One moment carefree Amber Schulman is happily trekking around modern England, the next she has slipped through a time travel portal into 1958's Sorrento, Italy. Dazed and confused, she is greeted by fellow time traveler, the jaded, cynical and very angry Mark Lacey.

Over the past four years, Mark has seen time travelers come and go, yet he remains trapped, unable to return to 1987, his year of origin. Always a tourist, he doesn't forge lasting relationships or build permanent ties. Why would he? Tomorrow, he hopes to be gone.

Sundial is a wonderful exploration into the emotional effects of time travel. It is less about the different periods than the travelers' reactions to being displaced. Mark is a vivid, raw, wonderfully real character. I could feel his frustration over being stuck in someone else's time, his anger over being ripped from his family and friends. Amber, a loner and accustomed to world travel, more easily adjusts. It helps that she has Mark as a guide.

That Amber is a decade older than Mark while they are in 1958 also gives the story an interesting twist. She is more sexually experienced and aggressive. Sundial is an extremely spicy historical, bordering on erotic, yet the passion fits perfectly with this emotional story.

Reviewed by: Kimber