Loved the characters, storyline, but the book could have been written in half the pages. Very frustrating to me to read a book that goes on and on, when not necessary. I actually quit reading about 120 pages in, but was so in to the story, I forced myself to finish. Skimmed through alot of it. The romance sections were so G-rated, or just skipped altogether. I am not planning to read anymore of her books. Not my cup of tea so to speak. ( )

I LOVE LYNN KURLAND!!! I just got this book today and I finished it in a marathon 3.5 hour sitting. It was amazing and for Kurland fans, it will be well worth the expense.
Patrick MacLeod is 35 and at a point in his life where love means something to him, but women don't. His normal, cheerful demeanor was shattered after his first wife, Lisa, dies and so does the baby she was carrying. Since then, he's been hounded by his former father-in-law, Gideon (who hates him, to put it mildly), and his brother Jamie (from A Dance Through Time) and cousin Ian (from Love Came Just in Time/Veils of Time). Jamie and Ian are worried that he may never fall in love again or get married. They are even more worried that Patrick may never act normally again.

Madelyn Phillips has other issues. Her life's dream was to visit Scotland and now she has all the time in the world. Of course, that's because her toad of an ex-fiancée has the nerve to get her sacked from her job and pretty much kills her employment chances in her hometown. Then he has the nerve to show up in Scotland, steal her reservations at the B&B and her luggage, have her credit cards frozen, and steal her violin (the final straw). Bentley's motive, of course, is to make Madelyn reliant on him for the whole of her vacation so he can worm his way back into her heart and carry out the rest of his carefully thought-out plan. Madelyn, of course, spends much of her time ducking him and trying to get some control back over her life while trying to convince him to leave.

Patrick and Madelyn finally meet at Culloden, where Madelyn pays her respects to a stone marker she finds at her feet, one marked "MacLeod." Patrick is touched by this and eventually figures out where she's staying (with Roddy from A Dance Through Time). He begins showing Madelyn the best of Scotland, both to get her away from Bentley (the ex-fiancée) and to spend more time with her.

Eventually, Madelyn ends up back in time trying to avoid Bentley. In fact, she ends up in the 14th century, at the Fergusson keep (remember, MacLeods and Fergussons are sworn enemies) and only Patrick can come save her. In attempting to save her, Patrick has to let go of some of his demons in order to get the time travel gate to work properly. HE ends up at the MacLeod Keep with Malcolm, Angus, and Grudach (from My Heart Stood Still) and for those who've read "My Heart Stood Still," you know what that means. Eventually he concocts a daring escape for Madelyn and takes her back to the future, where an even more disturbing enemy awaits them.....

Whew! I cannot begin to say how much I love this book. This is certainly better than some of her more recent attempts (From This Moment On was good but could've been better) and brings you back into the fold of the MacLeods. Almost every character from the previous MacLeod books show up (Jamie, Elizabeth, Jane, Ian, Alex, Ambrose) and the rest are mentioned frequently. The family tree in the back informs the loyal that a new book is on the way (Victoria MacKinnon and Connor MacDougal!), but what I really want to know is this: When are we going to return to the de Piagets?!?!?!? ( )

A Garden in the Rain is my favorite Lynn Kurland novel. Both the hero and heroine are extremely lovable, and the main "villain" make you want to punch him. I love how in Lynn Kurland's books we get to revisit previously novelized characters, seeing as her book follows a family tree. Wit, charm, romance, suspense, and so much more make this book a truly superb read.

Reading dates listed below are not original, but re-read dates. ( )