Book Review: Remembrance by Jude Deveraux

Remembrance Jude Deveraux Genre: Historical Romance

Bestselling romance writer Hayden Lane has found her soul mate - or rather, created him: he's her latest fictional hero. And she's totally obsessed with him. Barely noticing when her real-life fiance breaks their engagement, she visits a psychic to learn more about him - and is told that in a past life Hayden was Lady de Grey, a promiscuous woman of Edwardian England. Hayden can't resist submitting to a hypnotist's magic. But the trick goes wrong, and instead of merely remembering her past as Lady de Grey, Hayden is living it. Now she will discover quite a different story about a woman history considered a trollop, a spectacular, brooding man, and the rapturous love that would be hers if she dared open her heart to the most mysterious adventure of all.

I was immediately sold when I read the synopsis. I have got to have it. I must. And it's Jude Deveraux! What more could I ask for when she wrote one of my all time favorite romance books, Legend. I have read most of her Montgomery/Taggert series and she's permanently on my list.
The first pages, we delve into the mind a writer - a romance writer. I was quite puzzled at first and wondered whether I was reading a foreword by the author or perhaps her autobiography in the form of a novel. It was like Deveraux was talking about herself. I don't know but I was entertained and thoroughly amused by her humor (I am an American! I want instant gratification!) and the insights she shared of being a romance writer.
It wasn't when she went on a writing binge scribbling about someone called Jamie, neglected her fiance and broken their engagement, became obsessed with a make-believe man and went to Nora the clairvoyant that we came to the meat of the story. And I got this feeling that I've read this particular book before. It was really familiar.
To some, time-travel/past-life regression/reincarnation/soulmates stories are cheesy fodder BUT I love them. So sue me. Almost all of us want to experience what is like to be in the heroine's shoes when she goes on an adventure to find her true love. I admit it was rather cruel of her to have neglected her fiance since she had this obsession with a make-believe man and Nora's pronouncement that Hayden was not in love with him because she was always in love with this man, her soul mate, made her out of control. Who's to blame her when she was approaching the big 4-0? Yeah, still thumbs down. Of course, if she's not happy then just say so.
Bad news though, because of some bad juju in their past lives, Hayden and her love would not be together and would have to wait for three lifetimes more. Surprise!
Being of strong [read: stubborn] will, Hayden would not take no for an answer. And when she got the idea of past-regression hypnosis to get her to understand her bad karma with her love life (It's for research for my next historical romance novel, Nora!), she went at it like a dog to a bone. Or when the chance presented itself when her friend Milly had invited a hypnotist to her house. Neat.
We get a brief glimpse, a chapter or two, of her life in the Edwardian Era and why her love life was screwed there and we get whisked to the Elizabethan Age when everything started and where half the book stayed as Hayden went through (Lived although she didn't have control in this life whatsoever. It was like dreaming.) the life of Callie who was born on the same hour, on the same day as Tallis, the love of her lives.
It was tragic, cheesy and I wanted to hit them and the people around them repeatedly except for Dorothy/Dyan/Daria. I liked her. Theirs was a simple love that was made convoluted by the actions of the people around them and their own fatal flaws.  No wonder they lost their lives. I really wanted to slap the two of the them silly. But heck, I just love the story so much I didn't care.
It wasn't until the last chapter that I finally cemented that I have read this book before - back in high school. Only I didn't own it but borrowed from my aunt. I guess I must have forgotten about it but it was a lot of fun reading this again.
The last chapter was so ridiculous that I was shaking myself in disbelief. You just met minutes before. You were practically strangers. Never mind that you know things about each other that you shouldn't have had. You don't even know each others name but what the hell, Let's get married in two hours after you finish with your meeting with the President. Ahahahahahaha! I would make some calls then we're going on our six-month honeymoon and at the end of it you would be swollen with my child. *cringes in embarrassment while giggling*
Ah, well, it comes with the territory.