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.*

Journey to the Past

Published:  January 1st, 2014
Timebound (The Chronos Files #1)
By: Rysa Walker
Skyscape
ISBN-13:  9781477848159

When Kate-Pierce Keller's grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional.  But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the past destroys the foundation of Kate's present-day life.  Suddenly, that medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of existence.

Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and Kate's genetic ability to time-travel makes her the only one who can stop him.  Risking everything, she travels to the Chicago World's Fair to try to prevent the killing and the chain of events that follows.

Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost, however -- if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence.  And regardless of her motives, does she have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world?

Review

     I am one of those people who are kind of obsessed with the possibility of time travel and I absolutely love reading books about it!  After reading Timebound, I am still trying to figure out how to make my brain comprehend everything!  So many things can go wrong with a time travel book, but this one managed to weave all the threads of plot, the people and the action together in a way that was plausible and exciting.  Not to mention, this is the first book in a really long time that managed to capture me so much that I sat down, and basically finished it in one sitting!  Another thing that was impressive to me is that it's a debut novel.  I cannot wait to see what Rysa Walker does in her future books with this universe that she's created!
     We are introduced to Kate Pierce-Keller at the beginning of the book, who splits her time between living with her Dad and her Mom.  It's a mostly amicable divorced relationship and Kate gets along decently with both of her parents.  Introduce her estranged maternal Grandmother, also Katherine, to the situation and things start to get tense.  See, Mom thinks Grandma is a little bit crazy.  When she tells Kate that she's inherited the time travel gene and is needed to fix things that have gone wrong in the timeline, Kate thinks her Mom might be right.  Then Kate experiences a major shift in her reality, which causes her Mom to disappear from existence, her Dad to be across the country and married to someone else, and she herself doesn't exist either.  It turns out her Grandmother was born in the future, and time travelled as a historian.  But, Saul, the man she travelled with (who became Kate's Grandfather) wanted to use time for his own gains and began to change things.  Kate's Grandma is now training her to fix the timeline, back to the way it was before Saul began creating his own religion, and setting himself up to be a false prophet throughout history.  With the help of Katherine, Connor (her assistant), and Trey (a guy she meets along the way), it's up to Kate to pinpoint when exactly everything changed...and turn it back, before it's too late.
     So...yeah.  Everyone in this book has a reason for wanting the timeline to go back to the way it originally was.  Kate wants her Mom and Dad back, Katherine's assistant Connor wants his kids back because they disappeared during a timeline shift, Kate's best friend is now part of Saul's religious cult in this alternate timeline and if they don't outwit Saul her missing Aunt Prudence may never be found.  But then there are some cons to changing things back as well: Kate's newfound love Trey won't remember her or their time together, because they never would have met in the original timeline.  Kate's Dad is happily married with children in this new timeline, which also won't happen if they change things back.  Also, Aunt Prudence just happens to be working with Saul to destroy the universe as they know it - so she's a little bit beyond saving.  I loved the chunk of time that the narrative spends with Kate in the past, at the Chicago World's Fair.  It explains how she meets Kiernan (the mysterious guy another one of her selves in another timeline has a relationship with - he also happens to be Connor's ancestor), shows her interacting with her much younger, time-travelling Grandmother Katherine, and also gives us a subplot involving a historically real serial killer of the time.  It also allows us to meet Prudence, who is slightly crazy and happens to want Kiernan for herself.  Oh, the drama! :)
     Also, Walker gives some great worldbuilding in regards to the explanation for the Chronos gene, the rules of time travel and the reasons why things work or don't work.  I got a pretty clear understanding of what was possible and what wasn't.  It was also truly wonderful having a main character that didn't spend half of the book arguing that none of it was possible, she didn't want to save the world, blah, blah, blah!  I understand that it might have been more realistic, but I am so sick of the "poor me" schtick in YA books.  For once I was just happy to have a heroine kick-ass enough to willingly and easily take on the challenge.  She's not perfect and does do stupid things, like seeking out her Dad once she finds out she doesn't exist anymore.  But Kate is karate trained, willing to make a difference, has close friends and family, and doesn't mind fighting for what she wants.  Such a change - a welcome one!  The twists and turns of the plot, and how everyone was connected to each other were fresh and unique.  I enjoyed reading this and I'm not going to say anymore to avoid any really large spoilers, but some serious shit goes down at the World's Fair and it ends on a pretty big cliffhanger!  As the first series I have been truly excited for in a LONG time, I highly recommend it.  I cannot WAIT to read the next one!

VERDICT:  4.5/5 Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Neverwas, Otherwhen & Maybe Soon...

Published:  January 7th, 2014

Neverwas (The Amber House Trilogy #2)

By: Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, & Larkin Reed

Arthur A. Levine

ISBN-13:  9780545434188

"I was sixteen the second time I had my first kiss..."

At the end of AMBER HOUSE, Sarah made a choice that transformed everything -- and now she must choose it all again.

Things are very different -- better -- for Sarah and her family: her Aunt Maggie grew up; her parents are happily married; her grandmother died after a long, productive and respected life.  But other things are different too, and not for the better.

After growing up in the free country of the Pacific Northwest, Sarah Parsons has settled in at Amber House, the stately Maryland home that's been in her family for generations.  But the world surrounding the House feels deeply wrong to Sarah.  It's a place where the colonists lost the 1776 Insurrection, where the American Confederation of States still struggles with segregation, and where Sarah is haunted by echoes of a better world that she knows never existed.

Her friend Jackson shares these visions of a different world -- and together, they manage both to remember the way things ought to be, and to plan a daring mission that will reset the universe once again.  Sarah must figure out what has changed, and why, and how she can fix it -- how she can find her way to an otherwhen.

