I’ve sometimes wished that books would go on just a little bit longer, but in the case of Everything In Its Time I wish it had ended about twenty pages sooner. Up until then, this had been an engrossing time travel story and I was having a very good time with it, but the drawn out ending spoiled it a bit. Still, this is one of the better time travel romances I have read in a long time and an auspicious debut for Dee Davis.

About eight years ago, Katherine St. Claire was traveling in Scotland and stayed in an old castle, Duncreag, which had been converted to a hotel. One night, she woke up and went looking for a glass of water but got lost and found herself in the bedroom of a strange man. In a half-dreaming state, she made love to him and then found her way back to her room. The next morning when she woke, she thought it was a dream until she realized that she was missing one earring and had a red mark on her breast.

Back in the fifteenth century, Iain Mackintosh is taking over his responsibilities as the chief of the clan. His father has died in a mysterious accident and now that he is the chief, his family and friends all urge him to marry, especially his neighbor Alisdair who wants Iain to marry his sister. But Iain is haunted by the memory of a beautiful woman who eight years ago, came to him in what he first thought was a dream and then left. But it was no dream. Iain found a bloodstain on his sheets and an earring in his bed – an earring he has worn constantly.

It is when Ian is at his home of Duncreag, that he senses the presence of his lost love the most strongly and as for Katherine, she has been having dreams – dreams of Duncreag and a man with black hair and green eyes. Katherine is haunted by these dreams, so she and her brother Jeff go back to Scotland and Duncreag where one night, she is able to pass back in time to 1497 and Iain. But there is treachery waiting in Duncreag and Jeff finds a note that suggests that Katherine is in danger back in the past.

Everything In Its Time is engrossing, with characters who engaged me right from the beginning. Katherine is smart and kind and resourceful. I loved the relationship between Katherine and Iain, especially when she tells him that she is from the future, and being a medieval Scotsman to whom fairies are very real, he believes her from the start. The chemistry between Iain and Katherine is very hot and also very believable. The love scenes are as luscious as I have read in quite a while.

Where Everything In Its Time falters is at the end. Just as things looked like they were winding up, the author added an extra twenty pages wherein Katherine acts totally out of character. This is an example of padding at its most obvious. If the book had stopped about twenty pages earlier, it would have been practically perfect, instead of settling for just good – which is still good, mind you.

This is Dee Davis’s first book. Despite my problems with the ending, this is a thoroughly enjoyable romance that I recommend to readers who are fond of time travel. Davis has a real talent for a story and I loved her characters. I know I will be on the lookout for her next book.