Hold Fast to Love

by Jo Ann Simon

A passion across centuries. New York career woman Monica Wagner was flying into London when suddenly, unbelievably, she found herself in a horse drawn carriage, riding through the cobbled streets to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380809451
• ISBN13: 9780380809455
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 327 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

terrific time travel romance

i LOVE time travel romances, especially with a regency setting. Also, this is the first book i've run into which features a strong,independent, non-virgin heroine and 2 honorable men who want her, attributes I always look for in romances, esp. for non-virgins as heroines. You don't find many romances with BOTH men being honorable, usually one is honorable and the other is a beast, which is what i hate most about these formulaic romances. i mean, come on, at least give us what we women want, 2 GREAT guys competing for the strong-willed non-virgin heroine. A modern American woman gets off the plane in England and suddenly finds herself in Regency England in Regency clothes. She apparently is taking the place of a rich german baronness heiress who flees war-torn Germany for America and after her father dies, she is told to go to England. Her dying father appointed an earl as her "guardian" for one year, hoping that the lord and she will marry, but the dying father didn't realize the lord had already married, and when she comes to learn about her inheritance and the requirement that Justin must be her guardian when she's well over the age of adulthood, Justin (the lord earl) is angry. She doesn't understand where his anger comes from until she learns that his wife is having an affair with another man and that their marriage is in ruins and that Justin is attracted to Marlena. This shows up in his anger and jealousy over Marquis Radford the rake who chases after Marlena. Both men love her, but she's a modern woman. Justin can't understand why she must act like a man (why, because she's a modern woman???) and challenge him constantly when most Regency ladies would be grateful to have a man handle their financial matters and yes, Justin is honorable and respectable in everything he does. Radford the rake leaves her burning for more of his kisses, but she can't give in to a rake. Both men try to pull her their way and take action when necessary, leaving her stunned. it's definitely action-packed. I personally would have chosen the other man, but then, you have to read the book to know who she chose!! Love the book!! i hope the author makes more of these types of books.

A passion across centuries . . .

Having read and loved another of Ms. Simon's books (_Love Once In Passing_), I was really thrilled to stumble upon another on my last trip to the bookstore. Keeping that in mind, I had high hopes for this book and thankfully I wasn't disappointed. As with the previous book I'd read, I was pleased to note that _Hold Fast To Love_ was a time-travel romance. Time-travel has always been one of my favorite genres, but not all of the books are well written. That's definitely not something that can be said for this book. Also, considering it was written in 1982, it seems to me that the author was very ahead of her time. The book starts in 1982 with Monica Wagner on an airplane heading for a vacation in Europe. Within just a few pages, Monica and the reader both are swept back in time to Regency England. And, while it might have been nice to get to know Monica a bit more in the 'present', it was really exciting for the action to start so quickly. Almost immediately Monica realizes that she's somehow been thrust into the life of Baroness Marlena von Mantz, a woman who not only looks like her, but has several eerie similarities in her life experiences. I'm not usually a fan of first-person narrative, but I feel it was very appropriate for this book. It gives the reader a very clear view of the thoughts and feelings of Monica as she adjusts to her new life. The characters are extremely well-drawn. Monica handles her daunting experience in the past with a cool, calm reserve that only breaks under the most strenuous circumstances. She reacts so much better than I would in a similar situation. The reader comes to know Monica as a strong, independent and remarkable woman. Both men in the book who pursue Monica -- the Baroness's guardian Justin and the recalcitrant rake Radford -- are worthy of a woman like Monica and you'll be just as hard-pressed to choose between them as Monica herself is. Though some parts are a bit tedious at times, overall the book was enthralling. I literally couldn't put it down. From the time-travel mystery to the other, more pressing mysteries as Monica takes over the life of a 19th century Baroness, the action rarely stops and even three pages from the ending you'll still be unsure of the outcome. Although I do believe a bit more time could have been spent after our heroine chooses her hero, all in all _Hold Fast To Love_ was an engaging, enjoyable read. It cemented my faith in Ms. Simon's ability. She's not an author to be missed.