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Time Mutants #2
The Writer and the Rake
He saw her coming. If he’d known her effect he'd have walked away.
When it comes to doing it all, ‘wild child’ writer Brittany Carter ticks every box. Having it all is a different thing though, what with her need to thwart an ex fiancé and her being transported from the present to Georgian times. But then, so long as she can find her way back to her world of fame and promised fortune, what's there to worry about?
Georgian bad boy Mitchell Killgower is at the center of an inheritance dispute. He needs Brittany as his obedient, country-mouse wife. Or, rather, he needs her like a hole in the head. In and out of his bed, he’s never known a woman like her. Nor a woman who can disappear and reappear like her either.
And when his coolly contained anarchist, who is anything but, learns how to return to her world and remain, will having it all be enough, or does she underestimate him, and herself?
When it comes to doing it all, ‘wild child’ writer Brittany Carter ticks every box. Having it all is a different thing though, what with her need to thwart an ex fiancé and her being transported from the present to Georgian times. But then, so long as she can find her way back to her world of fame and promised fortune, what's there to worry about?
Georgian bad boy Mitchell Killgower is at the center of an inheritance dispute. He needs Brittany as his obedient, country-mouse wife. Or, rather, he needs her like a hole in the head. In and out of his bed, he’s never known a woman like her. Nor a woman who can disappear and reappear like her either.
And when his coolly contained anarchist, who is anything but, learns how to return to her world and remain, will having it all be enough, or does she underestimate him, and herself?
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 29, 2017
9 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Shehanne Moore
11 books78 followersShehanne Moore is a Scottish author, who writes gritty, witty, as much risky as risqué, historical romance, set wherever takes her fancy. Stories that detail the best and worst of human behaviour, as opposed to pouts and flounces. For years she worked at various things, while pursuing her dream of becoming a published writer, so she was gobsmacked to sell her book, The Unraveling of Lady Fury, written in three months, to U.S. publishers, Etopia Press, six days after subbing it.
Shehanne still lives in Scotland, with her husband Mr Shey. She has two daughters. When not writing intriguing historical romance, where goals and desires of sassy, unconventional heroines and ruthless men, mean worlds do collide, she fantasizes about cleaning the house, plays the odd musical instrument and loves what in any other country, would not be defined, as hill-walking.
Shehanne still lives in Scotland, with her husband Mr Shey. She has two daughters. When not writing intriguing historical romance, where goals and desires of sassy, unconventional heroines and ruthless men, mean worlds do collide, she fantasizes about cleaning the house, plays the odd musical instrument and loves what in any other country, would not be defined, as hill-walking.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 25, 2025
I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
I'd say this book was around a four and a half star read, and the best book I have read yet by Shehanne Moore. This book is part of a series along with the Viking and the Courtesan, but you don't need to read that volume first. You may find it gives interesting clues to the Time Mutants however.
Oh Brittany, what a character! I loved the beginning of the book where we meet her. Chaotic, honest, frank, flawed - a writer who longs for fame and her temporary sidekick Rab they rattle off to confront her old love Sebastian. I can definitely say scenes follow! Not just the literary kind either...from whatever has happened in her life Brittany has taken hold of it and forged on in her own inimitable way. She is not so much likeable, but amusing, interesting and most of all you can identify with why her character has formed how it has. Sebastian is not so likeable, but that's ok as we move swiftly on he's not important.
As Brittany zaps unknowingly back in time the change in pace prevented my review from being five stars. While I enjoyed these parts of the book, I did find they slowed the story considerably from its beginning. There were good reasons for this, I just felt the change too much.
However, what follows is a tempering of Brittany's character, but not in a bad way but almost a gentling that comes from knowing the gorgeous and dangerous Mitchell, and his son Fleming (clueless or actually quite charming, you decide). The time she spends in 1765 gives her pause, and whether she realises it or not changes her and gives her an opportunity to be someone that actually she may have always wanted to be. This does not mean she doesn't cause plenty of trouble with Mitchell's dour aunt and uncle in the meantime providing laughs and sympathies.
