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janeyjacks's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I don't usually read sci fi but this was so tangentially related to the genre that I thought I'd have a go - from the blurb I thought the book had real potential, seeing how a modern woman would navigate the pitfalls of mid- 17th century life. (Spoilers and mentions of severe violence against women follow).
At first then relationship between Matthew and Alex was admittedly quite interesting and it was fun to see them learn about each others lives. But I felt like I spent the majority of book waiting for something to happen, as their journey to Scotland dragged interminably on. How many more times could they have a narrow escape from soldiers?!
When they finally reached their destination, it was as if Alex's entire C21 personality melted away and she endlessly capitulated to Matthew, although mildly uneasy that she was now a mere "chattel" not enough to do anything about it.
I was most uneasy about the way she was seemingly happy to acquiesce to being ®aped, (tautology I know) on the basis that "this is the way things are now, you're not allowed to say no". Maybe this is what people read these days but it doesn't lie easy with me.
So although by the end I was starting to get interested in the character development, I won't be going back for more. Not for me.
At first then relationship between Matthew and Alex was admittedly quite interesting and it was fun to see them learn about each others lives. But I felt like I spent the majority of book waiting for something to happen, as their journey to Scotland dragged interminably on. How many more times could they have a narrow escape from soldiers?!
When they finally reached their destination, it was as if Alex's entire C21 personality melted away and she endlessly capitulated to Matthew, although mildly uneasy that she was now a mere "chattel" not enough to do anything about it.
I was most uneasy about the way she was seemingly happy to acquiesce to being ®aped, (tautology I know) on the basis that "this is the way things are now, you're not allowed to say no". Maybe this is what people read these days but it doesn't lie easy with me.
So although by the end I was starting to get interested in the character development, I won't be going back for more. Not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
atheriaque's review
1.0
"Life is too short to read terrible books" - my husband. I took his advice with this one. It's just not good, and not worth wasting my time on.
julie_loves_books's review
1.0
Abandoned this one. I like the premise of the story...it was just moving way too slow.
nikki_ro_13's review
1.0
This entire thing felt very forced, I kept up until the end hoping for something more, but it didn’t work for me.
tucker4's review against another edition
3.0
This book was rather uneven for me. I really liked the first half, but the second half fell apart a bit for me.
The first half:
I thought it was interesting how they split the perspective between Alex (sent back to the 17th century) and her father/finance (remaining in the present). In time traveling books I've never seen a focus on the people left behind before, which I wasn't sure how I liked, but it was definitely necessary to set up some other stuff.
I wasn't sure how I felt about the witchy-y part, but it was done well.
I thought Alex and Matthew's relationship progressed well and I liked both of them.
Then the second half:
For one thing Alex and Matthew's relationship became less black and white once they returned to his home married. Which I don't like. Matthew's first wife was still around and he seemed conflicted about her at times, which effected his relationship with Alex.
But my bigger issue was with Alex's mentality. I understand that as a 17th century man, Matthew's attitudes about women and men are going to be different than mine today. I might not like it, but I get it. What I don't accept so easily is that Alex, having been raised in the 21st century, seemed to accept this attitude pretty quickly. I think a modern woman would have bridled or been a little resentful at least at the constraints a 17th century woman operated under. But other than a little loneliness/homesickness, she accepted it. I don't. And she even accepted it from Matthew, which for me was unforgivable.
Overall the book left me sad at time and I won't be continuing with the series.
The first half:
I thought it was interesting how they split the perspective between Alex (sent back to the 17th century) and her father/finance (remaining in the present). In time traveling books I've never seen a focus on the people left behind before, which I wasn't sure how I liked, but it was definitely necessary to set up some other stuff.
I wasn't sure how I felt about the witchy-y part, but it was done well.
I thought Alex and Matthew's relationship progressed well and I liked both of them.
Then the second half:
For one thing Alex and Matthew's relationship became less black and white once they returned to his home married. Which I don't like. Matthew's first wife was still around and he seemed conflicted about her at times, which effected his relationship with Alex.
But my bigger issue was with Alex's mentality. I understand that as a 17th century man, Matthew's attitudes about women and men are going to be different than mine today. I might not like it, but I get it. What I don't accept so easily is that Alex, having been raised in the 21st century, seemed to accept this attitude pretty quickly. I think a modern woman would have bridled or been a little resentful at least at the constraints a 17th century woman operated under. But other than a little loneliness/homesickness, she accepted it. I don't. And she even accepted it from Matthew, which for me was unforgivable.
