Title: Lost in Time
Author: AL Lester
Genre: M/M Romance, Historical, Time Travel
Release Date: January 6, 2018
Summary:
Lew’s life is pleasantly boring until his friend Mira messes with magic she doesn't understand. While searching for her, he is pulled back in time to 1919 by a catastrophic magical accident. As he tries to navigate a strange time and find his friend in the smoky music clubs of Soho, the last thing he needs is D etective Alec Carter suspecting him of murder.
London in 1919 is cold, wet, and tired from four years of war. Alec is back in the Metropolitan Police after slogging out his army service on the Western Front. Falling for a suspect in a gruesome murder case is not on his agenda, however attractive he finds the other man.
They are both floundering and out of their depth, struggling to come to terms with feelings they didn’t ask for and didn’t expect. Both have secrets that could get them arrested or killed. In the middle of a murder investigation that involves wild magic, mysterious creatures, and illegal sexual desire, who is safe to trust?
When Lew's friend, Mira, went missing he knew he had to find her at whatever the cost. Well that cost was waking up in 1919. Not only does Lew search for Mira but he also finds himself in the middle of a gruesome murder investigation. The attraction between Lew and the lead investigator, Detective Alec Carter, is something neither man asked for but exists all the same. As Lew learns to navigate through the past and Alec learns to readjust to civilian life after four years of blood, mud, and death in the trenches will they solve the mystery, find happiness, and discover a love that is illegal in the eyes of the law?
I want to start off by saying that most of you know I don't do spoilers but I even do less of them when it comes to mysteries and paranormals because even tiny little "throwaway" factors can be huge tip-offs. What I will say in regard to the plot is I found it to be ingenious. I always enjoy time-travel stories more where it happens more due to paranormal/magic than science, I think it just adds a special element that can actually heighten the mystery and even might border on horror.
As for the characters, they intrigued me and kept my interest from beginning to end. I loved Lew's dedication to finding Mira, personally I don't know that I would have been able to keep my focus if I woke up in 1919 nearly a hundred years in the past. As for Alec, despite having returned from four bloody years of war he is able to adjust somewhat "normally" back to civilian life. That's not to say either character doesn't have issues with their circumstances but it makes them that much more rounded and believable.
Finally, I should note that there are some grammatical errors that some might find off putting or have issue with, but for this reader I did not. Perhaps its because I tend to just mentally fix them as I read or perhaps I like to put my focus on the story and AL Lester's
Lost in Time kept me intrigued from the first page to the last. I look forward to what this new author brings us next.
RATING: 
The Gate
Summary:
It's 1918, and Matty returns home to the family farm from the trenches only to find his brother Arthur dying of an unknown illness. The local doctor thinks it might be cancer, but Matty becomes convinced it's connected to the mysterious books his brother has left strewn around the house.
Matty confides his suspicions in his friend Rob, a hired hand on the farm and potential lover. Rob has found something that looks like a gate of some kind, something Arthur referenced in his papers which may rest at the heart of his illness. But a gate to where?
This short story introduces the world and characters in A.L. Lester's novel, Lost in Time.
As much as I enjoyed
Lost in Time, I think I found this short story that introduces the reader to the world that brings Lew back to 1919 in
Lost to be even better. I didn't like it better because it is shorter or because it has different characters, no I found it appealed to my historical side a bit more. As a 24/7 caregiver for my mother, I was also drawn to Matty's care of his brother upon returning from the war. Perhaps it is these elements that I found myself giving this short story a slightly higher rating than
Lost.
The Gate is a lovely look at post-war readjustment and the love Matty has for his brother as well as his attraction to Rob but its also a well written and clever introduction to the time-travel and magical elements that are further explored in
Lost in Time.
RATING: 
Author Bio:
A. L. Lester likes to read. Her favorite books are post-apocalyptic dystopian romances full of suspense, but a cornflake packet will do there's nothing else available. The gender of the characters she likes to read (and write) is pretty irrelevant so long as they are strong, interesting people on a journey of some kind.
She has a chaotic family life and small children, and she has become the person in the village who looks after the random animals people find in the road. She is interested in permaculture gardening and anything to do with books, reading, technology and history. She lives in a small village in rural Somerset and is seriously allergic to both rabbits and Minecraft.
Lost in Time
The Gate
💫👍Free short story👍💫
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