As we see Mitchell and Brittany come together in 1765, chaos continues in present day Newport on Tay with her disappearance. But the reasons why Brittany can move in time are beginning to become clear, and the enigmatic Morte has much more to do with it than Brittany could have realised.
I enjoyed how the two parts of the story were brought together by the end, and how Brittany and Mitchell reconciled this themselves. There was a little bit of a gap left for me, but I suppose this is important as I really hope that a third book in the series will take this up and enable the reader to learn about what the Time Mutants actually are...AND Morte!
Mitchell's artist side, Fleming and a life of his own and the meeting of minds with Brittany and Mitchell, so beautifully written and lyrical...but Brittany is the key to this series of stories, and I cannot wait to find out more. Why is she key, and what is ahead for her family?
I'd say this book was around a four and a half star read, and the best book I have read yet by Shehanne Moore. This book is part of a series along with the Viking and the Courtesan, but you don't need to read that volume first. You may find it gives interesting clues to the Time Mutants however.
Oh Brittany, what a character! I loved the beginning of the book where we meet her. Chaotic, honest, frank, flawed - a writer who longs for fame and her temporary sidekick Rab they rattle off to confront her old love Sebastian. I can definitely say scenes follow! Not just the literary kind either...from whatever has happened in her life Brittany has taken hold of it and forged on in her own inimitable way. She is not so much likeable, but amusing, interesting and most of all you can identify with why her character has formed how it has. Sebastian is not so likeable, but that's ok as we move swiftly on he's not important.
As Brittany zaps unknowingly back in time the change in pace prevented my review from being five stars. While I enjoyed these parts of the book, I did find they slowed the story considerably from its beginning. There were good reasons for this, I just felt the change too much.
However, what follows is a tempering of Brittany's character, but not in a bad way but almost a gentling that comes from knowing the gorgeous and dangerous Mitchell, and his son Fleming (clueless or actually quite charming, you decide). The time she spends in 1765 gives her pause, and whether she realises it or not changes her and gives her an opportunity to be someone that actually she may have always wanted to be. This does not mean she doesn't cause plenty of trouble with Mitchell's dour aunt and uncle in the meantime providing laughs and sympathies.
As we see Mitchell and Brittany come together in 1765, chaos continues in present day Newport on Tay with her disappearance. But the reasons why Brittany can move in time are beginning to become clear, and the enigmatic Morte has much more to do with it than Brittany could have realised.
I enjoyed how the two parts of the story were brought together by the end, and how Brittany and Mitchell reconciled this themselves. There was a little bit of a gap left for me, but I suppose this is important as I really hope that a third book in the series will take this up and enable the reader to learn about what the Time Mutants actually are...AND Morte!
Mitchell's artist side, Fleming and a life of his own and the meeting of minds with Brittany and Mitchell, so beautifully written and lyrical...but Brittany is the key to this series of stories, and I cannot wait to find out more. Why is she key, and what is ahead for her family?
September 7, 2017
The Writer and the Rake has risen to the top as my favorite of Moore’s historical romance books. In this story, Brittany Carter is a modern day writer who discovers that under the right kissing (yes, kissing as in a form of affection) condition, she can transport herself between two time periods. In one time period—contemporary times in Newport-on-Tay, Scotland—she is struggling to pump life into her stalled writing career while dealing with an ex-husband who is taking advantage of her. In the other world of 1765, London, she deals with Mitchell Killgower, a scoundrel of gargantuan proportions. Like her ex-husband, Mitchell uses Brittany, in his case, as a make-believe wife. This he does to maintain possession of his home, title and influence (what little remains). Brittany plays along with Mitchell’s make-believe ploy initially as it buys her time to discover the “thing” that facilitates her transport between time. But even Brittany has her limit. Mitchell’s dalliance with a barmaid drives Brittany to kiss another and poof, she is back in Scotland. Turns out, any unemotional kiss with a man is the trigger for her time travel. Back in present day Scotland, she surprisingly finds fame and success waiting on her. Her mysterious disappearance, advertised heavily by the media, has caused her books to fly off bookstore shelves, garnering her more attention, sales and riches than she ever imagined. However, it only takes a few weeks of riches and far too much attention for her to realize her heart is in the past with Mitchell and his son, Fleming. Brittany returns to their world, and discovers Mitchell has been cured of his rakish ways, mostly because of his broken heart and longing for her but also because he has secured his home, land and title through his son. Mitchell and Brittany become a couple transformed by love.
