Written by Florence Keeling⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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My thanks to author Florence Keeling and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to join the blog tour for Reflected Destinies, and a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Florence Keeling has provided an extract from Chapter 26, and you'll find a raffle at the bottom of this blog post (Open to UK residents only) to win a signed copy of Reflected Destinies. I should say that I was lucky enough to win a signed copy in a previous giveaway, and it now has pride of place on my bookcase!
Florence Keeling has provided an extract from Chapter 26, and you'll find a raffle at the bottom of this blog post (Open to UK residents only) to win a signed copy of Reflected Destinies. I should say that I was lucky enough to win a signed copy in a previous giveaway, and it now has pride of place on my bookcase!
The blurb:
Reflected Destinies
Laura is happy and content, she has a new boyfriend and loves her job teaching primary school pupils in London. But when she inherits a rundown house from a stranger on her 30th birthday, memories of her prom night come flooding back, memories of a scary encounter and an antique mirror in the very same house.
Laura visits the house with all its secrets and as she unravels the clues she reveals the biggest secret of all: her own destiny. But how can you change the future if it’s already written in the past?
Time Travel
Romance
Fiction
My thoughts:
Reflected Destinies is a touching story about two people finding each other across time, yet tinged with sadness, as, almost from the start, we learn through information which Laura gradually uncovers, that it is unlikely to be a happy ever after ending. Yet we live in hope...The themes of time travel and romance reminded me of the film Somewhere in Time. Beyond that, and the fact that they both made me catch my breath in expectation, there are no similarities in the story-lines.
I didn't immediately fall in love with the story. I thought the writing style in the first chapter was quite naive as it delivered the beginning of the time loop. I'm glad I persevered though, as by chapter 4, I was heavily invested in the story and did not want to put it down.
I loved Chester the cat, who nonchalantly time-travels between the two eras, but I was less convinced by the behaviour of Laura's old boyfriend Jack in the unfolding drama. That did not, however, detract from my overall enjoyment of the story.
I was on the edge of my seat throughout the story, analysing every detail given. My feeling was that Laura and Ben seemed to be caught in a time-loop, with events following exactly the same pattern as in each previous incarnation, but perhaps this time something would change to break that loop.
As a debut novel, Reflected Destinies has whetted my appetite for more from this author.
Enjoy this short extract from Chapter 26
Florence Keeling says... "I loved being able to contrast the differences between Ben and Laura's times. Simple things like a supermarket and local pub would be a whole new world to Ben".
“Seeing as we haven’t had dinner yet, we’ll go to the pub.” He looked horrified at this suggestion.
“Pubs aren’t what they used to be,” she reassured him. “Well, some aren’t anyway.”
It was a short walk to the pub but it seemed to take forever. Ben was fascinated by everything. All the different makes and models of cars, the Christmas lights; you name it and he had to stop and look at it. They even spent an hour in the little Tesco Express a few streets away because he had to look at every shelf in every aisle.
They finally arrived at The George and Dragon nearly two hours after they’d left the house. It was an old white house with a thatched roof and looked so out of place in amongst the modern houses but once you walked in you were whisked away to the olden days. Ben had instantly recognised it from the outside but the inside was remarkably different. He told her how dark it used to be and full of men smoking cigarettes and pipes but now it was light and airy, smoke free of course due to the new laws that Laura explained to him, with a mixture of men, women, and a few families dotted around.
They found a little table by one of the windows and Laura sat him down while she went to the bar. After all, he wouldn’t know about the money they used today. She ordered two glasses of house red and headed back over. Two women were standing by their table talking to Ben who was all charm and smiles.
“Excuse me.” Laura almost barged past them and sat down. The two women made a hasty exit.
“You don’t half attract attention to yourself.”
“I only smiled at them when they smiled at me.” He was so innocent in the ways of women that she just raised her eyebrows and handed him a menu.
“What do you fancy?” She scanned the many delicious dishes, herself opting for rump steak and chips.
“The mixed grill sounds wonderful.” His eyes were wide in wonder. “All that meat for one meal though, it’s gluttony.”
“Not here it’s not.” And she headed back to the bar to order before he could change his mind.
| Author Bio – Florence Keeling |
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Florence Keeling adopted for her pen-name her Great Grandmother's name, chosen because of the shared birthday of April Fool's Day. She is married with two teenage children. Born and raised in Coventry, England she now lives just outside in Nuneaton. Reflected Destinies is her first novel. Florence Keeling also writes for children under the name of Lily Mae Walters. |
| Social Media Links – | |
| https://www.instagram.com/florence.keeling/ | |
| Facebook Author Page | https://www.facebook.com/florence.keeling.7 |
| X | https://twitter.com/KeelingFlorence |
Giveaway – Win a signed copy of Reflected Destinies (UK Only)
*Terms and Conditions – UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Terms and Conditions – UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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