Time Travel

REVIEW: Overseas by Beatriz Williams

Rating: 3/5 Stars
Genre: Love Story/Fantasy/Time-Travel
Audience: Adult

Summary: In modern day Manhattan, newbie Wall Street analyst Kate Wilson is mystified and intrigued when billionaire Julian Laurence begins pursuing her after little more than a passing glance. But their love story is not an easy one: Julian’s pursuit blows hot and cold despite their irresistible attraction, and he also seems to be keeping secrets. Interspersed with this tale are scenes from World War I–era France, to which modern-day Kate has somehow traveled on a mission to find Captain Julian Laurence Ashford and protect her lover from the future.

Tracy’s Thoughts: As regular Books News & Reviews readers
may have already guessed, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump of
late. I’ve been enjoying audiobooks on my commute to and from work, but it’s been difficult to find the time and focus for any pleasure reading beyond that. I’ve started several (print) books over the last few months, but sticking
with them has been a different story. And yet I finished Overseas in two days, staying up till 2 a.m. on a work night in order to finish. Overseas isn’t great literature or even particularly original, but it held my attention and made me care about the characters. I simply enjoyed it.

At times, it reminded me of Fifty Shades of Grey with less angst and a time travel twist. Overseas
doesn’t feature erotic sex scenes—love scenes are more in the
fade-to-black tradition, though Kate and Julian’s relationship is certainly
passionate. Julian isn’t nearly as tortured as Christian Grey, but he
does have secrets. Also, the writing is better (thankfully, none of the
characters have bickering conversations with their “subconscious”). So as much as I hate the habit of comparing recent reads to the latest big-hit book phenomena, the push-pull dynamic between the characters and the development of their relationship did call to mind James’s trilogy.

The two entwined settings of Overseas make for a suspenseful, perfectly-paced story that answers one question only to raise another. The reader is able to piece just enough together to feel informed and invested, and yet all the the whys and wherefores remain a mystery until the perfect moment. Overseas is a charming and imminently readable love story that will likely appeal to fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Outlander, and perhaps even Fifty Shades of Grey fans who are interested in the powerful man/ordinary girl relationship dynamics but who are not necessarily looking for BDSM or erotic fiction.

REVIEW: A Discovery of Witches and The Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Star Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Supernatural Fantasy/Time Travel
Audience: Adult, Young Adult

Summary: In two sweeping novels that range in setting from modern-day Oxford to Elizabethan England, Deborah Harkness tells the story of the lovers Matthew and Diana, a vampire and witch who are breaking every taboo to be together.  It all begins when Diana calls up the alchemical treatise “Ashmole 782”.  Unbeknownst to Diana, this manuscript has not been seen in hundreds of years and is said to hold the key to the origins of the three races; witches, vampires and daemons.  Subsequently, Diana simply sends it back to the Bodlien Library’s stacks.  With this one act, Diana suddenly finds herself the object of a race against time, at the center of a powerful magic, and in a struggle for her very life and that of the vampire she loves. 

Lucinda’s Views:   I have a confession to make, I have a guilty pleasure.  I love a good supernatural love story/fantasy, so I eagerly grabbed A Discovery of Witches when it first came out.  Then I heard that the sequel was arriving, so I got out my handy Nook and reread A Discovery of Witches.  It was as absorbing a book as it had been during the first read.  Diana’s tenaciousness and true strength of character draws the reader in and holds them in thrall until the last page.  Matthew is the quintessential vampire hero, strong, protective, and a little bit of an enigma.  As seen in Shadow of Night, Matthew has been a hidden player throughout much of our modern era, including being a member of the School of Night.  (An organization founded by Sir Walter Raleigh during Elizabeth I’s reign.  It consisted of some of the most gifted minds of the day.)  Anyone who loves the combination of history and fantasy will enjoy this aspect of the novels.  These book are well-written, interesting, and will hold a fascination for any reader who picks them up.  I can’t wait for the third novel in the trilogy to be published!