There are many reasons I enjoyed this story but like the other Moore books I’ve read, I can narrow it down to…
1. The folksy idioms threaded throughout the story
2. The female characters who are so independent, a man is an accessory
3. Strong men who deserve to be felled by a good woman
4. Laughing, laughter and more laughing
5. Sensory scenes that will make you sigh or shake your head in astonishment
6. An ending that satisfies.
Moore always delivers, and in this one, she goes above and beyond by including references and appearances by future Killgower generations and by including a semi-grown son, Fleming – a small fact that layers on maturity and responsibility for multiple characters. These are nice touches which make the page turning (or swiping) even more enjoyable. Happy reading!
There are many reasons I enjoyed this story but like the other Moore books I’ve read, I can narrow it down to…
1. The folksy idioms threaded throughout the story
2. The female characters who are so independent, a man is an accessory
3. Strong men who deserve to be felled by a good woman
4. Laughing, laughter and more laughing
5. Sensory scenes that will make you sigh or shake your head in astonishment
6. An ending that satisfies.
Moore always delivers, and in this one, she goes above and beyond by including references and appearances by future Killgower generations and by including a semi-grown son, Fleming – a small fact that layers on maturity and responsibility for multiple characters. These are nice touches which make the page turning (or swiping) even more enjoyable. Happy reading!
May 1, 2017
Ms Moore has a gift for writing the unconventional. In a way that is intelligent, rich in wit, and heart-stoppingly beautiful. Yes, beautiful, her choice of words and the way she combines them poetically bold and eloquently lucid.
Her characters don’t lie demurely on the page awaiting gentle discovery, instead they rise up from the start to smack you in the mush (British slang for mouth). They are flawed, often graceless, their redemption hard won—and they are all the more delicious for it. Her plots are far from ordinary; instead they are twisted and tangled and messy like life itself—laugh, because if you don’t you will cry.
And Ms Moore brings all this into play in The Writer and The Rake. Brittany will make your eyes water—but you have to adore her misbehavior—and Mitchell will kick your pulse into a faster beat, because his reaction to Brittany is just so damn hot. His patience, his control, his defences (watch them crumble), his heart—this is a real man, jaded but never beaten.
A time-travel tale with a difference, which I cannot recommend too highly.
Her characters don’t lie demurely on the page awaiting gentle discovery, instead they rise up from the start to smack you in the mush (British slang for mouth). They are flawed, often graceless, their redemption hard won—and they are all the more delicious for it. Her plots are far from ordinary; instead they are twisted and tangled and messy like life itself—laugh, because if you don’t you will cry.
And Ms Moore brings all this into play in The Writer and The Rake. Brittany will make your eyes water—but you have to adore her misbehavior—and Mitchell will kick your pulse into a faster beat, because his reaction to Brittany is just so damn hot. His patience, his control, his defences (watch them crumble), his heart—this is a real man, jaded but never beaten.
A time-travel tale with a difference, which I cannot recommend too highly.
