This book was one disappointment after another for me. The author relied on suspension of disbelief way too much, and that always drives me crazy. There were a lot of "well isn't that convenient" moments.

An example: The book starts out with the heroine's mother, an archaeologist, getting a grant to explore some castle ruins in Scotland. Why would she wait till she gets to Scotland to go over the research on the ruins, wasting days sitting in her room at a B&B? Why would she bring her inexperienced daughter instead of colleagues? (The author clearly doesn't understand how grants work.) And *of course* within seconds of walking into an underground room at the ruins the archaeologist mom spots the cracks in the wall that denote the doorway to the hidden room behind it--cracks which the previous excavation team (which also included her) never noticed after months of scouring the room. Riiight. It's things like this that happen over and over again.

Need a way to communicate with another time period? First random idea works. Need a way to send objects back and forth through time? First random idea works. Need a way to send anyone though time, not just the people the ancient spell was written to affect? First random idea works. Characters need to desperately search for a ring throughout the book for the sake of tension and conflict? Oops, turns out it was accidentally buried with a person when they died--only, in the real world of history, the ring would *never* have been forgotten about during the burial process.

There was very little character development, so there was no genuine relationship between the hero and heroine. All of the bonding time happened off page during a gap that was covered by a catch-all clause at the beginning of a chapter to the affect of "we'd spent the past few weeks getting to know each other and loving every moment together." Show me.

The villain's motivations for wanting to slaughter an entire clan--men, women, and children--is so weak that it's absurd.

The hero, a laird, has the chance to prevent a huge travesty by killing one evil man outright, or at the least imprisoning him and questioning him in private, but oh no, he must give the villain a chance to repent publicly by putting hundreds of people in jeopardy, including the heroine's, for the confrontation. Naturally there's a battle that kills many of his men and almost kills the heroine. Someone needs to send this hero to leadership school.

I could go on, but I'm ready to move on. ( )

I just did a reread and it was just as good as the first time. ( )

So I have seen this series compared to [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402600310s/10964.jpg|2489796] many times over the past year. I agree that fans of Outlander may like this series... but I am not sure that I would compare the books. It would be an unfair comparison seeing as the Outlander books are 800 pages, and the Morna's Legacy books all appear to be under 300 pages. You are just not going to get the same level of detail, plot and character development at that length. (I mention this only because I took a quick scroll through the reviews and saw some complaints.)

That being said - Love Beyond Time was a good start to a time travel series for fans of historical romance set in Scotland. I think if you are reading it (vs. listening to the audiobook), that the story is paced well and the plot conflict is interesting even though its somewhat typical of the conflict seen in most Scottish historical romances. I happened to listen to this book in audio, and the narrator read a little slow for me, which made the story drag in places.

The time periods are split between 1645 and 2013, and the time travel is triggered by a witch's spell originally cast in the 17th Century on a portrait of two doppelganger women separated by 400 years. Brielle (21st Century) and Blaire (17th Century) swap places in time when both of them see a portrait that looks like them and read the inscription (spell) underneath the painting. Brielle arrives in 1645 on the evening of her wedding to Laird Eoin Connall. Things do not start off well for Eoin and Brielle, and they had an uphill battle from enemies to friends to lovers all the while trying to uncover the unknown enemy in time to stop the entire clan from being slaughtered.

I liked Brielle and Eoin, though I wish the narrator would have infused more personality into the characters' speech and dialects. Between the slight character development and the somewhat monotonous narration, the characters sometimes felt one-dimensional. I was hoping that this series was going to follow one couple over their trials and tribulations through time, but after glancing through the first few books, it looks like there will be a new couple for each book. So I will be interested to see if the author's writing changes as the series progresses.

3.5 stars / 2 flames. ( )

If you love historical romance novels with a bit of mystery to make things more interesting, then “Love Beyond Time” by bestselling author Bethany Claire is the perfect choice for you. Time travel, magic, love, and sexy Scots… this book has everything it needs to keep the readers glued to the pages. And the best part is that “Love Beyond Time” is just the first book in “Morna’s Legacy Series”, with two more to follow – “Love Beyond Reason” and “Love Beyond Hope” –, and the fourth book waiting to be released in June.

Everything began four hundred years ago, when a powerful Scottish clan was completely destroyed in a surprise attack. No evidence remained, as the castle was burned to the ground, and present-day archaeologists are still trying to figure out what happened then. The murder of the entire Conall clan is a mystery that no one will probably solve. Who thought that a Texas kindergarten teacher would be the one to find out what happened so many hundreds of years ago?

Brielle Montgomery can’t refuse her archaeologist mother when she asks her to accompany her on a dig in Scotland. After all, she is bored with her life, and she needs something to distract her. A short adventure in Europe would do her good, so Brielle takes the opportunity to step out of her comfort zone. However, she gets more than she bargained for when she finds a secret spell room below the castle ruins and she is transported back in time, when the people of the Conall clan were still alive. Moreover, she is married to the castle’s Laird, and everyone calls her Blaire.

At first, Brielle/Blaire wants to go back to her time. She soon finds out that she must play her part and be Blaire if she doesn’t want to put everyone in danger. While trying to make sense of what is happening to her and find a way out, she falls in love with her husband. This is the moment when things become really complicated, because she realizes that she might be the clan’s only hope.

“Love Beyond Time” is a heart-warming, timeless romance that will keep the readers on the edge of their seats. The author has an incredible writing style, and she managed to capture the fascinating Scottish society of 1645 in vivid images and amazing dialogues. The characters are complex and well-developed, and the readers will find it easy to relate to them. The romance between Bri and the Laird is sweet and heart-warming, and it develops in a very realistic, believable way, making the readers want to grab the next book in the series as soon as possible.

Find it on Amazon. ( )

A Love Crossing Over Time

I started this novel and found myself trapped, unable to put the book down until I finished it. I was charmed by the story of a young woman helping her mother on a dig at the 17th century era ruins of a Scottish castle who finds herself abruptly exchanging places 400 years previously with the woman (who looks exactly like her) who is about to reluctantly marry the young laird of the castle. The time travel works through a spell and Bri's appearance is even expected by an old maid of the previous laird and Bri's presence is expected to help prevent the eminent destruction of the castle and its inhabitants by treachery. Meanwhile her counterpart, Blaire is happy to escape a doomed romance of her own and find a time where women have control of their own lives. The growing love between Bri and her sudden husband is delightful as they work together to save the castle, lands and its people while struggling with the prospect of Bri returning to the future. All the characters are well developed and the plot plays out leaving you guessing to the end how the storylines will be resolved. If you like historical romance with a twist don't miss out on this book. I was excited to learn this is the first of three books as well as a novella and can't wait to jump back into Bethany Claire's world!

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. ( )