Reviews

And Then She Vanished by Nick Jones

cassiecat's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

🎧4.5⭐️

This is available on audible plus 

I went for this book because it’s read by Ray Porter. He is a great narrator, so was pleasantly surprised that I loved it. 

Joe is still haunted about his sister who went missing at a fair twenty years earlier. While undergoing hypnotherapy Joe realises that he can travel in time. He is determined to find a way to travel back to the night that Amy went missing to change the outcome of that night. The author does a good job with the time travel for me, I was able to buy into it. 

We get a wonderful combination of Joe’s time travel episodes and his memories of Amy which give a  heartwarming feel mixed in with sadness at his loss. My heart went out to Joe with his mission. 

The writing style is easy going first person which makes for a great listening experience. 

It’s such a lovely book that totally drew me in. It is the beginning of a series which I won’t be exploring. This works beautifully as a standalone, Joe was insistent that he wouldn’t use his abilities again because of the potential butterfly effect, so I’m going to leave it at that despite loving it. It’s one I’d recommend if you like a feel good blended with time travel. 

cchapita's review

4.0

4.75 stars

listened to this on audible. had me absolutely hooked until the end!! loved the way the main character was written and his emotions were TANGIBLE. had never really read a book with this trope of time traveling and i wasn’t sure what to make of it but the writing in this book is so immersive and really pulls you into it in such a detailed way. i felt like i was time traveling with him it was honestly so good.

rellimreads's review

I love Ray Porter as a narrator with all of my heart and ears. He’s the reason I chose this book … that said, who on earth was in charge of casting him? Or made the decision for him to narrate the main body of work & Joe’s speaking with an American accent when the entire book is set in the Britain? Joe is British. There’s not an ounce of “American” in the writing to justify this.

It’s the most distracting thing ever and I just had to stop listening. I don’t even know how to rate a book when this happens.

agnesperdita's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

fripperychick's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

pcro99's review

3.0

Nothing like a good time travel story. Or even a mediocre one. This was a decent start to a series that becomes increasingly convoluted with each successive book. Now, I actually listened to audio book for this one and I'm loathe to base a review of a book based on the audio book production. Ray Porter is the narrator and he is my all time favorite. But producers made the odd choice to have Porter speak in an American accent for the main character, who is very British. This is confusing enough but then becomes moreso as Porter then gives British accents to the other characters. Certainly not a make or break thing for the book overall but it does bump the listener and is more of a distraction than anything.

As for the book itself, overall, a good story. Not great but good enough.

leahthebooklover's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

3.75

Time travel books are so wonderfully varied in how they tackle the subject. Sometimes a device or machine is involved, sometimes a portal or touchstone/object. In the case of Nick Jones's character Joseph Bridgeman, it's an altered state of consciousness that triggers his time traveling ability. The book doesn't try to get too science-y in providing an explanation of how this phenomenon might occur, the reader is simply asked to suspend their disbelief and go with the story. Once Joe learns he can indeed travel back through time, he spends a considerable amount of the rest of the book trying to gain control over his newfound ability, as well as trying to understand the"rules" that govern how far back he can travel, how long he can stay in the past, and the consequences of his actions in the past. His ultimate goal is to go back to a day 22 years in his past, a day he will never forget, because on that day, he was a 14 year old boy charged with accompanying his 7 year old sister Amy to a traveling fair.  When she disappears without a trace from the fair, in a split second, while he is distracted, his life is changed forever. He becomes obsessed with going back to the fair and finding out what happened to Amy, and perhaps even prevent her disappearance. As I said, the book doesn't dive too deeply into the science of HOW Joe can time travel, but there are some interesting discussions about the ethics and morality of changing the past, even for the noble purpose of saving a child's life. Both my husband and I enjoyed listening to this book, which is right in my wheelhouse (time travel and solving a mysterious disappearance? Yes, please!) but is far outside my husband's preferences. He thought it dragged a bit in the middle, but I appreciated the obstacles our main character had to overcome. Ray Porter narrates this book, and he's a talented narrator (one of the best, imo) but as other reviewers have noted, an odd decision was made in having him speak with an American accent for the main character Joe (and it's a first person narration), even though the setting is in England and the character is British. All of the other characters speak with a British accent, so it's a little jarring to have our main character's voice so out of place. Other than that, it was a solidly intriguing story. 

johanad's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

lyndajdickson's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

gugna's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0