GraceTown, Maryland, is home to Sophie Jessup who runs the Timeless Treasures Antique Shop. She’s not sure what to make of her boyfriend suddenly opting out of volunteering with her at a Chautauqua Festival. THE LOVE TOKEN she discovers in an old steamer trunk is a coin from the early 1900s, and with this coin in her pocket, as she helps out at the speaker tents, Sophie is amazed by how authentically 1900s everything feels. Then she sees a lineup of old Model T Fords, which look brand spanking new.
Josiah Huston is a car dealer and he’s demonstrating the Tin Lizzie, as the Model T is known, when he spies Sophie looking dizzy and unwell. The kind gentleman naturally asks if she needs to sit down or a cool drink. After all, that bottled Coca-Cola drink has just arrived, maybe that would be helpful. As they talk, it dawns on Sophie that she seems to be in 1916. Surely, this must be a dream. In that case, she might as well enjoy it. Josiah opens up after a little while and tells her he’s a widower. The more Sophie considers life in this apparent time period, the worse the warfare and medical issues loom.
The romance in this timeslip fiction is a kind one, full of feelings and learning. Sophie starts to realise a lot about her boyfriend and their relationship. She finds out what stance some women had on suffragettes, and many fascinating details of inventions are explained. But is the combination of the Great War and the Spanish Flu too big an obstacle to happiness? I really found myself asking if I would return to live in such a time.
I love the atmosphere and I would attend this kind of festival, so anyone who enjoys period romances or slightly spooky romance will be happy. Cindy Kirk has written other series and THE LOVE TOKEN is second in the GraceTown series. I had not read the first novel, THE PINK HOUSE, and didn’t miss anything required to enjoy THE LOVE TOKEN. I gained the impression that slightly mystical occurrences are ordinary in this town, so I’ll be fascinated to find out what else happens.
From the outside, the tent looks like any you might see at a county fair: Tall poles support crisp white canvas that ripples gently in the breeze. But inside, the tent is a different world, one GraceTown hasn’t seen for a century. Only, no one can see this tent—no one but Sophie Jessup.
Sophie Jessup has a good life. Staying in GraceTown keeps her close to her parents, and running her antique shop lets her uncover forgotten treasures, like an unusual gold coin romantically inscribed with, Love Be Yours, Love Be Mine. Her own love life isn’t perfect, but passion is overrated. Right?
When Sophie agrees to volunteer at a local festival, a mysterious tent catches her eye. She enters the tent today—and exits in 1916. She thinks she must be dreaming, especially when handsome Josiah Huston comes to her rescue. But the details—and her connection to Josiah—feel too real to be imagined.
Somehow, Sophie has opened a door to the past--and to a love she never believed possible. But this door won’t stay open forever. She knows that when it closes, it will close for good, forcing Sophie to make an impossible choice.
Grab your copy and dive into this wonderful story today!
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