Review and Giveaway!! Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan

When Stephanie at HarperCollins emailed me and asked me to review Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan, I jumped at the chance!! I’m a sucker for a good chick-lit novel, and with the promise of time travel and a cute puppy on the cover, I couldn’t resist!!

Anna is dealing with a lot right now. She has had three miscarriages and is recently divorced from her husband who has had an affair. She escapes with a friend on a trip to England, Scotland and Ireland, and upon her return discovers her brother, Patrick, has been in a terrible car accident while on his way to pick up his sixteen year old son who has stolen a car and wound up in jail. Anna, dealing with seeing her older brother in a coma, has to go and bail her nephew, Joseph, out of jail.

Exhausted, Anna brings Joseph home to get some sleep before they go to the hospital to see Patrick. Anna wakes up in the middle of the night to find Joseph rummaging through her suitcase. The package Joseph has found, a gift from a stranger in Ireland, turns out to be something of a portal, and the two are violently transported back to 1844 Ireland.

I loved the time travel part of this story. Anna and Joseph were separated and found by drastically different people. Anna is found by an Irish country family, while Joseph is found by a wealthy British man who looks down upon the Irish. Each story holds it’s own while we learn about the struggles and stories of these two sides. It’s interesting how both Anna and Joseph have to learn how to live in 1844 and deal with the times and lack of current “luxuries.”

Anna tries desperately to find Joseph and to figure out why they have been transported to this exact moment in time. Why 1844 Ireland? How did this happen? You will just have to read the book to know for sure!!! I found that I just couldn’t put this book down – I was totally invested in the characters – even Joseph, who was quite the obnoxious teenager!

And now, you have a chance to read it, too!!! Stephanie at HarperCollins is letting me give away 5 copies!!! HOOORAY!!!!! So, all you have to do is leave a comment here on my blog. Please leave your email address – if I don’t have a way to contact you, you won’t be entered in the contest! I’m going to open the contest to ANYWHERE – if HarperCollins can’t deliver it to you, I will!!!

The contest ends on Thursday, December 10, and I’ll announce the winners on Friday, December 11!! Good luck to everyone!!!!!! And a big THANK YOU to Stephanie!!!