What happens when happily ever after meets reality? Susan and James Williams are drifting apart. After a devastating loss, their lives are thrown into further turmoil when a mysterious stone at a museum hurtles them back to the Old West. Their supernatural experience only intensifies the chasm between them, and when James realizes where they are, in a moment of anger, he pronounces that they were never married.

They go their separate ways, unsure of what this new world holds in store. James settles into a job as bartender. Befriended by local rancher Daniel Miller, Susan soon develops feelings for him. She’s torn between starting a new life in a new time and healing her marriage and returning to the twenty-first century.

Will the miraculous journey back in time help Susan and James reconcile, or has destiny set new roads for them to travel that lead them away from each other?

OMG, where do I begin?  I guess I should start out by saying that this is the fifth book in this series I have read and I think they just keep on getting better.  I first discovered Sandy James through a free read--the third novel in this series that spurred me on to getting books 1, 2, & 4.  I have to also admit that I resisted reading this novel because I have never really been a fan of time-travel, but I have always thought that Ms James' writing was above the norm so decided, tardy though it may be, to read Twist of Fate.  I am soooo glad that I did!

Like all the main characters in this series, Susan and James were deeply hurt, damaged in their emotions, damaged in their marriage, damaged in their view of their life as individuals as well as a couple.  They survived each day, often trying to recover from that day's emotional injuries--hurt words, thoughtless actions, sarcasm, seemingly disrespectful of one another.  Their hard and unfeeling exteriors hid hearts that were broken, bruised by the loss of their unborn child--a son they both looked forward to knowing, a child that would have brought new life, love, and laughter into their home.    Both were grieving deeply, yet neither one would share that grief because of harsh words and what seemed to the other to be a dismissal of their hurt.  Add in the factor of James' discontent with his job--a discontent that had gone on for years but a job he pursued out of responsibility for his family.  You have a boiling cauldron of unexpressed anger and hurt--the makings of a very potent rage.  Through a series of unforeseen happenings, a radical change of circumstances, and challenges to the strength of their marriage ties, Susan and James were forced to face themselves, their attitudes and actions toward one another, their willingness to think about the future without one another, and the challenge to face up to what was before them.

This novel is another example of this author's ability to go to the core of a relationship, to peel away the layers of time, of taking one another for granted, of the easy convenience of living together but of having become so used to one another that they had stopped "seeing" each other as partners, as lovers, as friends.    This is one of those novels that will keep you riveted to the page, that will make it possible for you to envision the people, the action, the surroundings, and even to feel keenly the emotions that were driving these two people apart.  It is a story that will hopefully cause every reader to examine their own relationships and consider what really are the qualities that bind two people together.  Perhaps the most compelling quality of this story is the personal reflection Susan and James must endure as they take a new look at themselves, as what makes them who they are, at how they can manage to survive as an individual in an alien environment and how they must choose actions that will impact their future.  

This is a compelling story, well-written with a story line that is moving steadily toward the crisis and resolution.  Ms James is a writer whose expertise shines through all her novels and are a joy to read just from a literary standpoint as well as for the entertaining content.   This book has been around for a while but it is one that shouldn't be missed.  If you have not read any of this series, the third novel is still available as a free read at Siren-Bookstrand and is a wonderful book as well.  Twist of Fate is one of those books a serious lover of romance fiction just shouldn't miss.  I give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

Tote That Barge . . . Lift That Bale: Murphy's Law by Sandy James

Seth Remington had a fortune at his fingertips, but something was missing in his life. Purpose.

Knowing he has one last chance to redeem his son, terminally ill Sterling Remington rewrites his will. To earn his inheritance, his son Seth must labor as a groom for a horse trainer.

Katie Murphy's orderly existence is turned upside down by Sterling Remington's will. Raised on hard work and dedicated to her harness racing stable, Katie agrees to take Seth on as a groom. How can she ever fulfill the challenge of instilling a work ethic in Seth and still keep her faltering stable running?

Kept at arm's length by the strict terms of Sterling's will, Seth and Katie are forced to struggle with their growing attraction until a devastating racing accident forces them to take a hard look at their relationship. How much is he willing to risk for her love?

Sterling Remington was a business genius and through hard work and careful oversight built a technology giant and accrued a massive personal fortune. He had been widowed for years and his business had taken most of his time and energy. His son, Seth, lived the gilded life of wealthy playboy complete with his circle of playmates, a fiancee who may have been the darling of society but was a woman who he really didn't love, and he was in possession of just about everything money could buy except a positive direction for his life. In a burst of tough love, Papa Remington decided to change his will. Reflecting his love of horses and harness racing in particular, Seth's dad put him at the bottom of the income ladder, directing him to empty his pockets of Remington money, credit cards, cars, and only retain two suitcases of clothes as he began his career as a stable boy for Kate Murphy, a trainer of harness racing horses.

Kate Murphy was really different from any woman Seth had been close to ever! Hard working, focused, goal-oriented, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of woman, glowing with health and determined to overcome any barrier to her making a name for herself in the harness racing world. At her direction, Seth had to muck out stalls, learn to care for the horses' needs, feed, water, harness, exercise, and protect her racing stock and that of her clients who had placed their horses with her for training. It was a whole new world of smells and dirt, having to care for something and someone outside himself, using his muscles for hard work and not just "putting the pedal to the medal" as he tore down highways. But Kate's innate honesty and genuine spirit of caring for her animals and her friends--one of whom had been Seth's dad--formed the basis for his initial attraction out of which slowly grew his emotional attachment to her.

This story chronicles this journey of a spoiled brat who needed some serious attitude adjustment and whose dad knew that by tying down his son Seth would have probably the first opportunity in his life to taste the sweet flavor of accomplishment through hard work and determination. Seth actually became quite accomplished as a harness racing driver and at the time when the bottom fell out of this new existence he was in much demand by several stables and owners. But when his true identity became known, his connection with Kate ended immediately, including any future contact between them for five years. Anything else would mean he would lose his fortune.

There are many layers in this stories and they put together so that it is almost as if a weaver has taken many threads and woven them into a complete story. The love story between Kate and Seth is at the heart, but there is also their love affair with the horses and for the sport, the relationships Seth develops with others in the racing world, and the negative presence of individuals who have nursed grudges against Kate for many years. It is about the value of hard work, the values that give life true meaning, the value of love versus the value of material wealth, and the important ingredients of a life worth living.

This is Ms James' first novel in the "Damaged Heroes" series and it has been available for a couple of years. Yet is was new to me and I am sure that there are many who have never read one of Ms James' novels, at least from this particular series. (The fourth novel in this series is a "free read" at Siren Publishing.) It could be said that Ms James brings the energy of real life into her romance fiction and with that comes the lessons all of us can learn from the experience of others. Perhaps that is one of the things I love most about romance fiction. And this book has it in spades. I have already downloaded the second novel, a book that continues the story of one of the important secondary characters in this book. This book will entertain while it energizes the mind and warms the heart. I give it a rating of 4.5 out of 5.