ARC Review: "Soul Love: A Past Lives, Time Travel Romance" by D.F. Jones ★★★★★

ARC Review: Soul Love: A Past Lives, Time Travel Romance by D.F. Jones

A beautiful time-travel romance with a perfect unique blend of historical fiction and sci-fi that will touch the hearts of all. This story explores fate, questions choices and highlights the importance that love transcends all obstacles.

“I knew that I belong to you and that you are mine. Love gets messy sometimes. It can break your heart, but I would cross a thousand galaxies, again and again, to love you and lie with you once more.”

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY
In present-day Heartsville, Tennessee, life is good for 29-year-old Summer Jewel. Though her parents mysteriously disappeared 20 years ago, she inherited their house and the family bookstore Jewel’s Literary Gema and her Aunt Em raised her. Summer has always felt very drawn to the empty Victorian mansion across the street, and feels like she has been there before. She has the opportunity to explore it before its new owner arrives, and discovers a portal in its off-limits attic that disappears before she gets to observe it properly.

Her new handsome neighbour, Rogan Randolf, arrives and catches Summer trespassing, though finds it amusing and offers her dinner. In the lead-up to this, the two spend time together with his coming to her bookstore in town and their watching sci-fi films. This causes them to fall helplessly in love. After spending the night together, Summer enters the portal, falling through time – to 1926, trapped as a woman called Nora Marble and unable to get home!

It turns out Rogan is a time-traveller who had his heart broken by Nora and works for The Order of the Invisible Effect, a company designed to minimise world chaos through maintaining timeline integrity and forbids its members from falling in love. And what’s more, Summer and Nora share the same soul and her unknown powers could be the make or break of the universe. She is wanted by the Timekeeper of the Chronos Vanguard, the rival company manipulating historical events.

Now, Summer has to stay until 1926 Rogan proposes on New Year’s Eve and present-day Rogan must never meet his 1926 self but watches on while Summer falls in love with him. But what happens when Nova’s husband, an agent of the Chronos Vanguard known for his cruelty, shows up? Will Summer want to stay with Rogan, despite her growing old while he is timeless? Does Rogan stay with The Order of the Invisible Effect or leave it all behind for Summer?

This is told from the third-person past-tense dual POV of Summer and Rogan.

OVERALL OPINIONS
I had the honour of being a beta reader for this book and trust me, I would not have undertaken this had I not thought I would enjoy it. I am pleased to inform you this did not disappoint. It has been a while since a time-travelling story has piqued my interest and I am glad it was this! To list a few recent, a Norse Viking romance “The Lands The Gods Forgot” by Sarah Beth, Scottish romance “Outlander” (I have only seen the show, have yet to read – and I know, as a Scotswoman ‘tis a crime), and a Turkish TV show called “Midnight at the Pera Palace”.

This is the first book I have read by D.F. Jones and I assure you it will not be my last! D.F. Jones has such a way with her writing that is so poetic, beautiful and descriptive that it sweeps you off your feet and you do not intend to get back down for a while. Her command of the English language is remarkable, with vivid descriptions of places, rooms and characters that helped me visualise everything so well. One of these examples is the different corridors of The Chronos Vanguard headquarters being made up of aesthetics from various time periods, from Ancient Rome to Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution – this is such a good idea, almost as clever as the evil association’s name (chronos means “quantitative time”).

The story had just the right number of characters (not too many nor too few) and they were all very different so not confusing. This was a page-turner for me – I was so anxious to see where the story would take Summer, what was going to happen when she became Nora and if she would get home.

The start of the story gave me Miss Marple: Sleeping Murder vibes because the main character in Marple feels like she has been in the house before, turns out she used to live there as a child and she saw a murder. Later on, there are Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass vibes because of the time intervention concept and Rogan being unable to meet his 1926 self because it will destroy one of them is like the Queen of Hearts when she attempts to fix the wrongs in the past and nearly destroys herself and the world in the process.

I fell in love with Summer and Rogan as quickly as Summer travelled through time. From the very first chapter, anyone can see the chemistry is there and the banter between them is very amusing and inspiring. I am absolutely obsessed with them!

Hopefully there is to be a sequel because I would love to read more.