Review

     I can see why some people would be confused by this book, especially the theory behind the alternate history in it.  It's a whole Hell of a lot to take in, even if you have read the first book in the series.  I did understand that in saving her younger brother, Sarah has managed to reset time.  She is now living in an alternate reality, where the colonists lost the Revolutionary War (known as the "Insurrection") and "America" doesn't exist as we know it.  Slavery continued a lot later on, the Civil Rights movement is basically happening now and North "America" is divided up into territories (the naming of the land as the American Confederation of States confuses me, as it's NOT really America).  In Sarah's own life, her Aunt Maggie is still alive, her brother Sam is okay, her Grandma wasn't a lonely alcoholic who drank herself to death and her parents are still marries.  For the Parsons family, life is good.  Everyone else, not so much.  Oh, and did I forget to mention that the Nazis won WWII and they are still around as a major political influence?  But the major mystery is what exactly did Sarah do that changed things so drastically?  Just saving Sam, or even Maggie couldn't have caused such a ripple effect, so far back in time.  So what else is different?  Where does the buck stop?  And just what lengths will Sara have to go to, to make the world the way it should be?

     I enjoyed trying to figure out the catalyst for the time travel and the break as to where the major shift was caused.  I definitely loved all of the intricacies of the plot involving Sarah's family history and the way it played into the present of the alternate timeline - and Sarah's original timeline as well.  As in the first book, Amber House in this one seemed like a living character alongside all of the people.  The addition of Aunt Maggie mixed things up in the family dynamic, with it causing Sarah and Sammy to not be quite as close as in the original scenario.  Also, the cultural differences definitely showed us that this Sarah was different from the old Sarah.  Similar in some ways, but definitely different in others (this Sarah loves designers, is comfortable with wealth, and only seems to be liberal when it suits her to be).  The relationships between Sarah and Jackson, & Sarah and Richard were at a contrast in different ways in this book than in the first.  Especially with a South that is reminiscent of Jim Crow era-South in our own timeline.  

      Sarah's biggest challenge in this book is to do what she knows to be right.  She spends a lot of the book trying to puzzle through her visions of an alternate timeline, with some help from Jackson, and waffles quite a bit on whether or not she wants to mess with the timeline again.  What if she makes things worse this time around?  Is it worth trying to get back to where she was, if it means the possibility of something even more horrific than her current time?  Probably the biggest problem for me was the contradictions of the alternate timeline.  At times it felt completely clear to me, and others it was a bit of a muddled haze.  How could a failed Insurrection in 1776 lead to WWII?  With a skewed geography, history and timeline of events, you'd think Europe would be more heavily effected than it seemed to be.  Also that means WWI still happened in this timeline.  How much different or the same was that from originally?  This is just the nitpicky history nerd in me though, dying to puzzle everything out, and fit it together!  Overall though, it's definitely a pulse-pounding adventure, sweet romance, historical mystery and time travel adventure of the one-of-a-kind variety!  It keeps you thinking the whole way through, and if you're willing to suspend some disbelief and enjoyed the first one, you should check it out!  Personally I can't wait to see how the ladies resolve it this time around, in the last book!

VERDICT:  3.5/5 Stars

*I received this book from Scholastic on NetGalley.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published on January 7th, 2014.*

With A Little Luck

Published: October 1st, 2011

Time At The Top & All In Good Time: Two Novels

By: Edward Ormondroyd

Purple House Press

ISBN-13:  9781930900554

"Wait a minute!" Mr Shaw said.  "You want to take me back to the nineteenth century, to marry someone there?"

His daughter Susan must be mad!  Only a girl suffering from hallucinations would make a request like that, on top of a wild story about a good witch, an elevator that travels to 1881, a vanquished scoundrel, a dug-up treasure, and a distressed nineteenth-century family named Walker.  Better humor her, Mr. Shaw thinks, until I can get her to a doctor.

Susan is not mad.  Her story is true.  She and her new best friend Victoria Walker just know that when their parents meet it will be love at first sight, and the two families will become one.

But nothing happens the way it should.  Their parents meet and don't fall in love.  Domineering Cousin Jane forbids more meetings.  The treasure disappears overnight.  The vanquished scoundrel returns, with sinister plans.  Everything is spinning out of control!

So why does an old photo show that Susan and Victoria's dream comes true?

Review

     So, I never read either Time At The Top or its sequel when I was a child, but I had seen the movie that was based on the first book and absolutely loved it beyond measure!  I think it probably contributed to my complete obesession with time travel that I still have, even midway through my twenties.  The story is all about Susan Shaw, a preteen who is having a horrible time of things.  Her Mother has recently died, her Father is always working and at school she's been passed over as the lead in the play, so others can have a "fair chance."  Susan is just utterly grumpy about things in general, yet she still stops to help a strange old lady pick up her spilled groceries from the street.  The old woman promises her "three" and Susan doesn't know what she could possibly mean.  It doesn't mean three wishes, but three trips to 1881 (there and back) in the old elevator in her apartment building!  While she's there, she becomes good friends with Victoria Walker whose Mother is being taken in by a fortune-hunter.  So Susan helps Victoria get rid of him by making him think they have no money - only for the girls to find out it's suddenly true!  Can Victoria, Susan and Vic's brother Robert find a way to save the Walker family.  And will Susan find a way to stay in 1881, with her Father, and join the Walker family with her own?  Add in a buried treasure and some very interesting things will be happening!

     I really loved the story in this one and how it focused on Susan for a decent portion in the beginning, mainly for the chance to show the readers why she would want to live in the past.  Considering this book was written in the 1960s, it really wasn't a gigantic time gap when you think about it.  The most hilarious character in her time period is the housekeeper Mrs. Clutchett who is completely paranoid and extremely nosy!  Her commentary on Susan's disappearance is priceless.  Only eighty years or so between Susan and the Walkers.  I thought that the way Susan got rid of the fortune-hunter was slightly ridiculous and over the top, but it was also pretty amusing.  The whole scenario with the buried treasure definitely appealed to my inner youth.  Such a fun plot to unravel along with the children (even if it wasn't difficult at all to figure things out).  But my favorite thing about this book was the way the author, Edward Ormondroyd, inserted himself into the narrative as the Shaw's neighbor in their apartment building.  He barely interacts with Susan except for one notable time before she disappears.  But he desperately wants to know where she's gotten to, almost as much as her Father and the police do!

