In London, in 1945, Dr. Jonathan Brandon who is a flight surgeon for the RAF, disappears without a trace, leaving behind his fiancee Catherine. This is not a straight forward case, as it is claimed by witnesses that he simply faded before their eyes.

It is now 2014 and Anne Howard has come to London to visit with her grandmother, Catherine. A history teacher, Anne loves mysteries from the past, and when she finds old love letters from her grandmother's first love, Jonathan, she is fascinated by his disappearance. Even if she doesn't believe that he somehow disappeared into the past. But when her grandmother shows her a message that Jonathan has written in a book from 1560, and Anne begins to experience strange scenes from the past herself, Catherine tries to prepare her for the possibility that Anne may well be transported back in time.

When Anne is thrust back into Elizabethan England, she is attacked, kidnapped and makes a powerful enemy of the Duke of Norfolk. Finding Jonathan, he offers her the only protection he can by marrying her, but Norfolk is hell bent on capturing Anne. As Anne adjusts to her strange situation, she makes many friends along the way, including the Queen herself, but none are as important as her husband, Jonathan, whom Anne has fallen deeply in love with. As they explore their feelings for each other, Norfolk hatches a devious plan of murder and treason, and frames Jonathan for the deed. When an opportunity arises for Anne to return to the present, will she be able to leave behind Jonathan, so that she can protect herself and her unborn child? Or if she stays to be with the man she loves, will they be able to escape the penalty for treason - death?

THE THORNLESS ROSE by Morgan O'Neill is an enjoyable historical romance that flows easily from beginning to end. I am normally sceptical of time travel novels, but this story is so much more. Rich in detail, I found myself immersed in the 1500s and the historical characters that resided there. Anne and Jonathan's relationship was beautiful and endearing and I desperately wanted them to find a way to be together.

THE THORNLESS ROSE by Morgan O'Neill is a wonderfully descriptive tale of life in Elizabethan England, full of love, danger and intrigue, to grip your imagination.