April 23, 2017
Give me a historical romance with pale, delicate heroines and alpha heroes flexing their six packs and I'll hand it back to you. Unread. But give me a historical time travel romance by Shehanne Moore and I'll grab it with both hands, dive in there and have a whale of a time. I certainly did with The Writer and the Rake, as I have with all the author's previous books. 100% entertainment, with the 'bad girl' unwitting time traveller, Brittany Carter and the Georgian rake - Mitchell Killgower - sparring off each other... when he's not stealing her cigarettes. Add Francis Dashwood and his notorious Hellfire Club, a son Mitchell cannot stand, plus a distinctly dodgy ex-husband, and this novel takes the reader on an often hilarious journey with a heroine your mother would not want you to be friends with but with whom you'd be guaranteed a rollercoaster time. This is the second in series but reads as a standalone. Loved it and looking forward to her next book.
June 11, 2017
I can confirm Shehanne Moore is no Miss Barbara Cartland.
Now there is two ways you can take this news. If you are anything like me it will be with a lusty huzzah and an air punch. I was never one for simpering virgins and sex scenes discretely ending outside the bedroom door.
Shehanne Moore writes historical romance with a sci-fi twist that’s unapologetically smexy. For those who don’t know, smexy (her word, not mine) is a cross between smutty and sexy… raunchy romance in the raw… or is that with a roar? Cos, boy, does the gal deliver!
If you want a complex heroine, so feisty she could bitch slap you in a stand-up row, meet tough but vulnerable Brittany Carter – ‘brittle as porcelain and deadlier than shattered glass. An irresistible combination.’
If you like a ruggedly handsome man, oozing animal magnetism, you can’t go far wrong with Mitchell Killgower. He’s not so tough. Underneath them smouldering looks and icy demeanour beats a heart to make you melt. At least something will be wet by the end of the novel.
By that I mean if a ‘good man who needs saving from himself’ don’t bring a tear to your eye then you are no Brittany Carter – not matter how smexy and gorgeous you are - ‘darling!’
Brittany is a struggling historical romance writer and no simpering virgin. Like most good-looking modern women in their mid-twenties, she’s had her fair share of men; all of them disappointments.
The book opens when a stranger called Morte stops Brittany for her autograph. Or so she thinks.
To be honest she’s not taking much notice. The girl’s got a lot on her mind. Off to straighten out her finances with some crap-head she used to date - he took everything but somehow managed to leave her name on a mortgage he’s not paying.
Morte’s weird, more stalker than fan. As his ominous warning about making the right choice rings in her ears, lightning strikes him. Brittany does the decent thing: calls an ambulance; helps Morte live.
Wrong choice!
Next thing Brittany wakes up in a sixteen year boy’s dusty bed. Wound tight as a cheese wire garrotte, she desperately plays it cool, frantically struggling to keep herself together while figuring out what the hell happened?
The boy’s furious. Handsome dad’s furious too. Not with her; with each other.
All the while she’s praying it’s a nightmare and she’ll wake up. Gradually it dawns. She’s somehow travelled through time, back to 1765 to be precise. To a crumbling stately home in Georgian England and the middle of a bitter inheritance feud between handsome rakish father and puritan unloved son, and with a cow of a sister-in-law holding the purse strings and fuelling the whole debacle.
The Writer and the Rake starts at 100 miles an hour and never flags. It is an unrelenting tour de force; a dazzling pas-de-deux of searing wit and laugh out loud moments between Brittany and Mitchell. The frisson between them is tangible, popping and fizzing across the pages as they slog it out to gain the upper hand, only to have the other snatch it back.
Despite wanting to return to her own time Brittany can’t take her eyes off Mitchell; while he can’t keep his hands off her behind. So, what about Morte? Don’t worry, he’s there too. Intent on sealing his Faustian bargain.
When Mitchell sees Morte with Brittany, he’s jealous as hell of her secret lover. It’s just the spark they need for scorching emotions to boil over into reckless sex. Even if you don’t smoke, you’ll be reaching for that post-coital cigarette Brittany can never have because she ran out in the first few days.
Casual sex has consequences. Hell, Brittany knows that. But she’s not prepared for what they are. Ok it’s not the first time she’s woken in a strange bed. But this one’s oddly familiar. She’s leapfrogged forward to her own time to find she’s been missing for weeks, presumed kidnapped, and her books are now best sellers.
