Time and Tide

Frey (Nine-Tenths) kicks off this whimsical queer time-travel romance in 2024, when Sam Franklin’s girlfriend, Dahlia, ditches her at the Toronto Airport just before what was supposed to be the couple’s trip to Spain. Sam, who is bisexual, embarks on the journey with only a copy of her favorite historical lesbian novel, The Welshman’s Daughters by Margaret Goodenough, for company. Then, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, the plane crashes. Sam, the only survivor, is rescued from the water by a passing ship—in 1805. Her savior turns out to be Goodenough’s seafaring brother, who promises Sam’s hand in marriage to his employer, the cruel aristocrat George Lewis, to cover his debts. Lewis is determined to master Sam, but Sam is busy falling for Margaret, and the two enter into a taboo sapphic relationship. Frey starkly paints the Regency period’s misogyny as Sam butts up against the strictures of the time. A suitable comeuppance for one of the tale’s worst villains offers satisfying catharsis and the heroines’ sweet love story enchants. This should win many fans. (Nov.)