

Loveswept #858
MILD SPOILERS 😉
5 stars
Reviewed by Introvert Reader
Time for Something Different?
Bantam’s Loveswept category romances might not have been as big-selling as Harlequins or Silhouettes. Still, their output of almost 1,000 books over 16 years gave rise to many popular and successful authors like Iris Johansen, Sandra Brown, Janet Evanovich, and Suzanne Brockmann. The line gave writers more freedom to stray from traditional series restrictions. 1997’s Time Enough For Love by Suzanne Brockmann is a different kind of love story for that era, as it entails time travel plus a love triangle. Between one woman and two versions of the same man!
Maggie Winthrop finds a naked man on her property screaming about the apocalypse. He swears he’s from the future. Like any sane woman, her first instinct is to call the police (but first, maybe a peek won’t hurt. The guy’s body is incredible!)
Does she know this man? The weirdo acts as if they’re good friends. He says he’s Chuck Della Croce. Maggie knows Charles Della Croce, doesn’t she? But this man is not Charles, even though he is. But he’s also Chuck. To Maggie’s amazement, Chuck can predict incredible events before they occur. How is this possible?
It’s because Chuck IS Charles who used a time machine to travel from a time seven years from now into the present that is 199X. (Is your head starting to hurt?)
Time For Two Heroes
Chuck’s creation of said time machine caused a terrorist cell to overthrow the Whitehouse, topple the US government, and take over the United States. Chaos reigns and the only way to put an end to the madness is to stop it from happening in the first place.
Chuck has come back to 199X to make sure his past self doesn’t create that time machine. He knows that present Charles has a secret crush on Maggie, so he will listen to what she has to say. But Maggie, who has no clue about Charles’ feelings for her, isn’t sure she’s up to that task.
Maggie and Chuck spend time together, plotting out their plan. As they do, Maggie can’t help but have feelings for this handsome, tormented traveler from the future that may or may not be.
Eventually, Maggie goes to Charles, whose entire life is his work, and begs him to–well, to stop working. Charles can’t believe what he hears or sees. This is a rare romance (a rare book, for that matter) where the main character meets an older version of himself. Or younger. It all depends on your perspective.
There’s also a shadowy agency after the group to add a little bit of suspense to this short 210+ page book.
As the action unfolds, Maggie is drawn close to both versions of Mr. Della Croce. She is in a love triangle that transcends alternate personalities. He’s the same man, just in two bodies! Chuck, who’s from 7 years into the future…and Charles, who is Chuck in the present day.
It’s weird because Brockmann had me rooting for Chuck, but knowing that to be with Chuck, Maggie had to be with Charles, but–
Final Analysis of Time Enough For Love
I won’t spoil any more for you! Give this one a chance, now that it’s readily available in e-book format. I loved the premise of this romance. It was like “The Terminator” but with 2 Kyle Reeses.
Often, time travel romances are dicey for me. Especially when it’s the heroine traveling back in time and acting all out of place, wondering how she got to the past. Thankfully this book is the opposite of that. Because of the brevity of this Lovewsept romance, there’s no time for silly questions. They have a world to save!
I had so much fun with this. There was plenty to enjoy: the unique premise, the strong writing and characterization, the conflict Chuck feels about the woman he loves falling in love with a him that isn’t himself…
I adored this one. I could kick myself in the rear for selling that hard-to-find original copy I had of Time Enough for Love, but my thighs won’t let me reach!
Time Enough for Love is also available to borrow for free at the Internet Archive
(Hat tip to our Mary Anne for the info)
I LOVED this book – a real treat and something very different from Suz Brockmann.
Yes it was an unusual romance, and incredibly well-written!
I knew the artwork was familiar, that’s why I put TBD as the artist. I feel silly now, because, I posted an article about Tadiello’s work here a while back. This book was one of his confirmed covers and I told myself not to forget this one! D’oh! Another brain fart.
Thanks again, for the Internet Archive link. 🙂
Thanks so much, Introvert Reader. Intriguing premise! Certainly something different in a time-travel romance. You got me interested!
Two points I must add:
The cover artist is Ed Tadiello. It says that on the copyright page. And I think he did a fine job here!
“Time Enough for Love” is available to borrow for free at the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/timeenoughforlov00broc