A Stitch in Time (A Stitch in Time, #1)
Kelley Armstrong
Thorne Manor has always been haunted… and it has always haunted Bronwyn Dale. As a young girl, Bronwyn could pass through a time slip in her great-aunt's house, where she visited William Thorne, a boy her own age, born two centuries earlier. After a family tragedy, the house was shuttered and Bronwyn was convinced that William existed only in her imagination. Now, twenty years later Bronwyn inherits Thorne Manor. And when she returns, William is waiting. William Thorne is no longer the boy she remembers. He’s a difficult and tempestuous man, his own life marred by tragedy and a scandal that had him retreating to self-imposed exile in his beloved moors. He’s also none too pleased with Bronwyn for abandoning him all those years ago. As their friendship rekindles and sparks into something more, Bronwyn must also deal with ghosts in the present version of the house. Soon she realizes they are linked to William and the secret scandal that drove him back to Thorne Manor. To build a future, Bronwyn must confront the past.
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0 0DNF, but got far enough in that I'm putting on my read list.
The 4 and 5 point ratings are frankly baffling to me, because this is maybe one of the most cringe-y books I've started this year. It's made even more frustrating by the fact that the premise is great and has so much potential. And that I preordered it and paid actual money. Ugh.
One of the things that first gave me uncomfortable pause in the inclusion of a trans character that feels like it's merely a means of virtue signaling. The protagonist says something like "I'm a university professor" when trying to prod Del to share their pronouns, as though that's any kind of proof that they're an ally? There are transphobic pieces of trash everywhere friends, even in academia.
But in addition to this, the characterization is super flat. Browyn or whatever her name is supposedly is an assistant professor in history somewhere in Toronto, but there is nothing to suggest that she's remotely interested in history within the first hundred pages. Her mysterious William is brooding and likes cats (which is definitely a point in his favor in my book) but other than that we know nearly nothing about him. Nothing within the first half of the book made me feel invested in these characters or the plot. Even the ghost and possibly ghost-induced murder of Brownie's uncle could keep me hooked.
It's a shame, because the premise is really really interesting! It's something that appeals to my gothic horror/romance addict's heart. Alas, Armstrong didn't flesh anything out enough to make me feel like the few bucks I threw at a Kindle edition were spent wisely.
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