Bingo!
Morte picks his moment to explain it all; a drunken night out with the girls. Apparently she’s a time mutant - the mother of a dynasty. Shame she’s too pissed to take it in.
Talk about sealed with a kiss. One drunken snog with some bloke in the club and Brittany’s back to Mitchell’s crumbling house. Only one thing for it, seduce Mitchell and use the ride of her life to hitchhike through the centuries back to her duly deserved fame and fortune.
Here lies the rub.
Mitchell’s the man she wants, the one she’s been waiting for all her life. She knows it from the moment he sweeps her up in his strong arms and drops her on his big old bed. From the second he unbuttons her bodice, and she his breeches. If only he was from her time. If, if, if…
If this is her last kiss; the last time she can make love for fear of ricocheting through the ages with every orgasm, then there is no one she would rather do it with.
Life’s never that simple, is it Brittany? Not with destiny calling… loud and clear.
The Writer and the Rake is a genre-bending adventure. It confirms Shehanne Moore as an author who know today’s woman is as likely to be into science fiction, playing computer games or watching light porn as reading heavy romance. And Moore’s not afraid to give her readers what they want … without ifs, buts or apologies.
The dialogue is racy, witty and thoroughly modern. This is no cod 18th century comedy of manners. That would get in the way of the lust and punishing pace. Her characters are real: gritty, decent and flawed as the rest of us. And ultimately, as redeemable by love we all are. Though it’s bloody hard work for them sometimes!
And in case you are thinking this is just for the girls, I’d advise you to give it a shot, lads. Cos let’s face it… it does no harm knowing what your woman wants.
Now there is two ways you can take this news. If you are anything like me it will be with a lusty huzzah and an air punch. I was never one for simpering virgins and sex scenes discretely ending outside the bedroom door.
Shehanne Moore writes historical romance with a sci-fi twist that’s unapologetically smexy. For those who don’t know, smexy (her word, not mine) is a cross between smutty and sexy… raunchy romance in the raw… or is that with a roar? Cos, boy, does the gal deliver!
If you want a complex heroine, so feisty she could bitch slap you in a stand-up row, meet tough but vulnerable Brittany Carter – ‘brittle as porcelain and deadlier than shattered glass. An irresistible combination.’
If you like a ruggedly handsome man, oozing animal magnetism, you can’t go far wrong with Mitchell Killgower. He’s not so tough. Underneath them smouldering looks and icy demeanour beats a heart to make you melt. At least something will be wet by the end of the novel.
By that I mean if a ‘good man who needs saving from himself’ don’t bring a tear to your eye then you are no Brittany Carter – not matter how smexy and gorgeous you are - ‘darling!’
Brittany is a struggling historical romance writer and no simpering virgin. Like most good-looking modern women in their mid-twenties, she’s had her fair share of men; all of them disappointments.
The book opens when a stranger called Morte stops Brittany for her autograph. Or so she thinks.
To be honest she’s not taking much notice. The girl’s got a lot on her mind. Off to straighten out her finances with some crap-head she used to date - he took everything but somehow managed to leave her name on a mortgage he’s not paying.
Morte’s weird, more stalker than fan. As his ominous warning about making the right choice rings in her ears, lightning strikes him. Brittany does the decent thing: calls an ambulance; helps Morte live.
Wrong choice!
Next thing Brittany wakes up in a sixteen year boy’s dusty bed. Wound tight as a cheese wire garrotte, she desperately plays it cool, frantically struggling to keep herself together while figuring out what the hell happened?
The boy’s furious. Handsome dad’s furious too. Not with her; with each other.
All the while she’s praying it’s a nightmare and she’ll wake up. Gradually it dawns. She’s somehow travelled through time, back to 1765 to be precise. To a crumbling stately home in Georgian England and the middle of a bitter inheritance feud between handsome rakish father and puritan unloved son, and with a cow of a sister-in-law holding the purse strings and fuelling the whole debacle.
