Love’s Refrain (The Stardust Duet #1) by KG Fletcher – review by Erin Clemence

Love’s Refrain by K.G. Fletcher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Katherine “Kat” Moore is a jazz singer and performer, returning to her home town in Georgia for the last lag of her tour. Backstage, she meets octogenarian Philip Gordon, who hands her a locket that he claims belongs to her with a message, urging Kat to “come back” to him. Confused, Kat tries to find meaning in the locket, brushing it off as the actions of a confused old man. But when she discovers a strange portal in the theatre, Kat soon winds up in 1947, and meets the young and handsome Philip Gordon face-to-face. Kat and Philip fall in love and desperately wish to be together but it seems impossible. Kat travels between 1947 and her own time, trying to find a way to be together with the love of her life.

K.G. Fletcher is a musician and author, and her love of music and performing is evident in this novel. Kat and Philip bond over music, connect over lyrics, and fall in love to song. Inspired by songs from different eras, Fletcher creates a musical backdrop to her time traveling romance.

I had a difficult time adapting to Kat’s relationship with elderly Philip. Although it was obviously chaste, the way Katherine described her love for him was off-putting (even though she meant the younger version), and their modern-time connection was fraught with disturbing disbelief. I don’t know what could have changed to allow me to accept Kat and elderly Phillip as a burgeoning couple from the past but the set up was awkward and uncomfortable.

The conversations between the characters was a bit stilted and in a few places it seemed forced, merely contrived to convey some background information that the reader would not otherwise know about. This often put unnecessary breaks in the story flow, dampening my enjoyment.

This is the first novel in a series by K.G. Fletcher, and I can see it garnering popularity with a certain crowd of readers. The romance was hot and heavy in this one, and fans who prefer their reading steamy and romantic will adore “Love’s Refrain”. I can see comparisons being drawn with “Outlander” and even “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, although the ages of the main male characters in those stories were well within a decade of their female love interest.

Fletcher’s creativity with the portal, and the musical component, added a unique flair to the plot. I was annoyed by how often Kat was called “doll face” or “doll” (in 1947) and “honey” and “sweetie” (in modern day), but the excessive condescension was appropriate to the time and situation.

“Love’s Refrain” is a light, romantic read for fans of time travel love stories. Kat and young Philip will immediately charm, and there is no doubt readers will be rooting for them. It will be interesting to see what the second novel in the series holds.