Scan barcode
ponch22's review against another edition
5.0
Full disclosure—I was contacted by the author of this book and sent a free Advanced Reader's Copy thanks to my simple review of [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380660571s/18619684.jpg|2153746] (link here).
The book is written with every chapter having a different narrator. Our three main characters are Isabel, Diego, and Matt. Isabel and Diego were once lovers who re-meet-cute in Denver shortly after Isabel finishes filing her divorce. After their dinner, downtown Denver bursts into flames separating the two until Diego saves the day and proposes in a very romantic way. Matt, meanwhile, is a physicist who seems to have been kidnapped in the middle of the night by the government and taken to the heart of a secret mountain lair.
We eventually find out the thing that caused the fires in Denver was some sort of sphere from the future. Matt helps the government decode the sphere and build a time machine. Alternate universes are discussed while the world starts falling apart—nuclear weapons, viruses, and mutant vaccines. It seems that time travel is going to be the only way to save the world.
I don't want to describe too much of the story (I may have already said too much) but I always feel the need to say something in order to describe better what I feel about the book.
Through the first two thirds of the novel, it was a solid 4* book. There were some typos that I found (which I already told the author about and should be fixed in the ebook and future printings!) which aren't that detrimental to my enjoyment of the story. But, one thing that I wish had been done better, was the tone of each chapter. I love that it switches between different narrators (very TTTW-esque), because you see different internal struggles or things left unsaid. But I never felt like the chapters were actually written from different points of view. There are some distinctions (Diego's Spanish cursing, or Matt's few Britishisms) but it still felt pretty similar throughout (or perhaps not distinct enough for my liking).
Also, early in the book there are some big set pieces that are hard to follow on the written page. I have no doubt the author envisioned each action scene in her head, but the way each was written made it difficult at times to understand exactly what was happening (e.g. an attack near a gate had the gate opening into people, into the car hood, the car itself bolted forward when the driver leapt out, and it all seemed hard to map out in my head).
These are minor quibbles which didn't make me want to put the book down (heck, I finished the book in a week!), but I'm sure it would have been 4.5 or 5 if the characters felt more distinct when they narrated and/or the action was easier to follow.
The final third of the book did start to lose me. Don't want to get too spoilery, but there is time travel and the back cover (partly) describes the book as a "how to make love guide for diehard celibates" which confused me until I got to the final third which involves our two lovers, Isabel and Diego, and dedicates several chapters to flirtation, foreplay, and some will they/won't they sex. Early on, there was a love scene between the two, and I was confused by the domination/control each tried on one another. It didn't seem fun, but maybe I just need to read [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] to better understand. Also, there definitely is something in Isabel's past (that should probably be explained in future books) that puts a kibosh on certain bedroom activities...
I get that this is the first of a series, so maybe I shouldn't be too sad that [SPOILERS]the world wasn't saved by the end of the book (yet?), but I did feel like the 100 or so pages dedicated to erect nipples and bulges in pants came out of nowhere. Although there is an entire publishing company (Harlequin) based on this model so maybe [a:D.L. Orton|13506103|D.L. Orton|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1427753745p2/13506103.jpg] knows what she's doing. As a guy who loves time travel books, much of the final third just wasn't my cup of tea. But the book does earn its "adult content" rating in the end!
Considering everything, the book settled around 3.5* for me, but I'm rounding up to 4* because I know I'll be reading the second book to see what happens (and I can't rate things with half stars). Some more distinct characters in the narration, better described action, and less softcore romance at the end would have lifted the score, but it was a quick read and had its own interesting take on time travel, which are two great things in ANY book!
At times, the story reminded me of [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380660571s/18619684.jpg|2153746], [b:Left Behind|27523|Left Behind (Left Behind, #1)|Tim LaHaye|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406505054s/27523.jpg|972769], [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] (which admittedly, I've never read), and [b:11/22/63|10644930|11/22/63|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327876792s/10644930.jpg|15553789]
JUNE 2015 UPDATE - The author wrote four extra "Matt" chapters for the final third of the book to give a little more closure (and questions!) about what was happening. I know these are available for any ebooks purchased (whether through updates or the files you download now) and I think she said the physical books were being reprinted. These extra chapters bump my review to 4.5 which isn't possible here, so 5 stars it is. Can't wait for the next book to come out and find out more about what the heck happened/is happening/will happen!