     The sequel, All In Good Time, is just as much fun with Susan finally taking her Father back to 1881 with her.  But nothing goes according to plan.  The Walker childrens' Mother is wary of accepting anonymous money (i.e. the treasure the children found and sent secretly to her), and therefore is still planning to sell the house.  Her horrible Cousin Jane comes to help manage the household, and terrorizes everyone in it.  She interferes with Mr. Shaw and Mrs. Walker's first meeting, disapproves of Susan who she sees as trashy, and does everything possible to prevent Victoria and Robert from seeing her.  And when the evil fortune-hunter Mr. Sweeney comes back once more, it's up to Susan and Mr. Shaw to find a way to save the Walkers from disaster - especially when the fortune disappears!  Overall, I highly enjoyed both of these books.  They flowed together beautifully and it felt a lot like one continuous novel.  Also, the adventure was fun even as a disbelieving adult.  I think that I would have absolutely adored this beyond belief if I had read it between the ages of eight and twelve.  As it is, I highly enjoyed it and will probably re-read it sometime.  That is a distinction not many kid's books I've read as an adult can boast of! :D

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

So Hard to Say Goodbye, To Yesterday

Published:  September 3rd, 2013

All Our Yesterdays (All Our Yesterdays #1)

By: Cristin Terrill

Disney-Hyperion

ISBN-13:  9781423176374

"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside. 

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. 

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

Review

     Marina is experiencing the joy and heartache of first love, possibly unrequited.  Four years later, Em is imprisoned and tortured endlessly to give up her secrets, with only one true recourse - to go back in time and kill the man responsible for the destruction of the world.  She must kill him before he creates the time machine, as it causes the world to become unrecognizable and for him to become evil/power mad.  The only problem is that Em has a vested interest in making Marina's life one free of pain and suffering.  Of course the guy she needs to kill just happens to be Marina's next door neighbor, best friend and first love, James (whom they now call the Doctor).  With the help of her friend Finn who is in the cell next to hers, Em escapes and makes it back in time, four days before the turning point that will make it impossible to succeed.  But can she manage to go through with it, even with her and Finn's own lives on the line, when it could destroy things in an entirely different way?

     OH. MY. GOSH.  This book went beyond all expectations!  It's the time travel/alternate reality fiction that I've been waiting on all this time, while I've been drowning in a sea of mediocre books!!!  But for me as much as I enjoyed the theory behind this particular sort of time travel (I really prefer my principles a bit vague and the book to be not very scientifically oriented, to be honest about it) and the intricacies of the plot, for me it was all about the characters.  Anyone who reads reviews on this site knows that I am nuts about character development and detail.  For me it's one of the main focuses when I read.  If the characters are truly awesome and the plot only good, I can get past that and end up loving the book anyways.  The other way around, it's not as easy for me as a reader.  This book definitely had what I've been wanting in terms of characters to fall in love with.

     Ms. Terrill writes this in alternating points of view between Marina four years earlier, and Em who is living in the aftermath of Marina's reality and decisions.  That's all I'm going to say because I don't want to give away any really major spoilers, but the dynamic between the two and the way their lives affect one another absolutely crushed me.  Em wants nothing more than to protect Marina and shelter her, the way she speaks of her almost sounding like a Mother about a daughter at times.  It makes the revelations about their connection to each other all the more crushing and chilling when it comes.  Marina's relationships with James and her new friend Finn are especially fraught, because she's unsure of how to behave or feel when James' older brother is shot and everything begins to crumble.  In the beginning Marina is kind of spoiled, shallow and has her head in the sand quite a bit.  Throughout the novel we get to see her evolve and grow as a person, learning her own heart and mind better than she ever has.  Especially her bickering/tension filled relations with Finn, who has a life situation completely opposite of her own, and is a better friend that Marina ever could have known. 

     The development of Em is different, in that for her developing means coming to terms with her past and what it has formed her into.  Em is trying to hide from herself, the decisions she's made and even the life she's living.  By the end she has come to love herself, which lets her open herself to loving Finn as well.  James and Finn are two different sides of the same coin.  They are best friends, both inherently good but making plenty of mistakes in their lives.  Mainly what separates them is James' downwards spiral into a quest for power, a rationale of "for the greater good" and a blindness to the evil he's inflicting.  James becomes unable to see the truth between right and wrong and teaches everyone involved in his past AND future that not everyone can be saved, with some second chances not being for the best.  I did like the political aspect woven into the narrative, with the assassination of James' brother Nate serving as the (apparent) catalyst for everything that happens in regards to the time machine.  It really is a scary thought to think of what a major government could do with a time machine.  I also enjoyed the reference to Greek mythology (or so I'm assuming) in the name of the time machine.  

     The plot was well-paced, with the action never becoming too much or too little as the book got deeper into the narrative.  There were a couple of side characters I think weren't very well fleshed out (such as Marina's housekeeper/surrogate Mother and her actual parents), but as this is the first in a series maybe more will be expanded on later on.  Overall, one of my absolute favorite books of the year and I definitely want my own copy for keeps!  It was a beautifully written, very thought-provoking novel and I highly recommend it even to those who are wary of time-travel infused narratives.

VERDICT:  5/5  Stars

**I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published September 3rd, 2013.**

What An Experience

 

Published:  September 3rd, 2013

Are You Experienced?

By: Jordan Sonnenblick

Feiwel & Friends

ISBN-13:  9781250025647

 

Rich is fifteen and plays guitar. When his girlfriend asks him to perform at protest rally, he jumps at the chance. Unfortunately, the police show up, and so does Rich’s dad. He’s in big trouble. Again. To make matters worse, this happens near the anniversary of his uncle’s death from a drug overdose years ago. Rich’s dad always gets depressed this time of year, but whenever Rich asks questions about his late uncle, his dad shuts down.

Frustrated by his dad’s silence, Rich sneaks into his office and breaks into a locked cabinet that holds his dad’s prized possession: an electric guitar signed by Jimi Hendrix. Before he knows it, Rich is transported to the side of a road in Upstate New York with a beautiful girl bending over him. It will take him a while to realize it’s 1969, he’s at Woodstock, and the girl’s band of friends includes his fifteen-year-old dad and his uncle, who’s still alive. What Rich learns, who he meets, and what he does could change his life forever.

