The Time in Between by Kristen Ashley Published by Kristen Ashley on 8/29/2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 563
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After a painful loss, Cady Moreland is coming to Magdalene to start the next chapter of her life. A chapter that began eighteen years ago but had a heartbreaking ending. The time in between was full of family and friendship, but Cady could never get the man she fell in love with all those years ago out of her heart.
Coert Yeager has learned to live without the girl who entered his life right when she shouldn’t and exited delivering a crippling blow he never would have suspected. The time in between was full of failing to find what he was missing…and life-altering betrayal.
But when that girl shows up in Magdalene and buys the town’s beloved lighthouse, even if Coert wants to avoid her, he can’t. A fire in town sparks a different kind of flame that won’t be ignored.
As Cady and Coert question the actions of the two young adults they once were thrown into earth-shattering circumstances, can they learn from what came in between and find each other again?
The Time in Between is lovely, inside and out. From cover to cover and everything in between, this book sweeps you away, fills you up, squeezes and soothes and leaves you longing for more. And with the unexpected appearance of a large handful of our favorite KA characters along the way, this book is guaranteed to leave you smiling from ear to ear.
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Jessica’s Review
4 Stars.
“She was the one then and nothing changed in the time in between.”
Kristen Ashley’s The Time in Between reads like something straight off the Hallmark channel. A heartbroken woman sets off to Maine to restore a historic but rundown lighthouse, a lighthouse set in the very same town her long lost love happens to be the sheriff. A story filled with secrets, with family, with hope and forgiveness and small town drama set against the backdrop of a snowy Christmas in Maine, yes, I could see it playing out in front of my eyes as if I were curled up on my couch with hot cocoa watching a Hallmark movie. This is one of those stories that just steals you away, a comfort read that fills you up with warmth and sweet emotion. And I was thrilled to be taken, carried aloft to Magdalene in this sweeping story of second chances and fresh beginnings.
Coert Yaeger and Cady Moreland’s story doesn’t quite fit the familiar mold I typically expect from Kristen Ashley and yet it still managed to feel like old school KA. While it certainly falls right in line with the previous standalone storylines in the Magdalene series, The Time in Between also felt very new and different. Everything from the timeline to the unexpected personalities of these characters, to a story that is both hopeful and heartbreaking, it all felt so refreshing and unpredictable but in the familiar way only Kristen Ashley novels do. The Time in Between truly had me turning the pages hungrily, eager to see where this story would go next. It was a strange and unexpected experience reading this story, knowing full well where Kristen Ashley would take us but not knowing at all how we’d get there.
The Time in Between is so much your quintessential Kristen Ashley romance novel, with years of heartache passing by leaving old wounds raw and fresh, with droves of secondary characters bringing drama and humor and colorful depth to the story, with a heartbreaking romance that was cut short leaving the time in between then and now full of pain and unanswered questions, full of resentment and anger and longing. But this story brings a lot to the table that I’ve never felt before from a KA romance. Coert is very much a KA alpha male in the traditional sense. But he’s also different, unexpected, more romantic, more emotional. Cady isn’t your typical KA heroine either in many ways and together they are just fantastic. This book was beautiful in every way a story can be. It was as visually breathtaking as it was emotionally satisfying and it only left me wishing for more of all of it. The Time in Between is lovely, inside and out. From cover to cover and everything in between, this book sweeps you away, fills you up, squeezes and soothes and leaves you longing for more. And with the unexpected appearance of a large handful of our favorite KA characters along the way, this book is guaranteed to leave you smiling from ear to ear.
Excerpt
Present day…
I took in the mess of the large, circular room we were in and at first saw nothing but the mess—decaying furniture, a soot-covered stone fireplace, a kitchen that might have been put in in the forties but had not only not been touched the last nine years, it perhaps had not been touched the last nineteen (or more).
Then I saw more.
