Review

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I liked the idea of having an organisation devoted to viewing historical events to learn from them… though I would have liked a bit more detail about how Lincoln’s time differed so much from Hank’s.

I was somewhat confused about how the organisation realised there were problems with the timeline being changed. I felt like I’d missed quite a bit of the background to this world and even though there was a short prequel to this, I felt there could have been a bit more background provided, as well as some more details about the characters and their history together.

I did like learning about Tilly as a character and it was interesting to see her interactions with Hank. I especially liked the fact that Tilly was so obviously intelligent and even though I didn’t know much about her history, it was good that she was so strong and spirited… even if I did think she should have been more willing to work with Hank earlier on.

I would have liked the opportunity to see more of the secondary characters, as a lot of those I was able to meet were either good or bad. I would have liked to get to know Ida and Louis a bit more… but I did think it was interesting to see aspects of the lives Ida and Tilly lived. It was good to see something of what it was like for them to live as servants in that kind of historical time… and it was also intriguing to see how small changes in the timeline could have had far-reaching effects.

There was a good sense of urgency through this book and I did care about what Hank was trying to do. It was also good to see him have the opportunity to interact with his hero, even if he did get a bit starstruck. And I thought it was good to see that he made the right choice in the end.

I would probably read more books by this author at some point in the future. It would be good to see what will happen to the characters… and hopefully get more information on the time period Hank belonged to.

I’m a part-time writer who would love to quit her day job and become a full-time writer. Tea and chocolate fuel me so that I can write at night and on the weekends whenever I can find the time.

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having been a fan of this author since reading Bitten, I was immediately interested in reading the start of this next series. Though having no connection with the other series’ by this same author, I still liked the blurb when I read it and I did find the book fairly easy to read… even though I didn’t really like the constant switching between first and third person. I found it rather distracting to keep coming out of Olivia’s head and then going back with knowledge she really shouldn’t have.

I was very intrigued by the idea of a woman finding out she was adopted and that her parents had been convicted of being serial killers. There were a lot of tense scenes in this book, even though I didn’t really have any answers or real explanation by the time I reached the end of this first one.

It was interesting to get a glimpse of Olivia’s volunteer work before the main plot of the story started. I did feel that the journalists in this book were painted in a very poor light as a whole… and I spent most of the book with a strong dislike of Gabriel. Even though I did find out bits and pieces of his past, it didn’t endear him to me… and the parts of the book written from his perspective made him come across as kind of psychotic. At the same time, I did find the conflicts between him and Olivia intriguing, especially when it came to her refusal to fall back on her parents’ money.

It was interesting to have glimpses of Olivia’s early history mixed in with the strange dreams she was having, but I was a bit on edge in regards to the fact most of the people in Cainsville seemed to know a whole lot more than they were telling.

I did like learning about the omens, but I felt that some of the things were repeated too many times. For instance, it wasn’t necessary to be told repeatedly that poppies were a death omen. I felt that a lot of subtlety was lost… and possibly that there was too much going on in one book. However, I did enjoy seeing Olivia adopt the cat.

I wasn’t really sold on Ricky as a character, but I didn’t like Gabriel or James, either. I’ve ordered book two… but ideally, I’d like to see less romance and more character development.

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I read the blurb of this book, I thought it sounded quite intriguing, even though it did make me think of the Outlander series.

While I don’t know a great deal about the historical figure of William Wallace, I did think he was a more unique person from history for Eva to meet. However, I didn’t feel that I got to know Eva very well.

I did think it was interesting that Eva was not only from Scotland in the modern-day, but that she had a major interest in history generally and, more specifically, in William Wallace. On the other hand… I did wonder why she was so willing to be away from her own time. Even though she was clearly interested, I had the feeling she had a good relationship with her parents… so it made very little sense that she didn’t even consider that she was going to be leaving them behind for so long.

I did like the opportunity to see other members of William’s rebel army and although there were a lot of secondary characters who weren’t developed, I thought it was good to see that the maturity of boys like Robbie was so completely different to the maturity of boys his age in the modern day.

