The Bride of Time

by Dawn Thompson

There was little joy and beauty for Tessa LaPrelle, a scullery maid in 1903 London, but a painting called The Bride of Time. The nude raised eyebrows and speculation that Tessa had posed. Impossible. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0505527286
• ISBN13: 9780505527288
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Love Spell
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.3" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

A Tale That Will Grip the Imagination

Tessa LePrelle is a scullery maid in London in the year 1903. To brighten up her dreary existence she visits a gallery where a century old painting by Giles Longworth, the "Bride of Time" is on display. She's not only drawn to patchwork hills and the manor house hidden in the mist, the woman in the portrait intrigues her. She resembles her in many ways. After being accused of stealing from her employee, she makes as mad dash through the London fog hoping to escape the Bobbies that are determined to take her away. The fog lifts and she finds herself in another time, a time where Giles Longworth is very much alive. She is mistaken for the new governess and Giles coachman brings her directly to the brooding artist. She knows his face immediately for she's seen his self-portrait in the gallery. While she tries to figure out how and why she's here, she agrees to be the governess for Monty, Giles' ward. The child proves to be more than a handful. He is part gypsy and believes he is a werewolf. Giles would like to dismiss the child's claims as fantasy, but the child has bitten him and the wound will not heal. There have been recent animal deaths and the child's temper is out of control, forcing Giles to search for answers. Not only does he have the child to worry about, he must finish the painting the Prince Regent has commissioned, but he can't keep a model there long enough to complete it. When Tessa arrives, he knows she is the face of the "Bride of Time." All he has to do is convince her. Dawn Thompson has created an intriguing paranormal tale of suspense. You'll be drawn into her world where the legends of the lay lines (the time portals) that run along the route of St. Michael's Churches, and where werewolves are a threat when the moon is full. Not only are Giles and Tessa characters that you will love and care for with the hope that they find a way to be together, you will also fall for the secondary characters as well. Moraiva, the Gypsy woman who does all she can to help the young couple and Foster, Giles' trusted man, who will do all he can to keep the secret that plagues Longhollow Abbey. I truly cannot say enough about this book with its gothic romance and the mystery of time travel and the threat of the werewolf. It is a definite keeper on my shelf. Ms. Thompson truly had the knack for creating a tale that grips the imagination. Review for PNR Paranormal Reviews

Absolutely fantastic!

The story begins in London, the year 1903. Tessa LaPrelle is a scullery maid. When framed for stealing, Tessa flees with pursuit hot on her heels. Somehow, via Lay Lines, she travels almost one hundred years into the past. Tessa finds her morning has suddenly become dusk. Instead of London, she is in Cornwall. It is now 1811. Tessa is mistaken for someone applying for a governess position at Longhollow Abbey on Bodmin Moor. With nowhere to go and only the clothes on her back, Tessa accepts the governess job. Her charge is named Montclair "Monty" Albert Montague the third. He is the nine-years-old ward of Giles Longworth. (Monty had been the stepson of Giles's sister until she died the year prior, leaving Monty in the care of Giles.) The tension between the child and the surrogate uncle is palpable and Tessa finds herself in the middle of it all. She realizes from the start that Monty is not quite normal, though she is unsure as to why. Monty often seems dangerous and sends chills down her spine. As for Giles, he is an artist with a fondness for brandy. He just happens to be the artist of a painting Tessa had enjoyed viewing in a London gallery during her own time period. In fact, Giles is currently working on the painting Tessa enjoyed the most, The Bride of Time. Giles is not sure where Tessa came from since he never bothers to ask for references. She is a lady of mystery, an enigma. She came to him out of the night like an answer to a prayer. Though Tessa takes the job of governess, Giles hopes to persuade her to pose for him. Giles needs her to care for Monty, and for him to use her likeness in his current painting, but at the same time Giles must protect her. Monty is one of the lycanthrope, werewolf, and last month the child bit his hand. Giles knows that there is a very good chance that, come the full moon, he will change. The bite of a werewolf is contagious. Tessa has never been superstitious, but after traveling through time (more than once) she must admit that some supernatural things cannot be explained away; they just ARE. Tessa and Giles find love in the arms of each other; however, Tessa is pursued for a crime she did not commit in her time and Giles is accused of multiple deaths during his. Only together can they hope to find eventual happiness, but how and where seem to have impossible answers. ***** Author Dawn Thompson left our own time period February 8, 2008, but she has left behind a few wonderful stories for her fans. This book, The Bride of Time, is the first published story since the author's death. In my opinion, this is also Dawn Thompson's best work to date! The idea of beginning a story in the past, then having one of the main characters travel through time deeper into the past, is not new; however, few are as well written as this. There are similarities between the two chosen time periods and the author uses these to actually enhance the tale, making it all believable. As for the secondary characters, I foun