 

Review

 

     Rich is fifteen and loves playing his guitar.  This time is gets him in trouble, when he plays at a rally not realizing it's for the legalization of marijuana and he gets himself arrested.  His Mom and Dad are a lot older that any of his friend's parents and Rich's Dad is especially hard on him, because his brother (Rich's Uncle) died of a drug overdose when they were teenagers.  After a really horrible fight, Rich breaks into his Dad's office and finds a signed guitar from Jimi Hendrix.  When he plays it he's electrocuted and transported to a road in New York.  Picked up by his Dad, his Uncle and his Uncle's girlfriend, Rich goes to Woodstock with them for the concert of a lifetime.  But is there anything that Rich can even do to change the past and prevent a tragic end?  Or will things still happen the exact same way?

     Anyone who reads this blog knows that I have an extremely unholy addiction to books dealing with time travel!  And as someone who is more into folk and 60s rock than any other music (besides 90s pop/rock - it's a weakness!), Woodstock appeals to my inner mellowed-out hippie.  I liked that Jordan started out the book with the flashbacks so we could see how Rich even got to Woodstock and the family dynamic leading up to his decisions.  The relationship between Rich and his Father was especially difficult, because Rich wants to connect with him more than anything.  But he feels like his Dad is living in the past and holding too tightly to the leftover hurt from his brother overdosing.  Rich feels like he's getting smothered as a result.  Further into the book we learn the reasoning for a lot of the life choices and personality traits of Rich's Dad (a major one being his own really fucked up home life and parents), which lets us really understand just how hard it is for him to relax and let Rich make his own mistakes.

     Rich starts off the novel being kind of spoiled and sheltered without realizing it on the level it actually exists on.  The relationships that he builds over the weekend at Woodstock with his Uncle Michael, Willow (Mike's girl) and David (his Dad) were really in depth for being as sudden as they were.  Being picked up naked on the side of the road and thrown into a completely different subculture definitely gives Rich a different perspective.  There are some lighter moments and Rich's inadvertent experience with drugs definitely shakes up the narrative of the book a little bit.  The music is really a major driving force behind the plot though and the meeting with Janis Joplin was pretty cool.  Really the major one though was the life-changing conversations that Rich has with Jimi Hendrix about drugs, life and legacy.  The destruction of heroin use is shown in this book, without being overly graphic.  I liked the revelation about why Mike ended up dead and what he was trying to avoid.  I won't say anything else cause I don't want to give it away, but it made my heart hurt.  All in all, the fantasy elements get a little out of control at times but this was a really well written book that I highly enjoyed.  Definitely interesting to see a teenager get the chance to become best friends with his own Dad when he was a teen.  The conclusion of the book was slightly clichéd but it was a nice ending and made sense for it.  If you're into music, time travel and history (in that order) I'd recommend reading it.  As much as I liked it, the connection I felt wasn't all that personal and that's why the rating is what it is.

 

VERDICT:  3.75/5 Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book was published on September 3rd, 2013.*

Eden Is A Place On Earth

Expected Publication:  November 5th, 2013
After Eden (After Eden # 1)
By: Helen Douglas
Bloomsbury USA Children's
ISBN-13:  9781619631304

The day Eden met Ryan changed her world forever.  Actually, not just her world.  Ryan has time traveled from the future to save the world.  In a few weeks, Eden's best friend Connor will discover a new planet -- one where human life is possible.  The discovery will make him famous.  It will also ruin the world as we know it.  When Ryan asks for Eden's help, she must choose between saving the world and saving her best friend's greatest achievement.  And a crush on Ryan complicates things more than she could have ever imagined.  Because Connor is due to make the discovery after the girl he loves breaks his heart.  That girl is Eden.

Grounded in a realistic teen world with fascinating sci-fi elements, After Eden is a heart-pounding love triangle that's perfect for dystopian fans looking for something new to devour.

Review

 

     Talk about a misleading synopsis.  That last sentence especially, when they tell you that fans of DYSTOPIA will devour this book!!!  There is absolutely zilch that is dystopian about this book (other than a ruined future).  And even then, that would be considered more post-apocalyptic and not truly dystopian.  This book is more to appeal to the sensibilities of fans of light science fiction, with fantasy elements (I never quite know how to classify time travel).  Let's just get it out there: Eden is a bit of a Mary Sue.  But while I was reading the book, I didn't really notice.  I liked the aspect of her and Ryan being friends before they got romantically involved.  Probably the best thing about this book for me though was the easy bridging of the cultural/linguistic gap between Britain and America.  Normally if I'm reading a British teen novel, the slang is so overwhelming that it gets in the way of my enjoyment, as I have absolutely NO FREAKING CLUE what's going on!  In this book, it's told straight off the bat that it's set in England, and there are some word choice differences.  But it's nothing that gets in the way of enjoying/understanding the book.  Which was awesome for me as an American.

     That said, this book was mostly focused on romance, possible romance and lack of romance, rather than the time travel aspects/planetary discovery.  Eden does not share her best friend Connor's feelings, so when he starts acting strange when Ryan enters the picture it throws off the entire balance of them being 'best friends.'  But honestly, I never really saw them being best friends in this book.  I got no background or scenes with them together than really made me understand their supposedly close relationship.  If anything, the author seems to go out of her way to make him seem like a complete douchebag.  Connor's attitude seems to be that it's okay to be friends with Eden, but if she decides to be romantically interested in someone it had better be him -- or else that friendship doesn't mean jack shit.  The rest of the group of friends, beyond Ryan & Eden & Connor, isn't really fleshed out all that much and they are pretty much just placeholders who move along the plot of the book without any actual purpose.  There were some sweet things about this book.  I liked when Eden and Ryan planted the apple tree and buried the time capsule.  Also, the conversations about Ryan not knowing what pizza is or who Hitler was were pretty funny. 

