The main character is Hope. Her mother died, or at least disappeared when she was giving a speech in a country where there was a horrible earthquake. Now, Hope is adopted, and her father, who does love her, has found a new woman to love. And he is going on a trip with this new woman. So Hope has the option of staying at home for the summer with her grandmother, who doesn't like her at all, or going to stay with her mother's sister, someone she's never met. Oh, one other thing, because her aunt lives in Scotland, Hope will have to take a plane, something she has never been able to do because of her claustrophobia. Hope gets some sedatives from the doctor and makes the plane ride to Scotland safely. Once she gets there, she soon learns that her mother wasn't quite who she always thought she was. Hope has always had an eidetic memory, being able to recite word for word any book she'd ever read. In Scotland she learns that her mother and her family are actually time travelers. And they need her to go back and help them find something in the time of Eleanor of Aquitane.
She will have to go back and try to stay undercover so that she doesn't stand out or mess up the timeline by changing history. But back in time she will have to save her new friends she has traveled with, and also try to keep what they are looking for out of the hands of another group of time travelers who want it for nefarious purposes. And of course, there is the cute boy that she first meets on her aunt's land. He will figure into the story in a surprise way. But he will still be a love interest for Hope. In the end not everything will end up being settled, but Hope will learn how things work, and try to figure out who is really her family and friends, and who the enemy really is.
I loved the historical parts. I love when there are actual historical figures in a story and I learn more about them intertwined with an interesting story. I also loved that the stone the time travelers needed to have on their person when traveling through time was an opal. As opals are my birthstone, I'm always fascinated by stories that use them, because I love them myself! As I said not everything is finished at the end, so I'm looking forward to a sequel. And I'm excited to see what part of history we'll get to visit in the next story. I can't wait to see where this romance between Hope and Bran goes. And the major twist at the end with the two of them, well I'm ready to see where else it leads. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy time travel stories with great history in them.
