Deborah Kinnard

"Stranded in 1353 cornwall, american graduate student Bethany Lindstrom knows she must find a way back to her own time or face a life of falsehoods and peril. But with the stern overlord Sir Michael Veryan, she is swept into the intrigues of King Edward's court, which will test their mettle and their faith in God to the limits -- and forever bind their lives together."

The Good: This novel is clearly well researched and written by an author who values historical accuracy and authenticity and uses plenty of period terms and phrases in the narrative. She also has a good knowledge of linguistics, both of Middle English and Medieval Cornish and the peppering of the narrative with Cornish, Middle English and Medieval French phrases again gives the novel a more authentic edge. Details of political, social and economic conditions and matters also make for a more realistic and plausible historical setting.

The romantic aspects of the story were also generally well done and there is no sexual content, which many `romance' novels feel the need to resort to. The characters were generally well developed and believable, allowing the reader identify with or feel for most of them. The time travel concept is also well handled, Beth's sense of confusion and isolation at landing suddenly and unexpectedly in the 14th century was very relatable and quite understandable for her circumstances- as were the responses of the Medieval people to her strangeness.

The bad: Having said this, one thing that I found incredibly annoying being a Medievalist Historian myself was Beth the Historian heroine's belief that she could be branded a `witch' and summarily burned at the stake by the people around her for the slightest and most trivial things, such as wearing `strange' clothes, or having surgical scars. As a Doctorate level `expert' on 14th century English history she should have realised that the above would neither have been legal or very likely, as the laws on herecy were strict and burning at the stake was actually quite rare at this time and this punishment was reserved as a last resort for only the most serious of offences, such as devil worship.

Beth also adopts a rather condescending view of `medieval medicine' for most of the book, dismissing it as superstitious rubbish that could not heal anyone and marvelling at how soldiers could have survived the wounds which gave them the scars they bore without the wonders of modern medicine. Apparently Little Miss History expert was unaware of the existence of the surgical profession in 14th century England, and the ability of surgeons to deal with many kinds of would fairly effectively- and that it would more likely be infection as opposed to lack of medical treatment which would kill a person. So for a supposed expert Medievalist, Bethany's knowledge of many aspects of Medieval history was decidedly lacking.

The Medieval language spoken by the characters can be something of a double edged sword- it makes the novel accurate and authentic, but can also make the narrative cumbersome and heavy- going, so that sometime it was necessary to read passages of dialogue two or more times to get the gist of what the characters are saying. Thankfully, the author provides a glossary at the back, and the Kindle dictionary makes life easier, but this could be a little off-putting for some readers.
Some of the romantic scenes seemed a little overstretched and overdone, and it is repeated time and time again how much Bethany and Michael love each other. This really is not necessary as their depth of feeling is pretty obvious for the most part anyway, so did the audience really need to have it affirmed so many times to get the picture?

The Ugly: On a personal level I disliked the way that Historians and the historical profession were depicted in the story. It is claimed that all they were interested in was 'dry facts' for their own sake, or for their own self-aggrandizement, yet many Historians wish to learn about the day to day lives of the people they study- contrary to what Beth think. The depiction of archaeologists excavating a plague pit as being coolly detached and treating human remains with disrespect did not reflect reality and bordered on the offensive, as the majority of people in this profession always treat any human bones they uncover with the utmost respect, and are mindful of the fact that they once belonged to human beings like them- again contrary to what Beth thinks.

I also had a number some issues with the treatment of some biblical and Christian concepts in the book. For instance, in one place Bethany says that Michael's evil half-brother who was killed by him in single combat's `soul dwells with our dear Lord' , despite having lamented the fact that he had not been shriven or made his peace with God a few sentences before. So it is clearly being implied that the person is question went straight to heaven without having confessed, repented or been forgiven of his sins.

Sheila, Bethany's modern day Cornish host is a strange and unconventional personality to say the least. Her main role is as Bethany's `guide' and `mentor' which is all well and good, but the constant references to her `seeings' or ability to anticipate future events, and `intuition' by which she knows intimate details about Bethany are really just- weird. Sheila is supposed to be a Christian and the author tries to attribute her abilities to God, but I simply could not buy this. It would be all too easy for readers to see Sheila as a `psychic' of some description, and come to the conclusion that psychic power supposedly comes from God, or is compatible with Christianity- a dubious and perhaps even dangerous implication for a Christian book.… (mais)

Where I got the book: a freebie from the author, who belongs to a group I frequent.

Graduate student Bethany Lindstrom travels to England to do research work at Oxford, but finds herself down in Cornwall where she crosses a time portal into the fourteenth century. Fortunately her research into the customs and languages of the period ensures that she can pass reasonably well as a stranded lady of good family, and she soon finds that she's attracted both to the medieval age and the lord of the manor.

Seasons in the Mist is an inspirational novel, and verges on the Christian side (not all inspirationals are strongly Christian, but this one definitely goes in that direction). I'm not a big reader of inspirationals, which I tend to find formulaic (stray from God, something major happens, go back to God and in the process find your dream man--who never, ever, gives in to the temptation to despoil your virginal dreams) so it's hard for me to judge how well this novel sits within its genre.

Speaking generally, though, this was a pleasant read. I enjoyed all the details about the costume, living conditions and food of the period, and the "period language" wasn't annoying (it's spectacularly hard to render the language of a period in a way that readers like me will really like). This kind of book is aimed at a particular audience, of course, and sells to Christian readers--it avoids sex and violence but leaves in plenty of sheer romance, which is refreshing when you've been reading too many historicals where the bodices are ripped and the blood spilled at a regular interval of 20 pages.… (mais)