     The momentum of the plot was slow for the majority of the book, picking up a little closer towards the end.  The time travel 'cleaner' (aka hitman who takes care of anyone who might suspect anything) wasn't all that surprising in his identity.  The ending in regards to Connor's discovery of the planet he names Eden, which carries a destructive virus, was rather anticlimactic.  It also didn't hinge upon Eden as much as they'd originally thought.  The sweet romantic scene with Ryan and Eden at the end made me smile.  But I spent the majority of the book wondering how the Hell Ryan got this assignment, when he's obviously kind of a bumbling moron.  Whatever, I guess.  It was enjoyable for the piece of fluff that it is, but don't expect much in the way of actual sci-fi in the plot, there isn't really a love triangle, and THIS IS NOT A DYSTOPIAN.  Thank you!  I'd recommend if for a bit of fun, light reading.

 

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars

 

*I received this book as part of Around The World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication is November 5th, 2013.*



Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair

 

Published:  May 10th, 2011 (Originally published in 2009)

Ruby Red (Ruby Red Trilogy # 1)

By: Kerstin Gier

Henry Holt

ISBN-13:  9780805092523

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

Review

     Gwyneth Shepherd has a very unusual family - into each generation one of it's members is born with the time travel gene!  There was a prophecy by from Sir Isaac Newton about this generation's member, and all the family believes that Gwen's cousin Charlotte is the one it speaks of.  She has been trained since birth to travel through time and they are expecting that it will happen any day now.  What no one counted on was a lie told by Gwen's Mom, trying to avoid the prophecy.  So when Gwen time travels during class she is absolutely shocked by it.  After she tells the family Gwen is thrown headlong into a whirl of secret societies, mysterious history and good versus evil.  Paired with another teenage time traveler, Gideon, it is soon apparent that Gwen is in way over her head.  Going up against Gideon's Uncle and her Aunt, who disappeared years before after stealing one of two machines owned by the Society that is dangerous in the wrong hands, the two must find a way to recover it before its too late.  And will their growing feelings for each other get in the way of their mission and put everyone at risk?

     Gwen was an interesting main character for sure.  She spends her whole life thinking that she's ordinary and her pretentious cousin Charlotte is the special one.  Only to learn that she herself is about to have adventures she never even dreamed of.  I thought that Gier managed an interesting and original time-travel mythology all her own.  I liked the explanations of the society that Gwen got, the mystery surrounding her Aunt Lucy and Gideon's Uncle running off together and the way the sudden addition of time travel into her life affects Gwen herself.  She has a great sense of humor, but is a little low on self-worth in regards to Gideon and Charlotte especially.  Gwen's best friend Lesley was hilarious and I was smiling every time her antics were happening on the page.  Gwen has told her everything about her crazy, time travel gene carrying family and Lesley not only believes her but is super excited to be included in the whole thing.  The friendship has no real reasoning behind it that we're given, but the loyalty and true strength of it is definitely shown whenever the girls are together.

     Gwen's Mom seemed like a nice lady, but I thought that her reasons for trying to hide the prophecy were weak and selfish.  She had to have known the truth would come out - there was no way around it.  Charlotte was portrayed as inherently obnoxious and a self-entitled, priggish, know it all.  But at times the reader would catch a glimpse of her as just a normal teenage girl, thrust into becoming someone not of her own making.  It's understandable she's be lost without what had become her identity.  As for Gideon, I agree with a lot of other readers who say that he acts like a douchebag to Gwen for the majority of the novel, all because he refuses to get to know her.  Gideon falsely stereotypes her just because she hasn't been training since birth (does everything to let her know he thinks she's stupid, except for just coming right out and saying it).  The romance between them was bare bones at best, insta-love at worst.  The mystery, world-building and time travel aspects are just interesting enough to almost cancel this particular fault out though.  The ending of the book finally gives us a window into the mysterious, 'evil' relatives and from the cliffhanger/surprise revelation, I am super interested in reading the rest of the series just to know how it plays out.  Overall, it fed my time travel addiction quite well but it reads a little young for my usual taste.  Unless you're okay with middle grade fiction (the level this reads at in my opinion) don't touch it;  or you'll spend the whole book frustrated and no one deserves that when reading a book.  If you like adventure and mystery, with a touch of fantasy though give it a whirl.

*On a side note, which cover do you guys like the best?  The original German, the American cover or the Polish one?  These are just a few as the series has been translated into quite a number of languages.  I like the German one best personally! :)

VERDICT:  3.5/5 Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

This Is A Hopeless Case of Sickness

Expected Publication:  June 11th, 2013
Plague In The Mirror
By: Deborah Noyes
Candlewick Press
ISBN-13:  9780763659806


It was meant to be a diversion — a summer in Florence with her best friend, Liam, and his travel-writer mom, doing historical research between breaks for gelato. A chance to forget that back in Vermont, May’s parents, and all semblance of safety, were breaking up. But when May wakes one night sensing someone in her room, only to find her ghostly twin staring back at her, normalcy becomes a distant memory. And when later she follows the menacing Cristofana through a portale to fourteenth-century Florence, May never expects to find safety in the eyes of Marco, a soulful painter who awakens in her a burning desire and makes her feel truly seen. The wily Cristofana wants nothing less of May than to inhabit each other’s lives, but with the Black Death ravaging Old Florence, can May’s longing for Marco’s touch be anything but madness? Lush with atmosphere both passionate and eerie, this evocative tale follows a girl on the brink of womanhood as she dares to transcend the familiar — and discovers her sensual power.

Review

 

     May is going to Italy this summer with her best friend Liam and his travel guide writing Mom, to be her research assistant.  It should be the adventure of a lifetime, but all May can focus on is the fact that back at home her parents are on the verge of a messy divorce.  So when a girl named Cristofana, who is identical to her, shows up in her room one night and starts a confusing game of cat and mouse, May finds herself being drawn in against her better judgment.  Drawn into fourteenth century, plague ridden Italy May becomes infatuated with soulful artist Marco and gets invested in living Cristofana's life instead of her own.  But in a time when deadly disease is raging through the city, can they even possibly have a happy ending?  And will May ever return to her own time and life? 

