Heather’s Bookshelf: A Portrait of Time
Author: Aisling McBreen
Released: 09/01/25
Genre: Adult Time Travel Romance
“I clutch my notebook. Its blank pages are an accusation. Gran would have known what to do. She always said that history held secrets we weren’t ready to understand. I never thought time would be one of them.”
“A Portrait of Time” introduces Eileen Nash, an archaeology grad student and Luke Campbell a struggling artist, whose paths cross in this time and another.
When Eileen discovers ancient cave drawings in a cave on the Suwannee River, she experiences something she can’t explain- she seems to lose time. Luke paints things he can’t explain - and slips forward in time. When Luke’s art show (filled with art he doesn’t remember painting) opens to rave reviews and a guest in Eileen, their immediate connection is undeniable. Returning to where Eileen found the paintings, the time slippage continues from 2025 to 1925.
Jacksonville in 1925 is built around the production of motion pictures and logging. It’s a far cry from their lives in 2025. Eileen yearns to return to their original time but can’t deny her connection to Luke. Luke can’t seem to settle into one place or time fully, but also can’t deny their connection.
Will Luke and Eileen find their way back to 2025? Was their connection meant to be or will time slip past them one more time?
Trigger Warning: violence, alcoholism, adult language
Overall, I enjoyed this book. First, I will say that this book takes place in Jacksonville, FL- where I’ve resided for the last 15+ years of my life. There a bunch of references to local places and the history of Duval County that I absolutely loved. Those of you not from around here may have to do a little googling. The story is told in two POVs- Luke’s and Eileen’s. The two POVs mostly serve to provide background info on the two main characters while pushing the plot forward. However, there are several instances of retelling or overlap between the two POVs, which I’m not a huge fan of. It doesn’t add much to the story and instead drags it along- especially when the dialogue is repeated. The book follows the main characters to 1925 and an interesting time in Jacksonville’s history. I wish it would have delved a bit more into it or covered another timeframe as well. This story is a time travel, but it’s really about love and found family - and who doesn’t love that?
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A time travel filled with love, romance, and found family. Repeating dialogue and alternating POVs dampen the pacing quite a bit.
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