The Writer and the Rake starts at 100 miles an hour and never flags. It is an unrelenting tour de force; a dazzling pas-de-deux of searing wit and laugh out loud moments between Brittany and Mitchell. The frisson between them is tangible, popping and fizzing across the pages as they slog it out to gain the upper hand, only to have the other snatch it back.
Despite wanting to return to her own time Brittany can’t take her eyes off Mitchell; while he can’t keep his hands off her behind. So, what about Morte? Don’t worry, he’s there too. Intent on sealing his Faustian bargain.
When Mitchell sees Morte with Brittany, he’s jealous as hell of her secret lover. It’s just the spark they need for scorching emotions to boil over into reckless sex. Even if you don’t smoke, you’ll be reaching for that post-coital cigarette Brittany can never have because she ran out in the first few days.
Casual sex has consequences. Hell, Brittany knows that. But she’s not prepared for what they are. Ok it’s not the first time she’s woken in a strange bed. But this one’s oddly familiar. She’s leapfrogged forward to her own time to find she’s been missing for weeks, presumed kidnapped, and her books are now best sellers.
Bingo!
Morte picks his moment to explain it all; a drunken night out with the girls. Apparently she’s a time mutant - the mother of a dynasty. Shame she’s too pissed to take it in.
Talk about sealed with a kiss. One drunken snog with some bloke in the club and Brittany’s back to Mitchell’s crumbling house. Only one thing for it, seduce Mitchell and use the ride of her life to hitchhike through the centuries back to her duly deserved fame and fortune.
Here lies the rub.
Mitchell’s the man she wants, the one she’s been waiting for all her life. She knows it from the moment he sweeps her up in his strong arms and drops her on his big old bed. From the second he unbuttons her bodice, and she his breeches. If only he was from her time. If, if, if…
If this is her last kiss; the last time she can make love for fear of ricocheting through the ages with every orgasm, then there is no one she would rather do it with.
Life’s never that simple, is it Brittany? Not with destiny calling… loud and clear.
The Writer and the Rake is a genre-bending adventure. It confirms Shehanne Moore as an author who know today’s woman is as likely to be into science fiction, playing computer games or watching light porn as reading heavy romance. And Moore’s not afraid to give her readers what they want … without ifs, buts or apologies.
The dialogue is racy, witty and thoroughly modern. This is no cod 18th century comedy of manners. That would get in the way of the lust and punishing pace. Her characters are real: gritty, decent and flawed as the rest of us. And ultimately, as redeemable by love we all are. Though it’s bloody hard work for them sometimes!
And in case you are thinking this is just for the girls, I’d advise you to give it a shot, lads. Cos let’s face it… it does no harm knowing what your woman wants.
May 14, 2017
I've been a fan of Shehanne Moore's work since The Viking and the Courtesan. Now she brings us the Writer and the Rake, which is even better! I absolutely loved the concept. For certain people who happen to be Time Mutants, a kiss can take them backwards or forwards in time to a completely different century. This is what happens to struggling romance writer Brittany Carter, who is frustratingly whisked away into the past just as she is about to make her ex-boyfriend's life a living hell.
I think I mentioned before how I hate romance heroines who are the paragon of all virtues. Well, Brittany is definitely not. This heroine is a vindictive, manipulative, chain-smoking alcoholic, and I love her. If romance heroes can be rakes, why shouldn't the heroine be a 'rakette'?
Brittany arrives in 1765 dressed in nothing but a bathrobe, landing in Mitchell Kilgower's teenage son's bed. Mitchell, a long-suffering, brooding gentleman thinks his son has finally stopped being such a milksop and become a man, or rather the kind of man his father wants him to be. Brittany is just confused. She thinks her ex-boyfriend has murdered her and she is now in some sort of strange afterlife. Mitchell thinks she's insane.
