Virginia and the Vagabond by Skyler Frey

What I Loved:

Well, what a delightful book this was! I loved that this book had so many surprises. I literally had jaw-dropping moments multiple times in this book. Something completely unexpected would happen and I was just completely taken by surprise! I loved it!

My Synopsis:

We meet Virginia as she does her daily household duties for the Howards, a prestigious English family. Virginia, we soon find, has a secret! Two years ago, she stumbled across a time warp and landed in the past. She hasn’t figured out how to get home, so she has hung up her Metallica t-shirt and her dreams of owning an art gallery in exchange for the only work she can find, a lady’s maid.

She is about to give her notice to her employers when her lady shows her a photo of the gentleman caller for tonight’s dinner. Virginia cannot believe it. It is Eric Rylander, and Virginia knows him…from the future. Through an accidental comment, Eric realizes that Virginia is also from the future. A bond is immediately formed that leads to a steamy romance with one problem. Eric is all but engaged to Lady Lara Howard.

How I Felt:

Virginia and the Vagabond was more than just a romance. There are elements of a woman’s struggle for equality as well as touching on gender identity. I liked all the layers within the story that made it an engrossing read.

The writing was very enjoyable. It flowed well, creating a seamless story that had me captivated from start to finish. There are some editing errors that caused a slight disruption while reading, however, it did not detract from how wonderful the story was! The pace of the story was perfect. There were times where we would jump forward days or weeks, and it just made everything move along and kept me interested.

The plot turned out to be full of surprises that I just didn’t see coming. The story weaves in historical events that the characters get caught up in. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I loved this addition to the story.

The characters are flawed and it makes them so lovable. Eric struggles with relationships, proven through his two divorces in the future. Virginia has trust issues that prove troubling as they try to move their relationship forward. I liked their chemistry, it was fast and furious. I felt like there wasn’t much a foundation for strong feelings since they had just met, but they reference that themselves throughout the story, and I appreciated that the characters recognized how quickly things were moving for them. It made it a believable romance.

Overall, I loved the story and the romance of this book. I enjoyed the main characters, as well as the secondary ones. This book ended on a cliffhanger and I look forward to seeing what happens in book 2!

To Read or Not To Read:

I would recommend Virginia and the Vagabond to readers that enjoy a time-travel romance with lots of twists and turns.

Where to Find This Book:

Virginia and the Vagabond by Skyler Frey is available at these sites.

Amazon Kindle | Goodreads

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Virginia Leigh is a time traveler, albeit a reluctant one. For the past two years, she has managed to blend almost seamlessly into Edwardian life, working for the Lord and Lady Howard, cleaning house and acting as lady’s maid to the earl’s daughter, Lara. Yet, all the while, Virginia has been plotting a way to get back to her time; back to Netflix, sweatpants, takeout, and tampons. Having the right to vote was also nice.

Eric Rylander attracts spectacle. With two Oscars, a few Golden Globes and two divorces under his belt, being accidentally dumped into the turn of the twentieth century is a bit of a shake-up. However, he finds that he prefers the lack of social media and the fast-paced production schedule of Hollywood. Living in the past for six years has allowed him to settle down for once, and set up as a star of the silent film era as he enjoys a much quieter version of fame and fortune. Finally, his days of moving around as a lonely time traveler–a vagabond–are over.

However, when Eric visits the Howard’s Yorkshire home with the intention of announcing his engagement to Lara, he’s stopped dead in his tracks when he finds out Virginia is also a fellow time traveler–and a fan of his work. As he reveals to Virginia that neither of them can return to the twenty-first century, they begin a friendship that quickly spins into a desperate need to be with someone who understands their big mutual secret.

But Virginia also knows about Eric’s very public private life, and the humiliation of the mistakes he’s made in his career and in his marriages.

She has to ask herself, is she just another notch on the belt? And what does it mean to have a twenty-first-century relationship in an era where women can’t vote, own property and aren’t even considered people?

Book 1 in the Time Traveler’s Network Series

Just the Facts:

Virginia and the Vagabond by Skyler Frey
Series: Time Traveler’s Network, Book 1
Genre: Science Fiction / Romance
Page Count: 404 pages
Publisher: Amazon.com Services LLC
Pub Date: April 6, 2020