     I don't know how much I've mentioned this on this blog, but I am going to tell you a secret about myself: I am a complete and total SUCKER for anything involving time-travel, portal jumping, alternate dimensions and wibbly-wobbly, timey wimey stuff of any kind.  So I wanted so badly to like this book, which chose an interesting time period and was supposed to have a great romance in it as well.  I should have known better than to go in headfirst like I did.  The writing style of this book was atrocious.  It reminded me of an elementary/middle school aged kid's writing assignment.  It was full of prose and descriptive language, along with whiny emo inner-monologues from May who got on my nerves almost immediately.  I only made it about 100 pages into this one before I had to quit and save myself, which I try to do very rarely when reading review books out of courtesy to the publisher and author for being generous to me.  But the lack of dialogue or true character interaction really tanked what little interest I ended up having in this book.

     The characters are cardboard cut-outs and the Mary-Sue tendencies of May had me wanting to chuck her off the Empire State Building or something.  She goes along with Cristofana, who is obviously very crazy and up to no good, with little or no thought/fighting to do the right thing.  She instead decides that she's rather follow her nutcase doppelganger into a portal of which she has no clue as to the end point.  All because Mommy and Daddy won't be together anymore when she goes home again!  Oh yeah, and also because of that 'dreamy' guy she saw when Cristofana portal-napped her the first time!!!  WTF!!!  I'm sorry, but you want to take over someone else's life in a PLAGUE-INFESTED 14TH CENTURY ITALY FOR A BOY???!!!  Screw you, I don't truck with insane and brainless hos!  And on that note I will say to read at your own risk and against advisement.  But I guarantee that many people will love it, so it could just be that I'M crazy.  I guess find out at your own peril.

 

VERDICT:  0/5  Stars

 

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is June 11th, 2013.*

Time Probably Has More Than Two Sides

Published:  January 1st, 1997 (Originally published July 1st, 1995)
Both Sides of Time (Time Travelers # 1)
By: Caroline B. Cooney
Perfection Learning
ISBN-13:  9780780769670

Imagine changing centuries--and making things worse, not better, on both sides of time.

Imagine being involved in two love triangles in two different centuries. What if, no matter which direction you travel in time, you must abandon someone you love?

Meet 15-year-old Annie Lockwood, a romantic living in the wrong century. When she travels back a hundred years and lands in 1895--a time when privileged young ladies wear magnificent gowns, attend elegant parties, and are courted by handsome gentlemen--Annie at last finds romance. But she is a trespasser in time. Will she choose to stay in the past? Will she be allowed to?

Review

 

     Annie Lockwood has always been a hopeless romantic.  But she is stuck in the twentieth century, with a seriously cute boyfriend, Sean, who calls her by her initials, spends all his time working on cars and doesn't have a single romantic bone in his entire body.  When the town decides to tear down the crumbling Stratton mansion, Annie rides out there on her bike the day summer vacation begins to visit Sean and help him pack up all his tools before the demolition - she never expects to fall back in time!  Now Annie is in a world of riches, parties, old-fashioned romance and a boy named Strat who just might be her true love.  But they come from different worlds and Annie doesn't belong in 1895 and when she is accused of murder, the clock starts ticking.   Can Annie find a way to get back home to her own family, which is falling apart at the seams?  And does she even want to?  I read this series for the first time when I was about 8 or 9 years old and LOVED it to pieces!  I adored anything with time travel and the fact that it had romance was a bonus.  I've re-read the series a couple times as a middle-schooler and again in high school (one of those times was for when book #4 in the series was released).  I shouldn't have picked it up again as an adult.  I remembered a fun read that was romance, murder mystery and time travel all rolled into one.  What I got was overall bland characterizations (except for a few exceptions) and shoddily constructed plots - except for the murder, which was one that I never expected, although I'm sure others have guessed it before.  I guess I'm just naïve like that! :)  Annie is basically a placeholder character, who hates her life and wants adventure to come along and to have a romantic guy sweep her off her feet.  But she is content enough to stay with Sean and be bored until time takes the decision from her.  Strat is a product of his time period, wanting to save the women from themselves and not being able to see past outer appearance in favor of  his plainer best friend, Harriet, who is in love with him.  His sister Devonny is young and not a very prominent character, but I did love her excitement over new technology and inventions, along with her determination to be a modern woman.  She was a great role model for younger girls reading this book and the ones after it.  Harriet's only purpose seems to be as the requisite plain, orphaned, rich girl who never gets the guy.  She was devoid mostly of personality and really the only emotion we ever see on her part is some form of jealousy for Annie (either her looks, personality, etc. or her interactions/relationship with Strat). 

     The villains of this book were mostly cookie cutter and easy enough to understand once they were found out.  The most common motive in this book for anything was money.  But one villain in particular (who is carted off screaming and acting insane [in a believable way] at the end) stuck with me and was realistic enough to send chills up my spine.  The constant emphasis of the author on class distinctions, especially the romance between the maid  Bridget and the stable boy Jeb, was somewhat overdone and in your face.  The same thing goes for the constant downtrodden state of the women in the novel.  Although the ending and the part Florinda (Strat's ditzy Stepmother) has in catching the murderer was awesome.  A lot of plot holes existed and we never really find out how or why Annie is suddenly traveling through time.  And now that I'm older, the whole 'love at first sight' thing made me want to gag.  Plus, would you really act so 20th century in the presence of people 100 years in the past?  And go around announcing that you'd traveled through time, causally like they wouldn't lock you in a nuthouse for it???  Yeah, didn't think so!  That said, even with some of the heavy-handedness, it's a fun read and sets up for the rest of the series nicely.  I would recommend it more to kids  around ages 10-18 though.  Adults, be prepared to feel underwhelmed unless you're a fan of somewhat questionably done writing.  Overall, won't be reading again but might give it to my niece someday.

 

 

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars (Some of this is based on old feelings.  I'll always have a soft spot for this series!)

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

If I Took You Home It'd Be A Home Run

Expected Publication: October 1st, 2012
Amber House
By: Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, & Larkin Reed
Arthur A. Levine Books
ISBN-13: 9780545434164

"I was sixteen the first time my grandmother died . . ."