Of course, one can't blame him as for all he knows, a woman has appeared out of nowhere and keeps babbling on about him being good fodder for her next romance novel. Mitchell's uncle and slightly incestuous aunt (or former sister-in-law) show up, and the only way Brittany's presence can be explained is in a lie hastily concocted by Fleming, Mitchell's son, that she is Mitchell's new God-fearing wife.
Hilariously unsuited to the role, Brit goes along with is because she needs to figure out a way to get back to the 21st century. She may be a romantic novelist, but unlike her naive heroines, she's not going to swoon and fall into Mitchell's arms just because he has a gorgeous body and amazing cheekbones. All the same, there is an attraction simmering beneath the surface of her pretense.
As for Mitchell, he starts out wanting to get rid of her, but he is by turns enraged and captivated by a woman the likes of which he'd never seen. A modern heroine unleashed on an unsuspecting 18th century world is a force to be reckoned with.
Brittany wreaks havoc everywhere she goes. She is a truly comedic heroine, though Ms. Moore deftly alerts the reader to how easily things could turn tragic if these characters don't find love very soon.
Mitchell treats Brittany terribly, though she's no picnic herself. However, she shows real resiliency and even keeps writing while in her 17th century imprisonment. One of the most beautiful lines of the book is, "A writer could write without paper, without ink, without hope."
Time is working against them as Brittany can't control her travels between centuries, but love might just bring them together in the end.
I think I mentioned before how I hate romance heroines who are the paragon of all virtues. Well, Brittany is definitely not. This heroine is a vindictive, manipulative, chain-smoking alcoholic, and I love her. If romance heroes can be rakes, why shouldn't the heroine be a 'rakette'?
Brittany arrives in 1765 dressed in nothing but a bathrobe, landing in Mitchell Kilgower's teenage son's bed. Mitchell, a long-suffering, brooding gentleman thinks his son has finally stopped being such a milksop and become a man, or rather the kind of man his father wants him to be. Brittany is just confused. She thinks her ex-boyfriend has murdered her and she is now in some sort of strange afterlife. Mitchell thinks she's insane.
Of course, one can't blame him as for all he knows, a woman has appeared out of nowhere and keeps babbling on about him being good fodder for her next romance novel. Mitchell's uncle and slightly incestuous aunt (or former sister-in-law) show up, and the only way Brittany's presence can be explained is in a lie hastily concocted by Fleming, Mitchell's son, that she is Mitchell's new God-fearing wife.
Hilariously unsuited to the role, Brit goes along with is because she needs to figure out a way to get back to the 21st century. She may be a romantic novelist, but unlike her naive heroines, she's not going to swoon and fall into Mitchell's arms just because he has a gorgeous body and amazing cheekbones. All the same, there is an attraction simmering beneath the surface of her pretense.
As for Mitchell, he starts out wanting to get rid of her, but he is by turns enraged and captivated by a woman the likes of which he'd never seen. A modern heroine unleashed on an unsuspecting 18th century world is a force to be reckoned with.
Brittany wreaks havoc everywhere she goes. She is a truly comedic heroine, though Ms. Moore deftly alerts the reader to how easily things could turn tragic if these characters don't find love very soon.
Mitchell treats Brittany terribly, though she's no picnic herself. However, she shows real resiliency and even keeps writing while in her 17th century imprisonment. One of the most beautiful lines of the book is, "A writer could write without paper, without ink, without hope."
Time is working against them as Brittany can't control her travels between centuries, but love might just bring them together in the end.
June 9, 2017
I totally loved everything about this time-travel romance and would give it ten stars if I could.
Brittany Carter is an author, who drinks, smokes, and parties too much. After a surreal encounter with a character called Morte, she's transported to the Georgian era and meets bad boy Mitchell Killgower, who is locked into an inheritance dispute with some hateful relatives of his deceased wife. When Brittany materialises out of nowhere, he hopes she can prove useful by pretending to be his obedient and mousy wife for long enough to hoodwink those who hold the purse strings and stop his son getting the inheritance. The only trouble is that the feisty Brittany is incapable of fitting into this role and Mitchell has truly met his match on the impossible person's front.
