Jessica Barksdale Inclan

Avery Tacconi had her life planned but everything was not going as planned. She had her education, perfect job and marriage as planned, but the baby didn't happen. She is now in her second year of unsuccessful fertility treatments. Then her husband gets a call telling him he may be the father of a 10 year old boy, whose mother has recently died. This is a past that he has not told Avery about; a sordid life that he wants to forget. But facing his past and bringing his son to live with them threatens Avery's mapped out life. She retreats from her husband, drops the treatments, goes back to her traveling job and pretends the boy is not her responsibility. The story has a good premise, but I could not warm up to Avery, in her desperate for a baby mode or her rejection mode. By the time she works through her problems, I was tired of her selfishness. However, there were some great characters here. Dan overcame his past and stepped up to his responsibilities, despite his insecurity and estrangement from his parents. Avery's mother, Isobel, who spent 4 years in depression after her husband's death and during Avery's teen years, is now desperately trying to make up for it. These 2 especially came across as characters to root for. A mixed bag.… (more)

NOTE: I won a free eBook copy of this book in PDF format from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers (March 2021).

I have a complicated relationship with Shakespeare: while I can't deny the contributions he made to the literary world, I struggle with parsing the language of his plays and I question whether he was even their true author. However, my relationship with Shakespeare is not nearly as nuanced as the relationship between Shakespeare and Jessica, this novel's protagonist (who is, possibly, the author's alter ego). Jessica is a professor of literature/Shakespeare fangirl who accidentally stumbles back in time to The Bard's world. Though a little low on action, this novel succeeds at world-building and exploring what Shakespeare, his family, his peers, and his loves might have been like in person. Barksdale Inclan dives into the thoughts and emotions of her female characters, especially Mary, allowing them to question their identities and shape their lives for themselves. The side comments about feminism and academia enhanced the narrative. The book's denouement and conclusion felt unconventional but posit some interesting possibilities for what might have happened had Shakespeare lived longer.… (more)

I have loved Shakespeare's plays for years. His sonnets? Not so much. One of my all-time favorite plays is The Merchant of Venice. All of those things are in rhis book.

First some crticism. It seems like every great artist from hundreds of years ago is now portrayed as gay or at least gay-leaning- Michaelangeli, Da Vinci now Shakespeare. Were they? Who knows for sure.And does it really matter? Then there is the crticism of the morality and ethics from past centuries. Yes Jewish people were caricatured and badly treated. We know now how aweful that is, but 400 years ago it was normal and accepted. Learn from history stop trying to rewrite it. 400 years from now there will probably be things we do without thinking today that will be considered horrific.

In spite of those criticisms I truly enjoyed this book. What would daily life be like in Shakespeare's England? How would a 21st century woman react to it? Here you get a glimpse of that. The plot-twist at the end was....well this is fiction. In fiction warp drive is possible lol. The ending was good. It wasn't rushed or impossible.

If you like Shakespeare or the time-period you will enjoy this. If you enjoy romance you will enjoy this. If you enjoy time travel you will enjoy this.… (more)