Okay, quick background. It is 2010. Humans are out there in space, in another galaxy. Of course, it is a big secret on earth. But the military is all over the other galaxy. It takes a while to get to there from Earth. But once there, humans discovered a portal that allows a person to travel instantaneously through space and time. Kind of like Star Trek's transporter, only better.
At the beginning of Tangled in Time, Colonel Carey is testing the portal, when an unexpected impact lands him somewhere that is not where he expected to go. Soon he meets Olivia Carstairs, who has traveled to that point via steam-powered transmogrification machine. She, also, is not where she expected to be. By the way, she looks like Mary Poppins, complete with parasol. And the Colonel wants “to kiss her like it was his job.”
What follows is the adventures and romance of two people, well, Tangled in Time. The title may be giveaway, but in case it is not, the Colonel and Olivia are from two different time periods and end up in a third time period. Oh, there is some time tangling going on.
Steampunk elements abound - steam and brass, a teapot, an Individual Discovery Velocipediator, a Mapulator Retrieval Apparatus and some pretty fancy goggles. Plus, the aforementioned parasol. If it seems a stretch to mix steampunk with Sci Fi, it is. A good stretch. Like when you have been sitting for a long time and you stand up to stretch your legs.
The romance is light-hearted. The fact that the Colonel and Olivia come from different centuries has no effect on their mutual respect and pretty much instant attraction. I would describe their relationship as sweet and funny.
In a Sci-Fi/Steampunk adventure, you would expect there to be a bad guy. There is the mysterious Professor Smith, who seems like he is not on the side of right, but you really can't tell, which makes him all the more intriguing. Professor Smith is an ambiguous character that will most likely be around for another story in the series.
Tangled in Time is the third book in the Project Enterprise series. Though there are a few references that you will not get unless you read the first two books, I think Tangled in Time can be be read as standalone. The feel of it is entirely different from the first two, but writing style is very similar.
Speaking of writing style, Ms. Jones' is unique. She has a direct, smart-alecky voice that is also very smart and witty. I love it!
Ms. Jones writes in a variety of genres, but I think she excels at Sci Fi Romance. The first two books in this series, The Key, and Girl Gone Nova are on my favorites shelf.
The e-book version of Tangled in Time has just the one story. There is a print version of the book that also includes two bonus Project Enterprise stories. But print, or digital, Tangled in Time is Sci-Fi/Steampunk Romance at its best. It is only about 80 pages long, so if you are looking for a quick, extremely entertaining read, I highly recommend it.
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