The book is written with every chapter having a different narrator. Our three main characters are Isabel, Diego, and Matt. Isabel and Diego were once lovers who re-meet-cute in Denver shortly after Isabel finishes filing her divorce. After their dinner, downtown Denver bursts into flames separating the two until Diego saves the day and proposes in a very romantic way. Matt, meanwhile, is a physicist who seems to have been kidnapped in the middle of the night by the government and taken to the heart of a secret mountain lair.
We eventually find out the thing that caused the fires in Denver was some sort of sphere from the future. Matt helps the government decode the sphere and build a time machine. Alternate universes are discussed while the world starts falling apart—nuclear weapons, viruses, and mutant vaccines. It seems that time travel is going to be the only way to save the world.
I don't want to describe too much of the story (I may have already said too much) but I always feel the need to say something in order to describe better what I feel about the book.
Through the first two thirds of the novel, it was a solid 4* book. There were some typos that I found (which I already told the author about and should be fixed in the ebook and future printings!) which aren't that detrimental to my enjoyment of the story. But, one thing that I wish had been done better, was the tone of each chapter. I love that it switches between different narrators (very TTTW-esque), because you see different internal struggles or things left unsaid. But I never felt like the chapters were actually written from different points of view. There are some distinctions (Diego's Spanish cursing, or Matt's few Britishisms) but it still felt pretty similar throughout (or perhaps not distinct enough for my liking).
Also, early in the book there are some big set pieces that are hard to follow on the written page. I have no doubt the author envisioned each action scene in her head, but the way each was written made it difficult at times to understand exactly what was happening (e.g. an attack near a gate had the gate opening into people, into the car hood, the car itself bolted forward when the driver leapt out, and it all seemed hard to map out in my head).
These are minor quibbles which didn't make me want to put the book down (heck, I finished the book in a week!), but I'm sure it would have been 4.5 or 5 if the characters felt more distinct when they narrated and/or the action was easier to follow.
The final third of the book did start to lose me. Don't want to get too spoilery, but there is time travel and the back cover (partly) describes the book as a "how to make love guide for diehard celibates" which confused me until I got to the final third which involves our two lovers, Isabel and Diego, and dedicates several chapters to flirtation, foreplay, and some will they/won't they sex. Early on, there was a love scene between the two, and I was confused by the domination/control each tried on one another. It didn't seem fun, but maybe I just need to read [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] to better understand. Also, there definitely is something in Isabel's past (that should probably be explained in future books) that puts a kibosh on certain bedroom activities...
I get that this is the first of a series, so maybe I shouldn't be too sad that [SPOILERS]the world wasn't saved by the end of the book (yet?), but I did feel like the 100 or so pages dedicated to erect nipples and bulges in pants came out of nowhere. Although there is an entire publishing company (Harlequin) based on this model so maybe [a:D.L. Orton|13506103|D.L. Orton|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1427753745p2/13506103.jpg] knows what she's doing. As a guy who loves time travel books, much of the final third just wasn't my cup of tea. But the book does earn its "adult content" rating in the end!
Considering everything, the book settled around 3.5* for me, but I'm rounding up to 4* because I know I'll be reading the second book to see what happens (and I can't rate things with half stars). Some more distinct characters in the narration, better described action, and less softcore romance at the end would have lifted the score, but it was a quick read and had its own interesting take on time travel, which are two great things in ANY book!
