Begun by Time

Morgan O'Neill

Aug 2015 · Entangled: Select Historical

About this ebook

In 1945, a man disappeared into thin air...

In the final days of World War II, Catherine Hastings meets the man she wants to marry. Flight surgeon Jonathan Brandon isn't just handsome-he's everything Catherine could hope for in her betrothed. But her dream of a happily ever after is shattered when Jonnie disappears shortly before their wedding...leaving Catherine bereft, broken-hearted, and with a lifetime of unanswered questions.

Arthur Howard is smitten with the lovely Catherine the moment he sees her. He's certain he's found the woman he wants to marry. Yet behind Catherine's sparkling green eyes is a haunted look-the look of a woman who has known loss. But can he love a woman who still grieves the loss of her fiancé? Now Arthur wants answers about the man Catherine intended to marry.

But the truth about Jonnie's disappearance is far stranger than fiction...

Ratings and reviews

BEGUN BY TIME was not at all what I thought it would be, and it is splendid! London, March 1945. Catherine Hastings is a volunteer in the Women’s Voluntary Services, she and her friends are doing their job when the Luftwaffe drops a bomb, and their leader, Rose Gordon, is killed, among others. At Rose’s funeral, Catherine meets Rose’s son, Jonathan, whom she knew about. Jonathan is a surgeon in the RAF, recuperating at the moment from an injury. They start talking, then dating, and soon realise they are truly in love. Jonathan asks Catherine to marry him, and life is perfect until Jonathan literally vanishes into thin air the day of their wedding. Although the title says it’s a time travel novel, I wasn’t exactly sure when it would come into account, and it’s only at the very end that we get to know how. I’m not exceedingly fond of time travel tropes, but I’m a WWII buff, and I love 1940s movies, so I gave the book a go. Morgan O’Neill recreates the London of the 1940s with such accuracy and care, I felt the book had been written during that time. The vocabulary is impeccable, and the author’s attention to detail is extraordinary: little things such as Pears soap, ration tickets, blackouts, absolutely nothing is missing; what joy! The characters are engaging, the romance entirely believable, and the prose, O the prose! Seldom have I read such magnificent writing: flawless, elegant, descriptive yet light and ever so easy to read! Upon reading the blurb, and while reading for a good while, I thought that most of the story had been told, but I was so wrong, and so glad I was! It would appear to be the first book in a series, and I hope so, because although it does not end on a cliffhanger, I would definitely want to know what the future holds for Catherine Hastings. I most highly recommend BEGUN BY TIME if only for the superlative writing and the nearly perfect historical accuracy. I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the author

Two authors writing as one, Cary Morgan Frates and Deborah O'Neill Cordes specialize in recreating pivotal moments in history, epic adventure, and romance-with a time travel twist. Begun by Time is the second novel in their Elizabethan time travel series and the prequel to The Thornless Rose, which was published by Entangled/Macmillan in 2014. They are also the authors of the medieval Italian time travel series-The Other Side of Heaven and Time Enough for Love, and the Roman time travel trilogy-Love, Eternally, After the Fall, and Return to Me.