Sarah Parsons has never seen Amber House, the grand Maryland estate that's been in her family for three centuries. She's never walked its hedge maze nor found its secret chambers; she's never glimpsed the shades that haunt it, nor hunted for lost diamonds in its walls.

But all of that is about to change. After her grandmother passes away, Sarah and her friend Jackson decide to search for the diamonds--and the house comes alive. She discovers that she can see visions of the house's past, like the eighteenth-century sea captain who hid the jewels, or the glamorous great-grandmother driven mad by grief. She grows closer to both Jackson and a young man named Richard Hathaway, whose family histories are each deeply entwined with her own. But when the visions start to threaten the person she holds most dear, Sarah must do everything she can to get to the bottom of the house's secrets, and stop the course of history before it is cemented forever.

Review

   Sarah Parsons is not really excited when she is forced to travel to Maryland with her feuding parents and little brother to attend her estranged Grandmother's funeral.  But once she's there, Sarah and her little brother Sammy both feel some sort of intrinsic connection to the family's ancestral home, Amber House, that neither can explain.  So they manipulate their Mom into staying for a few weeks until they can sell the house and everything in it.  During that time Sarah discovers that there might be a hidden fortune in diamonds and decides to find it with the help of Jackson, who is a distant cousin and the grandson of her Grandma's housekeeper Rose.  She also finds herself falling into the world of Richard Hathaway, the son of a Senator (who is her Mom's old boyfriend), as her Mom gets ready to throw her a lavish sixteenth birthday party that will double as an open house.  But as the day of the party draws near, more and more family secrets become exposed leaving Sarah to wonder if perhaps there is a sinister presence in the house after all.  And if there is, can she save herself and her family from it before it's too late?  So I was not really expecting to be drawn into this book as much as I was.  Then again, as a reader I can never resist a good family secret.  I loved Sarah because she was a very realistic, average teenager.  She never knew quite how to feel about either of her parents due to her Mom's cold tactless behavior and her Dad's infidelity.  As the constant caretaker of her autistic little brother Sammy, Sarah also feels like it's her responsibility to protect him no matter what, because she has an unexplainable psychic connection to him and always knows where he is.  She does find out that there are reasons behind her Mom's seemingly unexplainably mean behavior and that she has suffered a lot in her life.  Sarah gets to discover that nothing is black and white in the real world, which fleshes out the side characters very nicely.  There is a love triangle that is not quite a love triangle, a search for lost family treasure that turns into something much more dangerous and the possiblity of changing the past.  Sarah inherits the ability to see and be part of echos of the past that haunt the house.  She is privy to the actual happenings of her ancestors in a way that makes me geek out cause I'm a total history nerd.  I loved that the house was almost alive with the energy of the past.  The ending was perfect in my opinion and seriously made me want to cry because I found it beautiful.  Overall, one of the best books I've read so far this year and I highly recommend it to fans of romance, Gothic novels, ghosts, time travel and history.

VERDICT:  5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is October 1st, 2012.*

We Are Closer Than Time Allows

Expected Publication: October 9th, 2012

Time Between Us

By: Tamara Ireland Stone

Disney Hyperion

ISBN-13: 9781423159568

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett’s unique ability to travel through time and space brings him into Anna’s life, and with him, a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, they face the reality that time might knock Bennett back where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate—and what consequences they can bear in order to stay together.

Fresh, exciting, and deeply romantic, TIME BETWEEN US is a stunning and spellbinding debut from an extraordinary new talent in YA fiction.

Review

   Anna and Bennett are worlds apart - literally.  She is living in 1995 Chicago and he is in 2012 San Francisco.  They were never supposed to meet, but Bennett is able to travel through time and space.  While he is looking for a missing person, he stays in Anna's town and goes to her high school (posing as a college student so his real Grandma will let him board/live with her and not ask questions).  Bennett tries to avoid Anna and not get involved, but as they get to know each other he finds it impossible to stay away.  Even though Bennett will eventually have to return to his own reality, whether he chooses to or time chooses for him.  Anna also has a decision to make - put her life on hold for something that might be impossible or take a chance on the life she's offered that she's always wanted.  I really loved Anna and Bennett.  They were both great main characters, fleshed out enough to sympathize with and feel like real people to me as a reader.  Anna is someone that I identified with majorly.  She is runner, works in her parents' bookstore and she wants to travel the world someday.  Plus we have the same name! :)  Bennett is confused, detached from his family and in search of something real.  Anna's best friend Emma, who is awesomely British, was a wonderful addition to the story and I adored their interactions - they were very realistic in the alternating conflict and unconditional support they offered each other.  Justin is another one of Anna's friends present in the story, but he is kind of a background character who doesn't really offer much with his presence.  The fact that Anna and Bennett try and be completely honest with each other was a novelty for me, because you see so much lying and acting behind the backs of others in YA literature these days.  Who knew honesty was alive and kicking?  Plus this book had one of my favorite elements EVER in a novel, time travel!  I would die with excitement if I ever had the ability to time travel.  It would be wonderful to go to different countries and historical places that no longer exist.  Plus Bennett can also travel through space, so if he just wants to go to modern day Paris for breakfast he can!  One thing that did make me mad was when he and Anna changed the outcome of a possibly tragic accident and there weren't any major consequences.  I would have liked to see it affect them just a little bit more than it did.  Overall, this book was a fun and heartrending read about the choices we have to make growing up, the effect they have on our lives afterward and what it would be like if we could change them for the better in time to make a difference.  I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of time travel, but be prepared to cry a little bit.

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. It will be available for purchase on October 9th, 2012.*

Be Still My Fluttering Heart

Expected Publication: October 23rd, 2012
Flutter
By: Gina Linko
Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780375869969

All Emery Land wants is to be like any other 17-year-old—to go to school, hang out with her friends, and just be normal. But for as long as she can remember, she’s suffered from seizures. And in recent years they’ve consumed her life. To Emery they’re much more than seizures, she calls them loops—moments when she travels through wormholes back and forth in time and to a mysterious town. The loops are taking their toll on her physically. So she practically lives in the hospital where her scientist father and an ever-growing team of doctors monitor her every move. They’re extremely interested in the data they collect when Emery seizes. It appears that she’s tapping into parts of the brain typically left untouched by normal human beings.