At times, the story reminded me of [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380660571s/18619684.jpg|2153746], [b:Left Behind|27523|Left Behind (Left Behind, #1)|Tim LaHaye|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406505054s/27523.jpg|972769], [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] (which admittedly, I've never read), and [b:11/22/63|10644930|11/22/63|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327876792s/10644930.jpg|15553789]
JUNE 2015 UPDATE - The author wrote four extra "Matt" chapters for the final third of the book to give a little more closure (and questions!) about what was happening. I know these are available for any ebooks purchased (whether through updates or the files you download now) and I think she said the physical books were being reprinted. These extra chapters bump my review to 4.5 which isn't possible here, so 5 stars it is. Can't wait for the next book to come out and find out more about what the heck happened/is happening/will happen!
ponch22's review against another edition
5.0
Was sent a copy of the 2ne [sic?] edition because I proofread [a:D.L. Orton|13506103|D.L. Orton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1427753745p2/13506103.jpg]'s previous novels (excited for book #3 to come out in several weeks!).
I wanted to re-read the whole book to see what changed, but I didn't end up having time, so I read the first few chapters (which all seemed to be the same, minus a slight change to the Prologue where a dog's live got saved) and then skipped to the final third, La Isla — Another Universe, because I think Orton said this was the section that had the most changes.
I first read this almost two years ago, but I remember being a little uncomfortable with all the sex that sort of came out of nowhere in this final third section and now there's barely anything that caught me off guard! There's still some talk that would be inappropriate for any age, but it definitely felt censored/cut back—but the love story was still sweet and fully there. I think she found a great balance of having adults flirt and love each other without flipping genres from action/time travel/science novel to adult pulp novel like it sort of felt originally...
Plus there were several chapters mixed in to this final section featuring Matt from the original universe which gave some answers about how everything was going down in the original world AND I think the final chapter had a slightly different ending (at least I don't remember).
I think the world Orton has created is great and the time travel aspect is great. The world is huge (instead of traveling back and forth within their own timelines, every time someone travels in time, they're going into a different universe) and I'm kind of disappointed that we're not getting any answers about how things are changing and if the world is being saved. But the story has me hooked and I'll keep proofreading her novels if only to get the story first so I can find out what else has gone wrong for our heroes! Can't wait to read more!
I wanted to re-read the whole book to see what changed, but I didn't end up having time, so I read the first few chapters (which all seemed to be the same, minus a slight change to the Prologue where a dog's live got saved) and then skipped to the final third, La Isla — Another Universe, because I think Orton said this was the section that had the most changes.
I first read this almost two years ago, but I remember being a little uncomfortable with all the sex that sort of came out of nowhere in this final third section and now there's barely anything that caught me off guard! There's still some talk that would be inappropriate for any age, but it definitely felt censored/cut back—but the love story was still sweet and fully there. I think she found a great balance of having adults flirt and love each other without flipping genres from action/time travel/science novel to adult pulp novel like it sort of felt originally...
Plus there were several chapters mixed in to this final section featuring Matt from the original universe which gave some answers about how everything was going down in the original world AND I think the final chapter had a slightly different ending (at least I don't remember
Spoiler
it seeming like dying Iz was brought back to a different universe via words like "vaccine"I think the world Orton has created is great and the time travel aspect is great. The world is huge (instead of traveling back and forth within their own timelines, every time someone travels in time, they're going into a different universe) and I'm kind of disappointed that we're not getting any answers about how things are changing and if the world is being saved. But the story has me hooked and I'll keep proofreading her novels if only to get the story first so I can find out what else has gone wrong for our heroes! Can't wait to read more!
veralyn's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
4.75 just because I didn’t want the book to end! I loved the audiobook (the narrators were so good!) - the plot line was fast paced, easy to follow, and well written in my opinion. It left me wanting more! Towards the end, there was another point of view/storyline introduced that I didn’t find was too relevant in the first listen however, I feel like that’s a my own fault, not the author’s.
All in all, can’t wait to read or listen to the second book!
All in all, can’t wait to read or listen to the second book!
anca_antoci's review
4.0
My thoughts on Crossing in Time
Crossing in Time by D.L. Orton is a fast-paced dystopian romance intertwined with time travel, thriller, and suspense elements. If you’re not much of a sci-fi lover, don’t worry, as the heart of the story is a tangled (in an unexpected way that I can’t elaborate without spoilers) romance. The actual time travel occurs in the last third of the book, so be patient.