entertaining paranormal historical "bridal" romance

In 1903, London scullery maid Tessa La Prelle lives a hard life as her job is not an easy one. However, adding to her drudgery is the shock that everyone recognizes her as the model who posed in Giles Longworth's portrait, THE BRIDE OF TIME. The only problem with the assumption that she sat for the artist is that the painting is a century old. While walking in a pea soup thick fog in London, Tessa suddenly finds herself at the Longworth's home in Cornwall with no idea how she got there and quickly hired as governess to his nephew; as no one except desperate people accept employment there. Almost everyone fears Longworth, who is rumored to be a shapeshifter who mutilates humans. Tessa knows Giles would never kill anyone; she is not quite as sure about his strange behaving nephew. As Tessa falls in love, she wonders if her heart is coloring her mind from evil. As she has consistently done over the years, the late great Dawn Thompson provides an entertaining paranormal historical "bridal" romance in which she combines elements she has used before into an exciting tale. The author employs time travel (see THE FALCON'S BRIDE) with a werewolf saga (see THE RAVENCLIFF BRIDE) to provide her fans with a delightful gothic romance in which the suspense and the comparative historical eras enhance a fitting tribute. Harriet Klausner

5 blue ribbons from Romance Junkies

London, 1903 Tessa LePrelle escapes the drudgery of life as a scullery maid one day a week by visiting a small gallery where she's become enamored with the paintings by Giles Longworth. Remarkably she even resembles the model who sat for the painting titled THE BRIDE OF TIME. When she's accused of stealing from her employers, Tessa is forced to flee - even though she's innocent. She has no idea where she's going to go but before leaving town altogether she can't resist one more visit to the gallery for a final look at the paintings - only when she arrives there it's to discover that the paintings had been sold and the Bobbies are hot on her heels. She escapes capture but her race to leave the city proper proves to have some unexpected results. The London fog is known for being unpredictable but she never dreamed that once the thick fogs cleared she'd find herself in another time and place - almost a hundred years earlier. Mistaken for the new governess, Tessa is picked up by a coachman and transported to Giles home where she encounters the man she's been so fascinated with since she first viewed his paintings and self portrait. Unfortunately, their first meeting leaves much to be desired and it's obvious that there's more than meets the eye going on - and his young ward, Monty, whom she's supposed to be overseeing seems to have some hair-raising traits that are cause for concern. Giles is already under close scrutiny due to his eccentric behavior, his sister's suspicious death and the recent string of animal deaths in the area. He's at a loss as to what to do with Monty, the boy is part gypsy and Giles doesn't even pretend to understand his issues. In addition to the troubles with Monty, he's immersed in trying to complete a painting the Prince Regent has commissioned - unfortunately the woman he's been hiring as models from the local brothel aren't the ideal `Bride of Time' - but when Tessa arrives then he knows he's found the perfect model. That is if he can get her to agree to pose for him. The late Dawn Thompson tells a startlingly intense tale with her novel THE BRIDE OF TIME. Giles is a tortured man who's dealt one harsh blow after another and all he really wants to do is paint. Tessa is an honest young woman who finds herself in a unique situation. I was fascinated by the portals that allow time travel and the mystical element that seemed so prevalent throughout the storyline. Giles and Tessa's romance develops gradually and it's fraught with problems due to Monty's troubling behavior. Ms. Thompson writes beautifully using words to create storylines that readers can visualize as they read her unique tales. Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

Gothic meets Regency in this paranormal gem

Tessa La Prelle, a scullery maid in 1903 London, dreams of a life better than her own. She finds an object for her fantasies in a local gallery - the work of Regency artist Giles Longworth. His brooding self-portrait is fascinating, but not as intriguing as the scandalously beautiful painting called The Bride of Time. When a false accusation sends Tessa running, she never dreams that she will flee from the bobbies straight into the carriage of Giles himself. Before she can fully understand what has happened, she is bundled off to Longworth Abbey as governess to Giles' ward, the incorrigible young Master Monty. Giles Longworth has problems of his own, Master Monty chief among them. There have been murders on the Cornish moors, his own unfaithful wife included, and rumours of werewolves. He has his own suspicions. When Tessa shows up on his doorstep, he's not inclined to ask where she came from. She is a godsend - a help with the problem of his ward, and the perfect inspiring model for his newest painting - The Bride of Time. With the full moon on the rise, the plot is about to thicken. Dawn Thompson's new book is a triumph, a delicate balance between the dark sensuality of the gothic romance, and the hedonistic gaiety of the Regency, the complexity of time travel, and the mystery of shape shifting. Her characters are multidimensional and realistic, her setting captures the imagination, and her story is gripping. I couldn't put it down. The literary community has lost a great talent in Ms. Thompson, yet her writing will live on.