Forever Mine

The Forevermore Series, Book 1

By: Monica Burns

Narrated by: Zachary Johnson, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker

Thrown back to the year 1897, Victoria Ashton is mistaken for, and forced to impersonate, the spiteful, unfaithful Countess of Guildford, who's been missing for three weeks. Despite Victoria's attempts to convince the earl she's not his wife, her double's infidelity and lies make it difficult, especially when Victoria falls in love with a man who loathes her.

Nicholas Thornhill, Earl of Guildford, is plagued with rumors he murdered his missing wife. When she unexpectedly reappears, he scoffs at her latest in a long string of lies. But the changes in Victoria make him alter his opinion as he forges a bond with her that crosses the boundaries of time.

©2014 Monica Burns (P)2022 Monica Burns

Time Travel Love

This was my first book by Monica Burns, and I really enjoyed her style of writing. This story was lush and had elements of eternal love and time traveling. I also love historical romances.

This book has elements of reincarnation, time travel, eternal love, and a bit of a mystery too. I don't want to say too much and give away the plot, but the book caught me within the first few minutes of listening.

Both of the narrators did a great job and I loved that it was duet style where the male narrator did all of the male voices and the female narrator performed all the female voices.

I highly recommend this book as you won't want to put it down once you start.

I was given this book to review, but that never affects my reviews as they are my honest opinion.

Perfection!

LOVED IT!! From the opening lines, I fell in love!
That bantering that comes naturally between siblings was showcased with such truth that you could see the sister think "score 1 for Nora". LOL. The relationships between all of the characters and how they interact with each other is fantastic and assists in making this an excellent read and listen. Each of the characters have their own unique personality that will draw you into the world Monica has created. You'll find something to love in each of the characters, except those that you don't like (villains) and you'll find more than enough reasons to not like them.


This world is beautifully crafted and 100% believable. One of Monica's gifts with her writing is being able to provide the reader with the images without being bombarded with details nor causing you to want to skim sections. This is important because it can cause the reader lose interest. Again, Monica rocks at providing the imagery without the wordiness.

This is a time-traveling book. Some may shake their heads and say "uhm, no thanks" in fear of "getting lost" or "losing track of which time era/place I'm in". This SO isn't the case with "Forever Mine". You won't get lost nor get tired of the switching between present and the past. The switching between the two time eras is expertly done and flows like a beautifully choreographed waltz - smooth transitions and with ease!

I mentioned characters before, and now let's chat about Nick and Victoria. WOW! I loved both Nick and Nicholas. You just can't help it. Meet them and you fall! Sigh! The connection between Nick and Victoria is instant and while some may have difficulties believing in the "love at first sight", here is another example of how Monica throws in a twist and then explains everything causing the reader to go "Oh... that's why she.... and then the ... OH YES!"! Nicholas, while a major alpha male, still has a sensitivity that I haven't read in other heroes in a historical setting. You learn all the wicked things he's been put through and immediately feel and say "oh hell no Nicholas! You deserve so much better! Let me show....." Poor guy has not been dealt a fair hand. Enter Victoria to rock and shake what he knows and he must now learn to trust someone that every fiber in his being is screaming he shouldn't. This trust and the emotional connection that is forged isn't instant (THANK YOU!!!!)! It evolves over time and by proving it is deserved.

Victoria is my kind of girl! We'd so be friends! Smart, sassy, sarcastic and will not put up with the BS! She calls them like she sees them! She is also sweet and funny. Yeah, we'd be friends! She doesn't need the man to save her but isn't afraid to be vulnerable.

The chemistry between Nicholas and Victoria is sizzling and steam but completely tasteful.

I could go on and on and on about how fantastic and wonderful "Forever Mine" is but we'd be here all day! Truly - one of the best books I've ever read and now listened to.

The narrators were outstanding! Each bringing forth the passion and overall emotion of each of the characters. They were perfectly cast for this audiobook!!

OMG

Amazing book with a great job handling a time-travel trope uniquely. And the journal excerpts at the end? I have NEVER been so caught up before. The narrator should get an award for his emotional portrayal. I don’t have words…

Fun and entertaining listening!

This story was unique in terms of time travel. Different then other stories I've read. Overall the plot itself I give a 4/5 stars as I felt some things did not make sense, but I loved the characters, most of the story, and the narrators so much that I can overlook the things left unanswered. **spoilers** Specifically about how the main character time traveled if she physically never left the future? Whose body was she in if the one person they said she looked like was dead at the time she "time traveled"? It seemed like it was more of a mental/spiritual travel then physical, but whose body did she inhabit? The main guy I understand more. It is basically reincarnation, not time travel. But for the main girl I'm still very confused on that. But other than that, I loved the book and highly recommend it to everyone!

Fantastic Narration!

Love! Love! Love! This is the first review I've left in years. Thoroughly enjoyed the storyline but Zachary Johnson's narration made it even better. Where are all of the other Monica Burns books? Please bring them to audible!!

Rich characters, well paced story with thoughtful plot

I loved it all. The reading was superb. I was pulled into the story each time I pressed play. I will be listening to this again!

Compelling start to finish

I’m particularly fond of books with all the emotions. I loved this unique mix of time travel/reincarnation, humor, sadness, romance, mystery, & suspense. Monica Burns has crafted a unique and unpredictable story. I didn’t always know where she was going to take me, but loved the many layers of Nicholas & Victoria’s story. A delicious mix of sweet and spicy, laughter and tears, and uncovering what happened to the original Countess of Guilford.

This is a bit tricky to write a review for because so much of what I loved about this story were the surprises, twists, and turns. I don’t want to ruin those for anyone. The secondary characters were fantastic as well: Edmund, Sebastian, Anna, &Nora. As there are two versions of Nicholas & Victoria, only one truly gets an HEA. However, their love truly is timeless and I like the way Burns brought them together across the century.

There’s a sweet epilogue and, grab your tissues, excerpts from Nicholas’ journals. Absolutely compelling start to finish.

Narration:
Duet narration by Zachary Johnson & Stephanie Németh-Parker was perfection. There’s so many characters, from different eras & with different accents. I adored how seamless the narration was. Johnson & Németh-Parker are such a great fit for Burns’ writing and it was an emotional yet delightful listen.

Didn’t want to put it down

Loved it! First romance novel that actually brought tears to my eyes! I finished the audiobook in a day and a half, looking forward to the other books in this series!

❤️Phenomenal❤️

This took me three days to listen to and I mean that in a good way. I didn’t want it to end so I slowly savored it. The duet narration by two of the best narrators I’ve had the pleasure of listening to blew this tale of eternal love out of the water. Now if it could only be made into a movie, it would become an instant classic.

Loved it!!!

I am a huge lover of historical romance, especially those with an element of time travel, paranormal twists, and the like. This doesn’t disappoint. Great storytelling, loved the narrators, the humor, the deep connections, and the idea that there is a soulmate for all of us that transcends time itself.


****SPOILERS BELOW*** *


The only part I grapple with (since I work in the sciences) is - is the Nicholas of today a descendant of his past? Is Victoria meeting a relative of the son she birthed while in the 1800’s?