I don't want to give too much away, as this will spoil readers' fun; and the novel is such great fun, in a quirky sense of the word, always sustaining a wonderful forward momentum with wonderfully entertaining dialogue. Come to think of it, I don't recall the author using any dialogue tags at all, and if she did, they weren't intrusive.
Brittany is often insufferable, but also pretty cool in a chaotic way. Mitchell is a Mr Darcy type: dark, handsome, brooding, stubborn, hard to impress, and master of his heart, but decidedly sexier than the original. His relationship with Brittany is meant as a short-term arrangement of convenience and nothing more. And the feeling is mutual ...until it isn't.
Speaking of the raunchy scenes, Shehanne Moore knows how to write about sex in a way that's humorous, playful, erotic and, at times, intense. It's never explicit, because it doesn't need to be; the subtle interplay of all the human senses is sufficient.
On the hilarity front, the crowning moment for me is when Mitchell rifles through Brittany's bag and puzzles over its contents from the future, and then questions her about one of the items in particular.
If you haven't already guessed, I fell in love with Mitchell and felt really sorry for him when Brittany kept appearing and disappearing. A rake like Mitchell does not give his heart easily to a woman, preferring the casual company of floosies when needs dictate.
The Writer and the Rake can be read as a standalone novel, even though it's the second part of a series. One reviewer has suggested that, in order to understand the time mutants better, it's an idea to read the series in the right order, starting with The Viking and the Courtesan.
As you can imagine, Time Mutants #1 is near the top of my reading list, as I can't get enough of Shehanne Moore's writing and am delighted to have discovered someone with such a fresh and original voice.
A highly recommended read.
November 1, 2020
I wanted to love this book because it came highly recommended by a friend I respect, but I didn't. I can't say I loathed it either, though. I felt compelled to keep going, hoping I would fall in love with the characters. I didn't. No one is likable. I was confused often and I wonder if it was something in the language. I'm not from England or Scotland so maybe that is why I felt lost at times. The premise is grand but if I have to read the phrase "on a scale from one to ...." one more time I'll rip my hair out. Mind you, I do understand this is the main character, Brittany's "thing" to place people and situations on her sliding scale of acceptance. Still. I was annoyed.
Now I did keep on because there was something about the brassy broad from today meeting the stiff and proper gent from over two hundred years ago (did I mention this is a time travel book?) The exchanges were at times very funny and I can well imagine at times they would not understand each other. This is a romance novel and I appreciated the smexy (Shehanne's term) scenes as she didn't feel the need to go into minute detail yet we certainly knew what was going on.
Maybe best you be the judge by reading it yourself.
Now I did keep on because there was something about the brassy broad from today meeting the stiff and proper gent from over two hundred years ago (did I mention this is a time travel book?) The exchanges were at times very funny and I can well imagine at times they would not understand each other. This is a romance novel and I appreciated the smexy (Shehanne's term) scenes as she didn't feel the need to go into minute detail yet we certainly knew what was going on.
Maybe best you be the judge by reading it yourself.
April 17, 2020
**Abandoned at 59%**
If I were to describe this story in one word, it would be “muddy”. I didn’t know until I came to Goodreads that this book was the second of a series and that may account for some of my confusion but not all of it. Most of the time I felt like my glasses were splashed with mud and I only occasionally got a clear spot to look through. I didn’t fully understand what was going on with the characters. I only read as far as I did because I was amused by the banter between the hero and the heroine and I hoped the writing would become more clear. Alas, it did not so I gave up.
If I were to describe this story in one word, it would be “muddy”. I didn’t know until I came to Goodreads that this book was the second of a series and that may account for some of my confusion but not all of it. Most of the time I felt like my glasses were splashed with mud and I only occasionally got a clear spot to look through. I didn’t fully understand what was going on with the characters. I only read as far as I did because I was amused by the banter between the hero and the heroine and I hoped the writing would become more clear. Alas, it did not so I gave up.
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