Title: Seeds of Time 3: Final Curtain
Author: GS Wiley
Publisher: Torquere Books
Genre: M/M contemporary Romance, Time Travel
Length: 33 pages
Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5
A guest review by Jenre
THE BLURB
In the final instalment of the “Seeds of Time” series, former Front of House Manager Simon is trying to come to grips with his new role as theatre director, and with his ex-partner Adrian’s attempts at reconciliation. All of that takes a back seat, however, when he receives a very unexpected visitor from 1948.
Can James make a new life for himself in the twenty-first century? And will Simon find the “true love” he was promised by gypsy Madame Esmeralda’s potion?
THE REVIEW
I really enjoyed the first two stories in this time travel trilogy and have been eagerly anticipating the release of this, the final installment.
Final Curtain picks up the story a year after Blue Roses where Simon is struggling with his new job of theatre director in the Yorkshire town of Winstanley. He’s finding his new star actor difficult to handle and is generally still unhappy about his ex-lover Adrian’s betrayal and the odd period when he went back in time to the 1940s and met James. It’s as he’s feeling particularly low when Adrian returns, newly separated and wanting to get back with Simon.
Although the story is still written from Simon’s first person point of view, this story is really about three men. There is Simon himself who thinks that the potion he took which sent him back to the 1940s was supposed to unite him to his true love, James, and yet he still has strong feelings for Adrian and believes that Adrian is truly sorry for his past behaviour. Adrian has matured a great deal from the first two books and has, surprisingly, become more of a sympathetic character. James is still the least well drawn of the three men but his concern for his niece and bewilderment at modern life wars strongly with his feelings for Simon and vice versa. My own feelings as to who Simon should choose fluctuated throughout the story and it was a sign of the skill of GS Wiley that I was kept guessing right to the end.
As for the end, I can’t say I was 100% happy, but I could understand how and why things worked out as they did. You will have to read the story to see whether you agree with my feelings or not!
Overall, this was a fitting end to what has been a terrific trilogy. The character of Simon was particularly interesting and I felt all his confusion and frustrations with the circumstances in his life, over which he had no control. The characters of Simon’s mum and sister have continued to develop, even though their role is relatively small in all three stories and even the very minor character such as Simon’s friend Fiona and Edward the irritating actor were realistically drawn. This story is part of a trilogy and doesn’t make much sense on its own so I highly recommend that you read Bread on the Waters and Blue Roses before Final Curtain. For those who have read the first two in the series, I urge you to read this excellent conclusion to what has been a delightful set of stories.
