Somewhere, at the Edge of a Well...

Published: October 21st, 2014

Time's Edge (The Chronos Files #2)

By: Rysa Walker

Skyscape

ISBN-13:  9781477825822

To stop her sadistic grandfather, Saul, and his band of time travelers from rewriting history, Kate must race to retrieve the CHRONOS keys before they fall into the Cyrist' hands.  If she jumps back in time and pulls the wrong key -- one that might tip the Cyrists off to her strategy -- her whole plan could come crashing down, jeopardizing the future of millions of innocent people.  Kate's only ally is Kiernan, who also carries the time-traveling gene.  But their growing bond threatens everything Kate is trying to rebuild with Trey, her boyfriend who can't remember the relationship she can't forget.

As evidence of Saul's twisted mind builds, Kate's missions become more complex, blurring the line between good and evil.  Which of the people Saul plans to sacrifice in the past can she and Kiernan save without risking their ultimate goal -- or their own lives?

Review

       I saw this book on NetGalley and instantly geeked out - my trigger finger could not be deterred from the request button.  That said, highly geared for the downslide of disappointment and mediocrity that seems to be standard for second books in trilogies nowadays.  I definitely DID NOT get my expectations met - thank you God for small favors!!!  This continues to be the perfect example of how a time travel series should be carried out, especially one largely geared towards teens.  The mythology, explanations of the time travel, and of the overall impact of everything on the space-time continuum largely make sense and are fairly rock-solid.  They are fairly easy to comprehend.  Not to say this is a simple book, by any means.  The narrative is complicated in the best of ways!  There are so many things we get to witness in this book.  The assassination of JFK, for one, Houdini and his effect on the world, a mass murder of an entire village, Franklin Roosevelt on the campaign trail, and a lynching (kind-of).  Not to say that we aren't reminded of the events of the first book, with serial killer H.H. Holmes, as Kate seems to be suffering from a form of PTSD due to what happened.

       In this book, we follow Kate as she travels to different time periods to get hold of the CHRONOS keys of the stranded agents from her grandmother Katherine's time period, before Saul can get ahold of them.  We also get to see her try and rebuild her relationship with Trey, who doesn't remember her, and her growing conflict over the feelings she has for Kiernan, who had a relationship with a version of her from an alternate timeline.  Probably the most compelling thing about this one for me was the normality of Kate, in comparison to her decidedly abnormal life (school BBQs versus cults, Princess Bride versus Houdini, etc.).  Also, I liked learning more about Prudence and her role in the building of the cult.  It was especially interesting to learn the reasons behind just why she had likely become quite so insane!  It's kind of a sad thing to see in retrospect, as she's basically Saul's alternatingly willing and unwilling tool.  The shit really hits the fan in 1911 and when the book reaches its denouement after even more fast-paced, batshittery in 1938 Georgia (segregation and race relations play a HUGE part in this book), the cliffhanger left me with my mouth hanging open.  I don't want to say much more so as not to spoil it.  But anyone looking for an amazing science-fiction/fantasy, time-travel read should look no further.  Read this series, you won't regret it!!!  Already dying for the next one.

VERDICT:  5/5  Stars

*I  received this book from Amazon Skyscape, on NetGalley.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published on October 21st, 2014.*