Amazing Time-Travel Novel During Welsh Rebellion

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Must Love Chainmail is another outstanding time-travel romance by Angela Quarles. It is the second book in the “Must Love” series and more adventurous than the first book in the series, Must Love Breeches. Rather than being transported back in time to the Regency era like the last story, this time our heroine is taken back to the 13th Century and straight into the middle of a battle during the Welsh rebellion.

The story begins in present day and revolves around Katy, who is addicted to her cell phone and all things data. She is only a few weeks away from getting married to a mediocre guy and she travels to Wales with her bridesmaids for a "girls week-end" of rest and relaxation before the big day. Just as she begins to have doubts about getting married, she innocently makes a wish (while holding the same silver card case used in the first book to time-travel), and Katy is sent back 700 years into the arms of a knight in chainmail.

Sir Robert is definitely a worthy hero who is half-Norman and half-Welsh. He's a man of the utmost honor and integrity who doesn't hesitate to stop the rape of an innocent girl by one of his fellow Norman knights. Unfortunately, the other knight hates Robert and fabricates a lie to get Robert convicted of treason. Thankfully, our heroine must have watched the Prisoner of Azkaban because she "knew" she could save him from the hangman's noose.

The detailed descriptions in this book were so vivid that I could smell and taste the filth of that time period. It also portrayed how challenging life would have been in the midst of a rebellion, and especially the hurdles and unrealistic expectations of someone like Robert, who was of mixed-race during medieval times.

I listened to the Audible version of this story narrated by Mary Jane Wells, who is simply amazing! She narrates as if there are several different actors being used, and has a spunk and lightheartedness that many narrators lack. She also portrayed Robert with smooth undertones and made him truly swoon-worthy! Simply put, I can't wait for the next Angela Quarles book narrated by Mary Jane Wells!!

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4 people found this helpful

Wow unexpected FIND

Would you consider the audio edition of Must Love Chainmail to be better than the print version?

Yes! Just love Mary Jane Wells's narration. In fact when I'm ready for a book I search by her name, rather than an author, which is how I discovered Angela Quarles's books.

What about Mary Jane Wells’s performance did you like?

Everything

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Truly enjoy Angela Quarles's writing skills. A little wit, a little suspension of reality and characters that are well developed make a good read! Can't wait for her future works. Impressed that's she's rather new to writing and has won a Rita already.

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Stunning Welsh time travel romance!!!

I am voluntarily submitting my honest review after receiving an ARC copy of the audiobook generously provided by the author.

This novel vividly captures how truly dangerous it would be for a woman to time travel to medieval times while retaining all of the romance and passion expected from the genre. Many times, time travel books neglect to reflect on the reality of how brutally women were treated at the hands of "honorable" men, or how wide the language gulf would be between modern and medieval peoples, so Must Love Chainmail is refreshing in that both realities are tackled head-on in an insightful manner. The plot moves along at a fast clip, and despite their communication difficulties, Katy and Robert's spirited dialogue is by turns hilarious then endearing. Their chemistry is undeniable and their passion leaps off the page. This book is a must-read for fans of time travel romance.

Since I had already read Must Love Chainmail in eBook format, my expectations were high, but I wasn't sure what to expect. I must say, the audiobook enhanced my experience 100%!!! The use of authentic language and its pivotal role in first establishing, then bridging the gulf between the main characters is so critical to the novel that hearing correct pronunciations added an entirely new dimension to my experience of the book. While it is often sufficient to muddle along with difficult Welsh and Middle English place names, for this novel in particular, having a guided experience via audiobook brings the setting to life so much more vividly. In addition, the audiobook performance added a whole lot of heat to the steamy scenes. .The narrator's timbre and pacing were spot on for making an already hot couple burn even hotter! I do not often say this, but for Must Love Chainmail, the audiobook enhanced my experience in every way and I highly recommend experiencing the novel that way, but no matter how you decide to enjoy the novel, fans of time travel romance simply must not miss Must Love Chainmail!

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The Writing

Loved the whole series. Kept me on my toes the whole way through. Maryjane Wells is the best narrator.

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Wonderful Series

What made the experience of listening to Must Love Chainmail the most enjoyable?

The story line keeps you engaged and the narrator does such a great job with each character.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Must Love Chainmail?

