Power of Love

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Summary: Timeless Tales review
Review: By TT reviewer Lauryn Hale [Full review on our website]

The Power of Love starts out with young Travis fishing in a Lake Weohi with his grandfather. As the two sit waiting for the corks to disappear beneath the surface, Travis begins to ask questions. Some pertain to his parents that disappeared without a trace when they were on the island just ahead of them, Moon Island, which leads into Travis begging his grandfather to repeat the legend surrounding the island. Being part of their ancestry, his grandfather indulges him yet again and repeats the tale.

Many years before, their ancestors, the Toltec Indians, came up from Mexico when their enemies began practicing human sacrifices. They ended their journey in Florida and were driven inland by other tribes, finally settling on Moon Island. Weohi, a silver-eyed Toltec, was promised to the High Priest's son, Akando. She met and fell in love with a man named Muraco. They planned to run away together but were discovered. She was imprisoned in the Temple of the Sun with Akando guarding over her. In a desperate attempt to retrieve his love, Muraco charges the temple and kills Akando in the battle. The mission fails and Muraco is said to have been turned into the moon by the High Priest. Weohi grieved for her love and would cry all day, every day. On the eve of the Equinox Weohi walked from the temple and weeped for her lover. A red glow cast from the setting sun splayed across Weohi and she vanished. She was said to have become the lake, forever destined to love Muraco, the moon, from afar for the rest of time. It is said that when the wind visits Moon Island her mourning cries could still be heard, but only during the day.

The story picks up with Travis and his soon to be ex-wife, Dawn, agreeing to inform their children of their impending divorce. The two had been high school sweethearts but over the years of careers and raising children, they have drifted apart and become strangers. The weekend arrives and they meet at the house to talk to their kids. The pair, Summer and Cody, innocently plan a picnic at the legendary Moon Island, just across the Weohi Lake.

Unbeknownst to the two, Moon Island is at the core of their parent's problem. Travis inherited the land from his grandfather and wants to create a resort on the enchanted jungle island. Dawn, being the spokesperson for the United Neighbors, an environmental organization, is severely opposed to the destruction of such a historical island.

Humoring Cody and Summer, Dawn and Travis go to the island and get shut in the cabin during a surprise thunderstorm. When they venture out, they find the children have left effectively imposing a forced retreat for them. Travis has to be at a meeting the next day for a hearing involving the planned resort and leaves Dawn to retrieve the cell phone the kids left in case of emergency.

While he is gone Dawn begins to hear the legendary whaling, supposedly caused by Weohi weeping for her lover. Dizzy, their loyal mutt, takes off after the threat and while slightly apprehensive Dawn goes after the animal.

She can't ever quite catch up with him and when she does, she sees him through a dark tunnel in the dense vegetation, near the ruins she'd been warned never to explore. Thinking the animal has caught up to Cody and Summer and that they hadn't actually stranded them, Dawn plunges forward. Only the passage she thought led to Dizzy was only a trail through the surrounding jungle, it proves to be much, much more.

Travis and Dawn find themselves plunged back through time. Waking up naked and confused, they slowly explore the land around them. The local natives soon confront them and only time will tell what the outcome will be. However, Dawn and Travis begin to play out the ancient legend and both are frightened of the outcome. Can they escape and return to their children? And will their newfound love continue in their own world?

Janet Privett's talent shines through in this fabulous story. I was captivated! The spinning tale of Dawn and Travis, not to mention the rekindling love, cuts into your heart to make a lasting impression. Power of Love is so visual it feels as if you are the one in the past. The descriptions are so elegantly entwined into the story that you don't even realize you're reading, you're "seeing" it instead. Bravo to Ms. Privett for creating this wonderful tale.

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Summary: A New Time Travel Romance!
Review: I really loved this book --- it hooked me from the first sentence on and I couldnt put it down until Id finished it. It was a wonderful love story, a fascinating time travel plot, full of vivid details and imagery. Travis and Dawn are drawn into the past lives of two starcrossed lovers and must race against time in a plot that involves an acient Mayan belief and ceremony.
Its fast paced, intriguing, and a wonderful read!