All We Have Is Time

Torloff debuts with a poignant if slightly overwrought romantic fantasy pairing an immortal woman and a time-traveling man. In 1505, Beatrix, long suspected of being a changeling because her eyes are two different colors, is dying in childbirth—until a malignant faerie offers her the chance to live, a choice Beatrix soon regrets when she realizes she has been doomed to never die. It’s a lonely existence until, in 1605, she encounters a strange man, Oliver, during a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Beatrix almost forgets the encounter, but then the pair meet again more than 100 years later and Oliver reveals that he’s a dying time traveler from the 23rd century, able to visit the past for half a day at a time. Their romance builds slowly over centuries, with each of their encounters centered on one of Oliver’s historical fascinations, and culminates in an emotional meeting at his Massachusetts home in 2202. Torloff piles colorful historical lore into each of the lovers’ visits, but the plot itself feels somewhat belabored, and her characters, especially the unpleasant faerie and the hesitant Oliver, are somewhat underdeveloped. Still, it’s a clever premise, and romance devotees are sure to savor the slow-burning, impossible love story at its core. (Feb.)