Nora Roberts - Time Was

The first book in the Time and Again series, published December 1, 1989.
Genre: contemporary / timetravel romance
Cover: oldfashioned as it is an oldfashioned book



Stranded in the present, time traveller Caleb Hornblower's biggest problem was not returning to the twenty-third century - it was falling in love with the beguiling Liberty Stone, who showed him a love more powerful than time itself. Though he belonged in the future, how could he leave the past - and Liberty - behind?


I know I have read this book a long time ago, in Dutch, but I did not remember much about it. Space ship captain Caleb Hornblower is on his way home, when he encountered an unregistered black hole, and that is how he crashed down on Earth, 200 years in the past. Libby was working on her dissertation in her little cottage in the mountains, and saw the plane crash happen during the thunderstorm. Setting out in her old truck, looking for survivors was the logical thing to do once the storm abated. And so she found Caleb, lying unconscious near the road, and took him home. The road was washed out already, so there was no way she could drive him to the hospital in the village.
Luckily, her career in anthropology had given her a more than rudimental education on first aid as well, and she took care of his obvious injuries.

When Caleb came to, he sure was in for a culture shock. In his time, most food is made artificial, so real eggs and coffee are a very rare treat for him. It took him a while to accept that he had gone back in time, and to learn how to adjust his behaviour. He is attracted to Libby, so he wants to sleep with her, and thinks it very strange that she tells him no. What is wrong with wanting to have sex? But Libby is not a casual relationship kind of girl, living her life studying the past has given her no time for the men of now. But there is something about Caleb …

When she finds Caleb's watch connected to her computer, and it talks to her, Caleb has no choice but to tell her the truth. He will also need her help to get him to his spaceship so he can repair it and go home. He doesn't belong in this timeperiod, his parents and brother will worry about him. But he has fallen for Libby, like he never has for a woman before, so how can he leave her behind?


I have to admit, I just didn't like Caleb. His attitude against Libby, how he did not want to take no for an answer, and kept pushing her to sleep with him. And how he acted when he thought she did not care that he would go home eventually. Men in the future are just as clueless and unable to talk as they are now. Libby was a shy kind of heroine, very smart and not used to interacting with men at all. Very care taking as well, cooking and cleaning and such, while he did not much in return. I did like her, for she is a very kind woman, but I did never connect with her.
I won't re-read this book, but I will read her sisters book, as I think to remember she is much more feisty than Libby.

6 stars out of 10.

© 2016 Reviews by Aurian