What I enjoyed about Crossing in Time
I find the premises of the story refreshing, however, the plot gets convoluted alternating between timelines and dimensions. I don’t know if it’s been done before, but I haven’t read anything like it so far and I was excited to see how it unfolds. It did not disappoint!
I’m happy to say it wasn’t predictable and it ends with a twist. This is the first book in the series so brace yourself for a cliffhanger.
It's a fast-paced story with an emotional roller coaster so you don't need to worry about getting bored.
Perfect timing
Although the book came out years ago, it sent chills down my spine to read it in today’s context. The Earth is in danger and humanity is circling down the drain due to many things including a virus (not Covid-19, but something Ebola-like that kills across species) and the main character, Isabel, who is a geneticist must go back in time to rescue her failed relationship because it’s the only thing that can save the world.
Things I didn't enjoy as much as I hoped I would
Crossing in Time is written in the first person POV, present tense. For me, this is a first and it felt very unusual. Please keep in mind that more of a personal preference and just because I didn't like it doesn't mean you won't.
I also find that in order to enjoy the book to the fullest I often had to turn a blind eye.
Read the full review on my blog: https://www.summonfantasy.com/book-reviews/crossing-in-time-by-d-l-orton-book-review
Crossing in Time by D.L. Orton is a fast-paced dystopian romance intertwined with time travel, thriller, and suspense elements. If you’re not much of a sci-fi lover, don’t worry, as the heart of the story is a tangled (in an unexpected way that I can’t elaborate without spoilers) romance. The actual time travel occurs in the last third of the book, so be patient.
What I enjoyed about Crossing in Time
I find the premises of the story refreshing, however, the plot gets convoluted alternating between timelines and dimensions. I don’t know if it’s been done before, but I haven’t read anything like it so far and I was excited to see how it unfolds. It did not disappoint!
I’m happy to say it wasn’t predictable and it ends with a twist. This is the first book in the series so brace yourself for a cliffhanger.
It's a fast-paced story with an emotional roller coaster so you don't need to worry about getting bored.
Perfect timing
Although the book came out years ago, it sent chills down my spine to read it in today’s context. The Earth is in danger and humanity is circling down the drain due to many things including a virus (not Covid-19, but something Ebola-like that kills across species) and the main character, Isabel, who is a geneticist must go back in time to rescue her failed relationship because it’s the only thing that can save the world.
Things I didn't enjoy as much as I hoped I would
Crossing in Time is written in the first person POV, present tense. For me, this is a first and it felt very unusual. Please keep in mind that more of a personal preference and just because I didn't like it doesn't mean you won't.
I also find that in order to enjoy the book to the fullest I often had to turn a blind eye.
Read the full review on my blog: https://www.summonfantasy.com/book-reviews/crossing-in-time-by-d-l-orton-book-review
queencleo's review
2.0
First in a series - be warned this does contain time travel but does not explain the reason for it or the paradox at all.
It is primarily a romance novel following the lives and conincidences of Isabel and Diego's relationship through multiple universes
I was deeply invested at the end but it took a long (long long) time to get there and the lack of context of some of the chapters threw me
It is primarily a romance novel following the lives and conincidences of Isabel and Diego's relationship through multiple universes
I was deeply invested at the end but it took a long (long long) time to get there and the lack of context of some of the chapters threw me
callabunga12's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
inkandplasma's review
2.0
Full review: https://inkandplasma.wordpress.com/2020/06/22/crossing-in-time-by-d-l-orton-review/
This book was originally sent to me as part of a blog tour but I chose to drop out for reasons that are going to become clear. Unfortunately this one... did not work for me. This is probably going to be semi-spoilery because I want to explain the things I didn't like so read with caution if you don't want to be spoiled.
Rating: 2 stars - it got an extra star for good prose.
Trigger warnings: death, miscarriage, attempted rape, abortion, one occurrence of bi-erasure
What did I think?
