Always Mine
Sophia Johnson
Zebra, August 2006, $4.99
ISBN: 0821778846

As a child living in New York, Lydia Hunter would spend her summers in Scotland where she would visit the ruins of Blackthorn Castle. She particularly found the portrait of eleventh century Lord Damron whom she dubbed "Lord Demon" quite alluring. Now as an adult following a divorce, Lydia needs a sense of belonging and simple solace. She thinks back to her happiest moments in her life gazing at the portrait and decides to visit for the first time in years hoping to recapture some of her youthful magic.

At Blackthorn Castle, during a storm Lydia slips and falls unconscious. When she awakens she finds herself inside the body of Lady Brianna, spouse of Lord Demon circa 1072. The king ordered Damron Alasdair to marry Brianna, which he did by proxy without his bride's attendance or knowledge. Now he goes to collect his pampered spoiled wife, but finds instead an argumentative feisty female cursing him while challenging his rule over her. Unable to reconcile the spirited independent female with the image of what he was told, Damron learns from a Druid that his wife is not Brianna, but instead the soul of Lydia from the future. In love with her, he will do what it takes to keep his Lydia at his side.

The enchantment in Sophia Johnson's delightful time travel romance resides in the shocked reactions by the medieval residents of Blackthorn castle to Lydia's use of profanity and her overall kick butt fighting spirit. She makes the tale fun to read, though her adaptation to the eleventh century occurs too easily. Sub-genre fans will want to read this fine tale of an independent twenty-first century Yankee capturing a medieval Scottish warrior's heart.