Review: Now & Then
Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan
Genre: Historical, Romance
Published: July 2009
Rating: 4½ of 5 stars
Time travel, magic, romance, adventure and an Irish Wolfhound all play a part in the novel Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan. She has woven together several stories to produce a delightful tale that kept me intrigued from cover to cover.
Don’t let the time travel make you think this is science fiction; it’s not. It’s more of an historical period novel with a dash of magic and a connection with the present. While there is a dog on the cover of the book, it is not a “dog story”. The Wolfhound only plays a supporting role.
As the story opens Anna O’Shea is having a bad day. Recently divorced, she returns from a much needed vacation to discover that her brother has been seriously injured in a car accident while on his way to pick up her nephew, Joe, from jail. The task now falls to Anna to retrieve the teenager and bring him home. Later that evening they get into an argument when Joe rummages through her suitcase. She grabs a piece of cloth he was holding and when they touch it sends them into the past. They each find themselves in 1840’s Ireland, but not together. Each has landed in a different place and is rescued by different people. One wants to go back home, the other wants to stay in the past.
The characters are well developed and likable with what seems like separate but in the end are interconnecting tales. The story is fast-paced and has enough twists and turns to make it interesting and not predictable. I enjoyed the setting in Ireland and even learned a bit about the people and customs of the mid 1800’s.
I read this in only a few days because I didn’t want to put it down. I am looking forward to future work from Ms. Sheehan.
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Source: Public Library
Under My Apple Tree 
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