I want to start by saying that my problems with this book probably wouldn't be so severe if the book was marketed differently. I also want people to read other reviews before they take my word for it, because this has hundreds of positive reviews on Goodreads. However, none of those reviews seemed to cover my major problems with it.
Edited note: Regarding this comment, the author has since said that she will be editing the line I'm about to mention in the manuscript - which I appreciate. Future versions hopefully will not include this and I'm very pleased about this response. Thank you to the author for responding quickly to that concern.
The first thing is only a one line off-the-cuff comment, but put me in a off about 20% in. There's a gay character, interested in another character, and when he finds out that the guy he's interested in was once married to a woman his internal narration says:
'So he's not gay. Damn. Then again, maybe he's like you and got married by mistake.'
The bi-erasure here is really blatant and while I don't feel like it was done intentionally it's really, really uncomfortable to read as someone who is bisexual. The implication that he's either gay, and married a woman as a mistake, or straight is so frustrating. It also wasn't prudent to the plot itself so felt totally unnecessary. If this line had been included, Picasso ended up being bi and this attitude was challenged then I'd have been fine with it. But instead we move on, he's straight and everything's ignored. So this line was totally unnecessary. If it was just 'So he's probably not gay. Damn'. I would have been fine with it, but this just rubbed me up the wrong way. You could take this line out of the book entirely and it'd make absolutely no difference to the story, and wouldn't erase bisexuality.
The other thing that I really struggled with was that I felt the summary on Goodreads and Amazon was completely misleading. The summary states:
When offered a one-way trip to the past, Isabel sacrifices everything for a chance to change the rapidly deteriorating present--and see her murdered lover one last time. When she arrives twenty years in the past, buck naked and mortally wounded, she has 24 hours to convince a stunned but enraptured nineteen-year-old to change their future. Definitely easier said than done, as success means losing him to a brainy, smart-mouthed bombshell (her younger self), and that's a heart breaker, save the world or not.
Isabel doesn't travel to the past until 63% into the book. Page 337 of 412. Everything after that point fits what I expected. But the first 337 pages? Isabel goes through hell. She meets a guy who broke her heart 15 years ago and they go to dinner, she nearly dies and he proposes immediately. Which is? romantic? (I didn't think so, but hey.) The world is falling apart, so they go to a cabin and that's pretty cool. They decide not to try for a baby, because the world is falling apart, but she falls pregnant anyway. Isabel and Diego are ecstatic, and then she has a pretty sudden and on-page miscarriage. At this point I had to put the book down and walk away for ten minutes. I've been told to expect a ""Funny, Romantic & Harrowing" (Publishers Weekly Starred Review) dystopian love story and prepare to encounter a finicky time machine, a mysterious seashell, and a very clever dog" (from Goodreads) and so far I've had a post-apocalyptic traumatic shit-show. Sure, I was told it was a 'laugh out loud tragedy' but so far there have been no laughs and so much tragedy it doesn't feel like it's balanced at all. There's a two second period where it tries to convince the reader the miscarriage might be plot relevant, then that's abandoned. I felt genuinely miserable. The only humour so far has come from over-used dad jokes and puns being forced into the text. Like, one of the characters main traits seems to be 'uses stupid dad jokes'. I didn't laugh, I mostly just cringed. Putting well-known internet jokes doesn't a funny book make. And the romance was so inexplicable and sudden that I didn't feel like it was that romantic. More misery for Isabel as her husband goes missing, she recovers from an injury, a guy attempts to rape her twice (ugh, more trauma that didn't serve any plot or character development purpose AT ALL) and then eventually, 337 pages in, Isabel goes back in time.
Does the joy start now? Do we have the moment where she convinces a young Diego to change the world, then lose him to her younger self? No. We get a lot of Isabel lecturing Diego on how he should change all of his instincts and every part of his personality so that young-Isabel will find him easier to date. She says she has reasons, and these are hinted at in her own first person POV chapters but no explanation is given. There's insta-love between Isabel and young-Diego but I couldn't for the life of me work out what their bond was supposed to be. The entire last section of this book is Isabel highlighting all the reasons they don't work as a couple, demanding he change and not telling him why. My god. I wanted them to break up and I knew that the world would end if they did. They felt totally incompatible.