Escaping from the hospital, Emery travels to Esperanza, the town from her loops on the upper peninsula of Michigan, where she meets Asher Clarke. Ash’s life is governed by his single-minded pursuit of performing good Samaritan acts to atone for the death of a loved one. His journey is very much entwined with Emery’s loops.

Drawn together they must unravel their complicated connection before it’s too late.

Review

   Emery Land is sick of being treated like a walking, talking, laboratory experiment by her Dad and the government.  Ever since she was little Em has been 'looping' back and forth through time, while having seizures that have nearly destroyed her body's functions.  Practically living in the hospital, all Em wants is to be a normal high school girl.  When her visions of the mysterious little boy and his town become more vivid, Emery enlists the help of her best friend Gia to run away to Esperanza, Michigan to find him.  While there she makes a connection with another wandering teen named Asher Clarke.  His life is consumed by acts of kindness, to make up for the death of a family member he blames himself for.  He is familiar to Em and she's determined to figure out their connection.  But can they solve the mystery before Em is caught by her Dad, and the NSA/FBI/CIA agents he's working with?  Also, will they be able to reconcile their feelings for each other with their messed up situation?  This book just about broke my heart.  It really did deserve the comparison to The Time Traveler's Wife, with it's extremely complicated and winding narrative.  Even though it was far more linear that the aforesaid novel by Audrey Niffenger, it was still very similar.  However, a plot twist near the very end sets it apart on a plane of existence all its own.  Emery is a compelling main character.  Her seizures are becoming more frequent and effectively killing her, bit by bit.  She is a constant hospital patient and it makes so much sense to me that she would fixate so heavily on something in one of her loops, because what else does she really have other than a really crappy, probably short-lived existence?  I loved that the book was set in Michigan - how often does that happen in YA books that are published by major publishing houses?  The representation of the home state was seriously awesome! :)  Other readers complain about the slow build of the plot, but in this case it really worked for me.  I liked having the focus set on Em trying to figure out the mystery behind the little boy and the town in her loops.  I also loved seeing her build a slice of real life in Esperanza while she searched.  Ash was an interesting character and I enjoyed that fact that he didn't follow the current trend of YA love interests by being a self-righteous prick.  He was kind, caring and had his own shit to deal with.  But he still had time to make Emery feel special and become someone important in her life.  I could have used more resolution at the end with the Dad/government subplot and the choice that Emery and Ash ultimately made was beautiful on a tragic level but also majorly disappointing.  They could have done so many other things, so why choose that road?  Overall, not for the faint of heart and not for hardcore sci-fi fans, because it was really more of a romance/fantasy novel.  I myself would have liked a larger dose of sci-fi.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is October 23rd, 2012.*

Sparks Fly, When I'm Kissing You

Expected Publication: August 14th, 2012

Kissing Shakespeare

By: Pamela Mingle

Random House Children's Books

ISBN-13: 9780385741965

Miranda has Shakespeare in her blood: she hopes one day to become a Shakespearean actor like her famous parents. At least, she does until her disastrous performance in her school's staging of The Taming of the Shrew. Humiliated, Miranda skips the opening-night party. All she wants to do is hide. 

Fellow cast member, Stephen Langford, has other plans for Miranda. When he steps out of the backstage shadows and asks if she'd like to meet Shakespeare, Miranda thinks he's a total nutcase. But before she can object, Stephen whisks her back to 16th century England—the world Stephen's really from. He wants Miranda use her acting talents and modern-day charms on the young Will Shakespeare. Without her help, Stephen claims, the world will lost its greatest playwright. 

Miranda isn't convinced she's the girl for the job. Why would Shakespeare care about her? And just who is this infuriating time traveler, Stephen Langford? Reluctantly, she agrees to help, knowing that it's her only chance of getting back to the present and her "real" life. What Miranda doesn't bargain for is finding true love . . . with no acting required.

Review

   Miranda's parents are famous Shakespearean actors and she has always aspired to be an actor someday as well.  But she has always felt like she is inferior and talent-less compared to them.  After what she thinks is a disastrous performance  as Kate in 'Taming of the Shrew', Miranda is hiding backstage.  Then her fellow castmate Stephen Langford finds her and all Hell breaks loose.  It turns out that Stephen is not from this century and he takes Miranda back to the 16th century with him - so she can save Shakespeare. Or so Stephen says.  It turns out that to save him Stephen seems to think that Miranda needs to seduce him.  Apparently Shakespeare is considering joining the Jesuit priesthood, a dangerous occupation during Elizabeth I's reign.  It is a possible death sentence, which would deprive the world of Shakespeare's genius.  Therefore it's Miranda's job to tempt him out of that choice.  Can she manage to save Shakespeare, even if it means sacrificing herself?  Also, Miranda's heart is in danger of being captured, but not by the famous playwright...  This book has two of the things that I love the most - Shakespeare and time travel!  I loved smarmy time traveler, Stephen Langford who confuses Miranda as a girl of loose morals after watching too much 'Gossip Girl.'  Which leads him to think she's perfect for seducing Shakespeare.  It is interesting to see Elizabethan life portrayed including the Jesuit plight, because it's something I've personally never encountered and never expected to in a YA novel!  The description of the book makes it sound lighthearted and at times it is.  But there is a lot of underlying depth, including Stephen's tragic romantic past.  My main complaint would be Miranda's lack of individual thought.  She went along with Stephen's plans for her, even if it was with quite a fight.  Not to mention, she was a majorly spoiled brat.  If your biggest problem in life as a rich teenager is not being a great Shakespearean actor like Mommy and Daddy...well boo freaking hoo!  Also, her blase attitude about losing her virginity was truly annoying.  But by the end of the novel Miranda really showed some major character development and the conclusion to her romance with Stephen left me crying.  It was an enjoyable read, I love any book with time travel that is fairly well done and this one fits the bill.  I recommend to Shakespeare, romance and time travel fans who like a little humor mixed into their books.

VERDICT:  3.75/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is August 14th, 2012.*