I did think that William’s reactions to Eva’s belongings made a lot of sense, though I found it quite hard to really believe in their feelings for each other. Considering the time period, I felt that the relationship progressed far too quickly. Although Eva revealed bits and pieces of her past, there was very little in the way of foreshadowing and almost no culture shock.

I did find it very hard not to think of Outlander while reading this, as even though Eva was from a different time, she didn’t seem to have any problems or much questioning about what was going on. It was interesting to see that there were warnings given any time Eva came too close to changing the past… but I would have liked to get more background and if there were other time travelers.

I would have liked a more believable romance, but I did find this book entertaining to read. I don’t intend to read book two… but this one, despite some problems, was intriguing.

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was really happy to be able to read the final book in this trilogy. There were things I did miss in this (such as how things went with Tick and Joseph), but there was a lot tension in this book and I kept reading throughout.

I liked seeing Porter and Sarah together, though I didn’t really like how Sarah treated Porter after she was told about her parents. Even though I could understand why Sarah felt like that, I felt her personality became quite sharply contradictory and I could understand how Drake was able to target Porter.

It was interesting to see Granger and Ozzie. I liked Ozzie more than Granger, but it was good to see both of them questioning what they believed. It was sad to see that Misoka was so reluctant to trust that Ozzie was her brother and I felt she came across as very young emotionally in her interactions with Ozzie and Sarah especially.

I would have liked to see more of the secondary characters, such as others in the Mythics and Slayer ranks. It was good to see more of Drake’s past and get some answers about what was going on with him… though I was a bit disappointed with the way things happened towards the end with Drake.

I felt a lot of sympathy for Domino. I did like seeing her with Tick and then later with Porter and Sarah. It was good to see that Porter and Sarah were trying to protect her… and also good to see them trying to do the right thing. I didn’t like Gwinn very much, though. Even though he was Tick’s father, I didn’t feel like he really cared about his son’s emotional wellbeing. At the same time, though, it was good to learn more about Tick’s ability and the potential dangers involved in it.

I found this book to be really easy to read and I also liked learning more about some of the different types of creatures. And it was good to see Glenda and her relationship with Porter, even though he still didn’t have any memories.

While the ending of this book was a bit sad, I did still find it really entertaining and engaging to read. I would love to read more books set in this world in the future.

(This review may contain spoilers).

It’s been a little while since I read the first book in this trilogy, but I found the storyline easy to pick up once more.

Although there was a lot of action in this book, it didn’t seem as widespread as book one. I thought it was good that the story was a bit more self-contained… and it made a lot of sense that Porter wasn’t trusted, even though I felt a lot of sympathy for him.

While it did make a lot of sense that Porter was considered a threat, I really didn’t like Sarah’s parents. I did find Misoko an interesting character, though I was a bit disappointed to get very little foreshadowing about her relationship with Sarah. I would have liked to see a bit more in the way of flashbacks… and also more details about why Sarah’s parents didn’t seem to trust Misoko near their daughter.

I really liked seeing Tick in this book and I thought it was a bit sad to see how he was having to get used to the bad things happening. At the same time, I liked seeing that he was still loyal to Porter… and even though Sarah could have explained things in a better way, I did understand the position she was in and it was good to see her staying loyal to Porter.

I did like the romance between Sarah and Porter, especially since there were hints of that romance in the first book, but I did feel that the reveal was a little bit over the top. Still, I thought there were some very sweet moments between them… even though I did develop a strong dislike for Joseph during the course of this book.

It was interesting to discover more about the organisation of the Slayers, though I would have found them more interesting if there had been more detail about the main leader’s motivations. There was a lot of tension in this book and I was drawn back into the world really quickly and easily.

I didn’t really want to, but part of me did feel a bit of sympathy for Other Porter and it was good to get to know more of Porter’s past. I’m looking forward to seeing how things will be tied up in book three.