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brysonsmommie84's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence
nnniro411's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Death, Murder, Grief, and Death of parent
bookaholic_in_wonderland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Blood
amberinpieces's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Murder, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, and Car accident
ladykatiereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Gore, and Animal death
Moderate: Alcoholism and Cancer
Minor: Vomit, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This story follows Klara, a young woman in Scotland who is struggling with the grief of losing her mother to cancer. She is driving late one night when she almost hits Callum, a Scotsman from over 500 years ago who has accidentally found himself in the present. Brought together, the pair needs to battle a force in order to save the world.
I had a few problems with this book mechanically. I felt like realistically, Callum should have had more pushback or been more shocked about the world because Scotland has changed DRAMATICALLY in 500 years. There were a few moments Callum was confused by his new surroundings (seeing a cellphone, or an airplane) but I still feel like he would have been more scared, intimidated, really anything other than general acceptance. The time traveling details and how Klara's powers ultimately work also seemed kind of disjointed. Time traveling is a huge undertaking to write about because there are a lot of details and plot holes that arise around the topic, and I did not feel like this was the best representation of time travel.
Klara and Callum ultimately start to fall for each other and pursue a romantic relationship, and this is my biggest gripe with the novel. The story felt very insta-lovey, which it was, and it really threw me for a loop. I did not feel like the two characters had any chemistry beforehand, and even when they started to "fall" for each other, I just thought it was weird and completely out of left field. They were literally two people thrown together in a unique way who have to work together to save time. I also do not see how their romance propelled the story forward in a meaningful way, so it felt like an unnecessary plot point. I would have appreciated this book and enjoyed it so much more if Klara and Callum were just two people who became friends.
I did enjoy reading a book set in Scotland, and it felt to me like Sasha did research not only into present day Scotland, but also Scotland of the past. I also enjoyed seeing some Scottish lore. At its bare bones, the story was fun, and I had an okay time reading it.
Will I read from Sasha Alsberg in the future? Yes, but I still do not have the highest of expectations.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Cancer, Violence, and Death of parent
eleanorefiore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Minor: Death of parent
the death of a parent is mentioned in the past-tense, not shown on-page.