In the series' previous volume, seldom content Karen was shoved off a cliff while escaping a serial killer. While her body lay comatose in ICU, her soul occupied the 16th century body of Mariken. That woman was burned at the stake as a heretic releasing her soul to re-enter Karen's body. In this book, modern-day nurse practitioner Karen is a grieving military widow battling PTSD and also debilitated with guilt for cheating on her husband while he was alive. Fighting for normality, almost able to breathe again, it all falls apart when a disturbed veteran living in a homeless camp claims to be her lost fiancee from 1573 Antwerp. Unwilling to believe, Karen moves her family to the Washington State Palouse region to set up a new life for her children. Starting to move on, she has opened up to the possibility of love once more. Her life comes unglued again when the homeless veteran resurfaces as a cowboy on a neighboring ranch trying to make sense of 21st-century life in the American Pacific Northwest. "A quietly engaging time-travel love story." "In Wiens' fantasy sequel, a widow's long-lost love-from more than 400 years ago-rejoins her in the present day by inhabiting another man's body. After someone pushed her off a cliff, nurse practitioner Karen Schmidt spent a month in a coma. During that time, she seemingly hallucinated a journey to 16th-century Antwerp, where she fell in love with blacksmith Pieter Smid. When she finally awakened, her life quickly turned tragic, as her soldier husband, Peter, died in combat. Though devastated, Karen and her two children try to move on, and she opens a medical clinic with her doctor friend, Josie Bennett, in the Palouse, a region encompassing several state borders in the Pacific Northwest. But Charlie Walden, a veteran living on the street, flusters her when he suddenly insists that he's Pieter. Despite his deep knowledge of Karen's days in Antwerp, she doesn't buy his claims. Pieter, whose consciousness is, in fact, in Charlie's body, settles into his new identity and finds a job as a ranch hand. Along the way, he struggles to  adjust to the faster pace of the modern world. It's not long, however, before his and Karen's paths cross again, and they get a chance to rediscover the love they once shared. Wiens' follow-up plants itself solidly in the modern day, abandoning the first installment's tendency to shift into different time periods. This begets a slower narrative, but it enriches the focus on the main characters as well. Karen, for example, is shown to suffer PTSD-like symptoms due to losing her spouse and surviving an attempted murder. Charlie's attempts to adapt to the 21st century result in welcome moments of humor, as he steers clear of what he sees as breakneck "self-propelled metal carriages" and despises the addictive "talking picture box." The understated romance makes this sequel considerably less grim than its predecessor, which was set during murderous witch trials; nevertheless, there is one particularly gruesome turn. Wiens ends this sequel with a satisfying resolution and even ties off a lingering subplot from the first book." Kirkus Review "This book was not what I expected. It was a very excellent and exciting read. I'm not into romance and thought that's what this was. Yes, it has some love dovey parts, but I enjoyed the story itself."  Victoria Stiger A sequel worth reading .  The heroine's struggle to make a life for her family while dealing with guilt and PTSD is realistic and relatable. The subplots can be humorous at times and heartbreaking at others. Definitely a good read! Leechstomper Born into a large blue collar family, Herbert Wiens was raised to value the rewards gained from hard work. Starting the summer after first grade, he tagged along with his older sisters as they boarded the "Bean Bus" at dawn to pick berries and string beans in Oregon's Willamette Valley. From then on, he never failed to have an after (or before) school job to help with family expenses. In high school, he started working on North Idaho ranches. In college, he fought forest fires in the summer and started working nights in a sawmill to pay tuition. His college experience was interrupted by a non-negotiable invitation from Uncle Sam, requesting his presence for the next few years in an all expenses paid, Vietnam era, tour of the world. Upon discharge, not having anything else better to do until he decided upon a future, he returned to the sawmill. Life got in the way for the next twenty years. Then, he became a small businessman for the next twenty. Now, he is spending his time using a keyboard to torture editors.