Overall the book left me sad at time and I won't be continuing with the series.
kaytrain's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
rachael0722's review against another edition
5.0
I liked this book. It is very fast paced and a bit light on the character development. I am the ultimate Diana Gabaldon fan. I love her books, am a bit obsessed with them. I am always looking for books that have the detail of story and characters that they seem to be sitting next to me. There are very few books that fit that Bill.
But, these books are enough. I like the story line, the history and a very strong woman heroine.
There are no detailed sex scenes and the story is not carried on sex like so many books out there
So give these quick reads a try and enjoy.
But, these books are enough. I like the story line, the history and a very strong woman heroine.
There are no detailed sex scenes and the story is not carried on sex like so many books out there
So give these quick reads a try and enjoy.
ibeeeg's review
3.0
This is a historical-romance novel, that's for sure. I have been shying away from romance novels these days -- too much sex for my liking and not enough story to support all the sex based instaLove. I'm tried of instaLove and all the junk that goes with that. I want to read about real love that percolates and grows and develops over time where lust is not the motivator.
But, I was intrigued by this book because I am sucker for time-travel type books especially historical ones and most especially ones set in Scotland. It's my thing, don't know why but it is...well, my favorite books in the world probably have something to do it.
I decided to give this book a chance. I didn't have high expectations going into it except to be entertained by a decent story that was quick and easy to read. A Rip in the Veil met my expectations and then some. Yes, it has the typical romance novel elements, but I was happy to see that the author did advance the plot line and developed the characters beyond the lust and instaLove stage that so often is the modus operandi of romance novels.
While the writing was decent it wasn't up to par to what I've grown accustomed to with some of my very favorite books. But hey, I'm not a writer and won't pretend I could be one, so the writing was fine enough for me and for the story. Shoot, I've read some truly awful stories with awful writing that seem to have gained public popularity and this book is far better than that. Anyway, the story was good and moved along. The characters held my attention and developed. I wasn't blown away by Alex and Matthew - Alex could use a bit of refinement. But I liked them well enough. I appreciated the other characters and did like seeing how Alex's family was faring after she left her time. The historical elements were good, and added a bit of depth to the storyline on the whole.
A Rip in the Veil proved to be a much better story than I anticipated. I hope to see how the series and writing mature with each book. Yes, I will read the next book and from there I shall see.
But, I was intrigued by this book because I am sucker for time-travel type books especially historical ones and most especially ones set in Scotland. It's my thing, don't know why but it is...well, my favorite books in the world probably have something to do it.
I decided to give this book a chance. I didn't have high expectations going into it except to be entertained by a decent story that was quick and easy to read. A Rip in the Veil met my expectations and then some. Yes, it has the typical romance novel elements, but I was happy to see that the author did advance the plot line and developed the characters beyond the lust and instaLove stage that so often is the modus operandi of romance novels.
While the writing was decent it wasn't up to par to what I've grown accustomed to with some of my very favorite books. But hey, I'm not a writer and won't pretend I could be one, so the writing was fine enough for me and for the story. Shoot, I've read some truly awful stories with awful writing that seem to have gained public popularity and this book is far better than that. Anyway, the story was good and moved along. The characters held my attention and developed. I wasn't blown away by Alex and Matthew - Alex could use a bit of refinement. But I liked them well enough. I appreciated the other characters and did like seeing how Alex's family was faring after she left her time. The historical elements were good, and added a bit of depth to the storyline on the whole.
A Rip in the Veil proved to be a much better story than I anticipated. I hope to see how the series and writing mature with each book. Yes, I will read the next book and from there I shall see.
unabridgedchick's review
3.0
Though the blurb for this book implies the novel is solely about our time traveling heroine and her amour, I actually found this to be a plot-and-character heavy action romance set in Scotland, about family, obligation, betrayal, disappointment, and resilience.
Alex Lind is a programmer, taking a shortcut to a business meeting through the Scottish moors when her BMW craps out. She gets out of her car to see what her options might be when a kind of storm springs up. She's struck by lightning and pulled through a hole in the earth -- and wakes up in 1658. There, she meets Matthew Graham, an escaped convict (thankfully not a murderer or rapist), who takes care of Alex. She's seriously injured from her fall, and moors are filled with danger.
Back in contemporary Scotland, her boyfriend and colleagues search frantically for Alex, confused and worried since Alex had mysterious disappeared some years before -- a disappearance that resulted in her young son. Additionally, a mysterious robber keeps trying to steal something from Alex's father, and a client of Alex's has an angry -- and violent -- fascination with her and her family.