And then the book just? Ended? I know that there's more in this series (four I think?!) but despite this book being 400 pages long, it felt like half a book. If the first 63% was trimmed WAY back (losing some of the we-love-to-traumatise-women tropes) then we could have had more time for a resolution, I guess, but instead it felt like the book ended and the rest of the plot is hidden in book two. I won't be picking it up. There was too much left unexplained and without any chemistry whatsoever between the characters, I can't find the energy for it. I wanted time-travel hijinks and competition with her past self, not... this. I finished this book sad and tired, and I feel like the summary is totally misrepresentative of the book itself. But then, it has well over 200 5 star reviews on Goodreads so I guess I'm in the minority? Honestly, I feel like I read a different book to everyone else.
Despite these complaints, I did finish the whole book and that's because the prose itself was great and DL Orton is clearly a good writer on a technical level. I'll be the first one to put my hands up and say that this book obviously works for a lot of people and while I did want to share my opinions on it, Goodreads has a huge selection of positive reviews and there has just been a blog tour from Write Reads with a huge selection of bloggers giving their opinions worth checking out before you take my word on it.
This book was originally sent to me as part of a blog tour but I chose to drop out for reasons that are going to become clear. Unfortunately this one... did not work for me. This is probably going to be semi-spoilery because I want to explain the things I didn't like so read with caution if you don't want to be spoiled.
Rating: 2 stars - it got an extra star for good prose.
Trigger warnings: death, miscarriage, attempted rape, abortion, one occurrence of bi-erasure
What did I think?
I want to start by saying that my problems with this book probably wouldn't be so severe if the book was marketed differently. I also want people to read other reviews before they take my word for it, because this has hundreds of positive reviews on Goodreads. However, none of those reviews seemed to cover my major problems with it.
Edited note: Regarding this comment, the author has since said that she will be editing the line I'm about to mention in the manuscript - which I appreciate. Future versions hopefully will not include this and I'm very pleased about this response. Thank you to the author for responding quickly to that concern.
The first thing is only a one line off-the-cuff comment, but put me in a off about 20% in. There's a gay character, interested in another character, and when he finds out that the guy he's interested in was once married to a woman his internal narration says:
'So he's not gay. Damn. Then again, maybe he's like you and got married by mistake.'
The bi-erasure here is really blatant and while I don't feel like it was done intentionally it's really, really uncomfortable to read as someone who is bisexual. The implication that he's either gay, and married a woman as a mistake, or straight is so frustrating. It also wasn't prudent to the plot itself so felt totally unnecessary. If this line had been included, Picasso ended up being bi and this attitude was challenged then I'd have been fine with it. But instead we move on, he's straight and everything's ignored. So this line was totally unnecessary. If it was just 'So he's probably not gay. Damn'. I would have been fine with it, but this just rubbed me up the wrong way. You could take this line out of the book entirely and it'd make absolutely no difference to the story, and wouldn't erase bisexuality.
The other thing that I really struggled with was that I felt the summary on Goodreads and Amazon was completely misleading. The summary states:
When offered a one-way trip to the past, Isabel sacrifices everything for a chance to change the rapidly deteriorating present--and see her murdered lover one last time. When she arrives twenty years in the past, buck naked and mortally wounded, she has 24 hours to convince a stunned but enraptured nineteen-year-old to change their future. Definitely easier said than done, as success means losing him to a brainy, smart-mouthed bombshell (her younger self), and that's a heart breaker, save the world or not.
