DOORWAY TO HIS HEART by Jo Barrett

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Date published: September 2010
ISBN: none given
Time Travel, mainstream
E-book
Reviewed by Rebecca
Obtained via the publisher


CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE! Emily has lived a good life but she isn’t ready to give it up. Despite being terminally ill with cancer, she has kept up her hectic touring schedule as a concert pianist, trying to wring the very last drop from what time she has left. The day after her final performance, she indulges in her other passion- touring historic English manors. When she becomes dizzy and too weak to stand in the ballroom of the last one, she figures it’s a fitting place to die. But then she wakes up and she isn’t herself anymore.

Barnaby, Viscount Westmore, has had all he can take of his scheming wife and her vile games. When she wakes up after an attempted suicide, he is determined to stay far away from her. He can’t help wondering, though, why this woman who looks like his nasty wife suddenly dotes on the daughter she’d always despised. Is it a trick of memory or is it something more?

This story is a time travel Regency romance set in 19th century England. At 166 pages, it’s a bit long for a novella but a bit short for a full length novel. It’s well written and well edited. I noticed no major flaws, inconstancies, or flow problems. There is one steamy love scene toward the end and it’s tastefully done.

Warning: don’t read this with bagpipe music playing. I had Davy Spillane’s Midnight Walker playing at first and had to go grab the tissues! It explores the life of a woman with a zest for life who hadn’t expected to get a second chance to have a family. My favorite scene is where Emily walks in and finds her pseudo daughter, Michelle, throwing a temper tantrum and rather than spanking her, finds a way to turn it into a teaching moment. I personally wish I was as patient with my own kids. Her charisma made this story in my opinion. Barnaby is also a good, strong lead and very believable.

I’m giving this one four stars. The interaction between the two main characters is very satisfying and I really liked how the author slowly built the sexual tension between them rather than rushing right into it. The plot wasn’t so complicated that you had to struggle to keep up with it but nor was it ho-hum. The characters had actual problems to resolve and they did it well. This book had me hooked from the first page and didn‘t let go. It’s one I’ll want to pick up again.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.