FLASH REVIEWS: A YA Roundup

So I recently realized that over the past year I’ve read several YA books that I never got around to reviewing. Now, many of these books have sequels out or soon to be released. Here’s a quick look at some of the books I overlooked:

All These Things I’ve Done (Birthright #1) by Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Dystopia/Crime Fiction/Romance
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
 In a near future where chocolate and
caffeine are contraband, water and
paper are carefully rationed, and curfews are strictly enforced, sixteen-year-old Anya Balanchine finds
herself coping with an ailing grandmother and mothering her orphaned siblings.Oh, and she also gets herself tangled up in the illegal family business while falling for the son of New York’s new District Attorney. Anya is a strong and fascinating character and this book provides a slightly different slant in dystopian literature, but I felt that some of the details strained credibility. For me the book fell a bit flat, especially the romantic relationship. But there’s still hope for this wonderful premise and characters: Book 2, Because It’s in My Blood, is due out September 18, 2012.


Ashes (Ashes Trilogy #1) by Ilsa J. Bick
Genre: Apocalyptic Fiction/Horror
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
On the run from an incurable brain tumor, 17-year-old Alex is camping alone in the mountains when catastrophe strikes. The sudden explosion of an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) instantly kills most of the adults and turns many of the younger humans into crazed, flesh-eating monsters. Tough and resourceful, Alex teams up with a contrary eight-year-old and a young soldier named Tom. The first half of this novel is a high-energy gorefest that kept me enthralled, but events take a sudden turn midway though. The creepy factor ratchets up in a totally new way, but the sudden veer had me baffled for a bit. However, the cliffhanger ending takes a turn back in the right direction. There are tons of questions left in the air, and I can’t wait for the sequel, Shadows, due out September 25, 2012! For its foray into societal issues and mores as well as the vivid action sequences, Walking Dead fans will definitely want to check this one out.
Glow (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Decades ago, when it became clear Earth would not survive much longer, two pioneer spacecraft were launched to locate and colonize  a New Earth. Fifteen-year-old Waverly and her boyfriend Kieran were born aboard the Empyrean, a completely self-contained habitat. The Empyrean and its inhabitants are still at least 40 years away from reaching their goal when their sister ship, New Horizon, inexplicably attacks and kidnaps all of the girls. Suddenly, Kieran finds himself in a power struggle with Seth, who becomes both a romantic rival and a rival to Kieran’s role as future leader of the ship. Meanwhile, Waverly must figure out a way to thwart her captors. This is a fast-paced space epic with some fascinating twists. A less-than-subtle dig at the corruptible qualities of organized religion may alienate some readers.  The second installment of the series, Spark, was released July 17, 2012. 

 

Hourglass (Hourglass #1) by Myra McEntire
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery/Paranormal Romance
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole sees ghosts. Or, at least she believes that’s what they are. Now that she is home—after being hospitalized for a nervous breakdown—her older brother and guardian has hired the Hourglass Institute to help Emerson deal with her “hallucinations.” But Micheal Weaver is not the therapist Emerson expects; instead he is a consultant for a secretive organization that works with gifted people of the X-men variety, helping them to develop and use their abilities for good. Emerson believes he’s nuts at first, but soon she’s thinking all sorts of things might be possible, including time travel. This book isn’t perfect, but Emerson is a likeable, slightly offbeat narrator, and the romantic triangle that develops with Michael and Kaleb is intriguing if a bit predictable. Hourglass is a clever combination of science fiction, superheroes, and paranormal romance that will appeal to a wide range of readers. The sequel, Timepiece, is now available.

Wither (Chemical Garden Trilogy #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Genre: Post-apocalyptic Fiction
Rating: 3/5 Stars
In a future world where genetic engineering has created a disease that kills women by the age of 20 and men by the age of 25, polygamy has become a way of life for the rich and a means of ensuring survival of the species. Rhine is sixteen when she is kidnapped from her Manhattan neighborhood and forced to become the bride of Linden Ashby, one of the most handsome and affluent young men in Florida. Even as Rhine struggles with her feelings about her new husband, she also develops a wary relationship with one of the household’s male servants. And yet she is determined not to allow her developing relationships to make her lose sight of her goal to escape and somehow reunite with her twin brother. This is a creepy, dangerous world filled with hidden agendas. The narrative tension is high and although I was often frustrated by Rhine’s inner conflicts, I fully plan to discover more of this disturbing world in Fever.