I love the part when Robert picks up the original bird carving and ask why it looks so old.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was the very end,when she told him she was expecting and the love that could be felt from the story was amazing

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, the story was so good that I cleaned the entire house so I could finish listening to the final chapters.

Any additional comments?

Thank you so much for such a great series, I cannot wait for the next saga.

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Intonation and cadence is off

The internation and cadence of the narrator is off, the weather is better than the previous two books in the series. When she is narrating the love scenes, Robert doesn’t have anything close to seduction in his voice. There are no “feelings” in the words. Also, when Robert was thinking about Katie, it didn’t sound like a man falling in love. Again, it sounded like everyday thoughts. No emotion.
I wish the book had included more time of Katie and Robert in modern day.

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Time-traveling into Medieval Time

Must Love Chainmail is a better than Must Love Breeches. I didn't really like some of the elements in Must Love Breeches but Must Love Chainmail makes more sense from the beginning to the end of the story.

Katy Tolson is a control freak since the day her father walked out on her eighth birthday. Since then Katy has a checklist of what she must accomplish in her life. Even her engagement is so bland and basically, really vanilla. When she made a wish of whether she is happy, she is tossed back into the medieval time.

Sir Robert Beucol, a Norman knight, lived for the moment of never knowing what tomorrow might bring him. Rescuing a mysterious wench (Katy) during a Welsh invasion was not something he planned for. He has a plan of reclaiming his family holding and regaining his family honor lost by his father's treason.

As Robert and Katy embarked on their journey to locate Katy's silver card case and Robert's mission to protect the Norman refugees, both learned more about themselves from each other. Robert understood Katy more than anyone who has known Katy. Katy taught Robert that he has to lived for himself instead of for other people and trying to please them.

Must Love Chainmail has time travel to the medieval age correctly. Most stories have the characters understanding each other. This story shows that back in the Medieval ages, the common language is Norman-French and not English. Unless the characters from present time know French and a bit of Latin, communication would be difficult.

I love Robert ad Katy. Katy might be a little difficult to warm up to at the beginning of the story, but then again, she is a control freak who plan everything for the future. Robert is a flawed character but readers/listeners will love him. He tried to be cold and withdrawn but Robert's honorable character captured the true sense of what a knight should be. I love of how these two characters bring out the best of each other.

I also love that the author kept the story without the thee's and the thou's and used modern English. The author is right that the readers/listeners would be so irritated with them. I can't imagine myself listening to the thee's and thou's after an hour. I would be cringing.

The narrator, Mary Jane Wells does a wonderful performance. I just love, love the voice, the narrator gave to Robert.

I was given this audiobook by the author and have decided to write a review for the audiobook voluntary. I was not influenced or compensated for writing this review.

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7 people found this helpful

To the Past to bring back your Future

Great story of the hard life people had to go through and how love made it easier.

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Lovely Time Travel!

This story was very engaging. I had a hard time stepping away from it. I absolutely loved the two main characters! The accents certainly seemed real! The only thing I really didn't like is the amount of time between each chapter. I'm pretty sure that I lost 5 minutes of my life between chapters. I really did love the book though, and plan on listening to the rest in the series. I was given this audiobook for an honest review.

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Another fantastic listen!

Please note that I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book.

I loved this book! First, let me say that it ticked a lot of book "catnip" boxes for me. Time travel...check. Medieval British Isles...check. A strong, but not alpha-hole hero...check!

Unlike many time travel romances from previous decades, the hero was not an uber-powerful jerk. I really liked that Robert was strong, and felt like he was from the time period, but still struggled with the unethical behavior of many of the Anglo-Normans in Wales. I also appreciated the fact that he was bi-cultural and had to sort out how to deal with this conflict.

I also liked the heroine quite a bit. In the beginning I was a bit skeptical that she would grow on me, but she did. After time traveling she faces many travails, but these seemed authentic and we're not disturbing or triggering to me.

The chemistry between the two main characters was wonderful. It was a bit of a slow burn in the beginning, but it heated up towards the middle. Their love scenes were both tender and hot.

Mary Jane Wells did a fantastic job with this one! Her American accents were not my favorite, but I completely forgive her because her French and Welsh accents were superb (to my ears). Her voice has a very soothing and lyrical quality and I always enjoy listening to her.

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