Isabel doesn't travel to the past until 63% into the book. Page 337 of 412. Everything after that point fits what I expected. But the first 337 pages? Isabel goes through hell. She meets a guy who broke her heart 15 years ago and they go to dinner, she nearly dies and he proposes immediately. Which is? romantic? (I didn't think so, but hey.) The world is falling apart, so they go to a cabin and that's pretty cool. They decide not to try for a baby, because the world is falling apart, but she falls pregnant anyway. Isabel and Diego are ecstatic, and then she has a pretty sudden and on-page miscarriage. At this point I had to put the book down and walk away for ten minutes. I've been told to expect a ""Funny, Romantic & Harrowing" (Publishers Weekly Starred Review) dystopian love story and prepare to encounter a finicky time machine, a mysterious seashell, and a very clever dog" (from Goodreads) and so far I've had a post-apocalyptic traumatic shit-show. Sure, I was told it was a 'laugh out loud tragedy' but so far there have been no laughs and so much tragedy it doesn't feel like it's balanced at all. There's a two second period where it tries to convince the reader the miscarriage might be plot relevant, then that's abandoned. I felt genuinely miserable. The only humour so far has come from over-used dad jokes and puns being forced into the text. Like, one of the characters main traits seems to be 'uses stupid dad jokes'. I didn't laugh, I mostly just cringed. Putting well-known internet jokes doesn't a funny book make. And the romance was so inexplicable and sudden that I didn't feel like it was that romantic. More misery for Isabel as her husband goes missing, she recovers from an injury, a guy attempts to rape her twice (ugh, more trauma that didn't serve any plot or character development purpose AT ALL) and then eventually, 337 pages in, Isabel goes back in time.
Does the joy start now? Do we have the moment where she convinces a young Diego to change the world, then lose him to her younger self? No. We get a lot of Isabel lecturing Diego on how he should change all of his instincts and every part of his personality so that young-Isabel will find him easier to date. She says she has reasons, and these are hinted at in her own first person POV chapters but no explanation is given. There's insta-love between Isabel and young-Diego but I couldn't for the life of me work out what their bond was supposed to be. The entire last section of this book is Isabel highlighting all the reasons they don't work as a couple, demanding he change and not telling him why. My god. I wanted them to break up and I knew that the world would end if they did. They felt totally incompatible.
And then the book just? Ended? I know that there's more in this series (four I think?!) but despite this book being 400 pages long, it felt like half a book. If the first 63% was trimmed WAY back (losing some of the we-love-to-traumatise-women tropes) then we could have had more time for a resolution, I guess, but instead it felt like the book ended and the rest of the plot is hidden in book two. I won't be picking it up. There was too much left unexplained and without any chemistry whatsoever between the characters, I can't find the energy for it. I wanted time-travel hijinks and competition with her past self, not... this. I finished this book sad and tired, and I feel like the summary is totally misrepresentative of the book itself. But then, it has well over 200 5 star reviews on Goodreads so I guess I'm in the minority? Honestly, I feel like I read a different book to everyone else.
Despite these complaints, I did finish the whole book and that's because the prose itself was great and DL Orton is clearly a good writer on a technical level. I'll be the first one to put my hands up and say that this book obviously works for a lot of people and while I did want to share my opinions on it, Goodreads has a huge selection of positive reviews and there has just been a blog tour from Write Reads with a huge selection of bloggers giving their opinions worth checking out before you take my word on it.
miii_'s review
3.0
I need to thank the author and booktasters for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
The book is super well written and the story plot is very well thought out. I really enjoyed the characters of the book. Isabel is not your go to stupid fantasy/si-fi character which I really enjoyed.
I really do like that it is a series because I really want to get more information and put pieces together.
Even though I need to say that the story did not wow me. I mean it is well thought out and the story has an addicting flavour, but spark of totally loving the story wasn’t coming.
The book is super well written and the story plot is very well thought out. I really enjoyed the characters of the book. Isabel is not your go to stupid fantasy/si-fi character which I really enjoyed.
I really do like that it is a series because I really want to get more information and put pieces together.
Even though I need to say that the story did not wow me. I mean it is well thought out and the story has an addicting flavour, but spark of totally loving the story wasn’t coming.
cmryan's review
4.0
I received a copy of this book for free via booktasters on Twitter who connected me with the author.