<< Positives >>
🠚The plot is an interesting concept, and not too complicated to follow unlike some sci-fi novels but there is still a lot to it. I love the various struggles Summer and Rogan have, a realistic portrayal of relationships where doubt can creep in and compromising allows both parties to find a way through the problems together.
🠚There are some references to beloved media, like Back to the Future, Downton Abbey, The Great Gatsby and It’s A Wonderful Life.
🠚The level of spice within this book was low however beautiful and sensual, it felt like a poem or a dance. I have read quite a lot of historical romances or clean novels where I struggle to find the emotional depth or connection between the two in that moment. Here, it was done exceptionally well without the need to be explicit which is not easy to do.
🠚Summer and Rogan’s relationship is handled very well, as mentioned previously. As their relationship deepens so too do their conversations and Rogan’s desire to protect Summer.

<< Negatives >>
The main issue is some mysteries are not solved in the book, but it does not detract from the overall narrative. From what can be seen, this is gearing up for a sequel, where a lot of this can be answered at a later date:
🠚We do not uncover what happened that caused the disappearance of Summer’s parents, or a closure about her finding them again. After their mention at the start of the book, there is little of them at all.
🠚Caleb Stirling the author, Rogan suggests, could be a member of The Chronos Vanguard. This remains a theory and never gets explored further into the story. I hope there will be some future link between him being a Chronos Vanguard member and the books he has written.
🠚I expected the Timekeeper and his sister to have a showdown or that they would meet again at least, but this idea is only set up for later rather than in this book.
🠚I’d also have loved more time-travelling.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Summer꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ She is the sweetest, I love her. She is kind, compassionate, courageous in her own ways – and a little too curious for her own good haha. I like that her family owns a bookstore, that must be nice for her reading and selling books as a job! She is a normal person doing extraordinary things.

“I choose us. I choose to be with you, Rogan. But more than that, I choose to fight for a future where we can be together without fear or hiding. If The Order doesn’t allow change, we’ll make our own path.”

-ˋˏ ꒰ Rogan꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ This man makes me want to check my attic to see if I missed a portal! No but really, he is a sweetheart, I love him. I love how he goes to visit her bookstore just to spend time with her, and tries to help her navigate the time-travelling ordeal. Meeting Summer makes him question everything he has ever known, so much so he would give up his life at The Order to be with her.

“When I met you, Summer, my entire world shifted. You breathed life into me like I hadn’t felt in a long time. But your presence also complicated everything. The rules of The Order are strict. We’re not supposed to form attachments, especially not with mortals. But I couldn’t help it. I fell in love with you.”

FAV QUOTES
• She was drawn to him, an invisible thread pulling her closer, even as her mind told her to step back. It defied logic yet felt as natural as the earth beneath her feet.
• He couldn’t escape the sense this mission was different. That Summer Jewel was more than just a name chosen by a portal. She was a compelling mystery to unravel, a puzzle that called him across the void of space and time.
• “I guess it does have a bit of everything – mystery, action with a touch of romance.”
• “Maybe every ‘now’ is a doorway to another adventure,” she said. “Like stepping through a portal, you never know where you’ll end up.” | Rogan’s gaze held hers. “Then I am glad this ‘now’ brought me here to you.”
• Summer’s stories and laughter captivated Rogan. There was an undeniable chemistry between them, a sense of ease and understanding he enjoyed. He tried to control his feelings for her, but they got more complex by the second.
• Who was Rogan in the tapestry of her life’s journey? A constant guardian through the ages, or merely a coincidence of fate?
• Summer’s love for him, whether present or past, was undeniable. It transcended the physical realm, leaving her profoundly changed. It was a moment of sublime intimacy, a memory forged in the flames of passion, that she would cherish and remember for as long as she lived.
• With her vivacious spirit and infectious laughter, Summer had become his standard for entanglements in a tumultuous sea of love, a lighthouse guiding him into a relationship he hadn’t known he yearned for until the whole picture formed in heartbreaking complexity.
• “How did I get so lucky to find you, not once, but twice?” His heart ached with the weight of his decision, torn between the duty he knew he had and the love that had unexpectedly blossomed.
• In the quiet of their embrace, they found a fleeting peace amid the storm of uncertainties.
• “But then, I met you. Everything changed that fated day in the garden, completely unaware of the turmoil your presence would cause in my life.”

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I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank D.F. Jones for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

“Soul Love” is out September 3rd