The first book in the Dr DuLac series. A time-slip historical novel that is one of my favourite genres. I have always had an interest in history and am secretly a history geek. This ticked all my boxes for a book I was sure to love.
A haunting Anglo-Saxon time-slip of mystery and romance
Can echoes of the past threaten the present? They are 1500 years apart, but can they reach out to each other across the centuries? One woman faces a traumatic truth in the present day. The other is forced to marry the man she hates as the ‘dark ages’ unfold.
How can Dr Viv DuLac, medievalist and academic, unlock the secrets of the past? Traumatised by betrayal, she slips into 499 AD and into the body of Lady Vivianne, who is also battling treachery. Viv must uncover the mystery of the key that she unwittingly brings back with her to the present day, as echoes of the past resonate through time. But little does Viv realise just how much both their lives across the centuries will become so intertwined. And in the end, how can they help each other across the ages without changing the course of history?
For fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, Christina Courtenay.
Set between present day and medieval times, I was intrigued from the beginning. We meet Dr. Viv DuLac who is an academic who specialises in Anglo Saxon history. Her perfect world falls apart when her partner leaves her for her best friend, and then she discovers he has mortgaged everything they have without telling her in order to finance a failing venture. As her life and time shifts, she is drawn into her previous life as Lady Vivianne, a ‘Lady Of The Lake’
I was so engrossed with the historical details that just made the story. Julia Ibbotson has put so much research into this novel so that it’s so rich in the intricacies of Lady Vivianne’s life back in those times. I was fascinated by this book.
As the lives of the two women in different times become interwoven , Viv discovers that she can help resolve the problems Lady Vivianne and Sir Roland,the man who she is in love with, are experiencing.
I loved how the author had connected the myths of the legend of King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake to the historical setting. The melding of a time slip historical fiction story with a romance story is very cleverly done and gives this book the edge for me as a reader.
Julia Ibbotson has skillfully created characters that are so well crafted. Especially when you consider that some actually fit more than one story arc.
An engrossing, thought-provoking, and truly enjoyable story that has whet my appetite for the next book!
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Julia Ibbotson for the gifted copy of the book.
“In the best Barbara Erskine tradition …I would highly recommend this novel” -Historical Novel Society
“Amazing …a really great book …I just couldn’t put it down” -Hazel Morgan
“Well-rounded characters and a wealth of historical research make this a real page-turner” -Amazon review
“Enthralling” -Amazon review
“Julia does an incredible job of setting up the idea of time-shift so that it’s believable and makes sense” – Amazon review
“Viv/Lady Vivianne … lovely identifiable heroine in both time periods….I love her strength and vulnerability. And Rory/Roland is simply gorgeous!” – Melissa Morgan
“gripping … a very real sense of threat and danger, an enthralling mystery … a wholly convincing romance, across both timelines” – Anne Williams
Purchase Links
Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shape-Air-haunting-Anglo-Saxon-time-slip-ebook/dp/B09J43ZKZP
Amazon US
https://www.amazon.com/Shape-Air-haunting-Anglo-Saxon-time-slip-ebook/dp/B09J43ZKZP
Author Bio
Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and the concept of time. She sees her author brand as a historical fiction writer of romantic mysteries that are evocative of time and place, well-researched and uplifting page-turners. Her current series focuses on early medieval time-slip/dual-time mysteries. Julia read English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language/ literature/ history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics. After a turbulent time in Ghana, West Africa, she became a school teacher, then a university academic and researcher. Her break as an author came soon after she joined the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2015, with a three-book deal from Lume Books (Endeavour) for a trilogy (Drumbeats) set in Ghana in the 1960s. She has published three other books, including A Shape on the Air, an Anglo-Saxon timeslip mystery, and its two sequels The Dragon Tree and The Rune Stone. Her work in progress is the first of a new series of Anglo-Saxon mysteries (Daughter of Mercia) where echoes of the past resonate across the centuries. Her books will appeal to fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. Her readers say: ‘Julia’s books captured my imagination’, ‘beautiful story-telling’, ‘evocative and well-paced storylines’, ‘brilliant and fascinating’ and ‘I just couldn’t put it down’.
Social Media Links
Amazon Author page
Author website & blog
Facebook (author)
https://www.facebook.com/JuliaIbbotsonauthor
https://twitter.com/JuliaIbbotson
https://www.instagram.com/julia.ibbotson
Goodreads author page
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 
Many thanks for featuring my book today, Sharon! Much appreciated.
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