Forevermore by Jacqueline Marten

Amazon.com

Released: December 1979

Jacqueline Marten is one of my favorite romance novelists. She died in 2013, but her novels are pure classics.

In Forevermore, Michael Normand thrives as a successful career woman (yes, her name is really Michael). But, for nearly her entire life, she's had visions of two veiled women wearing long medieval gowns from centuries ago. Unfortunately, these visions usually result in the death of someone close to Michael.

Michael decides to undergo hypnosis to learn more about why she is having visions. She finds out she is reincarnated from someone named Edina. Edina lived during wartime 11th century Saxon England. Through hypnosis, Michael experiences Edina's pain and hurt over the years, and learns shocking secrets about Edina's past that are linked with Michael's present-day life.

Marten's prose in Forevermore is absolutely beautiful. It's easy to envision the lives and surroundings of both Michael and Edina. Michael's present-day relationship with boyfriend Reed gives me the chills, specifically his domineering and chauvinist mannerisms. However, this is likely due to the fact that the novel is very dated, and very 1979.

The concept of Forevermore is brilliant. I've always loved stories about past lives and reincarnation. But after Michael regresses into Edina's life, there are no breaks or returns to the present day until the end of the novel. I feel as though Michael's past-life regression is too long and drawn out. But, all things considering, the most magical and redeeming part of Forevermore is at the very end of the novel when Michael's regression reveals who her present-day true love really is.

Jacqueline Marten is an excellent romance novelist. I definitely plan on reading more of her backlist.

Here are links to her other novels on Amazon:

• Just a Kiss Away (1995)
• Bryarly (1988)
• In the Long Green Grass (1988) 
• Glory in the Flower (1988)