This is not your standard time-slip story, where our heroine goes back in time and mucks through it (I'm thinking Outlander, and this book does beg comparison with Gabaldon's novel. However, other than time travel and Scotland, the two aren't similar. There's certainly a strong romantic element as well as the inevitable acceptance of historical patriarchal attitudes about women but the heroine, hero, and plot threads are different.). Belfrage introduces a magical world system of 'time nodes', a family of time-travelers, artists, and scientists trying to control this power. Alex's mother is a complicated woman with a complicated history, and as Alex's contemporary family and friends try to find her, a greater mystery emerges.
Time slip historical fiction -- novels in which contemporary people travel back in time -- are a bit like backpacking to me: I love the idea, but I don't like the work. The inevitable modern-person-responding-to-the-past/historical-person-responding-to-the-interloper thing exhausts me -- it needs to feel real but can't dominate the whole book. In this case, I thought Belfrage handled the present-to-past thing well -- her characters were in shock, talked about it, disbelieved, and eventually moved on in a reasonable amount of time. (Belfrage's jump to sex between her hero and heroine, on the other hand, felt a bit rushed to me, as did our heroine's ease with which she moved on from her son.)
This book was fun but not without a few problems for me. The writing was a tiny bit clunky at times and Belfrage jumped between multiple points-of-view in a single paragraph, which I found jarring. The start of the book literally plunges you in and it took me some time to make sense of all the players but by 60 pages, I had a sense of the story and didn't want to stop reading. While there were some inconsistencies with Alex throughout the novel in terms of behavior and attitudes, I gave it a pass because people are inconsistent and I didn't mind the story.
Overall, a fun action-y novel with some interesting magical-ish world building. Recommended for folks who want a little fluff, a little history, and a lot of sexytimes. While there is a sequel, the novel ends satisfactorily so cliff-hangers -- but if you want more, there's a sequel and Belfrage is working on a third book in the series.
Alex Lind is a programmer, taking a shortcut to a business meeting through the Scottish moors when her BMW craps out. She gets out of her car to see what her options might be when a kind of storm springs up. She's struck by lightning and pulled through a hole in the earth -- and wakes up in 1658. There, she meets Matthew Graham, an escaped convict (thankfully not a murderer or rapist), who takes care of Alex. She's seriously injured from her fall, and moors are filled with danger.
Back in contemporary Scotland, her boyfriend and colleagues search frantically for Alex, confused and worried since Alex had mysterious disappeared some years before -- a disappearance that resulted in her young son. Additionally, a mysterious robber keeps trying to steal something from Alex's father, and a client of Alex's has an angry -- and violent -- fascination with her and her family.
This is not your standard time-slip story, where our heroine goes back in time and mucks through it (I'm thinking Outlander, and this book does beg comparison with Gabaldon's novel. However, other than time travel and Scotland, the two aren't similar. There's certainly a strong romantic element as well as the inevitable acceptance of historical patriarchal attitudes about women but the heroine, hero, and plot threads are different.). Belfrage introduces a magical world system of 'time nodes', a family of time-travelers, artists, and scientists trying to control this power. Alex's mother is a complicated woman with a complicated history, and as Alex's contemporary family and friends try to find her, a greater mystery emerges.
Time slip historical fiction -- novels in which contemporary people travel back in time -- are a bit like backpacking to me: I love the idea, but I don't like the work. The inevitable modern-person-responding-to-the-past/historical-person-responding-to-the-interloper thing exhausts me -- it needs to feel real but can't dominate the whole book. In this case, I thought Belfrage handled the present-to-past thing well -- her characters were in shock, talked about it, disbelieved, and eventually moved on in a reasonable amount of time. (Belfrage's jump to sex between her hero and heroine, on the other hand, felt a bit rushed to me, as did our heroine's ease with which she moved on from her son.)
This book was fun but not without a few problems for me. The writing was a tiny bit clunky at times and Belfrage jumped between multiple points-of-view in a single paragraph, which I found jarring. The start of the book literally plunges you in and it took me some time to make sense of all the players but by 60 pages, I had a sense of the story and didn't want to stop reading. While there were some inconsistencies with Alex throughout the novel in terms of behavior and attitudes, I gave it a pass because people are inconsistent and I didn't mind the story.
Overall, a fun action-y novel with some interesting magical-ish world building. Recommended for folks who want a little fluff, a little history, and a lot of sexytimes. While there is a sequel, the novel ends satisfactorily so cliff-hangers -- but if you want more, there's a sequel and Belfrage is working on a third book in the series.