My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts...
Ever Crave the Rose, the final installment of Morgan O’Neill’s The Elizabethan Time Travel, has been one of my most anticipated releases over the past 2.5 yrs. ever since I read book 1. I was very excited when I found out this sequel to The Thornless Rose is finally getting published; couldn’t wait to find out how Anne and Jonathan’s journey ends! The biggest query, on my mind, was to see whether they stayed in the Elizabethan-era, or returned to the present time. If so, how will that work out when we consider Jonathan’s own past with Anne’s grandmother and 2014 not being his original time-frame of living. Did I get my answers? I’ll try to elaborate in my review...
It’s true that I’ve never been overtly interested in the history of Tudor England but The Elizabethan Time-Travel series changed that for me. Apart from the chapters set in present time, much like book 1, book 2 also connects and heavily relies on Tudor England without being made to feel like taking a History lesson. The fusion of the historical facts with the fiction was done so well that you won’t think Dr. Jonathan Brandon once wasn’t one of Queen Elizabeth I’s royal physicians! Some major historical figures such as Robert Dudley, Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, Queen’s chief adviser Robert Cecil, not to mention the venerable Queen Elizabeth I played their roles as needed throughout, which is why I had to research online to find out who was who and how they were related to the story. The authors’ knowledge of Tudor history was admirable.