Kim Murphy (1)

I’ve always been a strong believer In the Native American culture and how they interacted with nature and each other. As Phoebe jumped back and forth from the 1600’s to present time, it saddened me to recognize the changes and destruction we greedy white people have done with our planet.

This wasn’t a fast paced story as it took it’s time building the characters and surroundings. There’s a lot of history and storyline to go through as Phoebe is regressed back in her memories, trying to remember who she really is. But as I neared the halfway mark in the book, I found myself reading faster and faster, getting more drawn into the story. I wanted to see if Phoebe and Lee actually connected and who Lee really was. I thought I had it figured out, but I was afraid that Phoebe was going to vanish just like she appeared, into the mist.

I loved the way Phoebe talked and Murphy kept her true to her time period whenever the POV switched back to her, which couldn’t have been easy. I also want to point out, I was never once confused who was talking or the POV. The characters were well developed, even down to the girls living in the half-way house with Phoebe.

The story takes us back through all the peril’s the colonists and Indians had to face back in the 1600’s. Kim Murphy did a lot of research and it’s reflected in the story. As a dabbler in herbology, I can attest to her proper use of the herbs that were used back then and even today. Herbs are so much stronger and better than the white man’s medicine.

I really liked this story, but there was one point that stuck out at me. If Phoebe really was from the 1600’s, she wouldn’t be able to drink our contaminated water, let alone all the chemically processed foods we ingest on a daily basis. Her body would have rebelled and she should have gotten sick. I just don’t think she would have readily taken to eating processed foods and munching on French fries.

If you’re looking for a good, paranormal romance, I highly recommend this book. I give it 4 feathers.… (mais)

The Civil War damaged many families, among them was the Cameron family who lived at Poplar Ridge. During the war against the states the Poplar Ridge Plantation was taken over by the Union army. George Cameron was a solider in the South and was away at war while his wife Margaret was forced to do unspeakable things for the Northerners who used Poplar Ridge as their base. Some wounds never heal and Margaret’s pain is still influencing life in the present day.

In the present at Poplar Ridge, seven-year old Sarah sees her father Geoff Cameron murdered. After Geoff’s death, Sarah claims that her father still visits her and has been reading Black Beauty to her. Her mother Chris struggles to find out if Sarah is really talking to her father by taking a trip back in time. In the past lies the answer to why Geoff was murdered and the truth behind the tragic death of George Cameron. The Cameron’s tragic past is all tied to Margaret and Chris is the only one that can stop George and Geoff’s deaths and fix what went wrong. Whispers Through Time by Kim Murphy is the sequel to Whispers From The Grave. This book falls into the historical romance category but also includes elements of the paranormal and time travel.

My favorite part of this book was seeing how women’s roles had changed in the last 140 years. When Chris gets trapped back in the year 1867 she mourns that she can’t work as a lawyer anymore, because women didn’t have careers back then. Also at one point Chris brings up the idea of women voting and gets laughed at. In my favorite part of the book She meets her grown up daughter in the future and her daughter mentions that she is happy she didn’t live in the 1860′s. This makes Chris sad because she had to live the life of a woman in that period when she would have liked the opportunity to have a career. I liked how this book looks at how hard women had it in the past and I loved the concept of a woman in the present having to deal with life in the 1860′s.

My only problem with Whispers Through Time was when the book gets into the romantic relationship between Geoff and Chris. I felt it took away from the mystery of what happened to The Cameron family and how Chris deals with life in the past. I didn’t mind the romantic relationship but there was already so much going on I felt it took away from everything else.

That being said I really enjoyed this book, it is well written, the parts that took place in the 1860′s were well researched and where I didn’t like Chris much in the first book, I liked her in this one. Whispers Through Time is an ambitious story and even if you’re not a fan of romance you will still like it for the way it looks at how the past affects the future and what true love can survive. I loved how I couldn’t guess where the story was going and the ending was totally unexpected. This book is a must read and this is coming from someone who normally doesn’t read a lot of historical fiction.… (mais)

Chris Olson only wanted to visit her old college room-mate but what she got was a whirlwind romance, proof that the paranormal is real and a mystery to solve. When Chris arrives at The Virginia Plantation called Poplar Ridge she has dreams of a confederate soldier who looks like her lover Geoff Cameron and a one-eyed scout. Poplar Ridge is a place with a long history and the past never died. Through the eyes of the long dead Margaret and some research of the Cameron family archives, Chris unlocks the secrets to Poplar Ridge’s tragic history.

When I first started this book I thought the romance part of it went way to quick and I didn’t like the main character of Chris. It’s stated that Chris is a lawyer but in the beginning I thought she came across as an emotional flake and I kept thinking to myself that lawyers wouldn’t be like this. As I kept reading though the character of Chris grew on me and I liked how the civil war story with Margaret unfolded.

I loved Margaret’s story and the description of how the civil war effected the Cameron family and Poplar Ridge. The story unfolds in pieces as the present day story is told which adds to the mystery of the book. Kim Murphy has written another non fiction book on the civil war called I Had Rather Died: Rape In The Civil War. Kim’s knowledge about the Civil War really brought Margaret’s story to life. Women during the war did suffer what Margaret endured and even though this book is fiction there is a lot of realism to Margaret’s story.

While you feel a lot of empathy for Margaret in the book you also have to feel bad for her husband George. Both characters had their lives ripped apart by war. Even though Margaret was not a solider she suffers more than George and what she has to go through changes George’s life as much as hers. Another aspect of this book that I liked was how events that happened over 140 years ago still effect a family. Geoff still talks badly of Northerners, the grounds of the plantation are unchanged from Civil War times with some of the artifacts still in their place and the ghosts of the past never went away. When a tragic event happens in a family it affects future generations and the past doesn’t always stay where it belongs.

History aside there are two great love stories in Whispers From The Grave. What makes the loves stories interesting is they are not perfect. George and Margaret have a love story that is deeply effected by tragedy they have no control of, despite this they still love each other. The other love story was between Geoff and Chris, what I liked about it was that I wasn’t sure how it would go. Geoff’s ex-wife Beth is still in the picture and the couple still have feelings for each other. Also Geoff has epilepsy and Chris has a career in Boston. As much as I liked the history I also loved that I couldn’t guess if the love story would work out until the end. Whispers From The Grave is a great book whether you are into romances or if you just like well researched books set during the Civil War.… (mais)

I thought this was a great idea for a story. I like the story line quite a lot, but at times I found myself a bit confused and it wasn't all smooth going when reading it.
I had a hard time connecting with the the romance, I didn't feel the connection between the two characters. However I liked the characters themselves and I loved when we went back in time with Phoebe. Sometimes I found it a little confusing because when she was in the dreaming I thought that she was suppose to be looking on at events that happened, rather then participating in those events. It's rather difficult to explain but for some reason I felt confused a time or two. And part of that is because when Shae hypnotized her we also went back in time but it was a little different. The time we spent in the 1600's was fascinating. Learning about the Native American's and seeing things more from their point of view was very interesting. Especially seeing how a white woman lived with them.

I spent the whole time just waiting to see the proof that Phoebe really was from the past and had traveled back through time. I just wanted Shae to see that Phoebe was, in fact, telling the truth.
Overall this was a good story and the history was fantastic. I love the time travel aspect as well. If you enjoy time travel and historical fiction then give this one a try.… (mais)