The extraordinarily carved railing to the sweeping wood staircase that ran the curved side of the house. The red brick walls. The plank wood floors.
“Once upon a time, long ago,” the realtor was suddenly talking wistfully, “someone loved this place. Put that love into building it. Put that love into keeping it. Nine years and more when no one really gave a whit, and still you can see it once had a lot of love.”
Oh yes.
You could see that.
“It’s got a basement, more like a big crawl space,” the agent declared, surprising me with his quick change in tone back to businesslike and informative. “The furnace is down there. You can get down there through a door in the floor. The furnace was put in a while back, and full disclosure, though an inspection will catch it, it probably needs to be replaced.”
Through his words I stared at the fireplace, which scoured would be magnificent, and I noticed it didn’t have a chimney as such, but the smoke probably went out a vent in the wall.
“This floor has a powder room under the stairs,” the realtor kept on. “You can look at it if you want, but if you wanna save yourself that, I’ll just tell you straight, it needs to be gutted.”
I decided to take his word for it and told him that.
He looked relieved when I did before he stated, “Place has a garage, two car. Not in good condition, but think you saw that. Still, it’s close to the house and there’s a covered walkway to that door over there.” He pointed at a door that was across from the door we’d walked in. “Means you might feel a chill but you won’t get wet, unless it’s raining sideways, which happens.”
With a breeze that plastered my jacket to me on a sunny, early spring day, I did not doubt that.
“Garage has a loft space above it, which could be renovated as a studio rental if you’ve a mind to do that sort of thing. As for the property itself, it also has a building where the generators are stowed,” the realtor carried on. “Hook up for a washer and dryer and good space in there. Lots of it for storage. Which is good because there’s not a lot of storage in here for tools and Christmas decorations and whatnot.”
I glanced around seeing he was right. There wasn’t even enough cabinetry to house the things a decent cook would need in her kitchen. Though there was room for them. In fact, if you fought back the gloom, there was quite a bit of room.
“And there’s a place outside, could call it a studio, could call it a mother-in-law house,” he shared. “Whatever, it’s got goodly space, two bedrooms, big kitchen. Could be renovated to be a guest house. Or like I said, a studio if you’re artsy. Or you could rent it out like a B and B. I’ll show you all of that after we have a look at the lighthouse.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
“Now, since I mentioned full disclosure, you have to know it all,” the realtor continued.
Slowly, my eyes went to him.
When they did, he launched in. “Like I said, it’s automated. And like I said, you won’t really have to concern yourself with the functionality of that unless the electricity goes out, but then the generators automatically kick in. There are two. But you’ll need to keep fuel on hand to keep them going in case a blackout lasts awhile. And just to say, this is coastal Maine. We get weather. Blackouts can last awhile.”
When I nodded to share I took that in, he kept going.
“And if you’re, say, away on vacation, you need to make sure someone is playing backup in such a case.”
“Okay,” I replied when he stopped talking, thinking this probably wasn’t a good thing since I knew no one in Maine (or not anyone who wanted to know me) and thus couldn’t call on anyone to do something like that.
I also didn’t hold high hopes I’d make friends and win people. I hadn’t had a lot of success in that in my life.
And last, although Patrick believed it completely, I held no hope that the reason I was out there was going to come to fruition.
That being me having a happy ending.
That being what Patrick thought would be my happy ending.
Which might mean I’d have someone, a certain someone, or actually two (at least), even though I knew I never would.
About the Author
Kristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA and nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorize and she hadn’t taken her first breath!). Her mother said they took Kristen away, put her Mom back in her room, her mother looked out the window, and Gary was on fire (Dr. King had been assassinated four days before). Kristen’s Mom remembered thinking it was the end of the world. Quite the dramatic beginning.
Nothing’s changed.
Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana and has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus, she’s blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her family was (is) loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write. They all lived together on a very small farm in a small farm town in the heartland. She grew up with Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing, it keeps getting better.
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