The Kissing Time

by Jean Saunders, Gino D'Achille (Illustrator)

Fireworks sparked the first meeting of Julia and Vincent Galbraith. In the best of times, Julia would have mistrusted the Laird of Galbraith Hall. He was too handsome--and too used to getting his own way. But these were not the best of times. Julia had come to the Highlands to recover from the death of her beloved fiance, not to find romance.

With the help of active matchmakers, Julia and Vince were brought together again and again. Inevitably, her heart told her the kissing time had returned--even as her mind and will resisted it.

Genres: Romance

187 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1982

About the author

Jean Innes was born on 8 February 1932 in London, England, but she have lived in the West Country almost all her life. She married with Geoff Saunders, her childhood sweetheart, and they have three grown up children. She lived in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, where she wrote full time. She passed away on 3 August 2011, after contracting an illness, after being rushed to Weston General Hospital.

Jean began her career as a magazine writer and had published around 600 short stories. She start to published gothic romance novels under her married name Jean Saunders and her maiden name Jean Innes in the 1970s. In 1980s, she created, to wrote historical romances, two pseudonyms, her most popular, Rowena Summers and Sally Blake. In 1991 her novel, "The Bannister Girls," was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of Year award. In 2004, she began to used the penname Rachel Moore.

She was an active member and enthusiast of Swanwick, the Writers' Summer School, which takes place in Derbyshire, England, every August, she was a committee member several times, and also Vice-Chairman. She was elected the seventeenth Chairman (1993-1995) of the Romantic Novelists' Association. As a member of the Romance Writers of America she had given talks at conferences in various venues of the USA. She was a member of the Crime Writers' Association. She also was a member and past committee member of the West Country Writers' Association.

Reviews

[Naksed]

I read this a few years ago, never reviewed it, and promptly forgot it so you can tell what a memorable experience that was for me :)

The story takes place in Scotland. The hero is the usual Lord or rather Laird of the Manor, arrogant, chauvinist and thinks all women are tarts, including the heroine. That doesn't prevent him from making passes at her even though he also has an OW he dates throughout. For a long time, he believes she is engaged to someone else back home. She isn't. Her fiance died weeks before their wedding but this idjeet would rather suffer in Noble Silence and let the hero go on believing that she is a two timing ho.

The only truly memorable thing is that the OW is a glamorous tartan shop owner and so we get to enjoy a lot of highland fashion moments with the various clan tartans and dazzling balls in traditional garb. OW is worshipped by hero's bratty sister and approved of by his frosty mother, so they delight in knocking heroine down since she is an outsider from Cornwall and not nearly good enough for their golden boy. Good luck to the heroine in this set-up!

Hard to believe this is the same author who wrote that wonderful WWI historical romance The Bannister Girls.

[Giulia]

I have read this book about 1,000 times since I first bought it at KMART in 1982 when I was 14 years old:). I love the setting, the heroine and most importantly Vince Galbraith is a to DIE for HERO.. I would recommend the book to any romance reader...