Rating: 
Summary: A good idea, with poor execution
Review: I tried to approach this book with an open mind. Page after page, I kept pushing foward...but I finally gave up.Maybe I'll pick this book up again, when there aren't better books around to read and I've got time to waste. The idea for the book is good. I like fairy tales and fantasy. However, the fact that Aurelia still believes that she's living in the past by chapter 11 is simply too trying. It's both frusterating and dull when she rushes about to find a father who died (maybe of natural causes) long, long ago. Perhaps it might be amusing to some, the confusion and the misunderstandings that lead to Aurelia's continued belief that she is in a.d. 800. However, I couldn't stand the fact that every problem she perceives is, well, wrong and an illusion. It would have been so much nicer had she realized that she'd woken up in the 20th century, and dealt with all of the problems and mysteries from that point forward, from that perception and angle...rather than from a delusion. For instance, she's convinced that the hero, Baird, is actually the invading evil villain Bard...who was attacking her home when the sleeping enchantment encased her. So she's thinking that her father, the king, has been captured and tortured or killed...and that Baird, who she thinks is Bard, is responsible. Somehow, while a sleeping enchantment is obviously make-believe, the terrible and often silly gordian tangles of logic that Claire indulges to keep Aurelia thinking she's in the past is simply way over the top. Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe I gave up on this book too soon. Maybe I'll pick it up someday and give it another try. In the meantime, I'm going to spend my time on more worthwhile books.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent - Definitely Worth Reading
Review: If you like books about love lasting through eternity, this is the book for you! I read this book in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed every word. I want more!
Rating:
Summary: A romance that lets you believe in the fantasy
Review: In 800 AD Dunheim Castle, Scotland, Hekod rallies his men to fight against the armed intrusion of a greater force led by Bard Son Erc, a man seeking revenge. To Hekod's dismay, his beloved daughter Aurelia is on the ramparts helping to defend the keep. Hekod tells Aurelia to leave for a safer location, but an accident with an arrow occurs and a strange glow engulfs Aurelia. In 1998 Baird Beauforte is renovating the thousand year old ruins of Dunheim castle,planning to turn it into a resort. However, one area of the grounds is filled with thorns and briars that look at least ten centuries old. None of the hired local workers will go near that section so Baird begins to cut the growth down by himself. To his astonishment, Baird uncovers several steps that lead to a chamber which he enters. Inside the chamber, he cannot resist kissing the sleeping Aurelia, who awakens immediately. To the amazement of both of them, Aurelia and Baird are very attracted to one another. However, even if she manages to remain in the "wrong" millennium, this couple has some major problems to overcome before they can hope to share a lifetime together. She thinks that he is her enemy Bard and he believes that he has fallen in love with a nut case. Claire Cross demonstrates that she is one of the most talented writers of time travel romances with ONCE UPON A KISS, a wonderful tale that fans of the sub-genre will devour. The exhilarating story line is fun to read, and the lead protagonists and a secondary couple make a delightful foursome. However, what will peak read interest is the delightful Pict, Aurelia, who manages to comprehend twentieth century technology in eight century magical terms, thereby making the novel not only feel genuine but enchanting. If this is an example of the publisher's new Magic line, it's obvious they will have a smash series to their credit Harriet Klausner
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