Book Review
Come Back to Me by Jody Hedlund
About Come Back to Me:
The ultimate cure that could heal any disease? Crazy.
That’s exactly what research scientist Marian Creighton has always believed about her father’s quest, even if it does stem from a desire to save her sister Ellen from the genetic disease that stole their mother from them. But when her father falls into a coma after drinking a vial of holy water believed to contain traces of residue from the Tree of Life, Marian must question all of her assumptions. He’s left behind tantalizing clues that suggest he’s crossed back in time. Insane. Until Marian tests his theories and finds herself in the Middle Ages during a dangerous peasant uprising.
William Durham, a valiant knight comes to Marian’s rescue and offers her protection . . . as his wife. The longer Marian stays in the past, the more she cares about William. Can she ever find her father and make it back to the present to heal her sister? And when the time comes to leave, will she want to?
Bestselling author Jody Hedlund is your guide down the twisting waters of time to a volatile era of superstition, revolts, and chivalry in this suspenseful story.
Reader’s Thoughts
A time-travel, Christian romance novel? I don’t even know where to start with this one. Except to say, that I was absolutely fascinated.
Time travel books can always be a little hit or miss. And honestly, walking into this story, I wasn’t sure how well the time travel aspect was going to work out. The idea of holy water from the tree of life acting as the means to access the past was definitely a unique idea. However, the author took time to patiently set the story and work through her version of the time/space rules. While there were a few time-travel aspects that still didn’t fully make sense to me, the story was entertaining enough to overlook those lingering questions.
I also felt that the book was wonderfully set. I haven’t read a lot of medieval set stories, and this one transported me! The storyline felt very carefully researched and Marian’s reaction to landing in the 1300s felt entirely plausible. There were a lot of little details here that made the timeline very authentic — including acknowledging the immediate differences Marian would have faced as a woman and how that would play out in a relationship. The plot also had enough unexpected turns that I was kept on my toes!
Which leads me to the romance part… If you’ve read some of my other book reviews, you’ll know that I’m not usually a fan of the romance genre. And for a Christian novel, Come Back to Me had a lot of it. However, I think there is room to show passionate marriage relationships within Christian fiction. (It’s a clean read but it does have some very vulnerable and intimate moments.) This part of the plot did give me all the Outlander feels (similar romance plot) and I just went with it — because, you know, time travel. So why not?
All in all, I thought this was a really creative premise with an entertaining story. Perfect for those who love historical romances or suspenseful reads with a little science fiction. I will definitely be checking back for book two in the series!
**Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group
and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. All opinions expressed are my own.
