plight of many of those who lived during the somewhat barbaric medieval times. In the end, Kurland proves once and for all that love is truly timeless.

—Beth Amos

FROM THE PUBLISHER