As always, I found Kearsley's writing style to be engaging. I couldn't put this book down. However, I found the ending oddly unsettling. I can't elaborate further for fear of spoilers, but it was an ending I worried about from about halfway into reading the novel and I was slightly disappointed my premonition was correct. However, I found Mariana's tale to be a page turner. I'm not normally a fan of historical fiction, but this book had me wanting to re-read Pepys' Diaries, a nearly impossible task the first time around.

Mariana is the story of a woman drawn to the past after moving into an old, country house. Juliet Becket becomes Mariana and shifts back and forth between the twentieth and eighteenth centuries, trying to discover the secrets of Mariana's life and why they affect the present.

As a romance, the book is largely successful although it was ultimately one of my major problems. Perhaps romance novels just aren't my cup of tea? Either way when reading this book I wanted my bus rides to last longer and believe me that is rare. High praise indeed.