Time travel, sci-fi and romance in a dystopia future; this mixture of genres should feel overwhelming but the author balances it beautifully. I was engrossed from the beginning and am incredibly tempted to buy the second one. Isabel and Diego were incredibly easy to connect to as characters, and the secondary characters were just as well thought out as well as realistically diverse. There was enough humour in the novel to prevent it from being too dark, and Diego's cheesy jokes made him feel almost real. Whilst I sometimes found the romance to be a little overwhelming I found myself rooting for the couple and their attempt to save both their relationship and the world.
An incredibly enjoyable book that has something for everyone and a story that has stood out amongst the many dystopia novels, it's well worth a read.
Time travel, sci-fi and romance in a dystopia future; this mixture of genres should feel overwhelming but the author balances it beautifully. I was engrossed from the beginning and am incredibly tempted to buy the second one. Isabel and Diego were incredibly easy to connect to as characters, and the secondary characters were just as well thought out as well as realistically diverse. There was enough humour in the novel to prevent it from being too dark, and Diego's cheesy jokes made him feel almost real. Whilst I sometimes found the romance to be a little overwhelming I found myself rooting for the couple and their attempt to save both their relationship and the world.
An incredibly enjoyable book that has something for everyone and a story that has stood out amongst the many dystopia novels, it's well worth a read.
readtoramble's review
4.0
4.5 STARS
I read this book for a blog tour, so thank you to the blog tour organiser and the author for letting me take part in this tour. All opinions are my own.
Dystopian books have a special place in my heart and I suppose you can say that this genre is where my love of books really took off when I was a teenager and trying to read out of my comfort zone. I've read many dystopias, but this one was very different and I enjoyed it from start to finish. I had forgotten what the blurb was about when I started this one and I'm really glad I did because everything was such a surprise for me and I felt that it flowed really well.
The plot was so intriguing, it was actually scary because it seems a lot like this right now and I can imagine that the things that happened in this book could happen in our world too one day. I also thought that the characters were great, they were believable and I rooted for Isabel and Diego the whole way. I hadn't read a book with actual emotions for a while and this one gave me what I've been missing. I love when characters are strong-willed, determined and brave, just like in this book, but I also like them to have feelings and emotions, and I miss that a lot in books I read, especially in fantasy, but this book gave me all the feels and more: I was angry, sad, excited, joyous, and I nearly ended up screaming and throwing my Kindle across the room!
This book was just so interesting, the setting was really great and I think it made the book really enjoyable because you see how things happen and how the destruction slowly appears, I thought the writing style and the structure was also really good and it kept me hooked throughout.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable book, I loved the characters and I loved the story, I found it to be so different and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I gave it 4.5 stars because I'm saving the 5-star rating for book 2 or 3, but it was definitely great and I would highly recommend!
I read this book for a blog tour, so thank you to the blog tour organiser and the author for letting me take part in this tour. All opinions are my own.
Dystopian books have a special place in my heart and I suppose you can say that this genre is where my love of books really took off when I was a teenager and trying to read out of my comfort zone. I've read many dystopias, but this one was very different and I enjoyed it from start to finish. I had forgotten what the blurb was about when I started this one and I'm really glad I did because everything was such a surprise for me and I felt that it flowed really well.
The plot was so intriguing, it was actually scary because it seems a lot like this right now and I can imagine that the things that happened in this book could happen in our world too one day. I also thought that the characters were great, they were believable and I rooted for Isabel and Diego the whole way. I hadn't read a book with actual emotions for a while and this one gave me what I've been missing. I love when characters are strong-willed, determined and brave, just like in this book, but I also like them to have feelings and emotions, and I miss that a lot in books I read, especially in fantasy, but this book gave me all the feels and more: I was angry, sad, excited, joyous, and I nearly ended up screaming and throwing my Kindle across the room!
This book was just so interesting, the setting was really great and I think it made the book really enjoyable because you see how things happen and how the destruction slowly appears, I thought the writing style and the structure was also really good and it kept me hooked throughout.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable book, I loved the characters and I loved the story, I found it to be so different and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I gave it 4.5 stars because I'm saving the 5-star rating for book 2 or 3, but it was definitely great and I would highly recommend!