An Echo in Time

I love time travel books and this was a little unusual because the man jumped to the present time instead of the woman moving to the past. Sam Evans, a cowboy from 1800's Colorado took the place of his friend Kurt when time was ready to transport him to the future. Definitely out of place, Sam ends up in jail when a deputy frisks him and Sam hits him. There he meets Taylor, the sheriff. A slow relationship slowly emerges even though Sam knows how he feels about her almost from the start. Taylor, a single mother who never married the father of her son is running for reelection. Worried about scandal and saying the wrong thing, she learns what is important in life from Sam. Kind and thoughtful, he thought of her as the "other half of his heart, the other side of his soul". Again, that last 25 pages of the book, where everything is a little rushed to make all the ends tidy, was the reason for 4 stars.

This has to be one of the best sub-genre time travel romances I have ever read, and I've read many! Please read Sherry Lewis' book titled Whispers Through Time first, since it is the pre-quel to this book.The book begins with a look at our hero, Sam Evans, in his time of 1889. We learn that he has plans to relocate to find his own fortune in life. He knows a friend of his travelled through time in a storm, so when one kicks up during a shoot-out, Sam takes the leap into the future...the ultimate relocation!Taylor O'Brien is the Sheriff of Heartbreak Hill. She is about to be responsible for a very unusual prisoner named Sam. She is amazed and skeptical about his claim to be from the past, and thinks he is working for her rival in the election for a new Sheriff. Surely he is trying to make her look silly in front of her constituents, she reasons. But as she observes Sam, and sees how her father Charlie and son Cody believe and trust him, she begins to reconsider his claims.Sam struggles in his new-found situation. I laughed throughout the recounting of his attempt to groom himself with "new-fangled" appliances, drive a car, find a job and even drink a soda! Charlie, Taylor's dad, is just precious! I found myself smiling at his attempts to get his daughter and Sam together.Cody's character was written with a realism only a mother could understand. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but suffice it to say, you won't be disappointed in An Echo in Time. Well done, Sherry Lewis!

In 1889 Black Mesa, Colorado, Sam Evans knows it is time to leave the ranch to his brother and move on because the woman he loves married someone else. Though it hurts, he knows that Kurt and Olivia belong together even if the former swears he comes from another century. Still, before fleeing the area, Sam feels obligated to help Kurt in this showdown with the Durant crowd. However, something strange occurs and the next thing Sam knows is he is dodging strange wagons with lights on a paved road and a pip-squeak deputy asking the ridiculous question of why a loaded gun. He soon learns the Heartbreak Hill, Montana sheriff's department has arrested him. Single parent Taylor O'Brien has a reelection campaign to run if she wants to remain the sheriff. She does not need some weird stranger claiming he is from 1899 to mess up her life even if she finds him stirring her blood. He finds her just as attractive. However, both know love hurts and fear his return to his time, making a permanent relationship seems not destined to happen. One of the best at the time travel romance, Sherry Lewis brings back a secondary character from her popular WHISPERS THROUGH TIME novel to star in this tale. Sam is a warm wonderful hero with a strong sense of honor while Taylor shares his qualities as she places duty ahead of reelection (perhaps many of our Congress could learn that lesson). The story line is fun though Sam adjusts too easily to the more advance technological culture. Still the audience will feel elated that he gains the woman this time.Harriet Klausner